On Our Way

We arrived safely in Guatemala City yesterday around noon, compliments of Delta Airlines :)  We didn't have too many problems making our way through customs... Each team member has his/ her own luggage, as well as a green army bag full of supplies (construction supplies/ eyeglass clinic supplies).  All our supply bags were searched, the value of the "donated goods" was determined, and they considered taxing us for these goods, but we were lucky enough to make it out of there without being taxed.  Good thing.

So we took a bus (like I've said, it's always a gamble with our transportation-- but this was a really nice bus: reclining seats, working windows, proper ventilation... and A/C isn't even necessary, because the weather is perfect) from Guatemala City (the capital) to Antigua (the former capital).  Antigua is one of my most favorite cities EVER.  It's very quaint and unique.  Walking through the city, you can see and hear tourists from all over the world-- it's definitely a popular place for backpackers, young and old.  There are cute little shops, bakeries, cafes, and restaurants (all different colors, and BRIGHT colors too) up and down the cobblestone streets.  The streets are lined with vendors and musicians.  Very artsy, very fun.  The city is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, three of which are volcanoes (and one is an active volcano).  Every so often, if you look to the west, you can see Volcan de Fuego (Fire Volcano) spewing humo (smoke), and sometimes you can even feel the tremors from the eruptions.  Pretty amazing.

Yesterday, after having traveled for a number of hours, we decided to take a day of rest, which we spent in a guesthouse located on the outskirts of Antigua.  This house (at which Nury, our leader, resides) is located inside an old coffee plantation.  This place?  Nearly paradise.   Quiet, peaceful, completely surrounded by natural beauty.  It's amazing.  We walked up on the roof of one of the haciendas (where the plantation workers live) and got a spectacular view of the plantation-- buildings, coffee plants, rivers, workers milling around, and volcanoes on every side.  Quite simply breathtaking.  All our team members were noticeable awed by our surroundings here.  Antigua is all I need.  Old city?  Check.  Cobblestone streets? Check.  Artsy stores?  Check.  The best coffee in the world?  Double check.  I can deal with this.  And I don't even have enought ime to discuss the friendly people that live here. An example: we went to dinner last night at Pollo Campero (a "classy KFC," as my dear friend Stephanie so affectionately refers to it).  Thank goodness for my Spanish skills.  I was able to serve as a translator for the 21 other gringos with me, who couldn't decide what to order.  And I give a lot of credit to young Leonel, our 17-year-old server who sat there with a smile plastered on his face (probably a nervous smile), patiently waiting for each gringo to decide whether he/she wanted traditional or extra-crispy chicken.  All in all, dinner went well.  The vegan option?  Salad and French fries (and I looked on as my compadres ordered yummy-smelling chicken dinners, chicken sandwiches, and ice cream... but I was perfectly content). 

So after dinner we headed back to our coffee-plantation guesthouse and got settled in--but just for the night.  We had a short meeting/ devotion and headed to bed (most were in bed by about 8 PM, as we'd been up since 2:45 AM).  Cold showers all around-- yessssss-- but my oh my, some comfy beds. By far, the best night's sleep I've had in a long time.  A quiet atmosphere, cozy rooms, rain pattering on the tile roof, and a VERY comfy bed.  Put in my iPod, listened to some Mumford & Sons, and fell asleep nearly instantly.  Not too shabby.

Not long-lasting, either.  We had to be up at 5:30 AM for coffee (Guatemalan roast.  best around.) and breakfast (bread, homemade strawberry-blackberry jam, pineapple-kiwi salad, yogurt, and granola) at 6:00 AM, prepared by my new friend Luis, the manager of the guesthouse/ restaurant on the plantation. We left the guesthouse at 7:00 AM, headed for San Marcos (nestled in the Sierra Madre mountains on the western side of the country, about a 5-hr drive).  We're driving down the Pan-American highway, the longest highway in the Western Hemisphere.  Stretches all the way from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (and for those of you who know me well, you'll recognize that I've been to Tierra del Fuego-- the southernmost city in the world).  Amazing.  So this road winds through these mountains-- look to the left and you'll see a dirt wall (an 85-degree slope of the mountain); look to the right and you'll see the same slope, just looking down instead of up (not for the faint of heart, I assure you).  The roads here are amazing-- and what's more amazing is the fact that we're taking a large tour bus down there.  I'm sitting next to Stephanie (and typing this blog, incidentally, on a netbook on the bus) while we're driving.  We've been noticing mudslides every so often, but we've been lucky in that the mudslides have only obstructed the opposite lanes so far.  We were just commenting on how lucky we are that we can keep driving, and have avoided any obstructions.

Spoke too soon.  Our bus just stopped in a long traffic jam.  Nury, our Guatemalan contact, who's traveling with us, just informed us that there was a mudslide 40 minutes ago, and they expect us to be stopped here for 3 hours.  That's right-- our 5-hour trip was interrupted by a mudslide, for which we'll be stopped about 3 hours, if all goes as planned.  So people are opening windows, taking pictures, reading books, making bracelets, and (my personal favorite) distributing chocolate.  We were just given the go-ahead to get out and walk around.  Can't keep a bunch of gringos on a bus for 3 hours, can you?  Haha.  I'm excited to get out in my FiveFingers and explore the Sierra Madres.  That's the beauty of traveling in a developing country-- you never know what to expect, and should always be prepared for anything.  Lucky for me, I'm pretty low-maintenance and go-with-the-flow.  Ah, but I do love a grand adventure.  I'll let you know how it goes :)