After an exciting week full of turtles and sleep deprivation, we packed our bags and caught a bus back to San Jose for the night. We stayed at Mi Tierra, a local hostel, and because of the size of our group (a whopping 14 people) we had the whole place to ourselves!
The next morning we swapped tires for wings and flew to Guatemala City, Guatemala. The view from the plane was amazing as we descended through the clouds and the sun lit up the greenery and colorful buildings below. A passport stamp later and we were officially in our third Central American country of the semester.
Alfredo, our guide for the week and owner of the eco-lodge and organization G-22, picked us up at the airport in his truck that runs on biofuel (aka animal fats that he gets from local restaurants). G-22 specializes in sustainability in an urban environment (as not everyone can live on a permaculture farm like Bona Fide) and Alfredo’s entire apartment showcases different techniques to reduce your footprint. After an orientation to the site and organization, we crashed for the night.
Our first city adventure was a trip to the market. On the way there, we walked through a city square where we encountered a man with some goats. Alfredo paid him, and the guy hoisted one of the goat’s legs over his shoulder and milked it right then and there. The group consensus was that it tasted most similar to a latte. At the market we paired up and were given 20 Quetzales (about $2.50) and had an hour to explore the market and buy food which we then took to a park and had a picnic. Even though we all brought random things to the table, or picnic blanket in this case, we somehow managed to make a cohesive and delicious meal!
Next day was a botanical garden visit, reflection time, and a trip to a Mayan museum. It was interesting to reflect how a quiet space was all relative in the middle of a big city compared to the small mountain towns we’d spent so much time in earlier in the trip.
A fun announcement, two days ago marked the halfway point of our program! To celebrate, we had game night, which got very competitive and ultimately ended with an arm wrestle between Alex and Ezra. We also had cake!
Tonight we’re cooking dinner for the group and Alfredo. We’re making Pad Thai, because what says Guatemala like Thai food! Tomorrow morning we take off for Quetzaltenango, then the following day head into the mountains for a week of Spanish classes.
Pictures to come!