Roasting Marshmallows on the Volcano

About the volcano, I have two important additions:

1. Yes, we did see actual lava flowing out of the mountain. It was very cool. Actually, it was very hot, but it was cool to see. We were about 5 feet away. Getting any closer just seemed too risky for any of us. As it was, we were nervous being that close. The rock under our feet was very warm to the touch and it sounded hollow. Not knowing much about the geology of newly formed lava rock, we decided to err on the side of caution and limit our stay.
2. Yes, we roasted marshmallows on the volcano. Our sticks were a little too short to reach the actual lava flow, but we did find a steam vent (white hot hole in the ground) that provided just the right amount of heat. Our marshmallows roasted in no time at all and were the best marshmallows we've ever tasted.

With or without marshmallows seeing the birth of rock was pretty amazing. And Aidan is pretty impressed with having a five day old rock in his collection.

The Trip Home

It's 5:00 am, time to start the long journey home. I fly from Guatemala City to Miami to Chicago to Winnipeg. I'm due to arrive at 10:30 pm. It's going to be a long day.

I am reminded of how much I dislike airports. The minute we touch down we are herded like cattle into shoots where all visitors are fingerprinted and interrogated. It seems as though we're all presumed guilty until proven innocent.

The cold harsh reality of international travel today becomes even more evident with the recurring warnings of the terrorist attack threat levels over the intercom, repeated security lines and signs posted throughout the airport encouraging everyone to report any suspicious activity.

Ironically, I feel less safe than ever before.

I'm also reminded of our crazy North American life styles. Barbie is everywhere - tucked, nipped and high heeled with pumped up lips and breasts, she's stylin' with her Gucci bag and Manolo high heeled shoes. Classy business execs are also in abundance with their high tech gear that's plugged into every available outlet. I pass a restaurant where three, twenty year olds are having dinner together, except they aren't talking to each other, they're each texting someone else on their hand held "thingies". Hmm, what a great life we live!

My head is still in an altruistic state thinking about the plight and welfare of people across the globe. It's hard to process these two images -excessive wealth versus excessive need- that are floating around in my head.

I have a lot of time to contemplate this dilemma as I don't arrive in Winnipeg until 11:30 pm. When I finally pass through the last checkpoint, my thoughts are washed away by the sight of my family. Their embrace is all I really needed.

Saying Goodbye

Early Monday morning the first of our team depart. It's hard to say good-bye. We've only known each other for nine days, but we've experienced so much together that it seems like saying good-bye to life long friends.

Our plans vary. Some of us are eager and ready to go home and rejoin our friends and family.

Some aren't ready to go quite yet, they have more exploring to do. Several members are touring the sights of Guatemala - Lake Atitlan, the Pacific Coast and maybe even Tikal in the north. Two others are staying in Antigua to take Spanish lessons and immerse themselves in the culture even more.

No matter which direction we go, one thing's for sure - we've had an amazing adventure that will stay with us for a lifetime.

Pacaya - Volcana Adventure of a Lifetime

Today was one of the best days of my life. Today, I climbed 1,000 meters to end up 2500 meters above sea level on a lava flowing crater of Mount Pacaya about 1 hour from Antigua.

It was extra special because every step of the way, my family was with me. I couldn't have done it without them! They are my rock.

I woke up and all I could think was "It's a great day to climb a mountain." a phrase inspired by Darryl and the IBEX Herd. While Darryl and I often use this phrase figuratively, today, it was 100% literal. It was a clear sunny, warm (23 degrees) day - a great day to climb a mountain. I thought of Darryl every step of the way.

Aidan, my 8 year old son was with me every step of the way as well. I know how much he loves nature and how much he would have loved seeing the plumes of smoke coming out of Pacaya and the volcano Feugo off in the distance, which also sent regular plumes of smoke into the air. I know he also would have loved the gigantic grub/caterpillar we saw. It was yellow with a black head and a transparent rear end. It was as thick as my thumb and at least 4 inches long. Can't wait to show you the pictures. And, I thought of Aidan's recommendation not to go to the smoking vent at the top and look over the edge. So, I didn't.

Melanie, my 6 year old daughter was with me too. When the going got tough, and it got pretty tough, I thought of Melanie.

It was a tough climb. I was wheezing like crazy and stopped frequently to catch my breath. I swear we went up a 60 degree angle, as Darlene put it, it was worse than a level 12 on a Stairmaster in the gym! The terrain consisted of loose, sliding rock which made it difficult to get a good footing. The path was tricky with people above and below and people going up and coming down. There were hot air vents to avoid and heat cracks with white coals to jump over. The rock itself was like pummice further down but towards the top it was incredibly sharp edges that cut my hands any time I had to steady myself. It was hard. But Melanie saw me through it - I kept thinking of the song she sings whenever she encounters something difficult - "Keep on going, keep, keep going, keep on going every day."

I also remembered Melanie distinctly telling me not to slip and hurt my knee. So I didn't. Although, we did see some nasty cuts as people came down the mountain. There were a few scratches and scrapes that we had to disinfect on our team too.

It was a surreal experience. I felt connected to the power of Mother Nature and to my family like never before. I can't wait to see them, hug them and share my stories with them in person.

A True Guatemalan Adventure

Our 5 hour trip back from Coban to Antigua turned into a nasty 9 hour adventure. The good news is we weren't in a crowded "chicken bus", we weren't kidnapped or hijacked in any way, and no one got really sick.

Our journey took us through one final journey through the streets of Coban where once again we saw hundreds of little stores lined along the streets - people trying to earn a little something by selling just about anything along the streets. Coban is not a tourist town, so they're not just selling to tourists, this is simply the local economy and way of doing business.

We continue through the winding highway through the mountainous terrain of the province (Department) of Alta Verapaz. We cringe as we see drivers passing on blind corners and driving in a manner that seems to far surpass the quality and ability of their vehicles. But, we did not see any accidents. We pass pick up trucks with built up walls carrying loads of people in the back - they are standing so tight there is no room for them to move.

We also pass and/or are passed by the "chicken buses" so named because everyone and their chickens ride on these buses. The tops of these buses are packed with possessions, inside there are 5 people per seat with another 30 jammed into the aisles. We followed one bus that also had one person hanging out the front door. These buses are old school buses that come to Guatemala from Canada and the US. They get them because they don't meet emission requirements in our country. This does not come as a surprise to us as we are suffocated by the black exhaust of a brightly coloured bus we're unfortunate enough to follow for a few hours. We are torn between closing the windows and baking to death (25 degrees and sunny today) or dying from exhaust. We chose death by exhaust fumes - we figured it was a slower death!

We also pass an army truck with 20 soldiers carrying heavy duty guns (sorry, I didn't get the make and model, but they looked pretty scary). We decided against taking a photo out the side of the bus. Seeing security guards with sawed off shot guns at banks, gas stations and other fine establishments is not so shocking to us anymore. Nor is seeing the glass shard security system on top of the walls surrounding properties. Imagine broken glass bottles cemented into the top of a 4 inch wide wall with the poky ends sticking straight up. The other line of defence for those with more money seems to be razor wire. Razor wire is one step up from simple barbed wire. There are literally razor like edges on this wire.

We did get to stop at a bioreserve (protected forest) for a 1.5km hike up a mountain. Wow, altitude really does affect breathing. I haven't wheezed like that in a long time. For all the amazing plants we saw, I was perplexed and surprised that we did not see any bugs - none, not a one, not even one lonely little ground leech! Apparently the altitude is to blame. After much searching, I did find one spider and one beautiful butterfly -hmph!

Once we hit Guatemala City the ride turned into a nightmare. We were sandwiched between trailers and chicken buses emitting clouds of black in the traffic jam of all traffic jams. It seemed like we moved 2 feet per hour. We later found out the delay was due to the annual Christmas parade and possibly an accident. Death by fumes seemed eminent. We're amazed by the vendors and people lining the streets who survive this hell on a daily basis.

Finally our Habitat Interpreter convinced our driver to take a detour. After much manouvering, we ended up seeing the "rich" part of Guatemala City - the Department of Defence (a high walled compound with watch tower turrets lined with holes for guns. We can only imagine the history these walls have seen. We also went by the US embassy, bank towers and other fancy buildings.

Stopping for lunch was another interesting adventure. The armed guards of a shopping mall (we were headed to the food court for a quick bite) refused to let our van/bus enter. We ended up at a "On the Run" shop at an Esso station. Nothing but the finest for us!

After more delays and line ups we finally hobbled down the cobblestone streets of Antigua. It felt so good to stop moving and reach our hotel - Los Bucaros. Our oasis!

What an adventure.

Tomorrow we head to the volcano. Whoo Hoo!

A final farewell to our families and masons

Today was our last day on the build sites. It is a bittersweet moment for all of us. We have come to know and love our families and masons. When you only have a short time, you get real close real fast. We will miss them.

When we came there was only a foundation. Today, the houses are two rows short of the gable ends and the roofs. We all wish we could see the final result, but the masons have two more weeks of work to do.

Throughout the week we wondered if we were actually helping or if we were just in the way of the professionals. Today, we knew we made a difference and were actually helping. We knew we made a difference as we formed the "bucket brigade" to send "mescela" or mortar from one end of the build site to the top of the scaffolding where the head mason poured it into the walls. We knew we made a difference when we formed another brigade to move a pile of gravel. We knew we made a difference as we moved the last block out of the yard and into the house. We knew we made a difference when we saw a pile of rebar ribs ready for the masons to use while we were gone. We knew we made a difference when we turned in our work gloves and trowels for our masons to use long after we´ve gone. We knew we made a difference when we turned in 6 garbage bags full of clothes, a box of shoes and several boxes of children´s toys and craft supplies to Habitat Guatemala. Yes, our work here made a difference.

The closing ceremonies where the families, the masons and Habitat Guatemala expressed their gratitude also showed us that we made a difference in these families' lives. Their gratitude was expressed with gifts, prayers, tears and food for all of us.

As much as we tried - and boy did we try with our own words and prayers - , I don't think we succeeded in expressing how much we appreciated being here, how much we are taking away from this experience and what an honour it was to be a part of building a home for these families.

It was a day of blessings for all.

Why Do You Come Here?

As the days go by we are getting to know the Guatemalan masons on our worksite. They are hard working, great guys who are as curious and interested in us as we are in them. Today, with the help of our interpreter, we shared some basic information about our age, family status, work, etc. We also talked a lot about the Canadian climate which they are fascinated by.

One question they raised was why do you come here? A thought provoking question for sure to which we responded:

We have come to show you that we care about you and the people of Guatemala. We want to share our good fortune and many blessings with you. We want to help create a caring global community. We want to learn more about you, your people and your country.

In another conversation the mother of one of the home owners simply says "Thank you for your sacrifice in coming here". We respond "It is not a sacrifice, it is our pleasure and honour."

I can´t believe how much French I know!

Just when you think you´re on a roll with speaking a little Spanish in sneaks a French word. Sil vous plais, merci, tres grand, pardon, etc. are frequently heard from us Canadians. Who knew we knew that much French!

The Ants Go Marching

Today, at the coffee plantation, we saw a line of leaf cutter ants. It was right out of a National Geographic special. Imagine a two inch path at least 100 feet long running through the forest underbrush. The dried leaves, twigs, rocks and other debris were cleared away and all that you could see as far as you could look was a row of ants each carrying a small piece of leaf on their back. Wow. Sadly, we couldn´t follow the path to its final destination, but we were all thoroughly impressed.

Apparently, the plantation owners are OK with having them as they attract a certain fungus that they like having on their property.

A very cool thing to see.

A Zippy Surprise

What an amazing day!

I´m feeling a little guilty - we´re having a lot of fun! Our team has formed an instant tight bond where we share everything from bowel movements to food concerns to favourite music. Hey, when you share a hole to pee in, modesty goes out the window real quick!

Anyway, after a half day of work moving more bricks and bending more rebar, we took the afternoon off and toured a coffee plantation. This cooperative employs 1200 people year round. The building infrastructure is minimal, but the number of plants is grand - we can only imagine how many people and how many hours it must take to pick all those beautiful coffee beans. At this plantation they grow high altitude, Bourbon and Courto (?) coffee beans that are a mix of sun and shade beans. They dry the beans but send them out to be roasted.

The property also included a tree reserve made up of tall North American pines, Guatemalan bamboo, and other trees. The biggest surprise of all were the four Zip lines that were part of the forest. Imagine me zipping over the tops of coffee plants, water ponds and bush. What a thrill. I know my son Aidan would love it. The finale of the tour was a taste of coffee back at the main office. Simply amazing and certainly an unexpected treat.

The weather continues to be a little rainy at nights and early morning but warms up to hover around 20 degrees. The evenings require a sweater.

Now, for all you Canadians - how would you explain the difference between the use of Hey and eh? We had a lengthy discussion on this topic with our Habitat Guatemala volunteers who happen to be American. Go ahead try and come up with an explanation and examples of each.

Today´s build also included a very special ceremony. We are about half way up and decided that we should burry some Canadian toonies in the building for good luck. So, we pulled out some Canadian coins. Our Guatemalan builders were very interested in seeing our coins and the strange animals on them. We never could figure out how to say beaver, but the charades were pretty impressive. Finally, we put one twoonie on each side of the entranceway. This way, a piece of us will always remain with these families in Guatemala.

Wouldn´t you say that´s a great day - building a home for a deserving family, creating lifetime friendships and trying something new and exciting for the first time?

Build Day Two

Day two at the build started off with lots of rain. Luckily it stopped after a while and we were able to dry off. We were tieing rebar together for earthquake protection - an added layer of rebar in the middle of the house. We´re on row 5 of 11 rows of cinder block before we do the gable for the roof.

The build is really well organized and our Master Mason is super at giving us jobs to do. He doesn't speak English, but he gets his message across. He always has a smile. I think the mason team has fun at our expense - crazy gringos.

Went out for dinner tonight at a restaurant filled with orchids.

Amazing to see the conditions people can actually live in. We have such a great country.

Gotta go, long line up for computer, just a short blog tonight!

The Work Begins

Today was our first day of building. We have two families and two homes to build. They are 500 square feet cinder block construction. They are a square with four rooms equally divided. In the back, the deluxe models have a bathroom and a kitchen.

Our work included: cutting rebar, sifting sand to separate out the rocks, moving cinder blocks, mixing mortar, chiseling cinder blocks into U shapes (without busting them!), putting mortar between the cinder blocks that the professional masons had placed into position on the walls and twisting rebar. We finished two rows today. It was tiring, repetitive work - most of our backs and shoulders are quite sore. But, it was great to feel useful and to actually build a house. The families are so appreciative.

The families and builders do not speak English. We (thirteen Canadian volunteers) speak very little Spanish. Communicating is tough, so we mostly point, smile and do whatever they show us. It seems to be working just fine and everyone is still smiling.

The chefs at our hotel are very concerned about feeding us Canadian food - we had spaghetti and meat sauce for supper. We´re trying to encourage them to feed us more traditional food. We had ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Although they were sitting outside all day - we are definitely taking some food risks!

The commraderie amongst the volunteers is awesome. After supper we´ve been sharing some wine and playing cards and chit chatting. Although tonight will be another early night - we´re all exhausted.

The line up for this computer is growing, it´s time to sign off.

All the best.

Arriving in Coban Meeting Our Families

What a day! We drove for 5 hours in a shuttle van to Coban, a city north of Guatemala City. We drove through amazing countryside. Lots of hills/small mountains. One area was quite dry with lots of cactus. As we got higher we saw pine trees mixed in with the palms, banana and plantains.

Corn crops are everywhere, but they are nothing like Manitoba fields. The fields are the size of a garden and are on the edge of cliffs with plants growing in between the rocks. Obviously everything is planted and harvested by hand - no machine could ever go where these crops are.

Food has been good - chicken, corn tortillas, tamale (corn paste wrapped and heated in corn husks), beans, salsa and rolled deep fried tortillas seem to be some of the staples. Cerveza, soda lemonade and bottled water are the key beverages. So far only one person has had tummy issues.

I have seen no bugs, leeches or scorpions. I hope it stays that way.

Our hotel in Coban is great - much better than I ever imagined. I am sharing a room with one other lady. We have our own bathroom with shower. It has a medieval feeling to it.

We met our Habitat families this afternoon. Everyone was very shy - our Spanish is no better than their English. But the smiles and nods say tons.

Our hotel has a computer with internet. I´ll write again soon. Tomorrow is the first day of the Build. We´ll be building 2 homes, the walls have been started , the goal is that the roof will be put on this weekend. The masons seem eager to make us work hard!

Until later,
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Made It!

I am here safe and sound. I landed in Guatemala City as expected at 6:30 am. No problemo. No sleepo.

Some Habitat representatives met us and shuttled us (no chickens on this swanky van-bus) to Antigua, Guatemala where we will be spending the night before going to Coban.

The weather is amazing. Sunny and about 25 ish.

My first cup of coffee at the airport this morning cost 23 quetzals. Yikes, that takes some getting used to. Really that´s less than $4 for an airport latte - not too bad.

Antigua is a lovely, small community with narrow cobblestone (very rough) streets and even narrower sidewalks. ´Since we came in early we´ve had a chance to explore and have our first meal. I had pollo piento or something like that. Reminded me of a chicken curry - very good.

Antigua is very touristy. The old colonial style means that the streets are lined with white washed stucco walls (painted vibrant colours) with about 2 or 3 doors per block. There are small signs saying what´s inside. Once through you find yourself in a shop, restaurant, bank, internet cafe, hotel, etc. usually with an open air court yard. Any plants are inside in the court yard. The streets are just walls, sidewalk and cobblestone, no plants.

The city center plaza has a lovely fountain with all sorts of flowers, plants and trees. There are several old cathedrals. We saw a wedding in progress in one of them this morning. We got to see the bride walk down the aisle (seemed very typical to a Canadian wedding).

We can see the volcanoes in the backdrop to the city. We also see small mountains with a lot of greenery.

Our Hotel is nice. There are 4 beds and a TV in my room, I´m sharing with one other person. It is an old Villa turned into a hotel. There are several courtyards (10 ftx 10ft) inside with plants and a rooftop patio.

Everyone has been super friendly and patient with my limited Spanish.

Freakiest thing so far is seeing armed guards at gas stations and the bank.

I'm not sure when I'll get to make my next entry. Until then take care.

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Ready to Go

I can't believe this day has finally come. I'm nervous and excited.

My bags are packed. I managed to fit everything in one big suitcase and one backpack. Have I forgotten anything? Only time will tell.

I'm going to miss my kids. I'm going to miss my friends. I'm going to miss my husband. But, I'm confident that going on my own is the right thing to do - this time! Who knows what I will discover about myself. And really, it's only 11 days.

The forecast in Coban is 25, 26, 26, 20 with a 20% chance of rain each day. Night time lows are around 15. There are no hurricanes in sight and the WHO has no reports of disease outbreaks. A perfect time to go to Guatemala.

I hope to find internet access somewhere so I can fill you in on all the latest while I'm travelling. If not, I've got my old fashioned paper journal so I can post information later.

That's all for now. Talk to you from Guatemala!

Best Friends Give the Best Advice

I have the best friends! Last night they had a surprise bon voyage party for me. Along with some toys and arts and craft supplies for the kids in Coban, they gave me some really great travelling advice. Here are their words of wisdom:

1. Watch out for leeches! (Luckily, there are no huge, blood sucking ground leeches)

2. Goat meat can be yummy if done right.

3. Pedestrians never ever have the right of way.

4. Gravol, gravol and more gravol with a dash of Immodium.

5. Immodium and plenty of it - Quick Dissolve placed under the tongue.

6. Never ever fly on Friday the 13th. (Seeing my flight plan, they quickly crossed this one out!)

Aren't they great!

Weather in Coban, Guatemala

It's 21 C with scattered clouds and the possibility of rain in Coban, Guatemala right now. The forecast is 20-25 C with chance of rain for the next 7 days. The overnight lows are between 15-19 C. Not too bad considering we're at 1 to 8 C here with overnight lows in the minus numbers.

The time is Central Standard Time, so it's the same time there as it is right here in Winnipeg.

I've learned that Coban has a population of 70,000 people - that's slightly bigger than Brandon (Manitoba's 2nd largest city). It's not as touristy as some of the more southern locations like Antigua, Guatemala. Our two days of R and R will be in Antigua where shopping and volcano visiting will be the highlights.

Just over one week to go.