Erin, 20 October 2008
Guatemala Guatemala City

Why haven't I always lived like this?

October 18-20
It is weekends like this that I just thank God for guiding me here. I think about how I almost gave up my dreams for silly reasons, and it just makes me feel so relieved that last year things became so miserable. The life that I am living here is amazing and beyond anything I could ever imagine. It just gives me so much peace to think that God does answer prayers, even when it is not in the time that I feel is needed. God’s time takes longer, but it makes more sense.

This weekend was a three day weekend so I went with some friends to Coban, well actually right outside of it. We stayed in a cabin on a river in the rain forest. It was amazing. I went hiking in the rain forest and around the river. It was so peaceful and serene. The trees and flowers were so unique and gorgeous. It rained a lot, so we had to stay in and play games. However, it was just so peaceful. I’ve never just enjoyed life as much as I do here.
After enjoying nature and taking it easy we drove into town for some lunch. One of my friend’s fiancé is Guatemalan and he knows this area pretty well and took us up to this church. We were supposed to go to this waterfall, but due to the hurricane that hovers over Guatemala there were a lot of mudslides all over the country this weekend and a lot of the villages and roads were unreachable. The people I went with are very adventurous like me and don’t pay that much attention to such things like roads collapsing and mudslides. It all seems like an adventure. However, luckily we didn’t run into anything because we all do realize the dangers.

Anyway, this church was so unusual and beautiful. First of all for the people at the church Spanish wasn’t their first language. They were indigenous and had a mix of Catholicism and Mayan rituals. Here at the church they still have animal sacrifices. Inside this classic white Spanish style church were murals on the walls, white lace hanging from the ceiling, and a large wooden disfigured Jesus on the cross. Chickens ran around outside and many children stared at the gringas and their crazy hair.

After exploring the church we decided to explore in the mountains in the SUV. This was the purest air I’ve ever inhaled. The mountains were so green and the trees so lush. However, as we went up and up we continued to pass people walking up the mountain carrying wood, vegetables, etc… all on their heads. This is their daily duty, to walk up and down the mountain to work the fields and try to make a living. We went up 2000 feet and didn’t make it to the top. We had to turn around because the road was completely out. But it was probably a good sign for us to turn around when we saw this van of two Guatemalans sitting on the hill just waiting for something. Also, gringas are not that welcome in the small villages because apparently in the 80s and 90s it was rumored that gringas were coming into villages to steal children to take back to the states for adoption. It was proven after a couple of DNA tests were given that this was actually truth. So never take a picture of a child here. There have been some tourists who were mobbed for taking pictures of children in the villages. Besides, it’s kind of rude to do so. Being a person who loves to take pictures, I see so many great shots, but I have to be respectful of the culture as well.

Anyway, we headed back and it was a great adventure through the mountains, but a safe one. Between WWI and WWII, these mountains were full of Germans and they built a railroad and set up many economic adventures that were actually helping Guatemala. However, when WWII came along all Germans were Nazis and the United States once again intervened in a country that was not the United States and told Guatemala that if they wanted any protection and financial backing they needed to kick out the Germans. So they did and there went the brief economic stimulus of Guatemala. It is a wonder why no one around the world likes the U.S.

It just felt so good to be out of the city, being out after dark and such. I want to go back and canoe or kayak the river there. How amazing would it be to kayak through the rain forest?

Tips:
When traveling keep your money in a secret place. Mine is in what I call the Bank of Erin.

When going outside of the city. GET SOME MOSIQUITO REPLENT.