Monday, March 14, 2011- Day 57
Day 1 and 2 of my trip
The first day was our travel day. Both flights were only a little over 2 hours long. They all went smooth and quite quickly. We landed in Guatemala City and was welcomed by our bus driver for the week, Adolpho. He is a very sweet Guatemala man who drives the bus for us all week and helps interpret for us. He is used by many missionary groups including the groups from our church that have gone in the past. He picked us up from the airport and we started our 5 hour ride to Mazatenago. Before we got too far on the road we stopped to eat at Burger King. People that eat at these places tend to be ones that have money so there are armed guards in the parking lot to keep things safe. It was quite a sight to see a man with a machine gun greeting us as we went into Burger King. After we ate we got on the road. The weather was beautiful! The scenery was a mixture of beautiful and a bit disturbing. The landscape is very mountainous and green. There is also the presence of two volcanoes in the background. The larger volcano is no longer active but the smaller one is still active. That was a little unsettling for me:) Guatemala is a very poor country and there are people everywhere. Men, women, and children fill the streets and the roads. They are all rushing about with something in their hands, on their back, on their heads or on all three. They are all trying to sell some good or item to make their living. As we drove along I was shocked by how much trash lines the roadways. It is also unbelievable to look at the houses in which they live. Most live in little shanties or small concrete houses. The house are all crammed together and they all live in a community together. Their roofs are lined with cloth lines and clothes hanging in every direction. We arrived at our hotel Saturday night and pleasantly surprised how nice it was. We even had air conditioning in our rooms. I was assigned to room with two great ladies. Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast at the hotel. It was really yummy! After breakfast we had a devotion and then we headed out to visit the market. We were instructed to stay close together. We were told to be careful and alert to our surroundings, It was quit an experience! The sights and smells were unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. After the market we went to a small town were our leader has done mission work in the past. We walked along these dirt roads and through forests. It was unbelievable to see so many people living throughout this area. There were kids that would pop out if these bushes and yell "Gringos". They would follow us and try to get some treats. They followed us the whole time. We came upon the school where the children in the area went to school and at first I thought it was abandoned but them I was told they actually go to school there! After our visit to the school we went to church. They have their church services in the afternoon so the people can do the market in the morning. After the service we went down to the river. I mean we really went down to the river! It was straight down the side of the mountain. There were little paths with vegetation all around us. We would be huffing and puffing and then we would see an old woman coming up the mountain with a basket full of wet clothes on her head. Surely if she could do it we could do it! It was also amazing to see kids of all ages making their way to the river by themselves. If they could walk they would head down there! They would get to the bottom and take their pants and shirts off and jump right in. The people come down to bath and wash their clothes. As a mom I was freaking out to see these little kids jump into the river! We made our hike back up the mountain and then went back to the hotel. We also visited the orphanage on Sunday but I will talk about that tomorrow. We covered about a weeks worth of sights in a day so it was pretty overwhelming. It set the tone for what we would be experiencing the entire week and make me think about the material things that I had left back home and how I view the items that I possess. Tomorrow I will share about the best part of my trip, the sweet girls at St. Mary's Orphanage.
[caption id="attachment_2430" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="The guards. I was too afraid to get a direct picture:)"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2432" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Our Hotel"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2431" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="My roommates"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2433" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The market"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2434" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="One of the many houses we passed. This little girl followed us for a long time."]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2435" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="A typical house in Guatemala"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2437" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="One of the school rooms"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2436" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="The same room taken from the outside"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2438" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The court yard of the school"]
[/caption]
The first day was our travel day. Both flights were only a little over 2 hours long. They all went smooth and quite quickly. We landed in Guatemala City and was welcomed by our bus driver for the week, Adolpho. He is a very sweet Guatemala man who drives the bus for us all week and helps interpret for us. He is used by many missionary groups including the groups from our church that have gone in the past. He picked us up from the airport and we started our 5 hour ride to Mazatenago. Before we got too far on the road we stopped to eat at Burger King. People that eat at these places tend to be ones that have money so there are armed guards in the parking lot to keep things safe. It was quite a sight to see a man with a machine gun greeting us as we went into Burger King. After we ate we got on the road. The weather was beautiful! The scenery was a mixture of beautiful and a bit disturbing. The landscape is very mountainous and green. There is also the presence of two volcanoes in the background. The larger volcano is no longer active but the smaller one is still active. That was a little unsettling for me:) Guatemala is a very poor country and there are people everywhere. Men, women, and children fill the streets and the roads. They are all rushing about with something in their hands, on their back, on their heads or on all three. They are all trying to sell some good or item to make their living. As we drove along I was shocked by how much trash lines the roadways. It is also unbelievable to look at the houses in which they live. Most live in little shanties or small concrete houses. The house are all crammed together and they all live in a community together. Their roofs are lined with cloth lines and clothes hanging in every direction. We arrived at our hotel Saturday night and pleasantly surprised how nice it was. We even had air conditioning in our rooms. I was assigned to room with two great ladies. Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast at the hotel. It was really yummy! After breakfast we had a devotion and then we headed out to visit the market. We were instructed to stay close together. We were told to be careful and alert to our surroundings, It was quit an experience! The sights and smells were unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. After the market we went to a small town were our leader has done mission work in the past. We walked along these dirt roads and through forests. It was unbelievable to see so many people living throughout this area. There were kids that would pop out if these bushes and yell "Gringos". They would follow us and try to get some treats. They followed us the whole time. We came upon the school where the children in the area went to school and at first I thought it was abandoned but them I was told they actually go to school there! After our visit to the school we went to church. They have their church services in the afternoon so the people can do the market in the morning. After the service we went down to the river. I mean we really went down to the river! It was straight down the side of the mountain. There were little paths with vegetation all around us. We would be huffing and puffing and then we would see an old woman coming up the mountain with a basket full of wet clothes on her head. Surely if she could do it we could do it! It was also amazing to see kids of all ages making their way to the river by themselves. If they could walk they would head down there! They would get to the bottom and take their pants and shirts off and jump right in. The people come down to bath and wash their clothes. As a mom I was freaking out to see these little kids jump into the river! We made our hike back up the mountain and then went back to the hotel. We also visited the orphanage on Sunday but I will talk about that tomorrow. We covered about a weeks worth of sights in a day so it was pretty overwhelming. It set the tone for what we would be experiencing the entire week and make me think about the material things that I had left back home and how I view the items that I possess. Tomorrow I will share about the best part of my trip, the sweet girls at St. Mary's Orphanage.
[caption id="attachment_2430" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="The guards. I was too afraid to get a direct picture:)"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_2432" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Our Hotel"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_2431" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="My roommates"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_2433" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The market"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_2434" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="One of the many houses we passed. This little girl followed us for a long time."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_2435" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="A typical house in Guatemala"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_2437" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="One of the school rooms"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_2436" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="The same room taken from the outside"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_2438" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The court yard of the school"]
[/caption]
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