Trip to Antigua and Tikal

We left for Antigua on Friday afternoon on a coach bus for the four hour ride back to Antiqua, a colonial city that used to be the capital of Guatemala until a big earthquake when the capital was moved nearby to Guatemala City. Antigua has preserved its colonial architecture and cobblestone streets and is lovely. However, upon our arrival on Friday it was pouring rain and the skies were dark at night. The streets narrow enough that our coach bus required much maneuvering to navigate the corners and finally deposited us on the sidewalk with our luggage and buckets of rain pouring down on us. After walking a few blocks in one direction, then back in the other we were soaked having to step into the cobblestone streets and several inches of water often as the narrow sidewalks do not accommodate two way pedestrian traffic. Our hotel contained a courtyard three stories high with tropical plants and rooms on two halls on either side of the courtyard rising three stories. Very quaint. We changed into dry clothes, grabbed a quick dinner and fell asleep until our 3:15 a.m. wake up call for our 4:00 a.m. departure on bus to the airport in Quatemala City. Our flight to Flores for Tikal was only about an hour but the prop plane was small and bumpy so I was thankful to sleep. A bus took us from Flores to the Tikal National Park where we stayed at the Tikal Inn--a lovely series of small villas with palm frond roofs and stucco walls, many surrounding the pool where Hunter, Cole, Jacob, Ben and Adam and a few others had a blast for three hours on Saturday and again on Sunday morning in a series of chicken fight tournaments.

Visiting La Predera & Raining Gatos y Perros

It´s Thursday and another beautiful morning. We climbed a small mountain this morning to visit children in the indigent community of La Predera to help them with homework and play games. It turned out we just played games with them like soccer and relay races. Everyone had a great time. They are fun kids. Their community is near the top of a mountain overlooking Xela. After climbing Chicobal, this was a hike in the park but I still get very short of breath in this altitude. After returning to the school at 11:30, I came to an internet cafe to download some pictures and have some coffee and the sky opened up as it does once a day or so for about an hour. This time it is pouring gatos y perros from the sky.

Mayan Ceremony, Chocolate Making & Hot Springs

We are getting to bed early around 9 and getting up early before 6 as our body clocks have not adjusted to the time difference I suppose. Monday we observed and participated in a Mayan ceremony at the school. Cole almost fell in the fire three times. On Tuesday, we visited the house where Landon lives to observe his "madre" whose occupation is making traditional chocolate from cocoa. After explaining how it is done, the kids got to pound the chocolate into molds to form the bricks they are sold in. Landon, Hunter and Cole and all the rest of the kids loved the process. Several bought bricks of chocolate to bring home and make liquid hot chocolate from. Wednesday morning we had free. Hunter, Landon and I and Susanne and her daughter Gabby took a bus from el parque central directly to Las Fuentes Georginias, steamy hot springs with pools for swimming up near the top of a gorgeous, green mountain. Again, the roads twisted and turned. Often we came to a complete stop as we navigated past a truck headed down the mountain in the opposite direction as the road just fits two trucks with an inch to spare and a deathly drop on the other side down the side of the mountain. Along the way, chickens, goats, houses, small farms, tiny tiendas. Once there, we changed into our bathing suits and melted into the wonderful, warm water steam rising from its surface. Cliffs surround the pools and streams of hot spring water trickle down into the pools. About an hour after our arrival, Landon and his housemates arrived, having opted for catching two local "chicken buses" to Zunil and then hitching a ride in a pick up truck with a "stand up" bar attached so that eight or ten people can stand and hold on to this bar running from the top of the cab to the rear of the truck. Loads of fun up that windy mountain road apparently. The morning at the springs were sunny and beautiful but just as we left a giant fog cloud moved in and we descended that narrow mountain road in a thick blanket of fog.

Weekend Trip to Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenago

Our big trip this weekend began on a coach bus in el parque central. We boarded at 8:00 a.m. and headed out to Lake Atitlan along absolutely gorgeous, steep, curvy mountain roads. The bus was comfortable, a typical coach bus as in the U.S. As we neared the enormous lake, we saw two giant waterfalls coming straight down the cliffs towering above one side of the bus while astounding vistas of the lake surrounded by volcano shaped green mountains rising on all sides. Upon arrival in Panajchel, the pueblo on the lake, we went to our hotel the Gran Hotel with notably pretty courtyards and notably ancient and, in some cases, disgusting mattresses but with hot water AND water pressure at the same time, a combination unavailable in our homestays. Then, off we went to explore this resort city with the feel of a Guatemalan riveria--many tourists, restaurants and vendors of native Guatemalan products. After lunch we met at the lake and boarded a large ferry with our group of 40. The trip across the lake to another pueblo called Santiago, took an hour and a half on our large boat, although smaller speedboats probably made it in a half hour. Once we arrived in Santiago, we visited a large, historical church and the image of a cigar smoking ex-saint that was kicked out of the Catholic church because the people prayto this saint for bad things to happen to other people. So, now, the statute of this saint is moved from one house to another and lives in that house for a year. Visitors must pay about a dollar to come inside and take a picture of the statute smoking a cigar and dressed in a hundred or so ties. While we were there, a man on his knees in front of the statute waived an incense ball in front of twenty lit candles at the statute's feet and prayed loudly for something (bad, I presume). Very bizarre.

On Sunday, we boarded our coach for the largest market in Central America--Chichicastenango. Here we again visited the large, historic church and then headed off through streets crowded with shops and vendors of native Guatemalan products. Students bought belts, blouses, purses, tableclothes, machetes, wooden masks, soccer jerseys and lots of other items while sharpening their powers of negotiation.

Climbing the Volcano at Chicabal

Friday we arrived at the school at 7:00 a.m. to depart on two twenty person buses to a national park near Chicabal, an inactive volcano that now has a holy Mayan lake in its center. The bus took us through the countryside of fertile, green, terraced fields, many of corn on curvy and sometimes mountainous, sometimes valley roads. Eventually we reached a mud hill with huge crevices from heavy rains and the bus could go no further. From there we embarked on the most difficult hike of my life. Two hours up and two hours down on virtually a vertical path. On a scale of one to ten, we gave this hike a 10. We could have used some hooks and ropes. On top of the incline issue, the ground was of two consistencies. Primarily it was the consistency of wet, grey modeling clay and secondarily, of tiny bits of soft limestome like gravel. Try scaling a vertical surface made of that for two solid hours and then descending while leaning back and trying to prevent a fall. Often we could not help but run down as it was too difficult to go slowly being so steep and moist. One strategy involved a slow trot from side to side of the path rather than straight down. Once we reached the top of the volcano we had to hike down to the holy lake which, upon arrival, quite frankly, looked strikingly similar to Ragged Mountain Reservoir. Don't think that will seem quite such a difficult hike in the future after Chicabal. I did mention the difficulty of not falling, right? Well, many of us did fall and one mother along on the trip broke her arm and had to fashion a sling out of her jacket and descend the vertical incline for an additional hour before we reached the bus home. Upon arrival at the hospital, despite the xray showing a clean break in place, el medicos wanted her to go under general anesthesia and spend the night in the hospital. Our leader and she decided, no gracias and opted for a wrap and sling and a second opinion. We were so exhausted upon arrival back at school at 2:30 that most of the students watched a movie for the first two hours of their classes and then, after attempting to teach for another hour, the teachers called off school because everyone was falling asleep.

The Orphangae and La Salsa!

On Wednesday morning, we visited a local orpanage to play with the children. The orpanage was a ten minute walk from the school and was very clean with staff that seemed very interested in the children. We waited in a courtyard and then met the children and went out to their playground that was surrounded by fifteen feet tall concrete walls with razor wire on top...presumably to keep any bad guys out. The playground itself had one of the newest and best climbing structures I have ever seen. Bigger than any I have seen at elementary schools in Charlottesville although it had only one, new, large one in bright, primary colors with tube slides and tic tac toe and many platforms. At first, we talked to the children and both parties were shy. However, within ten minutes a wild soccer game was going on, screaming games of tag, quiet card games and drawing games where several students sat and drew pictures with children. After two hours in the sun on that playground, we were exhausted and it was time for the children's lunch. The best example of the quick intimacy gained is the experience of one of our high school girls who had her little friend climb into her lap and, as she talked to her, the little girl spied gum in the high schooler's mouth and yelled, '' Chiclet'', immediately thrust her fingers in the high schooler's mouth, retrived the gum and popped it into her own mouth. ''Aaaa, bay, say gum I guess.''

On Thursday morning, our activity was salsa lessons. We walked through the cobblestone streets to the studio. In order to get there, we walked through a different market place, one for locals, a food market, where goats were led by and several butchers had raw carcasses hanging in their windows. Be aware that the sidewalks are exactemente 15 inches wide''Jump up on the sidewalk here comes a car! Lean back on the stucco wall of the building behind you or the side mirror may get you! Our teachers lined us up and we began our salsa lesson in a small room with open doorway onto the street, '' Uno, dos, tres.'' '' Uno, dos, tres.'' Once we got the hang of it, we were paired up and bam! La Salsa chicos y chicas??'' Uno, dos, tres.'' '' Uno, dos, tres.''

Our home meals have been good. Breakfasts I have yogurt, granola, fresh papaya or banana, lots of orange juice that is actually something like Sunny D, the boys have Frosted Flakes, Coco Flakes, Lupos de Frutos, and huevos...scrambled eggs. Lunch is the big meal of the day and we have had the following...arroz con pollo...rice and chicken, carne con pollo...rice and beef....stir fry with chicken and vegtables....spaghetti with meat and tomato sauce...dinners are smaller, twice we have had fried plantains with fresh, thick cream and refried beans, fried tortillas with refried beans or salsa and cheese.

Some views of the city in which we are living--Quetzaltenango or Xela (Shay-la).

Second Day of Classes at Casa Xelaju

We will be taking classes from 2 to 7 p.m. every weekday. In the mornings, we go on excursions or to cultural events. Monday afternoon we met our tutors. Cole, Hunter and I each have our own while Landon is in class with three other Spanish II students from his high school. We spent the afternoon in separate little classrooms with them and did some walking around the school speaking spanish and learning vocabulary. At 4:30 there is a break for coffee or tea and bread and cookies. Then back at it until 7 p.m.

Tuesday morning we met at the school and walked to a women's weaving cooperative where Mayan women are paid a fair wage for their intricate weavings. We heard about the fair trade cooperative and watched a demonstration of weaving. Cole volunteered to try the yarn machine and he enjoyed it so much he wants to go back for a five hour lesson to learn to weave himself. I think this is a good idea as we don't have class until 2:00 each day and this might be a nice break (for him!). After the weaving, we walked to the city centro for ice cream and to a large market to look at the goods, then home to our house for lunch at 1:00 the back to school at 2:00. This afternoon, Hunter and Cole's teachers suggested that we take a city bus to the zoo, so my teacher and I joined them. The bus is a small eight passenger van that held about fifteen passengers for the twenty minute ride. The zoo was small but there were monkeys there that thrilled Cole and electric bumper cars with no seatbelts and much faster speeds than in the U.S. They gave each other whiplash for about twenty minutes for 70 cents each and then went on the tallest and longest slides I have ever seen except at a water park for an hour. Everyone at the zoo were Mayans in their traditional brightly woven clothes with babies in slings. We are back at the school now for the last two hours of lessons. We arrived back at break time when all the high schoolers are in the sunny, courtyard playing ping pong, checkers, hacky sack and soccer. Beautiful flowers are planted in the courtyard garden. Tonight we may venture out to some of the many nightspots such as the Blue Angel for desserts, and drinks and movies. Sound exciting? The views of the ten mountains surrounding this city are beautiful from almost every place you walk on the cobblestone streets marred only by the many telephone and electrical lines that run above the streets everywhere. The entire population seems to be out on the streets all day, every day. Adios!

Homestay Description

On the left is a picture of our school Casa Xelaju (Shay-la-hoo). Hunter, Cole and I are staying at a house just two blocks down the hill on a cobblestone street. Our hostess pulled her small Honda into a garage door along a row of stucco buildings. We arrived in a courtyard exactly the size of the car. In front of us at the end of the triangular shaped courtyard where tall steps to a second floor of the house and on to the third floor. Our hostess explained that she lived upstairs and that we were staying with her daughter and her three year old grandson in her daughter´s house on the second floor. We entered a spacious apartment with hard tile floors throughout. A combined living room and dining room with a wood door separating the kitchen. A hall with a bath to the left and two bedrooms on the right and a master bedroom and bath on the left. At the end of the hall a door leads to a rooftop courtyard with a small flower garden, metal swings and a two concrete outbuildings, one housing the laundry and one, a one room apartment housing another student. Beyond the kitchen is another bedroom and small bath for another student. The rooftop courtyard is sunny and a maid dressed in Mayan clothing sweeps the courtyard. More stairs off the courtyard lead to the third floor apartment of our hostess´mother. The picture on the right shows the courtyard stairs to the upstairs house. Two single beds for Hunter and Cole and a single for me in adjoining bedroom. Our hostess, Monica, is very nice and her three year old, Andres, very shy with us but very playful with his mama and abuela. Hunter and Cole´s room is filled with Sesame Street linens, a small television with children´s shows like Dora (of course) all in Spanish. I even have a Dora bedspread. In fact, we each have about five thin blankets as it gets cold at night. We are in one of the better, bigger houses with fewer occupants than most. Landon visits the next morning. He is staying in a house, in one room, with three other students and there are about ten family members in the host family. He likes it, they are nice, and the mother makes chocolate for a living.

Guatemala

We arrived in Guatemala City Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and waited for the thirty students with Margie Sheperds group from Western Albemarle to arrive. Once they arrived, we headed through baggage and outside to a tour bus waiting to drive us up through the mountains to Quatzeltenango and Casa Xelaju, our Spanish school for the next three weeks. The four and a half hour drive was curvy and mountainous with gorgeous views of forested mountians and beautiful valleys. Horses, cattle and pigs were along the steep roads. Pedestrians carrying goods in baskets on their heads or bound in woven slings on their backs with a strap across their foreheads easily walked along the steep roads with small towns few and far between as though they were on a Sunday stroll through the mall. Many of the pedestrians were dressed in traditional Mayan clothing. The skies were brillant blue and clouds puffy, white and close to the moutains through which we traveled. The roads twisted unforgivingly the entire four and a half hour ride and we stopped two or three times for landslides caused by construction crews bulldozing rocks and boulders from the cliffs above directly onto the road in front of us. Apparently they are still cleaning up from a hurricane that caused much damage in the region. Brightly painted school buses called "chicken buses" passed us frequently often with the back door flying open as they swerved in front of us and twice we say men hanging out the back door and casually pulling it closed at high speeds. The chicken buses painted with crazy, loud colors in fantastic murals are like short bursts of laughter and sunshine on our journey. I think they must have twin buses in Jamaica. We finally arrived at a bus terminal in Quetzaltenango. A guard stood on the sidewalk with what looked like a sawed off shotgun on his back. Bienvenidos...hmmm. Gradually our host families pulled up in compact cars holding signs with our names on them. They kissed our cheeks in greeting and loaded our things into their cars and we sped off leaving everyone we knew behind. Landon and his three housemates were piled with their luggage into the BACK of a small pickup and grinned like they were on the Griffin at Busch Gardens as their host backed up, the wrong way, down the one way street, pulled a U turn and sped off down the cobblestone street.