Guatemala part 2: Lago de Atitlan

Tues. March 18
We woke up for our last morning in Antigua and got a delicious breakfast right across the street from our hostel: cheese omelette, refried beans, fried plantains, bread, and OJ for 30Q ($4). Then we were headed off to Lago de Atitlan, about 2 hours northwest of Antigua. It is a large lake ringed by volcanoes, steep hillsides, and small villages where international tourists and traditional Mayan culture abound. The lake was formed about 85,000 years ago when, after a massive volcanic eruption, the surfaced collapsed forming the hole.

The main city around Lago de Atitlan is Panajachel ("Pana"). From Antigua, you can take a shuttle directly there for about $7 but we were trying to save a little cash so we decided to take the ultra-rockin' public buses which are always more fun. Our first bus was 20 min. for 4Q ($0.50) to Chimaltenango ("Chimal"). It was a medium-sized, dusty, very busy town. During the ride, the driver's helper would climb out the window and onto the roof, while the bus was speeding down windy roads, to toss bags down to disembarking passengers. From there we boarded a bus for Solola about 2 hours for 20Q ($2.70). Along the way there were great views of the hilly countryside and farming villages. In Solola we got off right next to their large market. The majority of the people were in traditional Mayan clothing even, for the first time I've seen, the men. We got on our next bus for Pana, 10 min. for 2Q ($0.25). From there, we walked down to the main public dock and got on a lancha (boat) for our hotel, Casa del Mundo, in Jaibalito, 20 min. for 15Q ($2). Lanchas are small, open motorboats with bench seats across. They can fit about 20 people. Since it was about 4:00pm, the water was very choppy and continuously splashed the passengers. Our bags were on the floor and, seeing they were getting wet, we tried covering them with plastic and I even pulled mine up onto my lap and opened an umbrella to help block the water from the passengers. The boat dropped us off right at our hotel's dock and we went to check in. The hotel is built into a steep hillside right on the lake so there are many stairs. Luckily an employee helped carry our bags up. We got our key and for the first night were in the most convenient room, having the fewest stairs and right next to the dining room/main office.

We walked into our room and were awed. Every room at the hotel has numerous picture windows and a balcony with amazing, expansive views of the lake and volcanoes. Anywhere you stood at the hotel, it was gorgeous. The rooms are also very cutely decorated with regionally made blankets, paintings, rugs, crafts, and carved wooden benches, chairs, armoires, and bed frames. Each room also has a portable light for night walks and the hotel even has a hot water tank, no electrical suicide shower heaters here. There is no way to capture or relay the beauty of this hotel. Shockingly, it was only $25 each per night with 3 of us sharing a private room. A hotel like this in the states would be $400 a night or more.We unpacked, hanging up some of the clothes that had gotten wet on the boat ride, and went to the dining room for a refreshment until dinner was served. You have to order dinner here by 2:00pm and they will customize your meal based on any dietary restrictions you have. It is served family style every night at 6:30pm for 80Q ($10). A bit expensive on our budget but it was well spent. Each night had a salad, soup, main entree, and desert. Every single meal was insanely delicious and large. For the dinner, all the tables are put together in a large L-shape and are covered with tablecloths, flowers, and candlelight. Very romantic.

Wed. March 19
We woke up around 7:00am to the most amazing view of the lake and volcanoes. We put on our swimsuits, ate breakfast while admiring the view, and walked down to one of the swimming decks. There were lounge chairs and different places to climb into the lake for a swim. It was chilly, but not unbearably, and very clear. There were a few Guatemalan kids fishing off the decks too. They caught quite a few fish. We relaxed, swam, and read for a few hours. Click on the link for a view of the deck and our beautiful surroundings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0m7eJoBd6k.

At about 1:00pm it started to get a little windy and rough so we decided to head into the main town, Pana. We had to switch rooms that night so we got our key and found the new room was up a thousand stairs but still equally gorgeous. Back down on the hotel's dock, we waved down a lancha and rode the 20 min. to town. From there we took a tuk-tuk, a 3-wheeled open scooter taxi, up to a nearby nature reserve, Reserva Natural Atitlan. Admission was 45Q ($6) and we decided to follow the hiking trail around the park that takes about 1 hour. Along the way was a viewing deck of the large animal enclosure. Right when we walked up, we immediately spotted a handful of coatis.

Coatis are close relatives of the raccoon. They are found from the southern US to Argentina, are good tree climbers, have long snouts to sniff out insects and other food, and a have long tails which are usually upright. Amazingly (according to Wikipedia), they can turn their ankles 180 degrees. The curious coatis found a way out of the enclosure and came right up to our feet, making us a little nervous and excited. Click on the link to see them inspecting us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hrqLsWxR3U

Seconds later we spotted 3 spider monkeys coming to see what all excitement was about. Spider monkeys are found from southern Mexico to Brazil, are very lanky with long skinny arms and legs, mostly only eat fruit and nuts, can walk on two legs, and are extremely agile with their prehensile tail. Click on the link to see them joining the coatis in their investigation of us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSrSWEJZV70

We walked above to another viewing deck and the spider monkeys began performing acrobatic tricks for us. They are so cool. Click on the link to see one in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHvHUb3Hy7A

Tearing ourselves away from the creatures, we continued on the path. We crossed numerous swinging bridges, saw a few waterfalls, coffee and banana trees, and colorful flowers. The park also had camping areas, a limited number of accommodations, canopy tours, and a butterfly garden , although we could find no butterflies in it. Heading back into Pana, we began the frustrating search for transportation to our next destination, Rio Dulce. Normally this would have been a 10 minute venture, but we had one problem... we wanted to go on Good Friday. We hadn't realized this when we planned the trip. We stopped into about 5 different transportation shops and all confirmed that no buses or shuttles were running on Good Friday. They offered us a private shuttle for $90 each! Ha!

It was 5:00pm and we had to get back to the hotel, so we left without booking anything and hoped the next day we would have better luck. The lancha back to the hotel was surprisingly smooth and dry. We enjoyed another succulent dinner and trudged up the million stairs to our room.

Thurs. March 20
At 7:30am we awoke to the most breathtaking views yet. The sky was blue and clear with not a cloud to be found. After breakfast we noticed it was fairly windy so we opted out of swimming and took a lancha to Pana to seek out cheaper transportation options for our next stop. Strangely, we found a travel office right on the Pana dock which offered us a private shuttle, still the only option, for $65 each. Although this was still wildly expensive, we really had no other option, so we booked it.

We explored the main street in Pana for awhile. It was packed with jewelry stalls, travel offices, restaurants, and an equal mix of locals and international travelers. There was a disproportionate amount of "bum travelers". These travelers seems to have it in their minds that looking like a homeless person will make you look cool. I mean, there have been times during previous travel trips where I was unable to shower for 4 days straight but I still brushed my hair, washed my face, and changed my clothes to look decent. I mean, even the cheapest bare-bones hostel still has a shared bathroom for you to use. Whatever. To each his own.

The only really concerning ones are those we have seen with children. In Antigua there was a mom and dad that literally looked homeless with knotted hair, dirt spots all over their bodies and clothes, and no shoes... and they had their 8-year-old son with them who looked in the same state as them. I mean, does the boy go to school, brush his teeth, eat and sleep regularly? Maybe the junkies are regrettably smart enough to realize CPS can't take your kids away if you're in another country. When this family walked down the streets, even the Guatemalans turned to stare at them.

Anyway... we bought some pastries and snacks for the next day's long shuttle ride, used the ATM, and got a drink and snack by the lake. Returning to our hotel in a lancha, we discussed hiking to a nearby village. We asked about it in the hotel and, although many villages were short hikes away, they were uphill hikes. We were feeling sluggish from all the stairs and previous hiking so we just relaxed at the hotel: reading, checking email, enjoying the view, drinking licuados, and showering before dinner. During dinner we met a girl in the Peace Corps stationed in Guatemala. She seemed to be enjoying it but I much prefer Honduras. It is much greener, cheaper, and has nice beaches.

Friday March 21
We set our ipods to wake us up at 6:00am, got dressed, grabbed our bags, and climbed down to the dock for a lancha into Pana to meet our shuttle for Rio Dulce on the Caribbean coast. One problem... there were no lanchas running on Good Friday. Luckily the hotel offered to give us a ride in their boat. This was our last view of the lake. Click on the link to see a quick panoramic video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8pVtjxCK7A

Stay tuned for the last exciting installment of our adventures in Guatemala...

Guatemala part 1: Antigua

For Semana Santa (Holy week/Easter/spring break), Christina and I had the week off of teaching so we decided to head to Guatemala. My sister, Reina, also decided to fly down and join us for the adventure. This is the first of three installments about our trip.

Sat. March 15
At 5:40am Christina and I took a taxi to the Hedman Alas bus stop in Tela. We went in to purchase our tickets to Guatemala but they were sold out. We had just been there 2 days prior and they said we didn't need reservations. Honduras is so frustrating sometimes. Instead, we bought tickets for Copan Ruinas on the Honduran/Guatemalan border hoping we could get a ride to Guatemala City from there. The tickets were 428 Lemps (L) ($23) each.

The bus was very fancy. They took our picture before boarding, handed out cookies, water, and juice, and we reclined in our plush seats. About 2 1/2 hours later, we stopped in San Pedro Sula where we had a 2 hour layover until leaving for Copan. Isn't waiting always fun when you are on a tight schedule to get somewhere? We anxiously wasted the time by reading, eating, and just wandering around the immense bus stop/mall.

Finally our bus departed and we arrived in Copan at about 1:40pm. Unfortunately, all the Guatemalan bound buses and shuttles had already left. There was another bus leaving but not until 6:30pm. We had to meet Reina at the Guatemala airport at 7:00pm. Two guys offered to drive us, in their shuttle, to the Guatemalan border town, Chiquimula, about 1 1/2 hour away for the ridiculous price of 1,000L ($53) each. That is 1/4 our monthly living allowance! We really had no other option so we grudgingly coughed up the dough. At the border we paid the small fees and arrived in Chiquimula at 3:30pm. It was a dusty, busy town. We transferred to a bus headed for Guatemala City. The ride to Guatemala was not very scenic. The whole countryside was brown, dead, and very dry. Quite a change from the evergreen Honduras.

After what seemed like a thousand stops, we got to Guatemala City at 7:30pm. Christina and I checked our watches about a thousand times along the way hoping Reina would not panic at the airport if we were late. We quickly exited the bus and got in a taxi to the airport for 30 Quetzales (Q) ($4) each. Guatemala city was large, very densely populated, and every business seemed to have a creative painting on the outside advertising it's services. At the airport, we found Reina and our shuttle for the hotel anxiously waiting for us. The shuttle was $11 each to our hotel in Antigua, about 45 min. away.

The cobblestone streets were the first sure sign that we had entered Antigua. We stopped at the central park to use the ATM and then went to our hotel, Umma Gumma. The reservation was for the three of us to share one private room but they ended up giving us two private rooms for the same price, $10 each per night. Reina's and mine was a bright room on the second floor with a balcony overlooking the street below. Christina's was in a corner on the first floor and very dark. Every part of the hotel was colorful and filled with character. It was late so we sought out the nearest restaurant, ordered pasta and drinks for about 60Q ($8), and then went to bed.Sun. March 16
I woke up at about 8:30am to loud music coming from out on the street. It sounded like a band marching in a parade. I looked out the window and, to my surprise, there were people creating a huge alfombra on the street below. Alfombras are amazing works of art created during Semana Santa on the cobblestone streets and in the churches with pine needles, dyed sawdust, colored sand, fruits, vegetables, and flowers, creating great scents throughout the entire city. Groups of people work for hours to create them. You have to enjoy them quickly as soon after they finish, large religious processions come down the streets trampling them and they are swept away.We watched the artists at work and walked to the central park. The central park and the adjacent cathedral were packed with hordes of Guatemalans, Central Americans, and a few other tourists. Many women were in very traditional Mayan dress with colorful, clashing patterns and babies were carried in slings around their backs. People were selling intricately arranged bouquets of flowers, boys were carrying around their shoeshine boxes, many men pushed ice cream carts, and numerous religious scenes were being performed by costumed people on the streets. Inside the church was a beautiful alfombra, stained glass windows, large platforms with statues waiting to be carried in the processions, and many paintings and statues.We got breakfast for 25Q ($3), walked though an artisan souvenir market, and took in all the people and chaos around. Walking around the streets, we witnessed a few processions. In the processions, the men dress in deep purple robes with white head scarves and the women in black and white with black veils. They carry large, insanely heavy wood platforms with religious statues built on the top. The platforms have padded shoulder crescents all around the bottom for the people to slip their shoulders under to haul it. They are preceded by men waving incense all around and followed by large marching bands. The processions last for hours trampling over the alfombras on the cobblestone streets. Click on the link to see a quick scene of one procession: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JodheZgYFM

Later we walked through the large market which had all sorts of goods from food to souvenirs to swap meet junk. We found stalls selling stencils and colored sand for the alfombras and stalls with a seamstress to sew you a purple robe. The market led to a cemetery. All of the tombs were family mausoleums and most were decorated with flowers. It was very lovely. Heading back to the hotel, we got pupusas at a roadside stand, checked our email, and had a beverage on the rooftop balcony. The other guests were all young backpackers from Sweden, Maine, Chicago, Wisconsin, etc.. Passing by the central park later that night, it was still bustling with people. Many vendors were still hawking their wares with their young children sleeping on the streets beside them.Mon. March 17
We woke up to a much quieter day, ate breakfast at a cute place with a garden, and went to check out an old church, La Merced. The original construction for this church began in 1548. Inside there was a beautiful alfombra, numerous statues, and a large Jesus cake. Adjoining the church are the ruins of a monastery. It had waterlily shaped fountain in the center with great views of the surrounding area from the crumbling second floor. Afterward we browsed some colorful artistic shops along the main road and to my surprise... I discovered an Irish pub, on St. Patrick's Day no less. Of course we had to celebrate the day with a drink and snacks. The beers were reasonably priced except they wanted 60Q ($8) for a pint of Guinness! They even played traditional Irish music. Very serendipitous.At 1:30pm we went back to the hotel to meet up with our shuttle. Guatemala has numerous volcanoes and we were off to see an active one, Volcan Pacaya. The shuttle was packed with 3 Germans, 2 people from Chicago, and a family of 6 from Iowa. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to the base of the volcano. Getting out of the shuttle, we were bombarded by little boys selling walking sticks. We each bought one for 5Q ($0.60), paid the 40Q ($5) entrance fee, and started our ascent. The second we started the hike, local men offered up their horses for us to ride. They kept the pressure on for the entire 1 1/2 hour hike. It was a bit tempting since it was all uphill but they wanted 50Q ($7) just to go up. Out of my price range. We finally reached the peak and witnessed the amazing view of the immense lava covered mountainside. We hiked down the loose, rocky, narrow trail to get up close with the lava. It was obviously dangerous and the cooled, brittle lava rocks crumbled under our feet and could possibly collapse into hidden caverns beneath at any moment. A fellow explorer noted that in the US this whole area would be fenced off and would only have a viewing deck from up on the cliff... if even that. Immense heat emanated from the slow moving lava. One guy got too close and singed his leg hair. Some people had brought along marshmallows to roast. Reina even got some lava on her stick. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.It was dark by the time we left so we had to hike down the rocky trail carefully. It was very dangerous since we couldn't make out anything in front of us. Everyone slipped a few times. At the bottom we returned our walking sticks to the boys clambering around to see who could get the most and rewarded ourselves with another St. Paddy's Day refreshment. We rode back to Antigua in the shuttle, arriving about 9:00pm, and got a bite to eat before passing out at the hotel. The next day we slept in and then were headed off to Lago de Atitlan.

Stay tuned for part 2 of our exciting adventure in Guatemala...

Meanwhile, Back in Tela...

Due to all the weekend trips, I have been neglecting writing updates about my home-base city of Tela and my lovely school. So...

School
Last week was review week and this week was the 3rd quarter exams. The children only come to school from 12:00pm - 3:00pm during exam week. They take 2 or 3 exams a day. The teachers have to stay until 5:00pm... even if we finish grading and planning. On Monday, the first day of exams, I went to the office to ask for the copies of my exams and they didn't have them. They had to go get them from the copy place. I didn't get my exams until 12:20pm and then the founder, Ms. Graciela, had to check off that each student paid their monthly tuition, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to take exams. I finally got to start my first exam at 12:30pm. Luckily it was a shorter exam. In Christina's class, their first scheduled exam was Spanish and Mrs. Calix, the Spanish teacher, didn't even arrive at school until 12:25pm. Off to a great start.

My students (I teach 3rd grade) have been doing well. In math, we finished a unit on division and one on fractions. We also constantly review previously taught units on place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, rounding, time, and comparing and ordering numbers. The kids are really developing a strong grasp of the concepts.

In science we had completed a unit on animals. Afterward, to get more reading and writing time in, I put the kids into pairs and each pair chose an animal to research. The pairs had to read books together about their animal, talk together about their discoveries and thoughts, and take notes. Then each student (after first writing, revising, and editing a rough draft) was responsible for writing and illustrating their own book about the animal. The books turned out so cute and the kids are really proud of them. I am trying to set up time for them to read them to a class of younger kids.During writing we have been working on dialogue. Before that we worked on possessive nouns, when and when not to use past tense, choosing between 'a', 'an', or 'the', using different forms of 'to be' (is, am, are, was, were), putting adjectives before nouns, punctuation, capitalization, and friendly letter format. All without using any of those insipid, out of context, workbooks the teachers rely on here. My class has been writing their own stories and pen pal letters to develop these skills in context. Their current writing compared with that at the beginning of the year is drastically improved. It is still not perfect but it is so rewarding to see how much progress they have made and how confident they have become.

In word study we have worked on contractions, plurals, irregular past tense verbs, sorting the regular past tense verbs by ending sound ("ed", "d", or "t"). We have done a little work with long and short vowels sounds which I am not sure how useful it is for the kids. Being English Language learners, they especially need help with pronunciation but I am still struggling to find a better way to go about it.

Reading is always more of a struggle but the students are progressing. Read alouds and shared readings permeate the day. I often start the day with a poem or book promotion and incorporate books, or excerpts, into each lesson. We sometimes do picture walks before reading, summarize as we read and make predictions. I am still helping the students question the texts, make meaningful connections to themselves and what they know, analyze the characters, think about bigger ideas in the texts, and especially choosing books that are right for them.

During each independent reading session, the students write some of their thoughts as they read and, at the end, they have time to talk with a partner about their books. Most of the students are adept at decoding the words correctly but struggle with the meaning. I really push them to choose books they can understand that are not confusing. It is hard given the limited number of lower level books I have to offer. Each time I finish a read aloud, the students clamor around, begging to be the first to reread it on their own.

I honestly don't know what I would have done with no books at all and only the impossibly high reading textbooks which are now gathering dust. Thank you again to those who donated books and money to get these kids better resources. The kids adore the library, even if small, and they encourage children from other grades to check out books too. The school even built us bookshelves and the kids helped organize and label the books by genre or topic. I have been tutoring two kids, Anastacia and Luis, after school three days a week for one hour. Both began the year extremely low and are still way behind but they are progressing and have much more confidence in themselves. In August, Luis refused to write anything. Then by October, he would write but only in Spanish. Anastacia would just write the same non-word over and over again on her papers. Now they are writing full pages in English, taking time with each word, and are proud of their work. (They still have a long way to go but what an improvement.)

They have also become more confident readers. In August they couldn't read basic Kinder sight words and are now reading first grade level books independently. Both of them really put in the effort to read with fluency. If they struggle with a word on the page, they will use numerous strategies to solve it and, on their own, go back and reread the entire sentence until they feel it sounded smooth. They are also now participating in the read-aloud discussions and offering up their own comments about the books. (Everyday you see fires in Honduras, mostly people burning yard waste, but not always right in front of the school.)As far as behavior, I have mentioned in previous posts that my class is the most well-behaved of the elementary grades. I still agree with this. They often act up for their other teachers (social studies, spanish, computers) but they are really great with me. They do their work, raise their hands, participate in discussions, are polite to each other, and don't complain. They all honestly seem to really enjoy the class and the work. Maybe because the work is more authentic and not worksheet based. Maybe because I love teaching and it creates a great aura in the room. Maybe because I respect, adore, value, and am patient with each one of them. Maybe I just got a cohesive, well-behaved bunch. Whatever it is, I leave school each day with aching cheeks from all the smiling I have done. I couldn't imagine a more rewarding job.

Compared with the kids in San Diego, the kids here are much more innocent. They have less attitude and are less mature (in a good way). The kids have more a true childhood and don't try to act so tough and grown up so soon. They are more able to just be kids. They have similar interests as the kids in San Diego: boys - playing video games, tossles, sports; girls - gossiping, drawing, writing notes. They all like playing on the computer and watching TV. The girls here definitely have more of a princess complex than those in San Diego. They all want to be women and there are hardly any tomboys. On free dress days, their hair is styled, they wear short skirts with high heels and carry purses and sometimes even wear makeup.

Oh, and the other day one of my students brought in a chick and a little lamb ran across the school yard. The Mall
It was gray and raining last Saturday (weird since the day prior was 90F and had bright blue skies) so Christina and I decided to go to the movies. About two months ago a brand new mall opened in Progreso, about an hour bus ride away, and it has a movie theater. Prior to this the closest theater was in San Pedro, 3 hours away. We got off the bus and enter the Mega Plaza Mall. I don't generally enjoy going to malls but it was an interesting experience nonetheless.

All of a sudden we felt transported into any American mall. It was all indoors with immaculate and shiny marble floors. There was a large food court with Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Subway, a smoothie bar, four ice cream stands, a chicken food place, a taco stand, and Dunkin' Donuts. There was even an Applebee's restaurant. While we sat in the food court, a stage in the center featured a children's fashion show with music blaring and an announcer screaming over it causing both of us headaches. Next to the stage were two clowns making balloon animals and an inflatable house for kids to bounce around in.

There were about six shoe stores, even a Payless. There were many clothing stores ranging from large, two-story, department stores down to smaller boutiques. There was a hair salon, two stores for body builders filled with those huge plastic jars of their weird pills, four cellphone stores, a pharmacy, and a grocery store. It all seemed surreal and out of place. I mean people are living in tiny shacks right across the street.

The movie theater had 3 screens which were currently playing: The Wicker Man (the remake with Nicholas Cage), The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, and some other film about a dad and his little girl that looked unbearably hokey. We opted against the movie and just took the bus back home.

Due to the weather, the ride back was somehow magical. The dark sky with the clouds perched on the mountaintops, the intermittent drops blowing across the windows, the cool air penetrating my sweatshirt, and my ipod playing melancholy, thoughtful tunes. I will really miss the bus rides here. The views on all of them are just gorgeous.

Bracelets
On Sunday our new friend, Genesis, came over to teach Christina and I how to make bracelets. She is only 14 but she's fairly mature and down to earth. She brought over her big bag of colored thread and showed us how to make two different kinds of bracelets. One employed a wrap around technique where you could pull threads out to make your name. The other was more of a knotting method where each side of the bracelet has the opposite pattern. It was fun. I once again felt like I was back on childhood summer break. Especially when afterward she had us play hand clap games and thumb wars with her.

La Rueda de Chicago
There was a carnival in town this week so of course we went to check it out. It was just like a carnival in the states. There was cotton candy, popcorn, candied apples, and other food. There were games: a few gambling games similar to roulette, a shooting game where you knock down army men for prizes, and a game where you roll marbles into slots for prizes. The prizes were the usual, mainly stuffed animals, trinkets, and Tupperware. There were also many rides (which you had to buy tickets for): bumper cars, a roller coaster made to resemble a caterpillar crawling on leaves, a ride with octopus arms which each held carts and every part spun in the air, two little and one large boat swing, and a merry-go-round.

And it wouldn't be a true fair without a Ferris wheel, which is here called "la rueda de Chicago" (since it was invented in Chicago by George Washington Gale Ferris for the Columbian Exposition of 1893, a celebration for the 400th anniversary of Columbus "discovering" America. Read more at: http://www.hydeparkhistory.org/newsletter.html ). Christina and I wanted to ride it but there were no other people riding it and they wouldn't let just us two ride alone. We waited around for about an hour hoping others would show interest, I mean they were riding other rides, but no one came. We went home feeling despondent. Semana Santa
Next week we have no school for Semana Santa (their name for Easter week). Christina and I are taking a 12-hour bus to Guatemala to meet my sister, Reina, at the airport. We will immediately head to Antigua to check out the quaint city life and hike to an active volcano with real live lava. Then we are off to Lago de Atitlan to enjoy the gorgeous views and traditional Mayan culture. Our final stop is Rio Dulce for a jungle canoe ride and takin' it easy. After our jam-packed 10 days in Guatemala, we will circle back to Tela where my sister will spend 4 days getting to know my lovely city and the surrounding areas. I am so excited and I promise to write all about it when we return.

(Meanwhile back in reality... my school district in San Diego has to cut $80 million from it's budget! I was told I will be excessed from my previous school site as I am lowest in terms of seniority there and they need to excess 2 teachers. Also the district is sending out pink slips to anyone who signed their contract after Aug. 2002 - I signed mine Aug. 2003 so I will get one. Hopefully they will rescind most of the pink slips. I have been teaching 6 years now and it is still not secure employment even with a master's degree in education, a contract, and union membership. I love being a teacher and hopefully will get to continue being one when I return. If you want to help... write, email, and call your legislators informing them of your concern about the funding for education. I mean, besides doctors, what could be more important than teachers?)

La Esperanza

I pulled myself out of bed at 3:10am on Saturday. I ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, dressed in warm clothes (as I was headed to the coolest city in Honduras), and was off to catch the bus. The first bus was scheduled to leave Tela at 4:55am. Walking down the darkened street toward the bus stop, a taxi suddenly appeared. I was worried I wouldn't find one this early. I got a ride to the Cristina bus stop (a private direct bus) and, by 4:15am, I had paid the 204L ($10.74) for my ticket. About 5 min. later the bus pulled up and the passengers boarded (all 3 of us). Then the bus drove off at 4:25am. What?! It wasn't scheduled to leave until 4:55am. If I had arrived at the bus stop at 4:30am it would have already departed. Then next bus doesn't leave until 7:40am. I would have been very pissed. Why paint the schedule onto your building if it is not reliable? Typical Honduras.

The ride was quick and I slept most of the way. On these private direct buses you can lean the seats back and they have curtains over the windows. It took about 3 hours to arrive in Siguatepeque. Click here to see a brief glimpse of the ride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUaH18NZuw4.
From there, I walked across the street and boarded my next bus for La Esperanza. It took about an hour. We began in the pine forest with great views of the countryside. Then we wound our way down the mountain to the desert-like valley floor. I thought I had been transplanted into the east county deserts of San Diego. Everywhere I looked was brown, dry, and seemingly dead. I even saw the first cacti since being in Honduras. Definitely very different from all the other places I have been in Honduras. Not being enamored by the drab desert surroundings, I was relieved when the bus lurched into the mountains ahead pulling us up out of the valley and back into the pine forest. We arrived in La Esperanza at 9:30am.

La Esperanza is know for a few things. One... it is, on average, the coldest city in Honduras. While I was there it was about 75F during the day dropping to about 58F at night (while Tela has been 78-90F). Two... due to it being the poorest city in Honduras, many short-term volunteers come to this area to intern in the hospital, build homes, or work on other projects. Christina and I have met many volunteers that were stationed in this area. Strangely, while I was there, I did not see one foreigner. Three... La Esperanza is the central marketplace for the Lenca people who live in the surrounding countryside. The Lenca are the largest indigenous group in Honduras. They have preserved their traditional clothing: brightly colored head scarves worn with clashing, but equally brilliant dresses and sweaters. The women are the head of life, working on the farms and running the unions. Four... most of the houses and buildings in this area are constructed with adobe brick. And five... Cerro de Los Hoyos (hill of the holes).
I got off the bus in the dirt lot and just began wandering around the dusty town. All the streets were dirt and rock. The town itself was fairly small with an ubiquitous central park surrounded by a large police station resembling a fortress, a newly remodeled concrete church, a post office, and the telephone company (Hondutel). The streets spread out from there containing comedores (small, cheap restaurants with limited menus), a few hotels, shops containing a wide range of goods, barbershops, outdoor markets, and not much else. Of course there were the ever-present roaming dogs but La Esperanza's were all huge and bear-like. I have never seen dogs that big. Since it had been about 6 hours since my last meal, I walked in the nearest comedor and ordered two baleadas for 18L ($0.95). After eating, I noticed stairs leading up to a shrine at the end of the main drag. I walked towards it and climbed up the large stairs (built more for giants than for the small dimensions of the Lenca people). The shrine was basic with a statue of the Virgin Mary but turning around to face the stairs was a great view of the entire city.There were a few others hanging around and we began chatting. They were from the area and drove me around in their pickup to check out some of the hotel offerings. The first one wanted 400L ($21) (crazy!) but I found one, Hotel Venecia, for just 175L ($9.21). I got a private room with private bath and shower. The shower had a heater (which means water just above freezing) and there was a towel. The room had two beds each with a thick blanket. In the courtyard, they had a box with a cat and her five, 3-week-old kittens. How cute!

One of the main reasons I came to La Esperanza was to see Cerro de los Hoyos (hill of the holes). So I unloaded some things and headed off for my hike. First I had to figure out how to get to the right road for the trail. I asked a bunch of people along the way to confirm I was headed correctly (surprisingly some of the residents had never heard of these "famous" holes). Many tried to dissuade me from walking, claiming that it was very far. They suggested I get a ride but I was determined to hike there on my own (a little foreshadowing, maybe?).

I finally got to the base of the hill. The entire hike was uphill in the middle of a pine forest. After only about 30 min. my feet were already blistering, my calves sore, my knees aching, my backpack getting heavier and heavier, I started to wheeze, and I recalled that I hadn't applied any sunblock thinking I wouldn't need it here (I wasn't about to turn around a get it now). I began to realize that maybe I like the idea of hiking much more than the reality of it, especially when it is uphill the entire way. At least it was cloudy, there was a nice breeze, and the fresh pine scent was delightful. About every 15 min. a pickup or cattle truck (with people, instead of cattle, herded in the back... kinda disturbing) would drive past. A truck! you say, why didn't I get a ride? I could have easily flagged one down but for some illogical reason I continued to convince myself to hike. At one point I moved over for a car and in the process slipped and fell on some rocks. I scraped up my knee (through my jeans) and got a good bruise on my hip. So, in addition to the miserableness from above, I was now limping. But for some reason I persevered and continued letting the cars pass me by.There was one worthwhile aspect to hiking, the amazing, expansive views of the entire region. Around every bend, the view would get even more magnificent. And the town I started from, even further. Many of the houses were adobe brick or constructed of whatever they could find lying around... apparently. A few even had outdoor ovens. I would occasionally come to a fork in the trail. Miraculously, at every fork, there was a house strategically placed (seemingly) with a nice Lenca woman outside to give me directions. This was good fortune as every path they directed me to follow was inevitably not the one I would have picked. I asked a few if I could take their photo but each declined, this was true the entire weekend (maybe they're sick of tourists treating them like zoo animals, I honestly just appreciated their great sense of style and wanted to capture it).After about two hours (did I mention it was all uphill?), I finally found Los Olivos school. This was a landmark the guidebook mentioned indicating the holes were only 1/2 km away. Glad to find I was on the right path and my destination was near, I happily trudged along. I soon passed a group of men building a house and they indicated I had gone too far and missed a turn. I explained that the last switchback I passed had a private property sign. They insisted that was the correct path. As I turned and walked in that direction, a boy began following me. It became apparent that he was sent to be my guia ("guide"). (He was in 3rd grade at the Los Olivos school and extremely shy.) And it also became apparent that I would have never found it without him. He led me through a narrow walkway surrounded by barbed wire. When it split off, I asked which way and he indicated that we were to crawl through a small opening where the barbed wire had been pulled apart (was this legal?). When the path forked again, he again indicated that I needed to crawl through the barbed wire fence. I inquired as to how much farther it was and he pointed. My eyes followed his finger and there were the holes. (I paid my guide for his excellent services.)The holes were really deep (the guidebook says up to 60 feet) and about 3 feet wide. The ground was covered in fallen leaves and the holes were maybe about 5 feet apart so you really needed to keep your eyes on the ground and watch each step. Nobody knows how they formed. There is a lot of volcanic glass all over the hill so many think the two are related somehow. I maybe spent 10 min. looking at the holes. I mean after all... they're just holes and they're all the same. How long are you going to look at them? So a 2-hour hike for 10 min. at the holes... it was absolutely worth it.Heading down, I hiked about 1/3 of the way until I reached the main "road". There I found a group of ladies sitting on the roadside. (As all conversations in Honduras, the following occurred in Spanish.) I asked if they were waiting for a ride and they said yes. I sat down and joined them. After about 10 min. a truck passed. No one said anything. Then 5 min. later a woman began laughing and asked me, "aren't you waiting for a ride?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Well why didn't you wave down the truck."
"I thought we were all waiting and none of you waved for the truck."
Then she laughed more and teased me, telling the other ladies I think a bus is coming. I'm not a idiot. I knew a bus wasn't coming. I thought maybe they were waiting for the cattle truck. The ladies then changed their story and claimed they weren't waiting for a ride at all but were just waiting to start their union meeting, which they proceeded to do. I felt embarrassed, angry, and confused so I just picked my backpack and started walking down the hill. A few minutes later a truck passed and gave me a ride to town. No thanks to those ladies!

Back in town, I plunked down at a cute licuado (smoothie) bar and enjoyed an icy banana-choco drink for 18L ($.95). All my energy spent, I went to the nearest comedor and ordered up some tortillas con quesillo (small fried corn tortillas with cheese melted in the middle and salsa on top). They weren't the best but it was cheap and they had a cold beverage to go along with it all for 36L ($1.90). Even though it was only 6:30pm, I headed back to the hotel. I was tuckered. I showered in the lukewarm water. The shower had the typical Honduran water heater that attaches to the shower head. At one point it turned off so I grabbed the metal handle while soaking wet to turn it back on... zzzz! I got a nice little shock (hence the nickname "suicide shower"). When I was done showering, I cleverly used my towel to turn off the metal handle so I could avoid being shocked again. That Sara, she's always thinking. Then I laid down to read. It was a little chilly so I wrapped myself in both blankets like a burrito. After a few hours I went to sleep. It was the most restful night I have had in Honduras. It was so quiet I slept for 11 hours.

Sunday morning I awoke to an aching body. I swear you could hear my knees creak. My calves were so tight I walked with a limp. I still managed to get around well enough to find a restaurant serving panqueques (pancakes). Then I went to the popular Sunday market. It was jam-packed with people. The main market was about 5 blocks long with vendors selling from makeshift stalls, large sacks, or plastic baskets lining both sides of the already narrow street. Most people were selling fruits and vegetables but you could also find seafood (odd since it was not on ice and we were hours from the nearest ocean or lake), flowers, and other very random items. I bought some blackberries, strawberries, and a beautiful bunch of giant red lilies. While trying to get a photo of some of the sacks, some Lenca women actually hid their faces thinking I was trying to get a shot of them. I explained I only wanted a photo of their sacks and they giggled. (The one below I found online. I try to be a good tourist by always getting the person's permission before taking their photo.)I wanted to check out a nearby village but I was worried about missing my return bus home. Instead, I just began by journey back home. First I took a bus to San Pedro Sula. It took about 3 hours to get there. I then had to transfer to a bus going past Tela. The ride was smooth. We had to wait about 20 min. to cross the (still) broken bridge (re: "Christina's sister and a water park"). About 10 min. later I noticed the bus slowing and people came running out of their houses pointing. All of us passengers stuck our heads out the windows to see what all the commotion was about. Right in front of our bus was an overturned dump truck blocking the entire 2-lane highway.Traffic immediately piled up in both directions and the crowd around the truck grew. Realizing that we would be stuck here for awhile, people began exiting the bus. After about 15 min. nothing was happening yet. I began thinking maybe I should just walk around the accident and get a ride on the other side. I asked some other passengers and they said they heard it would not be moved until tomorrow. They kindly showed me how we could lay the seats back to sleep on the bus... ha, ha. I decided to wait awhile longer. To my surprise, a guy pulled up in his bulldozer. The crowd gathered 'round to offer up instructions. He ended up just pushing the tail of the dump truck so that it twisted around 90 degrees. It was still in the center of the highway but now only width-wise so the 2 lanes of traffic could pass on either side of it. We re-boarded the bus and were off. The accident created a lot of excitement and camaraderie among all the passengers. We were all gabbing excitedly when another car came straight at us and veered quickly to crash off the shoulder. The whole bus was buzzing with what a strange day it was. About an hour later, I got off in Tela and walked down the road to mi casa. There, I put my pretty flowers in some water and my berries went in the freezer for future use in licuados (blended with soy milk, ice, and bananas... delicious, healthy, and refreshing).