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.