Look out world, the kids are in charge! After weeks of researching, discussing and planning, we finally got to see our efforts pay off this past week during free travel. These days of student-directed travel have been several weeks in the making, and well worth the time we put into it. We made ourselves a busy itinerary. After waving goodbye to our contacts at G22, we caught a bus from Guatemala City to Coban. There we made use of our hostel’s kitchen to make ourselves one of the best meals we’ve had all trip. The menu included salad with the works, roasted vegetable pasta, chickpea salad, Brazilian greens with olives, and some good old garlic bread. Shout out to Caroline, Ryan, Amelia and Brooke for leading the charge, and to the staffmember who tried to light the oven for us and may have burned off his eyebrows in the process. His sacrifice was not in vain. Having stuffed ourselves beyond capacity, we proceeded to shovel down large helpings of desert: brownie sundaes with fudge sauce a la Brooke. Sitting around tables adorned with fresh picked flowers (thank you Jeremy), it really struck me how much our group has become a family. We work hard, and we play hard; we love a lot, and we eat, A LOT.
The next morning we somehow managed to roll ourselves and our lingering food babies to the bus station again, and we were off to Semuc Champey. There, cool turquoise water cascades from pool to pool on its way down from the mountains, a breathtaking view from above and a picturesque local to enjoy the best of the natural beauty that Guatemala has to offer. Slipping down the natural rockslides, we explored each pool, followed by a candlelit tour of the watercaves below. Semuc Champey definitely draws tourists from all over, but one of the things I liked best about it was that it is enjoyed by travellers and locals alike. I wouldn’t have had the nerve to jump off that bridge into the river had that 10-year-old Guatemalan boy not taken the plunge first. The kid dropped 30 feet like it was nothing. You kind of had to follow, after that.
Lastly, we headed off to Antigua, a bustling city nestled in the mountains. With the opportunity to branch off and explore on our own, we all gained a lot of confidence in the travelling skills we’ve picked up during these past three months. Everyone got their own experience, and I think really came into their own as travellers. We still got some good group time in. Shout out here to Ryan’s friend Daniella, whose family owns Tre Fratelli, hands down the best Italian restaurant in the city, and probably in all of Guatemala. We were treated to a three-course dinner of salad, a variety of savory pastas, and the most delicious tiramasou I’ve ever had. If you find yourself in Antigua, Costa Rica, Honduras, California or Miami, I would highly recommend you seek out one of their locations. Huge thank you to Daniella and her family from the whole group.
We do sometimes do things other than eat, though. For instance, one day we rented bikes and took ourselves on a tour around the outskirts of Antigua. We rode through some neighboring towns, until we landed at an organic macademia nut farm. What a find–as well as being a really cool organization that donates trees to support local farmers and processes all their products responsibly, they also make some bomb pancakes. So yeah, I guess I take back my previous statement. We do mostly just eat. If that brunch wasn’t memorable enough, we also met one of the founders of the place, an exuberant old man origianally from California, and shared in the religious experience of “the church.” Surely we have all reached a higher state after basking in the light of wisdom therein.
Well-fed and happy, we’re off to spend our final week in Roatan, sunbathing on the beaches and enjoying some of the world’s best scuba diving. With seven days left, I can’t help but think back to when we were only seven days in: stumbling around Masaya trying to convert dollars to cordobas, tripping over our Spanish, getting to know each other for the first time and preparing to embark on our adventure together. Three countries, four weeks of Spanish school, and a few broken chairs later, we’ve come so far, and made lifelong friends in the process. This is the time in our life that we’ll look back on, saying, “Those were the days.” We’re so incredibly fortunate to have had this opportunity. Moving forward is bittersweet as the trip winds down and we prepare to head back home, but I’m so grateful to have had this time, and I can’t wait to live up this last week with my ten favorite people.
Hasta pronto,
Lucy
P.S. Hey Dad don’t forget to pick me up at the airport next week. I still live with you guys. I hope. Alright. Cool.