We saw this truck in San Lucas Guatemala. I think he is slightly lost. Not sure if that message will get delivered.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Lost
We saw this truck in San Lucas Guatemala. I think he is slightly lost. Not sure if that message will get delivered.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Iximche
Sunday morning we left Xela and headed for home. On the way we stopped at the Mayan ruins of Iximche, near the town of Tecpan. As with many attractions, we "extranjeros" had to pay five times the amount to enter as the "guatemaltecos". Guatemalans - Q10. Foreigners - Q50.
It was an enjoyable, peaceful place. The children had fun climbing and jumping on the ruins.
The ball court.
The Mayans still hold sacred ceremonies on the site.
Quetzaltenango
After spending time in Panajachel, we drove an hour and a half further north to the town of Quetzaltenango, where we spent another two days. This town is more commonly known as Xela.
We stayed at the Hotel del Campo outside of Xela. It was old and dreary, but it was clean and the price was right...really cheap!
Saturday morning we drove into Xela and walked around the town square.
This building housed several different restaurants.
Taken from Xela town square.
We saw quite a few shoe shine "shops" set up around the plaza. Every town we've visited in Guatemala seems to have shoe shine boys. They are usually young boys or sometimes teens, but these in Xela were older men. It was sobering to think these men have probably been shining shoes their whole lives.
The cathedral. There was a Catholic confirmation taking place while we were visiting. There were Mayans everywhere, dressed in their very best.
One of the girls who participated in the confirmation carrying the gifts she received in the basket on her head. She also had a large bundle in her hand.
Mother and daughters wearing the native dress of Xela.
These three ladies are modeling traditional hair braiding. I think it must be a dying tradition, as I've only seen older ladies wearing their hair in this fashion.
The old part of town consists of narrow, crooked, one-way, cobblestone streets.
We stayed at the Hotel del Campo outside of Xela. It was old and dreary, but it was clean and the price was right...really cheap!
Saturday morning we drove into Xela and walked around the town square.
This building housed several different restaurants.
Taken from Xela town square.
We saw quite a few shoe shine "shops" set up around the plaza. Every town we've visited in Guatemala seems to have shoe shine boys. They are usually young boys or sometimes teens, but these in Xela were older men. It was sobering to think these men have probably been shining shoes their whole lives.
The cathedral. There was a Catholic confirmation taking place while we were visiting. There were Mayans everywhere, dressed in their very best.
One of the girls who participated in the confirmation carrying the gifts she received in the basket on her head. She also had a large bundle in her hand.
Mother and daughters wearing the native dress of Xela.
These three ladies are modeling traditional hair braiding. I think it must be a dying tradition, as I've only seen older ladies wearing their hair in this fashion.
The old part of town consists of narrow, crooked, one-way, cobblestone streets.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Too Much Rain!
These photos were taken as we were traveling to and around Lake Atitlan. This year's rainy season has been unusually heavy, and as a result, there have been many mud slides.
We saw quite a few mud slides on the roadway and several places where the road had been washed away. Notice the waterline in the bottom right. It was staked up with tree branches.
This cave-in was really deep. How do you fix something like this??
The road crew was working on this one, although I'm not sure what they were attempting to do.
This little tienda (store) was washed into the riverbed.
A mudslide swept into this home.
We saw quite a few mud slides on the roadway and several places where the road had been washed away. Notice the waterline in the bottom right. It was staked up with tree branches.
This cave-in was really deep. How do you fix something like this??
The road crew was working on this one, although I'm not sure what they were attempting to do.
This little tienda (store) was washed into the riverbed.
A mudslide swept into this home.
Panajachel
We spent two days, August 18 & 19, in the town of Panajachel on the shore of Lake Atitlan, about three hours northwest of our home. We enjoyed the brief vacation with our friends and fellow co-workers, the Freed family and Buddy Esh.
We left early Wednesday morning - 6:00 a.m. - to beat rush hour traffic in the city. We stopped in the town of Tecpan, which was about the halfway point, and ate breakfast at this restaurant called Katok.
This waterfall is just outside the town of Panajachel. Notice the small figure on the left. That's Charlie! Of course, he had to climb up and investigate.
The first thing we did was visit the Atitlan Nature Reserve. They have a zip line through the forest, and most of our group tried it out.
I stayed with Risa, Emily, Maria, and Tony while the rest did the zip line. While we waited we hiked the forest trails and enjoyed the scenery. There were several hanging wooden bridges that Tony really enjoyed and which made the girls nervous. We saw several spider monkeys and some coatis, which are in the raccoon family.
We stayed in two small houses at a facility called Las Buenas Nuevas. It was really nice. We had kitchens and made our own breakfast each morning. Alisha, Emily, Abby, and Risa are enjoying their breakfast on the front porch.
We stayed on the shore of Lake Atitlan. It is said to be the most beautiful lake in the world. I don't know about that, but it is the prettiest place we've visited in Guatemala.
Thursday morning Charlie, Maria, Tony, and I visited two small towns on the shores of the lake. This is Santa Catarina Palopo, built on the side of the mountain.
There were many ladies trying to sell their handicrafts along the street. This lady is using a back strap loom, a very common method of weaving. I am fascinated with the different patterns and colors; each town is distinctive.
This lady in the town of San Antonio Palopo was using a larger hand loom to do her weaving. The women and girls in this town all wore identical outfits. The Mayan women of each town have their own distinctive pattern of dress, but there is usually a good bit of variation. Not in this town. Most of the women even wore matching headpieces and plastic gold beads.
The lady pictured above asked if she could dress us in the native costume of San Antonio. Interestingly, the men in this town wear black checked kilts. She was, of course, hoping to sell the clothes to us. Sadly (for her), we didn't buy a thing. But Charlie did, however, give her a tip for the photos.
We left early Wednesday morning - 6:00 a.m. - to beat rush hour traffic in the city. We stopped in the town of Tecpan, which was about the halfway point, and ate breakfast at this restaurant called Katok.
This waterfall is just outside the town of Panajachel. Notice the small figure on the left. That's Charlie! Of course, he had to climb up and investigate.
The first thing we did was visit the Atitlan Nature Reserve. They have a zip line through the forest, and most of our group tried it out.
I stayed with Risa, Emily, Maria, and Tony while the rest did the zip line. While we waited we hiked the forest trails and enjoyed the scenery. There were several hanging wooden bridges that Tony really enjoyed and which made the girls nervous. We saw several spider monkeys and some coatis, which are in the raccoon family.
We stayed in two small houses at a facility called Las Buenas Nuevas. It was really nice. We had kitchens and made our own breakfast each morning. Alisha, Emily, Abby, and Risa are enjoying their breakfast on the front porch.
We stayed on the shore of Lake Atitlan. It is said to be the most beautiful lake in the world. I don't know about that, but it is the prettiest place we've visited in Guatemala.
Thursday morning Charlie, Maria, Tony, and I visited two small towns on the shores of the lake. This is Santa Catarina Palopo, built on the side of the mountain.
There were many ladies trying to sell their handicrafts along the street. This lady is using a back strap loom, a very common method of weaving. I am fascinated with the different patterns and colors; each town is distinctive.
This lady in the town of San Antonio Palopo was using a larger hand loom to do her weaving. The women and girls in this town all wore identical outfits. The Mayan women of each town have their own distinctive pattern of dress, but there is usually a good bit of variation. Not in this town. Most of the women even wore matching headpieces and plastic gold beads.
The lady pictured above asked if she could dress us in the native costume of San Antonio. Interestingly, the men in this town wear black checked kilts. She was, of course, hoping to sell the clothes to us. Sadly (for her), we didn't buy a thing. But Charlie did, however, give her a tip for the photos.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Rosa de Amor
Last week we hosted a work team from Canada. Yesterday, Sunday, our family spent the day with the team. We took the children from Rosa de Amor to church and then to Pollo Campero (Guatemala's favorite chicken restaurant) for lunch before returning to the orphanage for some fun activities. It was a very special treat for these children, as they rarely get to go anywhere except to school.
The girls really enjoyed making bead bracelets and necklaces.
One of the team members helped Carolina make a place mat.
Several of the team members tried their hand at body painting. Anna received a flower bracelet.
Tony asked Ryan for a "fire breathing dragon".
The finished product. Tony was so pleased with it!
Max also got a dragon, only on his face.
Glendy was very proud of her butterfly.
The girls really enjoyed making bead bracelets and necklaces.
One of the team members helped Carolina make a place mat.
Several of the team members tried their hand at body painting. Anna received a flower bracelet.
Tony asked Ryan for a "fire breathing dragon".
The finished product. Tony was so pleased with it!
Max also got a dragon, only on his face.
Glendy was very proud of her butterfly.
Family Life
Tony loves when his older brothers help him build towers with his wooden blocks.
Tony was so proud that this tower was taller than he was.
Charlie and I stopped at a comedor (tiny restaurant) for lunch one Saturday afternoon. We got soup, a piece of chicken, vegetables, tortillas, and lemonade for less than $2.00 each.
Maria reading a book to Tony in the hammock on our patio.
Tony dressed as his favorite superhero - Spiderman!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Nuevo Reto
Saturday, July 31, we visited the Nuevo Reto orphanage with the Manheim BIC team. This is a small home with about 15 children. Their facility could easily accommodate more, but they do not have the resources to take in more orphans at this time.
We loaded all of the children onto the bus and took them on an outing to the Guatemala City zoo. Here is part of our group enjoying ice cream cones.
Tony enjoyed the giraffes, but his favorite animals were the snakes.
When we returned from the zoo, the team gave gifts to each of the children. Twins Ana and Ilda were pleased with their presents.
The older boys are housed in a temporary facility nearby. By law, boys and girls older than age 12 may not live in the same building. The director gave us a "tour" of the guys' tin house.
The inside of the teen boys' home.
Nuevo Reto is preparing to build a permanent facility for the boys. We had a prayer of blessing on the property.
Uh oh! The bus got stuck in the mud and needed a little push.
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