Our trip started at noon on Friday. As we walked out of the school with out backpacks on our backs, money hidden in random places on our person, and list of directions safely stored within easy reach we chatted about the difficulty of our journey. From the school we walked several blocks to where we picked up a microbus to get to the main bus terminal. We missed the stop because we didn't know the that the bus terminal had a name that we should have listened for (to be fair, it is not at all obvious). We got off the microbus a few minutes later, and caught another microbus back to the terminal, where we should have gotten off previously. We walked up to a line of buses and asked where the bus to Mazate was... and they pointed us in the right direction but we didn't know what the meant because there were no buses in sight... just a market. We eventually realized that we had to walk through the market to find the buses, but we wished they would have just told us that in the first place. Anyway, it was not hard at all to find the Mazate bus in the mass of colorfully painted school buses.
We were the first ones on the bus aside from the helper, so we got a good seat in the front and next to each other. Of course once the bus filled up there were at least three people in each seat and people standing in the middle. They really know how to pack the people in vehicles here in Guatemala. Anyway, we left the terminal a while later. A couple hours later we arrived in Mazate, and from there we walked to get onto another bus to get to St. Tomas. It was pouring down rain when we got to St. Tomas, so we took a tuk tuk from the side of the bus (they were waiting for people because it was really raining), to the microbus to Xelayup. We got on that bus and then got off at Pochol, which was literally the side of the road with a tiny store. We asked for the road to Pasac... which was a rocky road up a hill. Mind you, it is raining buckets and buckets at this point in time. We call the guy at Raices y Alas, but the signal is bad so we didn't get through the first few times.
Anyway, we just start walking up the hill. It was pouring down rain but we trekked on for about a half hour. We finally got to the top of the hill we saw the church and the grassy area that the directions had told us about. We asked where the building was and then headed that direction. On our way, we ran into Cristobal who showed us to our apartment for the night. We were soaking wet and tired from our adventure, but had enough sanity to find the towels and lay our clothes out to dry. Then we ate some of the food that we had bought the day before, showered, and went to bed super early.
We woke up, had a mini tour of the program site, and learned some about the program. Then, Cristobal offered to be our guide for part of our trip to San Lucas. We rode in the back of a pick-up for about a half hour, then the most jammed microbus for an hour until we got to San Antonio. From there, we walked to where we should have been able to pick up a bus to San Lucas, but we'd missed it by 15 minutes. We ended up taking another bus that stopped in a good spot to pick up a bus to San Lucas. It was the fastest bus I've ever been on but the view from the window was breathtaking. Sugar cane fields, waterfalls, volcanoes, etc. If I hadn't been afraid of getting my camera stolen, I would have taken pictures! From there we basically ran across the street to catch the bus to Santiago, which stops in San Lucas so we almost got hit by a bus but we made it alive onto the very full bus. We managed to get off at the right town.
Once we got to San Lucas, we called Dennis who told us he would meet us in the central park in about ten minutes. We bought a snack and asked for directions to the central park, where we found Dennis. He showed us to our hotel and then took us out for lunch in one of the safe restaurants in San Lucas. Of course, we decided to order the most typical food on the menu: black beans, eggs, and tortillas. It was pretty delicious! From there we took a tuk tuk back to the hotel, because it was raining pretty hard. A couple hours later we met back up at a pizza place in town to meet the two girls that Change In Action sponsors. We had a really interesting conversation about life in Guatemala, their career choices (in Guatemala you pick your career in 10th grade), young marriages, their families, and what kind of pizza was their favorite. It was a delight to finally be able to meet them! We took some pictures together and then said our goodbyes.
After we parted ways with the girls, we walked to where we could catch a bus the following day. Anna and I, then walked back to our hotel. Since it had stopped raining, we decided to walk down to the lake to take some pictures. The lake, by the way, is gorgeous. Breathtaking. Since it was starting to get dark, we walked back to the hotel for the night.Where we watched some tv in Spanish and showered, then went to bed early.
In the morning, we packed up and then went to the restaurant for a delicious breakfast! From there, we decided to walk down to the lake. There were people there asking if we wanted to take a launch to Panajachel, so we decided to take them up on the offer. It was more expensive than taking the bus but we would get there earlier and the view was worth enjoying. From there, we checked out of the hotel and brought our stuff down to the lake. We got in the boat and took off toward Panajachel. It was one of the most gorgeous experiences of my time here, because the inescapable view was absolutely amazing.
Once we got there, we met up with some friends from the group and hung out on the lakeside. We went out to lunch, and then wandered around until it was time to meet up with the driver that was hired to take us back to where we are staying. The drive back was pretty uneventful. After we all got back, we decided to go wander around the city together. We made a french fry stop, an ice cream stop, and a churros stop. So basically, we took a foodie adventure through the central park until it got dark.
Essentially, it was an awesome weekend! :) We survived and made it everywhere without too much trouble! :)
Some photos!
wow what an adventure! traveling in other countries is definitly an experience! glad you made it to all your destinations! thanks for sharing the pictures i love them, they are so beautiful just like you!
ReplyDelete