Lane's Adventures

Over breakfast at the hostel (Dos Lunas), I met two other American volunteers. One was working on a stove project just like ours, and another was working in an orphanage. Both had stayed with local families while they were here, and they said it was a great experience. We also talked with the hostel owners – a Guatemalan woman and Dutsch man about the state of political and economic affairs in the country and about the problems with such a small middle class.

After breakfast, the other girls were heading to the airport to come home, so I hitched a ride with them to the airport because the hotel I booked for tonight had a free shuttle from there. (Unforuntunately the hostel had another group coming in so there was no room, or I’d have stayed there again.) When I got to the hotel La Princesa in Zona Viva, they upgraded me to the “executive” floor, which basically meant that I got to use their lounge (free computer and drinks!), but it was nice to have an actual computer.

As soon as I dropped my things, I headed out on foot to check out the Avenida La Reforma, which is a popular avenue lined with shops (most of them very pricey and Americanized). I found a little hole in the wall restaurant that was definitely not meant for foreigners had chicken, soup, tortillas, a licuado (real fruit smoothie), and some wafers for Q25, or about $3 – it was perfect!

Over the last couple days I’ve been into reading Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, so I read by the pool for a bit, and then took a nap. Oops – I overslept until 10PM (apparently I disabled my alarm?), so I was starving when I awoke. I set out again to a nearby restaurant (this Zona is safe to walk around with ample lighting and private security) where there was a man playing his guitar and singing lively music. Interestingly, I had a good conversation with the waiter whose son is a dual citizen in the US, and he often visits Miami.

I’ll be sad to go tomorrow afternoon, but I’ll have another chance to explore and visit a couple sites here. Nonetheless, it’ll be great to see family and friends for Christmas!

Summary Video by Kaitlin, one of our trip leaders…this is great!

As a note, I’m writing both days 12 and 13 in the same blog because there is no internet at the Lodge in the jungle.

We woke up before the crack of dawn again to head to the airport. I was heading to the “domestic” airport bound for Tikal and Jon & Lena were heading home via the International Airport. When I arrived, it was one of the smallest “airports” that I had ever been in. That’s not to say I’m complaining…there was no security check, no assigned seats (Southwest, anyone), and no long walk to the waiting area. I could see the turboprop from the checkin desk.

After driving to Panjachel, I came to really value flying and its avoidance of the treacherous and sometimes innavigable roadways. I caught a shuttle from the airport directly to the hotel in the park. When I looked at the Jungle Lodge hotel online, it looked nice, but it wasn’t much more than a white-walled room with a bed and rack for clothes. There is a shared bathroom, which was nice, as long as you don’t have to shower at night (the light didn’t work)…I showered by fashlight. Nonetheless, it was amazing to have warm shower!

I set out for the park and began walking to the first series of ruins. To find each set of ruins, I had to like through the jungle, which was quite refreshing. As I approached the main complex, I was taken aback by the magnitude of the structures. I have seen plenty of documentaries and such, but it’s something you really have to taken it. I was a bit appalled when I saw people standing atop the ruins. Then I saw a rickety wooden ladder which actually encouraged the activity. Of course we’d never allow anyone in the US to climb five or six stories without a guardrail (apparently not many people fall off these things?).

The site is absolutely gigantic. When I get back and can post some photos, you’ll agree. For this to have been constructed a thousand years ago and with limited tools, I can only imagine the years it took and the lives lost. In total, I hiked about 8-10 miles and saw all of the excavations. Toward he end of the day, I headed back to Temple IV, which also has a stairway to the top. From this view above the jungle, you can see the tops of the other high monuments. Needless to say, it’s a place to see the sunset.

Luckily, I had my flashlight as I had to hike out primarily in the dark to get to my room that was just outside the entrance. One of the coolest things is how un-commercialized everything is in this        park. It’s one of the premier sites of ruins in the world, and you can scarce buy a bottle of water. That’s not to say there aren’t entrepreneurs, though. The guards and their associates frequently offer after-hours admission to the park to view the sunrise, for a nominal fee. I’d have opted for it, but I didn’t want to pay the extra money and fancied the extra sleep.

Instead of eating at my lodge as I had for lunch, I hiked to a nearby lodge and had some spaghetti with chicken and a Moza (tastes vaguely like Mt. Carmel Amber Ale). The service at almost every restaurant I have visited has been horrendous, but I have learned that it’s not at all rude of flag down the waiter — just one of those cultural differences.

Today (Day 2 in the jungle), I decided not to re-enter the park and instead visited the museum outside the park because we head back to the airport at 2:30. The guard told me I wasn’t allowed to take photos of the artifacts herein because it might ruin them. I as slightly alarmed that many of the artifacts were sitting in the open air, or inside glass cases with no seal. I suppose they already survived a thousand years in the jungle…

It’s nice to be truly disconnected out there. There is some satellite wifi, but I elected not to pay — there are no cell phone services (except, I learned, on top of Temple IV above the trees), and no email interruptions!

I had breakfast this morning with two people I met on the way over here — they are from Miami, FL and the husband was studying Spanish in Antigua. He is returned, but his wife works at the University of Miami. They’re very friendly and we discussed how people are rarely disconnected, no matter where they are.

I may update in another post when I return to the Internet or at the end of the day. Will spend the last full day in Guatemala City (found a nice, cheap hostel there), then heading to the airport on Friday for an afternoon flight. Allison will be headed back from El Salvador at the same time, so we’ll meet up in ATL.

I was so excited this morning that when I woke up before my alarm at 6:15, I just stayed up. When we made reservations to the hotel in Panjachel, I asked if they had breakfast, and the reservationist replied that they have the best breakfast in all of Guatemala. Frommers had mentioned their pancakes, but we didn’t realize how amazing they’d be until we chowed down. These were a mix of southern-style biscuits and fried pancakes, and with the natural honey, they were delectable!

After breakfast, we headed out on our zipline adventure. The zipline was only about a half-mile away and we made it there by 9. After a very short training, we were headed up the mountainside near the lake with our guide. There were eight total lines, with the longest being about 1,000 ft! The vistas from up there were absolutely amazing – I could see the expansive lake, and the coffee plants below.

When the tour concluded, we hiked to a nearby and deserted beach. Although there was no sand, we took off our shoes and waded around in the cool lake, still enjoying the views. With such a secluded location, it was definitely worth the drive that we made to get to Panjachel. After the beach, we headed back to the hotel to check out and grab lunch. We ate at a local establishment playing 2000′s music and serving a combination of things from pizza to burritos. Jon and I enjoyed the later, and they were quite tasty. We’ve noticed that they don’t like their food very spicy here!  

The church that we visited is one of the oldest Catholic churches that I’ve seen. It was built in 1562 and restored sometime in the last 100 years. The outside looks absolutely antique, just like many of the churches and building in Antigua, but the inside boasts amazing hardwood-carved woodwork and there were candles burning in devotion to someone recently deceased. Outside, there is a giant Christmas tree of evergeen branches and spraypainted green (not sure why).

As I mentioned when we drove in yesterday, the drive was tedious, but we took a different route out today when we drove back to Guatemala City. Although we still had to navigate treacherous hillsides, we ended up on a divided highway and we were able to make good time in the Picanto. I was thoroughly impressed with this roadway, unlike the others in this country. Guatemalans have an obnoxious obsession with speedbumps.

In Guatemala City, we dropped the Picanto and searched for a hotel. We had met someone who was trying to get us to book a room through him when we left the city, so I called him and he hooked us up with a really sketchy room, so we bailed and hiked to the airport in search of an ATM. Finally, we ended up at the Crowne Plaza, and since we have to be up so early tomorrow, we made a picnic of fried chicken and merlot on our hotel room floor. Now off to the jacuzzi. Tomorrow morning Lena and Jon head home and I’ll catch a puddle jumper to Tikal for two days before heading out. Buenas noches! 

Today was quite a day of adventures! We started off at our nice little hotel in Antigua. We had a chance to sleep in, so we did, then ate the breakfast in the garden outside our room. Afterwards, we planned to head out, but since we were parked in, we headed to the market to buy an audio cable for the iPod in the car and a few other gifts.

Our adventure to get to Panajachel was extremely eventful as we navigated a village where the main street as filled with a giant street market and we had take many one-way streets to get back on track. Afterwards, we navigated curvy mountainside roads, crossed a river in the Kia Picanto (the bridge was out), conquered rockslides, then took in the amazing views from atop the mountains. Finally, when we reached Panajachel, we checked in to the hotel (which was really nice, especially for the cheap price) and dropped our bags.

Since we had only about an hour to sundown, we decided to walk to the lakeside at Lake Atitlan, and as soon as we got there, we were accosted by someone who tried to sell us a boat ride for the next day. I told him that we didn’t have time for the tour he suggested, and negotiated an immediate departure for about $15.

It was just the three of us and we took a ride of a nearby town as the sun was setting over the lake. We went to a restaurant, had drinks, and watched the sun set. It was a pristine setting, and something to take in! Afterwards, we headed to a hotspring that the captain knew about. It was not a glamorous spot, but we got out of the boat an took off our shoes to enjoy it.

Back at Panajachel, we headed to our hotel to change for dinner and headed to a place that our captain (who we ended up befriending) had recommended.

Overall, it was an amazing adventure after such an adventure to reach the destination, I think I hoped that it’d be really worthwhile, but taking private boat tour and seeing the sun set over the lake made it all worth it; it was one of the best scenes I’ve seen!

Tomorrow we head back to Guatemala City, but first we are going to find a zipline tour we found for $30 and the breakfast in the hotel (included) which they claim is the best in Guatemala with pancakes.

This morning we woke up again before the crack of dawn around 5:15 and headed to the hillside to see the sunrise. Needless to say, not everyone was excited about getting up so early, but when we got up there it was worth it! Breakfast was at 7:00, so we had to head back as soon as we took in the sun rising over the mountains.

It was sad to say goodbye to our new friends, the nuns, but we were off to Guatemala City to drop off at the airport by 8:30. After we dropped everyone off, Lena, Jon, and I grabbed a car and embarked on our next journey to Antigua. There was heavy traffic and a couple of navigational mishaps, but we made it here! We didn’t have a hotel, so we made some calls on the road and found a really nice hotel with three beds and free parking for only $60 (Hotel San Jorge)! The hotel is very nice and picturesque, with the rooms opening into a gated courtyard containing a fountain and tables. Best of all, the place has wifi, so before we could even drop our bags, we were connecting on our i-devices!

We headed out in the afternoon for some snacks to tide us over until dinner and ended up adventuring around the city for several hours. Lena wanted to pick up some more scarves and gifts, so we also stopped at a market and I got to do some bargaining!

More adventures tomorrow as we head to Lake Atitlan in the afternoon!

I have probably written this before, but simply put, this has been one of the most amazing trips I’ve been on. Not only because I’ve had the opportunity to do great work with good friends, and new friends, but because of the connections that I’ve made with the local people here.

Where to begin? Well, first off, about today. It began around 5:15 AM when Tom, Devin and I set out for Maya Pedal so that Devin could go on a bike ride. Uphill we jogged, but when we arrived, we found that they’d already left. To make the best of the situation we decided to hike up to where we’d played futbol and watch the sun rise. Although it was very chilly, it was definitely a morning well spent. I’ll post the pictures – seeing the sun rise from behind the eastern mountains was great (since the others missed it, we’re going to head up there tomorrow, too). On our way back down, we stopped by a pastry shoppe and grabbed some delicious apple-fritter-type treats for about $0.50.

After breakfast, we were back at work pouring the last sections of concrete with Geronimo and Luis. At first, it seemed like they might be hard to work with, but we formed a special bond throughout the course of the week. Although my Spanish is not great, I was often the translator for Geronimo (our lead construction guy) and understood enough of what to do to fill in the gaps. I don’t think he’d ever worked with “gringos” before, but if he hadn’t, our team definitely set the bar high for working hard – he was impressed! As I’ve mentioned in other blogs from various countries, his work ethic was inspiring. A professional mason whose tools could be carried on his back while he rides his bike, he takes great pride in his work, and indeed adds those final touches and extra steps that prove he’s thorough and skilled. It never ceases to amaze me how resourceful people can be.

After the concrete was done, we had lunch and headed to a nearby orphanage which the Sisters sometimes work in. There are about 265 children who live there from various circumstances (one set of twins’ mother had been raped at age 13, others’ had died of cancer) and they were very excited to see us! We played there for a while, and I had a chance to talk with the director of the orphanage about their programs, education, funding, and secondary education in Guatemala. I was particularly stricken when we were visiting a nursery of children in cribs and I stood beside a girl who was much older than the others, but had a developmental disability and was unable to speak or move very much. As I stretched out my finger, she clasped onto it and smiled. At that moment, I was overcome, knowing that even though she was lucky to be in the orphanage, her prospects for help as she grows older are bleak.

To complement the flood of emotions, we came back to the convent and had a brief discussion before I went to town with Tom to try and purchase a gift. Unfortunately, their prices were too high, so we returned to the convent and everyone had already left to a museum. The museum was quite interesting, and seemed to be centered around conservation and enviromentalism, which is definitely a worthy cause in any developing country, where there is no trash pickup or enforced pollution regulations. We were rolling in laughter by the end (the Sisters Ana and Emily were there with us – they laugh a lot) because Kaitlin tried to tell the museum proprietors that they were “fabulous” but instead proclaimed that SHE was fabulous.

When we came back to the convent after our short visit, the Sisters were preparing a huge fiesta for our departure! It was a massive dinner, with music, balloons, candles, and even the Madre (head nun) in attendance. We were all completely overwhelmed by their kindness throughout our stay. Fortunately, Geronimo and Luis were able to join us for dinner too, so we got to take some photos and say goodbye to them.

Tomorrow morning since we raved about the sunrise, everyone else is interested in watching it from the hillside, so we’re planning to leave at 5:30 to head up to watch.

Again today we poured concrete in the convent. The project did not look large when we started, but it has been taking quite a while! We should finish it tomorrow (Friday).

After working hard all morning, we cut out around 3:00 to check out Maya Pedal, the bike shop in San Andres Itzapa. It is a cool shop inside a fairly long, skinny building on the hillside. The views from their third floor are great! We talked to two volunteers, one from Wyoming, and another from Connecticut. They were both glad to have a chance to come and volunteer. The shop gets donated bikes, some of which are in bad repair, and fixes them to sell locally at deep discounts. The people working there seem very chill and easygoing and were glad to see us again (we’d encountered them on our first attempt to visit).

Teal, one of the volunteers, asked if we wanted to play some futbol, so of course we obliged. One of the locals, Mateo, also joined, and we had a blast (most of us did not have any actual futbol skills!).

After dinner we had a really good team debrief about the trip and everyones’ experiences thus far. These are always some of my favorite moments because you can really see everyones’ worldviews shifting, even if like Craig they’d been on dozens of trips, or like many others who hadn’t left the States. One of my biggest takeaways is simply how unique the American lens is. It’s something that I’ve been aware of as I’ve traveled, but it didn’t really sink in until I was sitting on a mountainside chatting with Jon how our perception of happiness is so vastly different across the world. It’s one one those things that seems common-sensical, and everyone would say is true, but I think you really have to live in those moments to take it in.

Today we slept in an extra hour (which was a good thing after our late night of playing games!), so we ate breakfast at 8:00 and started work inside the convent. We needed to replace a section of grass beside the driveway with concrete. At first glance, we thought this would be extremely simple, but it turned out to be quite a bit of work — there were old sidewalks, hard soil, and tons of grass!

Since there was a mass and party for the four new nuns, there was some downtime where we couldn’t make the noise of shoveling, so we walked up to San Andres Itzapa and checked out the town and shoppes. We also ran into several foreigners from NY, AZ, and the UK who were working at a bike shop called Maya Pedal, which apparently fixes bikes to provide to Guatemalans. They seemed like really cool people who have been living here for several months and invited us to play soccer with them, but we were still working on the concrete.

After that excursion and lunch, we were hard at work on mixing, dirt moving, and pouring. Since we only got through a small section, we’ll have a long day of work tomorrow.

Today we actually got to build some stoves on our own – the first day was primarily learning from the mason their methodology. Instead of describing it, I’ll add a picture to this post later.

We had already moved all of the blocks into the houses where they’d be built, so we were ready to get to work first thing in the morning. It was much colder today, so we wore sweatshirts all day (the elevation there is about 7500′ and sometimes very volatile). Since two stoves had already been built on Monday, we had four more — we split up into 3 teams and got right to work. There was plenty of mixing and shoveling, but the most challenging part was making sure that the blocks stayed in square and level the entire time so that the stove top would set correctly. By lunch time, we knocked out the lion’s share of all three. After we put the final touches on them, we all finished the last in a jif.

The families were working alongside us the entire time helping to fetch water, mix concrete, clean tools, or help us communicate. Their display of gratitude after the stoves were completed was heartwarming. One thing, too, that struck me is that the family we were building for was made up of a mother, who was 24, her husband, her husband’s grandmother, who was 78 and at least two children. One of the children was 10, so this mother had her first at 14 years old.

Before we headed out, Jon’s mom had sent some Airhead candies, so we shared them with the children and families, who loved them!

When we returned to the convent for another amazing dinner, we washed up, then after dinner played a sort of modified version of taboo where everyone writes three words or phrases on a paper, puts them in a box, then two teams have to draw them and in the first round describe the word, then act out the word, then describe it using only one word. That was a blast and had us rolling with laughter for a couple of hours!

Tomorrow we will be doing concrete work at the convent and there is also a fiesta celebrating a saint and the acceptance of four new nuns into the church, so it’s bound to be an exciting day.

The drive this morning to our work site was pretty steep as we climbed to about 7,500 feet in the mountains. The road eventually turned to dirt near the end, and the sharp-pitched hillsides were covered with elongated, indefinitely-shaped postage stamp fields. In the fields we saw everything from maize to soybeans to cabbage to carrots. The small village where we were working was very sparsely populated and tin houses jutted out of rare flat spots between fields.

Our first project, building stoves in several homes in the village seemed a bit nebulous to some of the group members until we visited the first kitchen. (Most of these houses have a house with one or two rooms and a kitchen/storehouse for food preparation.) When we arrived, we saw a small fire burning in the back corner of the edifice, completely engulfing the room in thick smoke. The inside of the tin roof was covered with a layer of damp soot. Thus, our project was to build brick stoves inside these kitchen buildings so that the women and children working inside didn’t have to inhale smoke during the many hours they spend working inside. Alas, I don’t blame them because it was pretty chilly up in the mountains, and I was content in my sweater and jeans.

Unfortunately, we had to practice our mantra of flexibility as the building supplies didn’t arrive until the late morning. Pictures will show you just how steep the hillsides are, but sliding down when you’re trying to carry items was the norm for all of us. In our spare time, we worked on masonry, additional projects, too, including playing with many of the children, whikch was an absolute blast!

As the supplies arrived, we formed a “train” down the hill to pass cinder blocks. Once the stove bilders were ready to go, we started to help, but we also located another project (thanks to Devin) of bulding stairs on the steep hillsides. This burned out to be a great team bonding time, and we had a blast with the kids. I spent a lot of time with Luis who loved being spun around in circles and playing with my camera. Note to self: bring a Polariod instant camera to give people pictures of us together.

We finished two stoves and the stairs before piling in the van to head back to the convent, so it was a pretty successful day!