Thursday, November 19, 2009

Guatemala, Day 1

Hey Everyone,

We have made it here to Guatemala safely. Yesterday it was very tough
traveling... we had to take three airplanes just to get down here and
it took around thirteen hours. I had to get up about 4:00 AM and did
not get much sleep after that. Unfortunately, we had to go through
customs twice.... Once in Cancun.... and again when we arrived at
Flores.

Once in Flores we were picked up by Humberto and driven to Hotel Gringo
Perdido. The ride took about 40 minutes, but it was really cool seeing
everything between the airport and hotel. The hotel is beautiful and
set in such a peaceful setting. It is located off the beaten path and
you have to travel on a bumpy road to get there but it is definitely
worth it. It is tucked away in such a pristine and well preserved area.
I would definitely recommend anyone to come here. The room is very
interesting. It has three walls and a door with an open wall looking
out to Lake Peten. In my room I have a huge king-sized bed and a little
twin. It kind of looks like a princesses room because of the way the
mosquito nets draped over the bed. It slept really well and I have a
fan so I was not too hot.

After settling in we met with Anne, the hotel manager that we will be
working with. We came out of our room just in time to see a beautiful
sunset. It was truly amazing and the thing is that everyday here at the
hotel you can see a beautiful sunset and sunrise. She gave us a tour of
the grounds and we were very impressed. Also, she showed us around the
new luxurious hotel that they are building next door. It is really
going to be something spectacular.

After our tour, we sat down for our delicious four-course meal. We
started with broccoli soup, followed by a cucumber dish. Our main
course was amazing with chicken, potatoes, carrots, etc... We finished
the night off with a delicious banana bread which might rival my
Nana's. The bananas were picked from around the hotel and were
delicious. To drink we had a delicious, sweet rice drink, which to me,
tasted like a Wendy's vanilla frosty for perspective.

Dinner was spectacular, but afterwards we went down to the dock to go
stargazing. Words cannot express the beauty of the sky. I have never
seen so many stars and with such great clarity. This area is so pure
and clean we must have been able to see a million stars.

This morning breakfast was as tasty as dinner. We started off with
watermelon and bananas... followed by eggs, potatoes, black beans, and
tomatoes. To drink we had a freshly squeezed pineapple juice.

Now we are caught up... Anne took us to Project Ix-Canaan where she
works with local villagers from everything from education to medicine.
I am looking forward to working here with the locals. This is truly
going to be an amazing trip. Until next time...

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