Candlelight Cave Swimming

Just when you think you can´t possibly see anything cooler than a flowing volcano, you swim through a cave with only a candle to light your way. Yes, Guatemala holds the key to some of the most interesting and beautiful places I think I will ever experience.

Friday night, our group of 9 boarded a private shuttle at midnight and attempted to sleep on the 7 hour drive North to Semuc Champey. This natural haven is located near the city of Coban, and the road to get there was not exactly a comforting experience. It was not physically comfortable, nor was it easy on the nerves. The last hour was on a dirt road with plenty of pot holes and large patches of intense mud, but it was also not wide enough to fit two cars which made oncoming traffic more than exciting. Especially when we got in a tangle with a giant pickup truck with no breaks and an ambulance. But we made it.

Before leaving Antigua, we had paid $60 without knowing fully what we were going to see or do once we got to Semuc Champey. I will say that I am now much more comfortable in putting blind faith in sketchy tourist traps. So after arriving at 7 a.m. at a hotel pre-picked out for us, we dropped our backpacks and headed out immediately. We piled into the bed of a pick-up truck with a rack on the back to hang on to as we stood in the bed. During the 30 minute drive towards Semuc Champey, our tour guide asked us if we would like some natural Guatemalan bug repellant that came from the pods of a rare, native plant. Before we could really reply, we all had faces the color of a blood orange crayola crayon. I´m not sure if it was the smell of the plant or the fact that we all looked grutesque, but either way I came out of the falls with very few bites.

The truck pulled over at a rickety bridge and we all got out. We walked down a small trail followed by 4 kids trying to sell us homemade chocolate mixed with cardamom (both cocoa and cardamom trees cover the landscape). We were then instructed to leave everything behind but our bathing suit and sneakers (an atractive look I must say). Our tour guide handed us each a candle and told us to follow him into a dark cave filled with water.

The first few steps into the cave were incredibly strange and I´m not going to lie, I was wondering if we were all crazy. But as soon as we got out of the light of the cave´s opening and were walking through the cave only on trust and candlelight, it soon became the most surreal and awesome experienece I think I have had. The water level changed often and at times we were just wading knee deep and sometimes it was up to our shoulders. At times we would come to mini waterfalls pouring down from the level above and we had to climb crudely built metal ladders. About half way into the cave, we hit the deep water. With one hand holding our flames above water, we dogpaddled and frog-kicked our way through the cave. At the end, 45 minutes later, we arrived at the dead end and blew out our candles. I couldn´t see Steph´s hand waving an inch away from my eyes. It was pitch black and so dark that if were to stay in there for over 3 hours or so without light our eyes could have permanent damage.

And thank goodness our tour guide remembered his lighter or we would still be in there. The only way out was back.

After re-emerging into daylight, we then sat in innertubes and floated down the river by catching the currents. Which somehow I really wasn´t very good at and spent a great deal of time paddling out of the weeds on the edges of the riverbanks.

After we clothed ourselves, our tour guide told us we were now going to go to Semuc Champey. Semuc Champey? All this and we aren´t even there yet??

We walked for about 20 minutes to the entrance of the national park and then embarked on a difficult and steep hike up to lookout point of the waterfalls. Our 13 year old tour guide was not impressed with our American bodies and rolled his eyes when we stopped to catch our breath and drink water.

The view from the top was amazing and the water was bright teal. It looked so small from the top of the mirador (lookout point). Once we hiked down and got to the pools they still didn´t seem that large. But the water was so refreshing and cool and felt so clean for the amount of people that swam in it every day. Yet as our 13 year old amigo led us from pool to pool by jumping down the 8 feet mini cliffs into the next body of water, we realized how big this natural spring was.

We spent Sunday morning ziplining before heading back home to Antigua. Unfortunately these are the only photos I have from the whole weekend, since we were constantly wet on Saturday and the next day we were busy being suspended above the tree canopy line. But I suppose it´s true that sometimes you just have to experience something to really see it; somethings aren´t able to be viewed through a lens.

La Communidad de Santa Maria

Santiago and Doreen escorted us on a tour of Santa Maria de Jesus today to see where our students live. In six weeks it was the first time we had seen the town, aside from the street our school and the photocopy shop is on. The sight of five gringos walking down the street in the Mayan town is not an everyday occurrence, and unfortunately white people are now regarded with a certain degree of suspicion in the community. There is a history of child kidnapping within the more remote areas of Guatemala for their organs. And as such, we cannot take photos outside of the school walls in Santa Maria. And while I understand and respect the residents, it is sad that we will not have any photos of the community we worked in everyday.

It is one thing to hear that your students are hungry, to visibly see that they are sick, and for them to tell you they didn't sleep a wink because they were too cold. I hear their stories daily, and I listen to their excuses for why they miss school because they are too embarrassed to tell me they have to work.
My tiny seven year old tells me:
-Seño, no voy a venir mañana.
-Porque no?
-Porque tengo un tos.
(Teacher, Im not going to come tomorrow because I have a cough).
Yet you have a cough today, I tell her. Do you have to work tomorrow, I ask.
She tells me no. Then when she thinks no one is listening or watching anymore she nods her head in my direction. I whisper in her ear that I hope she comes anyway, because she is muy intelligente.

It is one thing to hear these remarks. Yet the walk today drove them home. The kids live in houses constructed by cane and corrugated tin panels. With a crude bathroom separate. The sinks are outside; they are large concrete basins surrounded by buckets of water carried from the pump in the center of town. The cane walls of the kitchen are stained black from the smoke. Often two to four families live in one house with three or more people per bed.

It is no wonder that I sent one of my girls home crying with a fever yesterday. Yet, it is a wonder how she managed to run, sobbing because she is coughing so hard, the mile or more home alone. The children here are independent and brave. Braver in their seven years than I probably will ever be.

¡OMG I´m Standing on Lava!

Ummmmm, hey ya´ll . . . lava is hot. Yes, caliente. Muy.

Especially when you´re standing on top of it. Climbing Volcán Pacaya this last Sunday was quite possibly one of the most surreal things I have ever done. Because, well, it´s just not normal to light a cigarette off lava. But that´s exactly what our guide did as we roasted marshmallows above the flowing magma under our feet.

Steph, two other volunteers and I embarked with a tour on the 4 km steep hike up Volcán Pacaya. There are 33 volcanos in all of Guatemala. Volcán Pacaya - about an hour from Antigua, Volcán Fuego - which is very visible from Antigua and is constantly puffing smoke, and Volcán Santiaguito - in the very northern part of the country. Apparently, even though Pacaya is active, the way the crater at the peak was formed it is very stable (well relatively as far as exploding mountains of fire go). As such, it is one of the central attractions for tourists visiting Guatemala and there were probably close to 75 or 100 people who embarked on the sunset tour Sunday evening (yet we all spaced out during the climb to make it possible).

The first 3 km were very wooded and it seemed like any other hike through pine trees and dense vegetation. As we crested the trees, we entered a yellow grassed meadow sprinkled with lava rocks every few steps. Then we hit all lava rock and the last 3/4 of a mile was climbing on sharp and uneven black rocks. (Which don´t feel great when you fall ha. Of course I didn´t fall on the uneven terrain or when we were walking in pitch dark downhill after sunset. No, I fell just trying to slowly walk to Steph to take a picture.)

As we got closer to the top, we could suddenly feel hot air blowing up from the ground and our feet were quite warm through the tread on our shoes.

Then the flowing lava came into view. And it was clipping along at a fairly good rate. We were able to get as close to the flows as desired, yet the main detractor was the heat. Just to stand in front of the flows to snap a few shots was almost unbearable because of the heat. I had to keep hopping about the rocks to keep my feet from feeling like they were burning.

As Steph and I stumbled down the rocks with our group it still didn´t seem real that we had just walked across an active volcano. The sky was an almost pretty, but really more eerie, pink color as we looked over our shoulders at the peak where we had been standing moments ago. The color came not from the sunset, but from the color of the red hot lava reflecting on the dense, ash-filled air.

The hike was great, the views amazing, and the magma roasted marshmallow was pretty delicious. When in Guate!

Carnaval!

Carnaval is Central American`s version of Fat Tuesday and is celebrated the week leading up to Lent. This past Friday we celebrated the holiday at school by making masks and playing with cascarones. Cascarones are hollowed out chicken eggs filled with tiny pieces of paper confetti. They are sealed on one end with tissue paper and are cracked on the heads of your closest friends and family. Originally from México, cascarones are now used in many celebrations across Central America - birthdays, halloween, día del muerto, weddings, and carnaval. It was an amazing day and we were all wearing confetti in our hair and clothes all day.

The Santa Maria Crew

From left to right:
Intern Emma from London, Director Doreen from Guatemala, Lindsey from Florida, Libby from New Zealand, Morgan from Pennsylvania, Genevieve from New Zealand, Stephanie from California, Aeriel from New Mexico

Las Becas

We didn´t have classes at the school today. Instead our classrooms were filled with the mothers, fathers, and grandparents of the children. They all attended to receive their scholarship money (una beca) that we provide to buy the required school supplies and clothes that the children need to attend public school.


One by one, our local director (on the far left) ----> called out the parents´ names. When called, they signed the money form, either in writing, or with their fingerprint (about half did not know how to sign their name), and then gratefully received their beca.



It was amazing to see the mothers´ eyes shine and you could see relief in their eyes.

Lago de Atitlán

This weekend Steph, six other volunteers, and I vacationed at Lake Atitlán for the weekend. The experience was truly beyond words, so I will just say.....GO!

Lago de Atitlán is about two and a half hours northwest of Antigua, through windy mountainous roads. As soon as the lake came into view we got out of the van and mountain biked downhill to the lake´s edge. We started the 4 hour bike ride on steep, dirt-road downhills with lots of potholls. It was unnerving at first and Steph spent the first 10 minutes of the ride hearing me call out her name in fear. But then the hills turned to better pavement, and consequently we began riding faster, and eventually we all were pretty daring. The view of the lake from the bike was stunning and the water was sparkling blue.

The lake is surrounded by 4 volcanos, which were slightly difficult to see this weekend since it was foggy most of the time. Lago de Atitlán is the deepest lake in Central America, and was formed by a crater eons ago (yes, I know I´m specific). But as such, the lake does not flow to any other body of water and the water level is raised and lowered only by the amount of rainfall the area receives. Since it´s now the dry season, the lake was at it´s yearly low point.

We stayed in Volcano Lodge - a resort created 15 years ago by a Norwegian man who is now fluent in Norwegian, English, Spanish, and some Quetchel. (Although if anyone gets inspired enough to go to the lake you really should stay at Casa del Mundo - a truly amazing hotel that we snuck into to jump off their balconies into the lake.)

Sunday morning we woke early to kayak for 2 hours around the edge of the lake and admire the view of the 4 volcanos that surround the enormous body of water. The water was smooth as glass and despite not having exercised since May, I personally think Steph and I did a pretty damn good job steering our ship. At the end of the paddle, our tour guide tied our kayaks to a tree and we all swam to the edge of a 5-6m cliff and scaled the steep rocks to the top. (Yes, I must admit I needed help.) From the top, there was only one way down. And that was jumping.

After the kayak we dropped our kayaks off at a dock and hiked 2 hours on single-file trails boardering the edge of the lake back to the hotel. Just when we thought we had seen the most beautiful part of the lake, we would round another corner and be once again speechless. (My pictures do no justice. And I also somehow manage to never take pictures at all of the must-take-photo locations. Sorry folks.)

Like I said, just go.

Have No Fear! MickeyD's is Here!

It's true. McDonald's has weazled it's way into the World Heritage preserved city of Antigua.

If the United Nations can't stop it, no one can.

But! Before you groan too loudly, wait!

McDonald's here is an oasis. Seriously. With gardens, fountains, real dishes, and waiters. Yes, waiters.

I must admit, McDonalds became more than just a pit-stop the other day, when I actually enjoyed some quality time reading and dining at MickeyD's. If the corporation is going to ooze its fried stench across the world, at least the experience should be like this. America, take note.

Fact:

Guatemala is the largest country in Central America.

Guatemala has the highest gross domestic product across the region.

yet....

Of all Central American countries, Guatemala has the:
- poorest literacy rate
- lowest percentage of children in school
- highest infant mortality rate
- lowest average birth weight
- lowest ratio of doctors per patient


*(pulled from ¨Culture Smart! Guatemala¨ Lisa Vaughn 2007)

Chichicastenango

No I didn´t just sneeze, but thanks for asking.

Chichicastenango is the name of a city two and a half hours north of Antigua that has one of the largest outdoor markets in the world. Vendors from all over Guatemala travel to sell their textiles, foods, carvings, and crafts. Consequently, if I knew any Mayan languages, I would be able to hear many different dialects at the market. And, if I was able to distinguish between the different textile patterns, I would notice that there were weavings from villages all across the country. However, what I saw was a complete claustrophobic and cacophonous array of colors, smells, and sounds. It was wonderful!
The streets are so narrow and each one is lined with vendors on each side, with children weaving between the aisles of shoppers, chanting prices at you over and over again until they´re so low you decide you really do need an embroidered chicken shaped pot holder. (Sorry mom, you now know what your present is when I return.)

There were rows and rows of gorgeous weavings, more hackysacks than I ever thought could exist, and so many bags that I didn´t know where to start to pick one out. I eventually just walked into a stand at random to make a sale. The vendor thrust multiple bags into my hands, exclaiming how each one is so beautiful. If I even glanced at a different one, she pulled it down from the wall so I could see it up close. I was quite hesitant while trying to decide which one I liked the most. (For those that know me well, decisions often don't come without much deliberation.) She interpreted my tentativeness instead to be a displeasure at the price, and demanded that I make up my own. Any price! Once I did, she looked over to the corner of her stand and exclaimed: look at the poor baby!

So, my bartering went like this -
Guatemalan: Q 250
Me: Q 200
Guatemalan: Pero mi bebe necesita comer! Q 240
Me: Que tenga un buen día.
And I gave them Q 250.

I should never buy a car.

Cerro de la Cruz

This past weekend we hiked up to Cerro de la Cruz to check out the view. We were told adamantly about how dangerous the walk is to hike up alone since many locals hide along the path to take cameras and any money that tourists have on them. Steph and I decided to wait to go with the tourist police and hike up with them, that way we would be sure not to lose our cameras. However, we were given incorrect directions to the police station and ended up very confused outside of a decrepit church ruin. Realizing we didn´t have time to find the police station by 2 p.m, we hiked to the base of the hill to wait for the police there. However, no sign of any police escort came for quite some time and I was beginning to think we looked sketchier than the potential Antigua muggers. Steph was brave enough (or simply less awkward than I) and asked a male tourist if we could hike up to the cross with him. There really is no suspense to this story as nothing happened during the hike up, while we took in the sites, and during the hike down. Once we crested the 7 minute walk to the top of the hill, the view was outstanding. It was a cloudy afternoon and the sky spit on us a couple of times, but it seemed like one could see forever.

The volcano in the back is Agua, where the town of Santa Maria is, where we drive to everyday.