guatemala

Heading back to the USA

2008-10-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

The next morning we took a shuttle from Antigua to the Guatemala city airport. Fortunately I had reserved 100q (about $15) for the airport in case we needed food etc.. I was very glad that I had because every passenger had to pay a local airport fee of $3. I assume that there was a working ATM somewhere but it was really nice to not have to find it.
Our kids make friends whereever they go. We spent the next night in Houston TX. We stayed at a holiday inn express many miles from the airport. It was inconveinient and expensive to get to, but it was so much nicer than the smelly Sleep Inn that we had stayed at on the way to Guatemala that it was worth the extra hassle and expense.

Rio Dulce back to Antigua

2008-10-31T10:58:00.000-07:00

Our driver felt we still had enough time to make the stop at the smaller Mayan ruin on our way to Antigua. It was pretty cool and a little bit creepy. Since we were there a little later in the day all the tourists had already moved though. We were almost the only ones at this very large site. The site is know for these large intricately carved stones.
Ryland is in front of a Mayan alter. There is still smoke from a fire smoldering there.
This was the area of this site that had some building on it. It was better than the small shot with the camera would lead you to believe. It was neat to visit but not a rival to Copan.
On our way back we passed miles and miles of Banana trees on the Dole plantation. Our driver was quite nervous about making it back to Antigua before dark and so was I. Fortunately we made very good time and arrived by 7pm.

Livingston

2008-10-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

The boat dropped us off in Livingston. We took a tour of the town with a local guide. I was expecting to fall in love with a beautiful town on the Carribean. None of us were impressed. The water was brown and murky from all the rain. It was very very humid and hot. On top of this the place was over-run with tourists. Perhaps at another time of year we would get a better impression. It just did not have the kind of vibe that fits us. Tourist books claim that a lot of high level drug traffic passes though here.
When we arrived in Livingston we saw some alligators but I think that the public laundry was the coolist thing we saw. By this time in the trip our clothes were so dirty that we were very taken by the dream of "Clean clothes".
Our guide took us down to the beach here. I am guessing that usually it is quite beautiful. It was actually even dirtier and muckier than it looks in the pictures. The neat thing is that the land the is in the far distance is actually in Belize.
From Livingston we made our way back up the Rio Dulce to the town of Rio Dulce. Pictured here is a small shop that builds the wooden canoes used by the local fishermen. Our biggest snafu of the trip was when our boat driver dropped us off at the dock in Rio Dulce. Our van driver was not there. It was lunch time so we decided that we were probably meant to have lunch at the dock were we where dropped off. We had a leisurely lunch and then went to look for our driver. We could not locate him and knew that we needed to leave soon or risk driving at night. A phone call to the tour company yeilded only an answering machine we left a message in broken Spanish. We then called Gail (the owner of La Posada Merced, the hotel we were staying at in Antigua). Gail was able to find another number for the tour company. They called our driver who had been waiting for us one dock over and he was with us within 10 minutes.

La Castillal

2008-10-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning we left the hotel at 8am by boat. We had a private speedboat. We sped up the river passing the large tourist groups that we had meet the night before. We would then stop at a sight visit the sight for a time period and then pass up the tourist boat again while they plodded from point A to point B. There had been quite a few minor glitchs on our private tour. Things not being explained, reservations not being made etc.. They were all fairly easily worked out but added a small amount of stress for us minimal Spanish speakers. However, as we were crusing around the Rio Dulce we were feeling quite smug.
The Spanish Castillo that gaurds the port inland from our hotel was pretty amazing to visit. While it was not a huge building it was a maze of little hallways, rooms, passages and secret passages. This is probably the best representation of what I think of as a castle.
"Fire the cannons!!!". (Well, it was cute the first 20 or so times.) Lindsey had a bad case of Fire the cannon giggles.
Unfortunately with all the rain much of the stone surfaces were quite slick. I managed to take a good spill on the stone stairways. I managed to flip right backwads onto my backpack with the computer in it and my camera in my hand. Now all three of us have battle scars (the computer, the camera, and myself). Fortunately none of us were broken. I told our boat driver that I had been in a battle with pirates. It sounded better than, I slipped on the stairs.

Copan to Rio Dolce

2008-10-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

After our stop in Copan we left Honduras. I had a little bit of trouble with imigration. I did not understand enough Spanish to understand an explanation by the inspector. It just turned out that they wanted the small service fee that we had been expecting.
When we arriv ed in the small town of Rio Dulce we were immediatly put on a waiting boat and wisked off to our hotel.
Our hotel was the first touristic place we had been in Guatemala. It was a nice place on an island in the middle of the Rio Dulce. I believe that the resort took up the entire island. It was nice to be able to chat with other english speakers. It really reaffirmed that we have made the switch from being tourists to being travelers. I had to remind myself that we have travelled like that too. It has only been through time and experience that our comfort level has expanded one step at a time.
Our hotel cabana was a little hut set on stilts out over the water. It reminded me less of the cabanas you see in the Carribian tourist pages and more of the pictures of rural homes along the Bayou. Banjo music playing earily in the distance would not have been out of place.

The Ruins of Copan.

2008-10-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

At the entrance to the copan ruins there is a family of 22 macaws. The children are afraid to get too near them. Their fear? Big birds equals big poop?
This is the largest poison ivy plant I have ever seen. It is actually a tree. I don't know if it is actually a variety of poison ivy, or if it just has similar properties.
The ruins at Copan were pretty amazing. Unfortunately the weather was drizzling while we were there. These ruins pictured here were houses of the nobels.
Competitive sport was interesting. You did not want to be in the king's bad graces. If you won, perhaps the king would decide that the winner would be sacrificed to repressent the best of the people to the gods. If you lost the king may decide that today, you had failed your people on earth and therefor should be sacrificed to the gods.

Saying goodbye to Centro Maya and our hosts

2008-10-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

On Friday we worked at Centro Maya in the morning and said our goodbyes there. In the afternoon we said our goodbyes to our host family. When we left Benedicto's mother gave us all handmand Guatemalan bags as well as a table cloth Laurel had commissioned.
Here we are saying goodbye to Benedicto, Maria, and Brian. Benedicto was actually headed to Xela so shared the shuttle bus to Antigua with us as far as the interchange. We arrived in Antigua around 7:30pm. We checked into our hotel and headed out to a French restaurant (which was good, but hard to find). Then back to our hotel in order to be up at 4am to catch our 5am tour to Copan.
After a long rainy season and a small earthquake to jumble things up our 6 hour drive became a bit of an adventure trying to get around all the rockslides. There was actually one place where 1/2 the road had disappeared down the side of the mountain and much of the dirt supporting the remaining 1/2 of the road had gone down the mountain with it.
It is mostly all the road hazzards combined with high speeds that make travel dangerous in Guatemala. Cows, horses, pigs, and sheep were often on the road. However, dogs where by far the most common animals seen on the road. I had the unfortunate experience to witness a dog desperately trying to avoid being hit by a tour bus and then exploding on impact. It was truely horrible. Fortunately, Laurel and the children only saw the aftermath.

Thursday afternoon

2008-10-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

We really liked the work of this local artist. I suspect that we bought enough that he will not have to work again until next year if he manages his money well.
The sight of a man herding his cow down the street was not noteworth to most residents of San Juan.
This is some of the Jewlery being made at the school.
This was the kitchen of our favorate restaurant "Elenors". They are fast, friendly, and cheap.

Thursday at Centro Maya

2008-10-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

This is that van that we would make the runs to San Pablo in to pick up the children. Without the contuned operation and support for this van I don't think that this school would be effective. Many of the student just could not get there without it.
This bathroom stall was not functional. Albert thought that it would be useful to use some of the surplus desks for shelving that was accessible.
This meant that the area where bathroom supplies had been formerly kept was available for storage.
This is the storage area after it has been cleared out. It is much better and much safer than it was. I would have not stacked the desks quite so high but it is probably ok.

Wednesday at Centro Maya

2008-10-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is the street in front of Benedicto's home where we were staying. His brother Romero, who attends Centro Maya would often hang out by the front wall and say hello to people passing by.
When we went to Chichi with Benedicto we had told him that we would pay hime for his time. When we returned, he would not accept the money. We argued that in volunteering, one thing that we had learned was that one of the best ways to effectively help was to support the people who are supporting the community. Benedicto thought a while and then said that he would find someone directly wo had a real need. Pictured with me is Joratio, a school student who thru no failure in his own efforts can not afford to stay in school. We paid his very small amount overdue and are looking to sponsor him going forward.
This is Domingo. He is smart and articulate with a good sense of humor. He comes from a small but proud home. The chiminey in his home does not go outside. His mother cooks all day to make money for the family. Since Domingo has limited use of his arms and no use of his legs he must lie in bed all day in a dark smoke filled room if he is not taken to the school. Domingo is always clean and well cared for. Every day I picked him up his mother would give him and his brother a few coins for the day.
This is Victoria. She is one of the caregivers at Centro Maya. While we were impressed with all of the staff there Victoria was one of the standouts. Perhaps, having 8 children herself she is just extra good at dealing with people.

Tuesday at Centro Maya

2008-10-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

This is my buddy Gaspar's home. It has been built into the side of the hill. Gaspar and his mother used to live in the Uncles house. However the uncle needed his home back. Gaspar's house is made of discarded pieces of lumber and galvanized sheet metel that has been nailed together. The floor is dirt and when it rains a river of mud runs through his home since the home has been set into a hillside and there is no proper drainage to divert the water from running through his home.
Gaspar has a condition that causes his skin to continuously have blisters all over. The blisters pop and bleed and Gaspar is often in pain. Gaspar, for me, was one of the most inspireing children I have ever met. Here, he and his mother are at their home. Both sporting big smiles. Albert expained that Habitat for Humanity provides homes in Guatemala but that their program does not work in this area because they will only build "Big fancy homes costing $5000." Habitat operates as a low cost mortgage company and these people facing adverse condition simply cannot afford the mortgage on such an expensive home. I thought many times that it would be nice to see Gaspar and his family in a proper home but the problem extends beyond just money. A proper home needs to be on better land or the current land would need to be improved. The project would also need to be overseen.

Gaspar loves to build things. At the school he has built some toys for himself. I believe that these are the only toys he has. I was working on projects for the school and would have Gaspar help me with the hammering and sanding. This was how we became friends. We made an played with airplanes together. Normally shy, he enjoyed running around the school and playing soccer with our children. When he was happy he would do a little jig sometimes. What a triumph of the human spirit.

We really enjoyed the staff at Centro Maya. They seemed to have good relationships and really worked well together. We took this picture of staff and students having fun on s steep hill on the way out to lunch. It could easily be made into one of those motivational posters and labeled "Teamwork".

1st School Day at Centro Maya

2008-10-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

Chickens Roosters Dogs all roam free in San Juan. San Juan is not a quite place at night. We eventually got used to it mostly. Our bathroom was in another home across the yard from us. While coming back from the bathroom late at night a rooster flew out of the tree right by Ryland. Ryland ran the rest of the way back to his bedroom. This got our house dog barking which got all the neighborhood dogs barking. which got every single last dog in town barking, which, needless to say, woke the roosters. The roosters made noise until the dogs recovered their voices. It went on for hours. Quite often during the night my wife would ask me what time it was. "Time to kill the $%^@ rooster!" was the generally accepted answer.
One of the favorate activities at the school is beading. The sales of handmade jewelery helps to supplement the school. It is also a fun and social activity for the children.
One of the most interesting parts of our trip was picking up and dropping off the children. This activity allowed us to meet the families of the children and see their homes.
We spent a good deal of time cleaning up this storage room. I have little doubt that it will be filled with junk again. Probably a good repeat activity for future volunteers.

Sunday trip to Chichicastenango market

2008-10-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

We road on a "Chicken" bus part way to Chichicastenango (Chichi for short). The busses are notoriously over crowded and are prone to make items disappear from tourists. Our host Benedicto came along on the trip with us. Other than squealing around hairpin turns our only excitement was when the driver dropped a woman off and she slipped. A small but angry crowd formed and beat up our driver. He was not seriously injured and we continued on our way. At the interchange we got off the chicken bus and boarded a shuttle bus. An 11 passenger van, kind of a mini chicken bus. We took it from the interchange to Chichi with 24 passengers. Lindsey sais that she was going to sit on my lap but somebody was already there!
This is an overhead shot of a small indoor vegtable part of the market. The entire market was really quite large.
This is the Catholic church. The church was very smart in this area combining many of the Mayan and Catholic symbols. For instance, there are 21 steps leading up to the church which symbolizes the 21 days of the Mayan calendar. The fire at the base of the steps is a Mayan alter where animals (usually chickens) are still sometimes sacrificed.
Benedicto (our host) knows and old shaman priest, "Don Diego" who is a famous artist and maker of Mayan masks that are not for the tourist industry. Ryland purchased two of them for dispay in our house. Benedicto is hoping to apprentice with him. Apparently he is one of the very few with the older knowledge of the traditional carving. It was obvious walking through the markets that there was a substantial difference between the masks we had purchased and the ones being sold to the tourists.

Friday - our 2nd and last day working on the firestation

2008-10-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

Paul, who is heading up the project and has taken an unpaid leave of absense from a Washington state fire department stopped by and gave us a tour of the facilities.

This was the water filtration we used while in Guatemala. We did not get sick, so it must have worked very well. It is a gravity fed system. We were very impressed by the Rotary clubs. Both the water filter systems and the fire department was being funded by Rotarians in Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Washington.
Pounding out nails has really hard work.
Lindsey took a moment break to pet the family dog "Jerry".

Saturday at Centro Maya

2008-10-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our first full day working at Centro Maya. The school was closed except that meetings with parents were scheduled for that day. We were wondering if we would be able to find a way to be of use to the school. We were the first ones to arrive at the school in the morning and a quick look around the grounds showed us that some grounds cleaning was in order.

This is the back yard area. It was full of weeds, old toilet parts, used diapers, and bags of trash. What we thought was a raised garden we found was the well intended attempt by volunteers to create a small swimming pool for the PT program. The pool had later been filled in to avoid a safety hazard.

The grounds were filled with a lot of trash. We felt good removing broken glass from the grounds.

These are the gardens that are set up for the the children to be able to tend. We thought that w might do some work helping out in the gardens, but there was so much else that needed to be done.

In the afternoon we took a pickup truck to San Pedro. This is a picture of a tuk-tuk that I took while we were standing in the back of the pickup.

First full day in San Juan

2008-10-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

On our first full day in San Juan the school was closed. We asked our host Benedicto if there were any other activities around town that we would be able to help with.

He pointed us to the fire station that his father was working on.

We spent our time at the fire station reclaiming lumber. They are working on such a minimal budget
that much of the lumber was borrowed from friends and neighbors. After it was used to build forms and the concrete had cured the forms were disassembled and we would break them down and remove all the nails, being careful to save them to be used again. In Guatemala resources are used very judiciously. In the United States there many shows on TV about green living and green building. I think that there is a lot that can be learned by watching how people with more limited resources find solutions. Both our children worked really hard and without complaint. We were very proud of them.

After work, it was more work for the kids in terms of playing. They taught the children at our house how to play "duck duck goose". However, they did not know the Spanish words for duck and goose so they played "Tortuga, Tortuga, Elephante" (turtle, turtle, elephant).

Our host families house was interesting to us. The parents orginal house sat out on the street. Four of the children had then built houses behind the parents.

2008-10-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

On our second day we left early for San Juan la Laguna. We took a shuttle van from Antigua to Panajache. The van went over many twisty mountain roads.

The shuttle driver stops so that we could take photos of Panajache as we came down the twisty mountain road into the lake area.

In Panajache the van was immeditaely surrounded by touts wanting to sell us very expensive boat rides to where-ever we want to go. After themj telling us that the water taxis no longer went to San Juan, we assured them they did and called our friend Beneidicto for verification. A water taxi is pictured above. They leave whenever the driver has 13 passengers or gets tired of waiting.

After arrival in San Juan we had lunch and then went to Cnetro Maya to meet the staff before they all left for Coban to tour another school for the remainder of the week.

Arrival in Guatemala City and Antigua

2008-10-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

We arrived on time at the Guatemala City airport. It was as clean an modern as any international airport we have been to.

Antigua is a very nice town. Considering it is a touristy UNESCO site we found the
town to have a very comfortable vibe to it.
Our hotel Pasada La Merced was very close to "La Merced" church (pictured here). La Posada Merced was recommend to us by our friend Jean Nacamura. We found all of her recommendations to be "spot on" for us. Besides being a friendly hostel type hotel, the owner of La Merced helps many local charities and helps raise funds for and help distribute water filter to supply families with clean drinking water.
These are the ruins remaining in one section of La Merced after one of the earthquakes.