Leaving San Marcos was a bittersweet experience for the group. We greatly enjoyed our time in this beautiful town, but at the same time we were ready for our next adventure, which was sure to be exciting, just as every new place proves to be. On Sunday morning we left San Marcos and embarked on our 8 hour drive to Coban, where we stayed for a night. The Car ride was long, but scenic, and we occupied ourselves with books, games, music, and conversation. Once we arrived in Coban, our leaders of the week had the task of leading us to the hostel, and we experienced our first real group disagreement. It took us awhile to navigate the streets of this new city, but eventually we worked together and arrived at Eco-Hostal, where the group was happy to take hot showers, eat dinner, and relax for the evening. The following morning the group left for our new home for the week, Rocja Pomila. After about a 5 hour drive we arrived in Rocja, a beautiful rural village surrounded by jungle and mountains and located on a river, the main souurce of water for the village. When we arrived we were placed with homestay families in groups of twos and threes. There is no running water in the village, and none of our homestay families had electricity, so this was a different experience for all of us. We all had similar accomodations in our homestays – separate cabins for us to sleep in, beds with mosquito nets, and three meals a day.
The week panned out differently than we expected – there wasn´t a lot of volunteer work to be done, but we engaged in many activities nonetheless, and had an enjoyable stay. Our first volunteer project was cutting boards and painting signs for around the village, and the following day we drilled holes in the signs to be hung in various places. Our second day in the village some of us went across the river to a cacao farm and cut branches in order to let sunlight in and make it easier for the cacao trees to grow. It was hard work and very hot, muddy and buggy, but a great way to experience the work that many of the locals do on a daily basis. Those that weren´t working in the woods helped conduct a census for a business owner who is trying to bring hydroelectric power into the village. The group reconviened after lunch for free time where we played games, and were joined some of the local children, and we also swam in the river. Our last full day in Rocja , the leader of the volunteer organization, as well as my host Dad, Javier, took us on a boatride to a beautiful waterfall. To get to the waterfall we walked thorugh the jungle and were lucky enough to see some monkeys, something many of us had never seen in the wild before. We climbed up partof the waterfall and sat and enjyed the beauty of the area, as well as the feeling of cooling off. The river has a sttrong enough current that some of us decided to float the forty minutes back rather than taking the boat. It was a lot of fun and a cool way to experience the river and see the beautiful scenery. The afternoon consisted of scheduled free time to journal, play games, and just hang out, followed by a volleyball game at the church. Some of the locals challenged us to a U.S. vs Guatemala game, which was a lot of fun, and we showed our American pride by winning the game! Evenings were spent eating dinner by candlelight with our families and then watching the stars or fireflies or simply spending time with each other.
This week was a good experience , but again we are excited for what lies ahead. This morning we left Rocja Pomila and had another fun carride and now we are back at Eco-Hostal whre we will be for two nights. Tonight we will have a family style meal together and a group meeting to talk about the group roles and the week ahead. Tomorrow we will take a day trip to Semuc Champey, supposedly one of the most beautiful places in the world, for a day of swimming and exploring. We all continue to become closer as a group, and learn more about ourselves and the worls, and we look forward to all the places we have yet to experience!
Hope you all are well! Peace.
Alissa and the CAM maya group