The mighty Pacaya. Geovany says it's the smallest volcano. But hey, I still hiked it, right?
The best lava pic I have. That piece towards the bottom may be the one that eventually fell into our group.
Who cares if we almost got burned? The rock came to us for one purpose, of course--roasting things!
Me, Rita, and Rachel at some ruinsSunday--Off to church in a few minutes. Evidently there is a Brazil vs. USA soccer game today after church, so that will be our afternoon. The kids are rooting for Brazil.
Saturday--Woke up to seeing strangers in the yard. Then I realized they were a group from Guat City here to do a service project with the kids. They played games and made sandwiches; I had the chance to talk with a 20-year old med student named Laura. She was practicing her English, which was a better deal for me because we could actually have a real conversation, something we could not have had had I been practicing Spanish.
The teens go to Chimaltenango for youth group, and this time Sidney and I hitched a ride with Lito and the kids to the mall. We planned to see a movie--Up and Terminator were playing--but we arrived late and they wouldn't let us in. Instead, we walked around the mall, bought ice cream (yummy!), and chatted for a couple of hours. It was nice to be somewhere somewhat familiar.
Rita has made it her mission to exterminate all the flies in Guatemala. Woe to any fly attracted to the smell of food in our kitchen.
Friday--Day of R & R. The group was finishing up painting and organizing classrooms, so I helped a bit with that. It was also High School Musical Day here at La Senda, so the kids watched all three movies and had tons of HSM fun, hosted by Haley, a teen here from Texas.
Thursday--What a day! In Antigua already, Rachel, Rita, and I decided we might as well go for it and hike a volcano. Thus, we signed up with the travel agency in the A.M., shopped a bit at the market, then left around 2 for our excursion. After an hour and 20 minutes or so we arrived at Volcan Pacaya. Armed with a bag of marshmallows and ponchos, we headed up the volcano with our group of 20. What an interesting group, too--people from Texas, England, The Netherlands, Australia, and Germany. For some reason it didn't occur to me that to see a volcano you must climb up hill, so the first five minutes when I found myself already out of breath I was seriously reconsidering it. And then they bring horses along the way, which you can rent if you get too tired, showing them to you at opportune times--like after the last vertical climb. They sure looked tempting! However, I made it on my own two feet to the top after a 1.5 hour hike.
You've seen Wall-E, right? That's what the top of the volcano reminded me of. It was not a pretty green path to the top where upon arrival you peer into a pit of rolling lava. I hear some volcanoes are like that. Rather, it was a barren wasteland. Black rocks everywhere, piled high in interesting formations, kind of like the piles of rubble in the Pixar flick. With the fog surrounding us, it felt a bit like no man's land. And then there was lava. Not pouring forth from the pinnacle, but oozing out of the side of the mountain. The climb to get close was the most difficult for me--walk a step, slide down half of it. It's akin to climbing sand dunes. But when we got close, and we could feel the heat on our right side, it provided a little more incentive to continue the journey. At one point a piece of burning lava rock tumbled into our group, scattering people and nearly burning one of the dogs who had journeyed along for food scraps. After that excitement, out came the marshmallows and roasting sticks and ham, and we all had a nice little feast at the top. Before we left, the clouds cleared off enough for us to see two more volcanoes across the valley, beyond the pillowy moisture still hiding the valley from sight. A grand view!
P.S. Happy birthday, Dad! And happy 37th anniversary, Mom and Dad!
Wednesday--Having reneged on going to Antigua the day before, Rachel, Rita, and I caught a chickenbus outside of La Senda to begin our journey. We successfully changed chickenbuses at San Lucas and arrived in Antigua without incident. Thank the Lord! We checked into El Gato Negro, a hostel recommended to us by David and Katie, and then headed out to explore the city. This included a stop by the ruins of San Pedro and the marketplace. I love bargaining at the marketplace. Find something you like, offer a price, stand there with a sour looking face until the vendor lowers it to a range you want to pay. Great fun. Has to be an interesting study in body language. Though El Gato Negro provided great accommodations, I was awake until 1 in the morning due to the partying in the bar downstairs. Oh, well. Se la vie.
Tuesday--First day without school. Wahoo! Rita, Rachel, and I planned to go to Antigua with one of the teachers, but a huge rainstorm came in and deterred us from travelling. Wagner thought that was funny. The group that was here provided an in-service for teachers, so I attended part of it in the morning and then worked with the junior highers on their homeschool curriculum. They have to take their test before the end of the month.
Monday--Did not feel good all day on Monday. Stomachaches are no fun! However, I made it through the day and found out the "good" news: school was cancelled by the government for the rest of the week. Though I ate nothing all day, I was feeling a little better by dinner and was able to join the group for dinner at a Guatemalan restaurant. There I ate Pepian, a native Guatemalan dish particular to this region. It was tasty! The brown broth tastes similar to stew, though not quite as thick. The chicken leg comes sticking out of the bowl, and the veggies (rice, potato, carrot) sit on a banana leaf on the plate. After a little work taking the meat off the bone and throwing everything in the bowl, it was a tasty treaty (though I could not eat it all, unfortunately).
Saturday--Woke up to seeing strangers in the yard. Then I realized they were a group from Guat City here to do a service project with the kids. They played games and made sandwiches; I had the chance to talk with a 20-year old med student named Laura. She was practicing her English, which was a better deal for me because we could actually have a real conversation, something we could not have had had I been practicing Spanish.
The teens go to Chimaltenango for youth group, and this time Sidney and I hitched a ride with Lito and the kids to the mall. We planned to see a movie--Up and Terminator were playing--but we arrived late and they wouldn't let us in. Instead, we walked around the mall, bought ice cream (yummy!), and chatted for a couple of hours. It was nice to be somewhere somewhat familiar.
Rita has made it her mission to exterminate all the flies in Guatemala. Woe to any fly attracted to the smell of food in our kitchen.
Friday--Day of R & R. The group was finishing up painting and organizing classrooms, so I helped a bit with that. It was also High School Musical Day here at La Senda, so the kids watched all three movies and had tons of HSM fun, hosted by Haley, a teen here from Texas.
Thursday--What a day! In Antigua already, Rachel, Rita, and I decided we might as well go for it and hike a volcano. Thus, we signed up with the travel agency in the A.M., shopped a bit at the market, then left around 2 for our excursion. After an hour and 20 minutes or so we arrived at Volcan Pacaya. Armed with a bag of marshmallows and ponchos, we headed up the volcano with our group of 20. What an interesting group, too--people from Texas, England, The Netherlands, Australia, and Germany. For some reason it didn't occur to me that to see a volcano you must climb up hill, so the first five minutes when I found myself already out of breath I was seriously reconsidering it. And then they bring horses along the way, which you can rent if you get too tired, showing them to you at opportune times--like after the last vertical climb. They sure looked tempting! However, I made it on my own two feet to the top after a 1.5 hour hike.
You've seen Wall-E, right? That's what the top of the volcano reminded me of. It was not a pretty green path to the top where upon arrival you peer into a pit of rolling lava. I hear some volcanoes are like that. Rather, it was a barren wasteland. Black rocks everywhere, piled high in interesting formations, kind of like the piles of rubble in the Pixar flick. With the fog surrounding us, it felt a bit like no man's land. And then there was lava. Not pouring forth from the pinnacle, but oozing out of the side of the mountain. The climb to get close was the most difficult for me--walk a step, slide down half of it. It's akin to climbing sand dunes. But when we got close, and we could feel the heat on our right side, it provided a little more incentive to continue the journey. At one point a piece of burning lava rock tumbled into our group, scattering people and nearly burning one of the dogs who had journeyed along for food scraps. After that excitement, out came the marshmallows and roasting sticks and ham, and we all had a nice little feast at the top. Before we left, the clouds cleared off enough for us to see two more volcanoes across the valley, beyond the pillowy moisture still hiding the valley from sight. A grand view!
P.S. Happy birthday, Dad! And happy 37th anniversary, Mom and Dad!
Wednesday--Having reneged on going to Antigua the day before, Rachel, Rita, and I caught a chickenbus outside of La Senda to begin our journey. We successfully changed chickenbuses at San Lucas and arrived in Antigua without incident. Thank the Lord! We checked into El Gato Negro, a hostel recommended to us by David and Katie, and then headed out to explore the city. This included a stop by the ruins of San Pedro and the marketplace. I love bargaining at the marketplace. Find something you like, offer a price, stand there with a sour looking face until the vendor lowers it to a range you want to pay. Great fun. Has to be an interesting study in body language. Though El Gato Negro provided great accommodations, I was awake until 1 in the morning due to the partying in the bar downstairs. Oh, well. Se la vie.
Tuesday--First day without school. Wahoo! Rita, Rachel, and I planned to go to Antigua with one of the teachers, but a huge rainstorm came in and deterred us from travelling. Wagner thought that was funny. The group that was here provided an in-service for teachers, so I attended part of it in the morning and then worked with the junior highers on their homeschool curriculum. They have to take their test before the end of the month.
Monday--Did not feel good all day on Monday. Stomachaches are no fun! However, I made it through the day and found out the "good" news: school was cancelled by the government for the rest of the week. Though I ate nothing all day, I was feeling a little better by dinner and was able to join the group for dinner at a Guatemalan restaurant. There I ate Pepian, a native Guatemalan dish particular to this region. It was tasty! The brown broth tastes similar to stew, though not quite as thick. The chicken leg comes sticking out of the bowl, and the veggies (rice, potato, carrot) sit on a banana leaf on the plate. After a little work taking the meat off the bone and throwing everything in the bowl, it was a tasty treaty (though I could not eat it all, unfortunately).
2 comments:
Wow, Elizabeth. It sounds like you are experiencing a lot this summer and having a good time. I can't wait to get together in person and hear all about it! We'll have to get coffee sometime when you get back.
Sounds like there will be no "normal" days, rather days full of adventure! It also sounds like you are enjoying them.
We will be having Eric & Sarah and Jessie, Bill and Jacob at our house this weekend for the 4th. John, Shannon and the boys are coming to town also.
Hope you enjoy your day off today -I think taking the last day off of the month is a great idea :-)
Love you,
Mom
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