After reading this blog families, friends, and loved ones will understand why it has been such a long time since our last post. Today is our first full day in the lovely metropolis of Quetzaltenango aka Xela, but before i delve too much into our current activities let me inform you all of what our group has been doing the past several days. The last post we shared that we were about to embark on a small journey to Tikal. We arrived at the national park around 3 or so. After placing our bags in our respective tents who entered the park for a three hour tour. If you know anything about Tikal you understand 3 hours is analogous with a speed date. Fortunately, we were able to spend the next morning either making it to places in the park that we werent able to see or spend more time in the locations that we had seen the previous day. Tikal is a fascinating place which reeks with hundreds of years of culture, and we were happy to have spent time there. After a brief, final lunch in San Andres we set sail for Coban and the hostel Casa Luna for a single night. The trip totaled around seven hours in which we all either read books, held conversations, sang and/or listened to music, or like Alex slept. The drive into the highlands was very beautiful and the terrain which is a combination of jungle and mountains was unlike anything that i have ever experienced. Arriving in Coban to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody put smiles on all of our faces. We welcomed the cooler climate that the mountains provided and some even adorned sweatshirts and long pants (Dan and Bobby were looking too handsome in our new Mayan Calender tank tops to change). The next morning we took a public bus basically the size of a school bus and a smaller van to the village of San Lucas Chicacnab. The van made to seat 12 was filled with twice as many living, breathing humans (not counted were the Guatemalans who were hanging on to the roof) which is the norm for public transportation in the great country of Guatemala. Our journey was not yet complete after reaching San Lucas. We had a 2 1/2 hour hike uphill in the jungle between us and our destination, Chicacnab. After minor struggles and playing some word association games to pass the time, we made it to this remote jungle village high up in the mountains. Living here was basically the furthest thing from the life that most, if not all, of us were accustomed to. The village of Chicacnab consisted of 32 families who all had the same goals in mind; to stop deforestation in their village and to continue to live their relatively comfortable lives. Hardly any women spoke spanish, which made those of us less adept in spanish conversation feel a little better about ourselves. Q`Eqchi, one of 23 Myan dialects, was the first language that all inhabitants learned to speak. Our accomodations were simple, but at least they had a building that all nine of us could share. Interstingly enough, a Carpe Diem group had previously helped build the structure called “The Hotel” that we rested our heads under. The floor was dirt and we didnt have any electricty but this had little to no effect on the group morale. Sharing a space together and again eating our meals with one another were nice perks that our time spent in Chicacnab afforded us. Our service project was to dig into the side of a small hill behind The Hotel and level the area so they could build an adjacent kitchen could be built. If anyone out their reading this has ever tried to dig into the side of a hill and build a structure from scratch you would know that 5 days is far too few to complete such a task. Undetered, we took our picks and hoes (this allowed for a nauseating ammount of jokes) and started our project. One of our fearless Leaders, Karen, was in short a piking fiend which the lot of us struggled to keep pace with. During our third day of work we experienced rain throughout the entire day and were forced to stop labor. This did not stop us from having a good time however. Bobby, Alex, and Dan had a mud fight for the ages and will not soon be forgotten. Celia and Heidi learned from a 14 year old girl how to weave during one afternoon. The mud fight entailed a shower for those who participated, while bathing we witnessed something that will remain with us for a while. A group of villagers had taken a pregnant, sick woman to the nearest hospital several hours away. We witnessed her return; she was strapped to a chair which in turn was being lugged on the back of a grown man. Our jaws immediately dropped and we all exchanged words of appreciation for the proximity of hospitals in each of our home towns. The last night of our stay the villagers held a celebration for us decked out with a Marimba, chocolate drinks, and plenty of dancing. We all enjoyed the final night very much and it was nice to feel a sense of appreciation and accomplishment. The next morning we departed with hugs and handshakes, made our way down the mountain, and waited for our bus to civilization and Coban. While waiting for our bus we started a geography word association game which Andy ended up winning 6 hours later. Once in Coban we all ate a short lunch and departed for the hostel named “Jam Bamboo” which is in walking distance from Semuc Champey. The hostel had a Italian menu and we all ate pizzas, pastas, and salads the two nights we were there. The first night one could feel the pleasant, warm, and welcoming aura of the hostel. Andy, Max, Alex, and Dan helped us all feel the aura by joining in on a drum circle with those who worked at the hostel. The following morning we anxiously hiked down to Semuc Champey, meaning Sacred Waters in a Mayan dialect. The landmark is aply named. It begins with a river rushing into an underground cave, all the while several small trees feed the numerous tranquil pools on top loaded with bathers. I can speak for everyone when I say that it improved all of our moods dramatically. After an action packed day at the lovely Semuc Champey we sluggishly returned to Jam Bamboo in groups of two. Upon return Max and Bobby made sweet music with Kaise and Celia as their audience while the other group trekked up a hill to get a bird´s eye view of all of Semuc Champey. The night was rather mellow with all of us enjoying pizza and good conversation. The next morning we made an eleven hour journey to the second largest city in all of Guatemala named Quetzaltenango (Xela). Xela has a population of around 150,000 and is our home for the next 3 weeks. Last night we met our new homestay families (these families are also our last homestay experience on the trip). We look forward to above average living conditions and building a meaningful relationship with each of our families all the while enhancing our spanish skills in a nice and comfortable environment. As i had previously mentioned, today is our first full day in Xela and also the first day of classes. We expect the blogging to pick up in frequency seeing as how we now have 12 computers at our disposal at Casa Xelaju, our spanish school. We all send our love and think about you all a lot. Staying with one family for an extended period of time will undoubtedly make me miss my family back in Loomis, CA a whole ton more. Let me again speak for all of us when I say that we are supremely thankful for this opportunity and look forward to personal growth and further insight into what it means to be a responsible adult. I believe now you can understand why you all have experienced a dry spell of information regarding your young travelers. Also, I fully blame any spelling and grammar errors due to the increasing pain in my rump left our from our 11 hour bus ride.
Much Love,
Bobby Fleming and the Carpe Diem CAM Family
