La Casa del Mundo- Kim

The Casa del Mundo is one of the most beautiful places that I have visited in my life.  The gorgeous lake surrounded by volcanoes and Mayan villages is magnificent, but the setting of this hotel is magical.  It is built into the hillside using natural materials (wood and rock).  Each room is unique, decorated with handicrafts from the villages.  My room (room 3 if you ever get a chance to visit) is my favorite.  It has this huge window in front of the bed from which you can see one of the volcanoes.  During the day you can observe the boat taxis delivering workers, goods, and tourists around the lake.  Night, however is even better.   The sunset over the mountains is colorful.  But later, the wide expance of sky on a cloudless night is so incredible that I don't want to fall asleep.  There are thousands of twinkling stars.  I even enjoy waking up at night to catch another glimpse.  I usually try to wake up in time to see the sunrise.  At that time, the lake is calm and peaceful.  To add to the experience, each evening gourmet meals are served at long candle-lit tables where guests can meet one another and share their stories.  The kids enjoyed dressing up and conversing about their days.  All in all- a very worthwhile experience.

The Villages of Lake Atitlan- Troy

During our stay at Casa del Mundo (possibly the most beautiful place on the trip) we visited two villages, San Juan, which is a working-class Mayan village that is very quiet and portrays the traditional Mayan life and Santiago de Atitlan, a tourist-oriented town.  To start off-... in San Juan we only saw 2 gringos (slang for Americans).   We visited a cooperative where Mayan women engaged in traditional weaving techniques and showed us very unique products that were different than those in the market.  We learned about thier unique history and about their corn (which is very important, believe it or not).  Our second village was Santiago Atitlan.  It is tourist oriented with many shops and gringos.  We started the visit by having lunch at El Pescador, a very nice restaurant with divine food.  I ordered barbecued steak of loin with the infamous Coca-cola that blows american Coke out of the water.  After, when the rest of the group went to the church, Connor and I travelled around the city and embraced the culture.  We talked to fellow Americans along with helping a man move a metal desk into his store.  We also bought some hand-made pants that remind me of Aludians pants, but they are very comfy.  We then made our way to the boat and travelled back to Casa del Mundo marking the end of an amazing day.

La Casa del Mundo- Lake Atitlan- Jackson

Today was at Casa del Mundo.  I got up early with Troy and Grace and saw the sunrise.  We took off for a boat tour.  We went to a Mayan village where we learned about the women's cooperative ... and different types of dyes and weaving.  We also saw mountains shaped like a Mayan face.  Afterwards we went to Santiago de Atitlan.  We visited the church and went shopping and I taught others how to bargain.  Casa del Mundo is the best place ever when the volcanos and sunset are reflected in the lake, the beauty is just staggering.

Quetzal Viewing- Grace

Something that I found exciting were these trees that weren't really trees.  They were ferns the size of trees!  We had hot cocoa and coffee and kept looking for the quetzal but didn't have much luck.  We decided to have breakfast there and finally saw one.  A guy that wasn't in our group saw one by the road.  We all jumped from our seats and walked over to the bird.  I wonder how the quetzal feels about all this?  Does he ever care about people?  I guess it's the same as city slickers seeing an eagle.  I've never understood the importance of one bird in particular.  I thought the blackbirds (larger than at home with interesting tails) were beautiful. The chicken there (at the restaurant) let me pet it until it was about ready for a nap.

Quetzal- Troy

The tour started at 5:30 AM.  Everyone in the group was a little angry and sleepy and Senora didn't have her coffee, so I was very careful about how much I talked.  After waiting awhile at the gate, we entered the park where Jackson and I saw three quetzales... Later a man started saying a quetzal was perched in a tree alond the road.  We found the bird and starred in awe at it's beauty.

Day 3- Mike

Today was the best day so far by a long shot.  It was so much fun!  Whether it was jumping off a rope swing into a river or exploring caves and doing physically/ mentally challenging things;  both as an individual or a group.  I have never even been in a cave until today!  1,000,000 percent awesome!  The pools were absolutely beautiful.  I got some great shots in my camera of the scenery and others.  The whole day we were all working without flaw as a team.  It was awesome to see the positive attitude and encouragement.  Today I think almost everyone tried something outside of their comfort zone, and I am happy to say that the trip is looking up and I could not picture a better day!  Yay!

January 19- Semuc Champey by Troy

When we visited Semuc Champey, everyone was tired, dirty and somewhat skeptical about the trip.  We started our day with a refreshing breakfast and began a short walk to the caves.  On the way our guide (a Mayan decendent) collected some fruit from a tree leaving us to wonder what it was for.  We found out at the base of the caves that the fruit was used as face paint to keep you safe and to bring good spirits around.  With us now feeling protected, we made our way to a rope swing which swung you over a river and then dropped you at a height of 15 feet.  About half of the group tried this activity.  We began the trek to the caves with only candles for light. The cave definitely brought out our true colors as we had to free climb slippery rocks and swim the dark forboding tunnels.  Everyone stepped it up though with the mild-mannered people taking a 10 ft. jump into a hole of water 10ft.x10ft..  Everyone also would fall back and help each other up, or climb, or psyche people up for something they didn't feel comfortable with.  I tried to help as many people with climbing and swimming along with keeping my candle lit, so we could navigate through the dark.  Overall, it was a great team-building experience along with being a fun tour through one of Guate's best hidden treasures.

January 18- Travel day by Andy and Kim

The next day we went to Hostal Las Marias.  The drive was so long, I thought that I was going to have a stroke.  When we got there, we went to our "rooms", and ate dinner.  After that I went to bed so that day would be over.  (Note from Kim- Andy wasn't the only one exhausted when we finally got to our remote destination.  The final leg of the trip was on unpaved roads first; and then by 4-wheel-drive pick up truck up a muddy, rut-filled, bumpy road.  Our rooms were quite primitive, so it was quite an experience)

January 17- Travel Day by Grace

I'm on the plane out of Traverse City.  It's winter so we're getting lots of delays.... We're about to take off and I can't see because my window is covered in ice, ice, baby... Do you think flight attendents use up all their happy being nice? Are they all sad when they're home?....The layover wasn't bad, Mike and Troy played the guitar and we all talked and it was a jolly good time....  Once we got off the plane, I am already feeling things differently.  When we were loading stuff into the van there were children alone playing outside of the airport.  Some guy that lost botho of his legs and was on a wheelchair, he looked homeless, came up and offered to se me a pen.  I feel bad that I didn't even talk to him... and here we are sitting in our hotel with everything we need and we are asking the front desk to fix our TV.  This trip is making my heart heavy and it's only day one.  The shower was cold and you can't drink tap water or brush your teeth with it.

Pre-Trip Activities

The time on campus has flown by.  Class has been filled with activities to help the group bond, Spanish lessons, research, presentations, shopping, eating, journaling, and learning about the adventure we are about to begin.  Leadership and communication were demonstrated in the "sherpa hike" through the LRC; responsibility, integrity, honesty, and caring through class council discussions and classwork; and courage, flexibility and fun through light saber battles and games.  Monday we will finish packing, review itinerary and finish pre-trip activities.  Entonces.... a Guatemala!