danger to the east

recently found out that "bufete popular" is not a popular buffet. it does however have something to do with law..
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did some hiking in the highlands (nebaj). a two hour hike took us to an extemely small town well known for being the worst hit by the military in the civil war. lots of sad faces round here. nights were cold and wet / the elevation was high enough that clouds engulfed the town. 5am morning wake ups by church bells and explosives, sometimes lasting up to 30 min. minimal tourists / our presense in the streets attracted more looks and laughs than usual. and, we ate 7 meals at precisely one restaurant.
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spent the majority of the day taking shuttle vans east (the alternative to busses but not the better of the two). the 2nd of 3 had over 30 people in and on it, which beats our current record of 22. not an inch of space could be called my own. even my lungs were at half capacity. more, we spent half an hour riding the roof with the baggage. funandscary. this was probably the only time in my life i was preparing for the most painless exit route (m.p.e.r). to make matters a bit more exciting, like our last chicken bus excursion, the roads were... a-hem, eccentric? bumps, curves, cliffs and massive rock/land slides in frequent intervals. danger man. i didnt blink once.

at any rate,
arrived at "the famous" el retiro lodge in lanquin tonight. we were welcomed with a well deserved hearty buffet.. we will probably spend some time here.