day 15,16

Day 15, again not much going on....couldn't change my ticket to fly out -so hafta wait til Thursday, tho scheduled for an afternoon flight.
Day 16 decided to head to the airport and try standby for the morning flight to Miami. At first no success- the agent said that the award ticket I have doesn't allow for any changes. But by being Pleasant Persistent and Patient ( my new 3 P recipe for success) I was put on stand by, AND got on the earlier flight, AND again in Miami an earlier flight so instead of waiting til 3p for my original flight out of Guatemala City, and not arriving at my destination til midnite..I arrived at 6pm. What a treat.
I hope that I've been able to give you a sense of what I experienced on this journey. I have it in mind to do another of these volunteer trips - perhaps next year...Would like to try Central America again, and will look at Costa Rica.
But before I sign off......I want to say again what a wonderful experience it was, and if any one of you who read this have ever thought of doing something like it, I'd encourage you to do so. The organization I went with again, www.crossculturalsolutions.org is a good place to start. There are other organizations doing similar things, but I can't speak highly enough of this one.
Adios for now......

Day 13, 14

Well actually day 13 doesn't count. Nothing to write about..just stayed around the hotel area....later in the day went out for a walk and to get something to eat.
Day 14, a different story.... I'd made arrangements to go to Lake Atitlan. Hector, Victor's brother in law picked me up and we drove south west into the hIghlands about 100 miles to the Lake. Much of interest to see along the way.
We passed an area where a lot of agriculture is still undertaken, corn, cauliflower,onions etc. It's no wonder the unemployment rate is only at the 3.2% mark. The vegetable gardens are heavily manual....and usually small plots tended by individual farmers, who are part of the Guatemalan Food Project for Progress, a Texas A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas) or those unfamiliar with that University)project which helps farmers improve their product and helps "others to develop process package and market their goods for export". Everyone I saw walking - note walking- along the road carried their own garden tools. Texas A&M has helped coffee growers also in similar ways.
Other heavy manual work I noticed was the roadworks we encountered. Along some part of the roads there is a white gutter strip, which was being whitewashed by hand, road repair - no big trucks to drop the necessary materials, just wheelbarrows, and shovels. The exception to this is on some parts of the main highway between Gautemala City and Quetzaltenango. At several points I did see a few front-end loaders and trucks, however a LOT of the work was much more manual. Other activity which keeps people busy is digging out the lime from the limestone cliffs that line the roads. All by hand, and not entirely the safest occupation given the way the road winds and the speed at which most vehicles move.
The market places in the towns we passed thru were incredibly colorful, not to mention the local women's clothing. Almost all of them wear beautiful embroidered blouses and woven skirts- all the colors you can think of. On the other hand the homes of the majority of the country's indigenous people in rural areas are by our standards, shanty towns, more often than not built of varying combinations of bamboo, corrugated tin/iron, cardboard, and have dirt floors. In the towns, more are built of cement brick so better able to withstand the weather.
Then comes the Lake- quite a spectacular view from road above. The sun had joined us soon after we left Guatemala City, ( I wasn't so sure as we were leaving that it was the best day to be going, it was so overcast, and a light shower or 2) and the blue of the sky, and water was so vivid. Naturally out came the camera. Atitlan is the Mayan word meaning ' the place where the rainbow get's it colors' , is a mile above sea level, and is the deepest lake in Central America. Panajachel is one of the villages on the lake. We parked and walked around the town for a bit. then down to the lake's edge. It's the first town tourists come to by road, and from there it's an easy boat ride across the lake to the other villages. We went on the the San Buenaventura Nature Reserve where I saw spider monkeys, flashes of some very colorful birds, orchids, and the butterfly farm with a few hundred species of butterflies according to the information I'd read. I only saw one so not too sure where the rest of them are.
Next stop lunch, and found a superb location to eat at the restaurant of the Posada de Don Rodrigo, with a fabulous view of the lake and volcanos on the other side - see the picture I'm in for an idea - and delicious Tilapia fish.
Back to Guatemala City just in time to beat the rush hour traffic....not a pleasure in any city, and equally true here....given that there doesn't appear to be any enforcement of emission controls. Vehicles here, mostly the buses spew out the most noxious, dirty diesel smoke. Pretty unhealthy I reckon.

Day 12 Guatemala City

Made arrangements with Victor, a Guatemalan tour guide www.getaroundguatemala.blogspot.com whose name had been given to me by a friend in Boston who had been here on previous occasions, to go to the Pacaya volcano, about 20 miles south west of Gautemala City. It's a popular destination,and is the most frequently climbed volcano in Guatemala. The peak of Pacaya is 2500 meters (approx 8300ft) above sea level.The climb is relatively easy, unless, like me, you ask the guide if the shortcut part of the way is OK to take. He checked with a young Guatemalan, Estephan, who is 15, and who accompanied us, who said OK (well actually he said muy bien) so off we went. Sooooo, yes it is shorter, but I didn't have a clue that it was also pretty much a straight up climb, about a 45% grade, tho it zigged and zagged some. I made it to around 2000 meters. It was a very aerobic workout, but the view on the way up , across the valley to 2 other volcanos on the other side was fantastic. There were many rests en route! Above the tree line, the only color is the black of the lava from previous eruptions, the blue sky-that day anyway- and the white smoke/steam/gasses. Once we reached the black volcanic ash and rock, I found the ash harder to cross than the rocks - it's so crumbly it feels slippery,and is like walking on very gravelly sand, only vertically, rather than horizontally, and at that height made breathing harder. Then there's the area nearer where the lava flows that is very tough to cross, it's the sharp cooled lava rocks. The rocks were another thing......incredibly sharp, without care you could easily cut your hand or leg. Going back down was a breeze, compared to going up. So glad I did it.....I'm probably not going to be back here again anytime soon. I can cross ' climbing a volcano' off my list of things to do. It took about 3 hours to go up and back. On the road down the mountain, to go back to Guatemala City, I saw acres of coffee plantations. The rich volcanic content make for great soil for growing coffee. It takes 2 years of growth before the coffee 'berries' can be picked, and the tree only produces for 10 years, then they are ripped out and new ones replanted, a year after some other crop has been planted, to enrich the soil.
Back to the hotel and a hot shower to get rid of the volcano dust and grit that got in my shoes, and on my clothes. I'm pretty sure my white sox just lost the ability to be referred to as that from now on.
Next week Victor is going to take me to Lake Atitlan, reputed to be the deepest in Central America, estimated at it's deepest to be 340 meters, and is being the most the beautiful in the world. It's surrounded by mountains and 3 volcanos.
By the way, you can click on any of the photos in the blog, and a larger image appears.

Day 11 Antigua

ANTIGUA. Saw some more of the few remaining Spanish baroque buildings, a church, the cathedral and fountain in the square, and lovely pastel colored buildings.
Some of the group I went with, walked to the local market, where there was a never ending number of stalls selling the wonderful colorful woven, and hand sewn items available everywhere. It's soooooo tempting and really hard to resist buying these lovely things...but have been able to for the most part.
The woman who came Wednesday afternoon when we were in Quetzaltenango, showed us the 'backstrap' method of weaving, and is typical of Mayan women. The loom is strapped around her waist, and the other end tied to a tree or post and they either stand or sit to weave. This tradition is passed down from mother to daughter to girls at around 7 or 8 years of age.
From the market - back to the hotel to pack and head to Guatemala City and the airport to drop off those who were returning to the US, and I came into the city, where I'll be staying til my return on Thurday.

Day 10

Our last day at the school. We did some finishing touches, and everyone is soooooo pleased with the results. We actually did much more than the plan originally called for, but it was fun to do and we kept thinking up more to paint. When the kids were out to play some of them would come to whoever had a paintbrush in hand and either ask to paint or stand and wait to be asked. For a while anyway they will have the memory of doing it. I was able to get about 60 or so photos on a cd for the principal of the school. she is going to show the kids the pictures on a computor. I think the kids will love seeing themselves again. As I've mentioned before - each time we took pictures of them they run over and ask to see it on the camera.
The Principal gave each of us a 'certificate of appreciation' thanking us for the work we had done, and wishing us a safe return to our homes. Under the name of the school - which translates to "The official Kindergarten School" in the photo- you'll see UK AK. That is Mayan for Kindergarten. We had a final picture with all the teachers, children and volunteers.
After lunch, several of us set off for Antigua where we're staying the night. Got here in time to walk around the city. It's located in the central highlands, and the architecture reflects the Spanish colonial days. The cathedral, and several other churches provide spectacular examples of Spanish Baroque. Antigua is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Day 9

Really super day. Started our morning with more painting. Only one more day to go so we had plenty to be doing, to be sure the project is finished when we leave.
We found out when we arrived that one of the student's mothers had invited us to her home to have cake, and juice, to say thank you for all that we were doing to decorate the kindergarten. It was quite something since most of the families in the area do no have a lot of money, and clearly live at a poverty level of existence. They take their laundry to a communal sink.
We have an opportunity each day to play with the children, and since we are always taking photos, we are always besieged by them each time to see the pictures we took. I am going to put photos on a CD for the teacher so they can show the children. One of the games involves sitting in a circle and one person goes around the circle patting each one on the head saying a word which changes when they get to the person they want to 'tag' That person gets up and the 2 of them have to run around the others to see who can reach the empty space first and sit down. Then it repeats til everyone has had a turn.
It is going to be a sad day when we say our final farewells tomorrow.
Back to homebase for lunch, a program evaluation with the program manager and then a local woman who does weaving came to give a demonstration. We had another opportunity to go the the town center for a look around before heading back to dinner.Afterwards one of the guys on the staff gave some of us Salsa (dance ) lessons. Lots of laughter and some of us made some headway, but I know I won't ever be winning any prizes.

Day 8

mid week on the project. We have a couple more walls to go.Tia, one of the gals in our group had the idea to paint a world on one of the walls and it's turning out beautifully. I'll have picture of it finished soon. Most of the children are becoming more used to us now, and aren't as hesitant about approaching us. We are remembering their names more. They are so sweet, and every time we take their photos they rush right over to see it. Thank goodness for digital cameras. We are able to converse a little with them in Spanish, and it's very cute when we mis-pronounce a word, the immediately correct us! I was saying the name of one of the girls who name is Jasmine, with the emphasis on the first syllable, she looked at me and said - in no uncertain terms...JasmINE!
Back to the house for lunch, and a free afternoon. A local travel agent came and I and my 4 room mates-Jasmine,Jen, Lisa and MaryAnn have been able to book a trip to Antigua - the ancient capital of, not only Guatemala, but all Central America at one time. We're leaving here on Friday after lunch so we're all looking forward to that.
Afterwards we took a taxi to the center to see the cathedral, and do a bit of souvenier shopping in the local market. Lots of very colorful stuff around.

Day 7

Back to the school after breakfast, and on to more painting. The children started arriving and some remembered that they had been able to do some of the painting yesterday and began to ask to do it again. So of course we obliged. We're more than half way thru the project, so not sure what we will be able to do for the last day....on Friday. I guess the program manager here will figure something out. We were able to see more of the classrooms today...and as I said before they are functioning on a bare minimum. Not much in the way of the usual things you'd see in a similar school elsewhere in the western world.
After lunch we were taken on a tour of the area, and to the Fuentes Georginas hot springs near by high in the mountains, which come from the nearby volcano. The road there for several kilometers is lined with plots of land with a variety of cabbage,lettuce, onions, carrots etc, and a lot of it on some very steep land. The water at the springs in the largest pool was around 39 degrees centigrade...really hot to get into at first, and I didn't manage to stay in for more that 10 minutes, and so went to a slightly cooler one near by.

Day 6

Today we started our assignment at the school. There are 3 classrooms, and we got to work right away, becos later in the morning we were going to have an opportunity to spend some time with the children. We are quite pleased with our progress, got almost one wall completed and partial on 2 others. I'll have some photos tomorrow of what we did. We had a blast with the kids. They are from a local impoverished neighborhood. At first they were very shy and stayed close to their teachers, but we had some little toys. and plastic balls so it wasn't long before they ventured closer and became fully engaged. I had a couple of them do some of the painting, and before long several others were waiting for their turn. The school has the bare minimum of everything, but we are prevented from making donations of any sort other than the work we're doing, because it can compromise the relationship between volunteers and the communities they serve, and damage their partnerships with local organizations. The spanish lesson we had on Sunday came in handy and made it a bit easier to communicate with the children , while we were painting and playing games. Some of them had new backpacks and they were so happy to show them to us. After lunch, another spanish lesson, then a tour of the city -Quetzaltenango.It 's not a pretty city, and nothing of great note to see as far a tourist attraction. We went to a market where there are some very colorful items for sale.Many of the buses used for transportation all around the country look pretty familiar to Americans. They are the old yellow school buses, so you could say old school buses don't retire they go to live in Guatemala. A few coats of paint and they end up looking quite different, and add a lot of colour to the road scenes.

Day 4,5

Day 4, We drove to the city of Quetzaltenango =pronounced Ketzaltenango, and called Xela (Shayla) for short . It's approx 135miles from Guatemala City. It took about 4 hours, but as there is a huuuuge project to widen the road to what looks like a 4 lane highway it will eventually cut the travel time down by half. There is still enormous poverty in this country of around 10 million people. The UN says that 87% of Guatemalans live in poverty, and 30% don't have access to drinkable water. More than half the population is indigenous Mayan and around 35% Ladino (mixed Mayan and European descent) The Ladinos hold the economic and political power, which means the majority of the poor are the indigenous. 2% of landowners hold 68% of cultivatable land, and the majority indigenous people survive thru subsistence farming. Which explains the large numbers of street vendors in cities, small towns and along the roadside selling their fruits and vegetables.

Day 5- Today we had an orientation. It was a day of getting to know each other and learn some more about the upcoming week's activities. Started with an hour of Spanish lesson. We are encouraged to use Spanish when we start our project , which will be to paint the exterior walls of an elementary school and then decorate all 4 walls. See the picture of what we are expected to make it look like. Time will tell!!
Our accommodation is in a modern brick home on the outskirts of Xela, see pic above, 5 bedrooms, 4 bunkbeds in each. There is a staff of 6 who take care of everything, cooking, cleaning, driving us to our workplace, etc. We are well taken care of.
After lunch, another spanish lesson, then a tour of the city -Quetzaltenango.It 's not a pretty city, and nothing of great note to see as far a tourist attraction. We went to a market where there are some very colorful items for sale.

Day 3 - Friday

Slept til 6am...guess I had some catching up to do.....only got about 3-4 hours sleep the night before while I was travelling. My good fortune today is that the hotel offers free internet, and since where ever I go, so goes my MAC, have been able to check email, and thanks to Skype, phone and chat to various family and friends. It's a fabulous program to have.
After breakfast....a good one at that: omelet, fresh fruit including pineapple, papaya, watermelon, toast and great Guatemalan coffee!! I took a taxi to the city center. I'd have just as soon taken a local bus but the hotel folks didn't recommend it. Went to the Tourist information office for a map and info on what to see, and proceeded to walk to the various sites. Hafta say tho that there doesn't really seem to be all that much to see. The only things listed on the map are government buildings - which you can't enter, or they're not of interest, to me anyway - and about a dozen museums. I headed for the area where some of the museums, and the cathedral were shown on the map. Wandered around the main square, known as Plaza de Constitution, and where the cathedral is situated. There was a very large building on one side - looked intriguing, and think it was the National Palace of Culture and museum, so thought that might be interesting and informative. However, when I approached the guard at the entrance, apparenly can't enter without ID so that was that! It it occured to me afterwards, maybe I didn't find the right entrance. Thought I'd check out the cathedral, but it wasn't open! what to do?? Wandered around looking for the National History Museum. Never did find it. Sooooo decided to eat lunch, (at Wendy's no less) after which I discovered that the cathedral was now open. Go figure! For a major cathederal in a major Central American city it wasn't anywhere near as ornate inside as many I've seen. It was interesting to see - as i walked the various streets, how retail business is conducted. Lots of street vendors, selling everything from shoes, to shirts, ladies underwear, fresh cut fruit, various ethic foods, some of which looked delicious, but I was mindful of the advice not to eat it - possible sanitation issues. I took photos, naturally! and hope to be able to post some here. There are some lovely old buildings around -from colonial days, tho many have fallen into disrepair. Over all I'm left with the impression it's not a very pretty city, at least from all that I saw today.

Day 2-Thursday

So awake early, and by 7:30 on my way to Guatemala (via Miami no less!) but arrived in Guatemala city - the capital - early afternoon. I'm staying for 2 days in the city til I join the rest of the volunteers on Saturday. I checked into the hotel - a Best Western, a really nice place in Zona 10 - where most of the tourist hotels and restaurants are located. After a cup of tea, I went for a walk to get my bearings a bit - had dinner and was in bed and asleep by 9p. 3 -4 hours sleep was about all I'd had since I got up on Wednesday.

Day 1-Wednesday Feb 11

Not much to say about this day. I had a travel award ticket (I was the highest bidder
for it in a silent auction at a charitable event last year) and that means you go when they say you go, and the route they choose. Haven’t quite figured out why specially when I go to their website and see that there are plenty of seats available for the route I wanted to take. So I started out from Boston at 8pm bound for Dallas where I had to spent the night. It wasn't worth going to a hotel for 6 hours and was able to use one of the cots that are placed around the International terminal and get some shut eye.
I did quite a bit or reading about Guatemala in the weeks before I left. I’ve found it helpful to know about the history of the countries I visit. It’s official name is The Republic of Guatemala. The country finally became a democracy after the longest civil war in Latin American history, from 1960 to 1966. More than half the population are Mayan descendants, and there are 21 distinct Mayan languages still spoken as well as several non Mayan Amerindian languages particularly in the more rural areas. Spanish is the official language however. Guatemala is bounded by 4 countries, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, and 2 bodies of water, the North Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. It’s very mountainous.
As some of you know I have been doing volunteer work in the Boston area for a few years now. I’d been thinking of doing a stint overseas but never really taken the time to figure out where or when til last month. The opportunity to go to Central America and locate a program that fit in to the timeframe I had all happened quite quickly, and just sorta fell into place. Over the past few years I’d periodically look at various organizations that arrange for international volunteer experience. Cross Cultural Solutions - www.crossculturalsolutions.org seemed to present the best opportunity. Their mission is to “operate volunteer programs around the world in partnership with sustainable community initiatives, bringing people together to work side-by-side while sharing perspectives and fostering cultural understanding”. From all that I’ve read they are a well respected organization, and others who’ve worked in their programs have nothing but good things to say about their experience.

Guatemala- intro

This is my first attempt at ‘blogging’ and I thought my visit to Guatemala where I'll be volunteering for a week, and sightseeing for another, might be interesting to record. I will be taking tons of photos I’m sure....(what’s new about that, I can hear some of my friends saying!!) Well I guess I do kinda go overboard sometimes but it will be great to have them for some future trips down memory lane.
Here's a map showing where Guatemala is for those whose geography is a bit hazy. It's bordered by Mexico, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Caribbean Sea to the east.