Missing Lake Atitlan

Lake Atitlan seems a magical place. In the highlands of Guatemala – it is a picturesque location – so beautiful, with amazing vistas.

When I traveled to Lake Atitlan  – I took a local chicken bus from central Guatemala City – and it took about 5 hours. It was an interested journey for sure. I first took a bus from Guatemala City – which took me on the winding roads of Guatemala. I slept for part of it and observed the rest. I was a bit worried- as my Spanish is at a rudimentary level and I knew I had to transfer to get to Panajachel. And then once I got to Panajachel then I had to find the boat to take me to San Pedro where I would be spending the next two days.

I got to one village, whose name I can no longer remember – but the bus guide – informed me that I would transfer to another bus to get to Panajachel. I exited the bus to near pandemonium. It was near dusk and vendors were heading home and closing up shop. I walked about a block to where all the other chicken buses converged. I saw many buses packed full of people – and me another foreign tourist with a huge backpack – wandering trying to find the correct bus. But all the bus guides were there yelling their destinations – so soon enough, I found the correct bus. I got on the bus – and rode it another 20 minutes until I reached Panajachel. It was a great bus ride – going down the mountain and since it was near dusk – the water of the lake was such a dark blue, it was nearly black – with the volcanoes and mountains surrounding it, imposing black outlines as fog crept up from the water. I tried to stem the fear of a bus crash that would probably send us over the cliff into the dark waters. But soon enough, I reached my destination.

Once I arrived at Panajachel – I had to then find the dock that would have a boat take me to San Pedro. After another 10 minutes of wandering, I found the dock and boat – which I thankfully found because it was the last boat of the evening.

The boat ride was awesome – we traveled across the lake at dusk with fog surrounding us. We stopped at several docks before arriving at San Pedro. And once I got there it was night time and I was exhausted.

I spend the next two days at San Pedro, doing some hiking, horseback riding and hanging out. It was such a beautiful location. I could have spent a much longer time there. It was a truly magical place – the impossibly blue waters, the surrounding volcanoes, and bright blue skies.

Enjoy the pictures!

Lake Atitlan at Sunrise

Lake Atitlan and the surrounding Volcanoes

Lake Atitlan and Boat House

Flores , Guatemala

Flores, Guatemala is located in Peten, Guatemala -and it is a small island in the middle of Lago Peten Itza. Many people visit Flores because it is very close to Tikal, one of the largest Mayan sites in Central America.

Flores itself is a quaint town – colorful but quiet. It has several hostels and hotels. And several delicious restaurants as well. I was able to walk around Flores and felt quite safe. It is not a large island and I was able to walk around it in about an hour or so. Most of the time I spent some time at the dock to look out at the water. I also had some time to take a quick boat ride into the middle of the lake and see Flores from the lake itself. It is a very picturesque sight.

If you head to Guatemala, I highly recommend Flores as a stopping point. I wish I had more time there to explore.

Enjoy some of the pictures I took while exploring.

Cobblestone Streets

View from Lago Peten

Colorful Buildings

Mode of Transortation

Adventures in Guatemala

Wow – so sorry it’s taken me so long to post. Since coming back from Guatemala, I have just been so crazy busy. I don’t think I’ve really had a spare moment to myself!

And in one way, I’m also still processing my Guatemala trip. To think it was just a month ago that I was going out on my solo adventure trip.

I know I said it in my previous post – but it really was just an amazing trip. I backpacked through the country by myself and in the process proved to myself that I was much stronger than I realized. Traveling by myself wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be.

One of the most amazing things was really just being by myself. When I live my life now – I am constantly surrounded by family and friends. Which of course is an amazing thing and something I love – but it also doesn’t give me the alone time that I love and need.

I also realized that traveling by myself – I answered to myself and only myself. When I travel – I like to do as many things as possible – and because I was by myself – I created my own schedule and decided what activities that I want to do. And it was great. No one complained when I would wake up at 5am each morning to get my day started. No one had to put in their input on where to eat – and I could go to any restaurant that had the food I was craving. And yes… I had pizza while in Flores… because I was craving pizza!

But as for my adventures – what awesome adventures I had! Ones that I will never forget.

I was able to stand in the middle of Tikal – the Mayan Ruins and climb Mayan Pyramids. I walked through the town of Flores – a town in the middle of Lake Peten.

I rode chicken buses throughout Guatemala and survived the crazy driving of Guatemalans. I rode on the back of a pick-up truck standing up – as we swerved down a mountain. I rode horseback up a volcano and rode the horse back down as it was thundering and lightning and I was scared for my life.

I hiked up a mountain in the pouring rain at 4am in the morning so I could see the glorious sunrise over Lake Atitlan and have amazing views of the surrounding volcanoes. And while I hiked up – it probably wasn’t the safest thing to hire a guide I didn’t know – and be with him by myself and hike up the mountain as he carried a machete. Oh well… Pedro my guide turned out to be safe and I’m still alive, aren’t I?

Other fun times I had: hanging out with my friend Julio in Antigua and having him show me around the city and see it through the eyes of a local. Hiking up to the Parque de Cruz in Antigua so I could have fantastic views of the city and the surrounding 3 volcanoes as well as see the famous Cross that overlooks the city.

Every single moment is ingrained in my brain and heart. The amazing people I met… the amazing sights I saw… the delicious foods I tasted…

I can’t wait to go back to Guatemala. I can’t wait to travel more countries and have more adventures.

But for now – enjoy some of the pictures I took while in Guatemala!

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Children of Guatemala

When I was last in Guatemala back in November of 2009 – I fell in love with the children.

The children were amazing. So loving… so smart… so everything.

I didn’t have much time with the children this time around when I went to Guatemala. I only had one short afternoon with them.

And I only saw a few – versus the hundred or so that I saw in November. But I saw one of my favorites, Heidy – the daughter of Alicia – who is a 5-year-old spitfire. I also saw sweet Carla – with her beautiful eyes and beautiful smile.

I saw a few more children that I recognized but unfortunately didn’t know their names. I also saw one little girl who is sponsored by my good friend Suzanna through Compassion International.

The short afternoon I was with them – I was able to go to sit in class with the younger kids and saw them sing songs, play games, color and do some drawing. I was able to watch them as they waited in anticipation for their snack time – in which they were being treated to a bowl of ice cream. I was able to sit outside with them and hold their hands, give them hugs and kisses and run around and play tag with them. I was able to show them my love for one afternoon… and it breaks my heart that I only had one afternoon to give to them.

When I’m with them, I can’t help but compare them to the children in the United States. These children in Guatemala… most will never know a lot of the privileges that many American children know. Such as new clothes every year… knowing what it means to get three healthy meals a day… knowing what it means to have a computer to access in your home… what it means to have carpet or hardwood floors… not having to work on a farm as soon as your able… not having to be a young 15-year-old girl and contemplating marriage….

I’m not saying every young Guatemalan child lives in poverty or has to deal with the hardships of life – and I saw all sorts of children from all sorts of life in Guatemala… but a child living in poverty in Guatemala is much more prevalent than it is in the United States.

But of course when I was with the children… they were just children. Beautiful happy children, who wanted to play and were happy to see me because it meant that it was one more adult they could have fun with.

The children were also of course very happy to see me and my camera. They posed most happily for the camera… although many were not sure whether or not to smile or not. They were also pleased to see instant results of their pictures. While I most definitely have their pictures… all their smiles, all their hugs, all their kisses will forever be etched into my heart and into my memory.

All I can do is share with you the pictures that I took of children while I was there.

Enjoy!

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Guatemala Day 4 Observations

Hola!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow  – I’m on my 4th day in Guatemala and it’s just been amazing.

I am on my friend Julio’s computer right now – but I have internet for a few minutes. I just wrote a few friends and family – and I’m just going to copy paste what I wrote them because, well – right now it’s easier.

So here it isÑ

Thursday when I arrived and wrote you, I was sooo tired. And Julio’s friend Carrie came and got me, we ate dinner (picking it up from a street vendor) a full dinner by the way, which included steak, rice, tortiallas and one potato- that cost $1.50.
 
Anyway, after totally passing out that night – I woke up Friday morning, raring to go. My friend Annival from the church came and got me Friday morning and from Chimaltenango – I went to Patzicia in hopes of playing with the children.
 
But, plans have a way of changing! I met up with the Pastor of the church and he took me under his wing and said with authority that I would stay at his place with his family. I got to run around with the Pastor Friday morning and got to visit a very sick young woman at the hospital and visit with her family. It was an amazing experience.
 
In the afternoon of Friday, I went back to Patzicia where I was able to play with the children that I had met back in November. They actually remembered me! It was awesome.
 
Saturday – I went with the Pastor and his family and the church to San Jose – a beach on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala – about 3 hours away. I got to see the Pastor perform batisms on about 26 people. After the baptisms we got to swim in the ocean and the pool.
 
Watching the local Guatemalans play in the ocean was definitely an experience. And Guatemala being a much more modest culture, well they all swam with their clothes on! There were no bathing suits. Stuipd me – I had my bathing suit (a modest one) on under my clothes – but I didn’t bring a change of clothes. But I had to grab the moment and swam with all my clothes on, lest I shock them by wearing just my bathing suit.
 
Oh – and the beach – was all black sand. It was pretty cool! Saturday night – I went with the Pastor and his family to go watch the youngest son play basketball at a country championship. It went on all night and we didn’t get back to Patzicia until late last night.
 
Today, Sunday – I’m back in Chimaltenango. I’m with my friends Julio and Carrie – we had a huge lunch and tonight I’ll be heading to Tikal where the Mayan Ruins are. I’ll be there for a few days, then I’ll be heading to the Lake and then from there going to Antigua to celebrate with my birthday with Julio and Martin.
 
Okay – so sorry for the long email.
 
It’s feels good to be writing in English and actually with my friends right now, because the Pastor and his family and a majority of the church members I was with the past 2 days – don’t speak ANY English. So, it’s been nice to write and speak English right now.
 
A few quick mentions -
 
Be grateful for hot water – I’ve only taken cold showers!!!!!!
 
Being sanitary goes right out of the window – a use my anti-bacterial stuff like crazy!
 
I have so many bug bites, well, it’s a bit insane.
 
A comfortable bed – it’s a bit hard to come by.
 
Food – so much food for sooo cheap by U.S. standards but expensive by Guatemalan standards.
 
I have not seen any traffic lights in Guatemala. No one follows traffic rules and safety is thrown out the window, especially when you see 4 people (2 parents and 2 children) on ONE motorcycle.
 
Motorcycle helmets are non-existent.
 
Chicken buses – if you don’t mind gambling with your life – they’re pretty fun to ride.

Those were a few of my thoughts for now – I don’t have pictures as I haven’t had much time to be on the computer. But hopefully I’ll get to them, but I have taken sooo many pictures!!!

More updates soon!