HELPS Trip #4 - Huehuetenango

Our return journey from Mexico was swift and semi-smooth. With two non air-conditioned nights on the road (one in Belize City and one in the dirty one-corner town of Raxhjua, at the most sketchy hotel I've ever stayed at), we were thrilled to finally be back home in our own beds. It wasn't for too long, however, that the twisting, turning, tumbulo-riddled roads of Guatemala called for us once more. We arrived back at the monastery on Friday May 4, and by Sunday May 6, we were packed and ready for another HELPS medical mission. The trip to Huehuetenango was shorter than Tejutla; Justin and I were thrilled to make it to base camp just before a delicious lasagna and garlic bread dinner was served.

Monday Outreach.. up in the hills

The Huehue HELPS medical mission of May 2012 was held in the Guatemalan Army's military base, a location occupying quite a few square miles in Huehuetenango. We dined and slept in military-style barracks and utilized the Army base's large, strangely planned hospital to carry out treatment of patients. During the whole week, we were constantly witness to Guatemalan Army Personnel marching, chanting, singing, and even spontaneous running. We even received a hearty welcome with our national anthem (excuse my terrible singing) from the base's commander, marching band, and residences.

Mansi helps child patient

My work week was split into three tasks. On the Monday, I had the great pleasure of going on an outreach team to a rural community in the hills just outside of Huehue. There, I helped translate for Mansi, a new, young aspiring practitioner, along with several other team members, including my first introduction to the dental team I would work with later in the week. The outreach day was stressful (as most Monday outreaches are). We had one woman who seemed to be ready to give birth to a baby any second, and another small girl who wouldn't wake up for like 20 minutes from the deepest sleep I've ever seen. Tensions also ran high with the crowded line, and our departure was hastened by the onslaught of heavy rain. Regardless, lots of great work was done, and we left a lot of folks feeling a lot happier and a lot more healthy.

Cecilia at Triage

During Tuesday and Wednesday, I took a post at one of the more difficult positions for HELPS, Triage (for those who missed previous posts, this is the process by which patients are admitted into the hospital. I recorded basic information about their sickness or disposition before admitting them to a specific line, such as OB/GYN, Eyes, Dental, or General Clinic). During my triage ventures, I got the great pleasure of meeting the gracious Cecilia Weller, a repeat volunteer from Guatemala City. Cecilia and her family have had a long history with HELPS, and have even offered HELPS volunteers such as Connor and Casey to stay at their house in Guatemala City before a flight or just to pass the time. They take the "Mi casa es su casa" statement very seriously, and since this post I have already enjoyed the benefits of their generous hospitality.

Myself, Cecilia, Connor, Casey after certificate ceremony at the end of the week

Dr. Rusk at work

Another "NEW CAR!!" recipient

On Thursday and Friday, I was blessed with the opportunity to work with the "it's a family affair!" dental team from Selma, California- Dr. Glenn Rusk, Terry Rusk, and Susan Grubbs. After observing Dr. Rusk on several extraction and examination of teeth (including the application of anesthesia via injection), I had what many might call a "moment of clarity." Would I ever want to be a dentist? I've never been scared of the dentist, and blood in the month doesn't seem to bother me as much. By the end of my two days with this kind team, I would have been ready to try start applying anesthesia to patient's gums, a previously impossible thought for me. When I let the team know of my newest peak interest, they only fed the fire. Dr. Rusk was so encouraging and convincing of his beloved profession (sentiments that I've already received from my own dentist, Dr. Thomas Meschke in Chaska) and even offered to say that he'd help any way he could.

Aside from the fun "becoming a dentist" discussion (which to this day is still rattling around in my head), we enjoyed playing each other music from our iPod speakers, distributing toys to fearful child patients, and observing how tough the old women were in comparison to the burly Army men that winced when receiving local anesthesia. I hadn't formed such a great relationship with a medical team since the St. Cloud Dental team back in January… maybe I DO need to think about this dentistry thing.

Terry gives Dr. Rusk some tension relief before starting next patient

Most of this month's medical team hailed from California, most commonly from Fresno, Bakersfield or Santa Monica. 

 The team was truly fun to be around. The kitchen staff knew me all to well… I couldn't help but get labeled as "going back for seconds" guy, which I was playfully teased about every time I entered the kitchen. I've never seen such a big team before, yet the cohesiveness remained impressive. Prayer and song were included in every breakfast, and I even filled out a questionnaire at the end of the week that critiqued the team's performance. On Saturday, after collapsing several dozen shelves and stacking chairs, the whole group enjoyed a few skits put on by different teams in the hospital. Below is the Huehue Dental Team's skit . I'll never forget that great crew!

Journey To Mexico

[May 19, 2012, 8:13PM: As darkness finally slides over the tin and clay-shingled Cobán rooftops, drips make a soft, then louder piddle-paddle on our roof.

"Here it comes.." I say nonchalantly to Justin, as I head out to the deck for my favorite writing spot. After almost a month of constant, non-blogging travel, I finally have a chance to unwind and rehash on what I've been experiencing. It's perfect timing, too. The rain starts pouring harder, and I am once again filled with that peaceful feeling I get when watching a rainforest downpour on the elegant mountains from the interior of the monastery's grounds, still dry and safe in the confines of Bernie's old rocking chair. I open up "Jan 2012 Blog" on my computer, chuckling to myself that I haven't bothered to change document titles or open a new document.

"It must be psychologically easier to write on a document that already has work done on it already," I think to myself. I turn on Enya's "Caribbean Blue" on iTunes to maximize the ambiance of my situation, and dive into the days of the recent past...]

Finally, after almost a month of continuous traveling, Justin and I were landed at Resurrection Priory for a good three weeks. This couldn't have been at a better time. At one of Bernie's Semi-Biannual Schedule meetings, we determined that these three weeks were perfect for preparing San Basilio, two of the monastery's newest buildings, for a visit in May by another group from Saint Patrick's Parish. We painted several walls and cleaned up the place. On days we were waiting on more material for the San Basilio restoration, we worked on drafting several more elements to the monastery's website. While I'm very satisfied with our progress, I am starting to realize that I will need to pass on the website to the next volunteers before the site comes to true fruition. Regardless, I am prepared to make their transition as smooth as possible.

Before we knew it, April passed, and we faced a long but exciting journey to Playa del Carmen (close to Cancun). Fellow Johnnie David Forster's family has a place in Playa Del Carmen and he, along with several other legendary men, johnnie and non-johnnie alike, were coming down to Playa for a spring break of sorts from work. Justin and I were invited, as was Evan Forsycthe, our new friend from Tela.   We began our journey by meeting Evan in Flores, a beautiful city located on an island in the middle of Lake Itza. Evan had been in Guatemala for the last month, and ended up getting his return flight out of Cancún.

Anyway, This lake is located in Peten, Guatemala's most northern, more touristy and most risky department. Unlike Flores neighboring mainland city, Santa Elena, Flores gave out a very relaxed vibe. The island is mapped with a series of semi-organized gridlocks, enveloped by major road that circumnavigates the island's shore. The highest point of the island apexes at basketball court, which is also in the center of the island. Lots of restaurants line the west side of the island, offering great drink specials and, if you're lucky, a breathtaking sunset. We did a bit of both. After buying a quick meal and a few happy hour specials, we visited the local supermarket to fashion our own kind of happy hour as the sun dipped underneath the western trees over Itza.

An early 4:30a.m. bus ride brought our heavy heads awake. We reached the Guatemalan-Beliziean Border around 9:00.a.m with no complications. We were in Belize City by noon, and on a bus to Chetumal, Mexico by 2:00p.m. We settled into our ice-cold air-conditioned hotel room in Chetumal by around 6:30p.m., and it was only then that I realized I had been in three different countries in one day.

When a group of 3 independent travelers are using taxis, buses, paying for meals, etc., the laundry list for expenses can get long. Taxi cab rides are often easier if one person pays, as are some bus tickets. This is made even more complicated when four different currencies are involved (Guatemalan Quetzal, Belizean Dollar, Mexican Peso, American Dollar). While it took a bit a of time, a few spreadsheets and a few green-tinted visor hats, we did finally figure out who owed what. Check out our final product (see left).

Thursday finally brought us to Playa del Carmen. After an over-expensive bus ride and a reasonable taxi, we arrived at Marreazul Resort and Condominiums. We were greeted warmly by our fellow Johnnie brethren, and promptly handed an ice-cold, lime-topped Coronita. 

The resort was gorgeous, quiet, and serene. We had use of two condos; David's family's condo, as well as another rented condo that we split evenly amongst the guests staying. Both condos were equipped with everything you could want; an excellent kitchen, several flat screen TV's, laundry room, massive king-sized beds and a spacious deck which gave a great view of both the pool and ocean. 

The trip to Playa Del Carmen meant the world to me, not because of where it was, but who I shared the experiences with. Playa Del Carmen's town is very touristy, and very little authentic Mexican culture is shown in the streets of these neon-flashing shops. Bars were packed and overpriced, and there were plenty of scams and places to lose money. This doesn't mean, however, that it isn't the perfect playground for a group of 12 "young-professionals." We spent most of our days drinking Corona by the ocean, playing volleyball, soaking in the rays, tossing a football around the pool, and even found ourselves playing a big game of basketball at a nearby park. At night, we explored the bar life and went night swimming. A young guy named Zach, who was staying for a month at his family's condo across the pool, joined us for the "Case Opening" on Friday. Zach was in Playa for a month hoping to brush up on his Spanish by taking classes in town. Zach ended up being an invaluable addition to our crew, especially to Evan, Justin, and I. When the whole Johnnie crew left for the airport on Monday, Zach let Evan, Justin, and me crash at his condo suite (see below) until we departed on Wednesday.

Staying at the Marreazul Resort was pleasant except for the fact that we didn't necessarily feel very welcomed by their staff. You see, Playa had just survived the last month of "Spring Break 2012." Because Marreazul hasn't been able to fill their expansive 800-some condos with residents, the company had ended up renting out many of the flats to college-age spring break kids. This turned into quite a fiasco for the residents that DID live there during this time, as many of the college kids did not behave according to the usual quiet setting dictated by Marreazul's location (northern most resort on the beach). This left us with some pretty wired security crew controlling the grounds. Whenever we left, arrived, or even when we were relaxing by the pool, some white-collared, short-sleeve security officer (there were several) would be watching us like hawks. We weren't allowed to throw a football in the middle courtyard or run on the grass; jumping into the deep end of the pool was also strictly forbidden. Still, we were able to walk anywhere with a cold beer in our hand, and to us, that was all that mattered.

The Playa Crew

Tela Tales

It wasn't too long before Justin and I hit the trail again. After staying only a week at the monastery (where we we finally really able to achieve progress with the website.. once again thanks to Kurtis' help!), Holy Week or "Semana Santa" was upon us. Our plans were to meet up with the CSB/SJU Guatemala Study Abroad crew in Tela, Honduras, where many Hondurans go for vacation. In typical style, Justin and I neglected to pay for a bus ticket direct from Antigua (about 6 hours away from Cobán) to Tela, a full day worth of traveling. Having gotten a hint as to where it would be most convenient to cross over the Guatemalan-Honduran border, Justin and I headed to "Entre Rios," A small town outside of Puerto Barrios and the eastern frontera. We arrived at the border at 5:30p.m. to discover that there were no other buses leaving for the day. Our choice was to pay for an overly expensive hotel, or each pay $100 cab ride to get to Tela that night (we already have a hotel reservation, too). Since we were told that public transportation was rather expensive (we found out later this wasn't at all true), we chose the cab. 

 3 hours, 4000 lempiras, a gas station sandwich, and a box of cheap red wine later, we arrived at our Tela hotel, a slick establishment with the best view of the city. Familiar faces such as Collin Motschke, Bryton Overton (still owe you $50 man!), Alivia Tison, Kirsti Klaverkamp, Nicola Franta and many more wonderful bennie and johnnie personalities. I spent a lot of time getting to know and kindling a close friendship with Evan Forsythe, a johnnie from my graduating class that had come down independently for a month to learn Spanish and become immersed in the culture. Evan and I shared in fantastic adventures, including finding fresh "cocos" and buying them at a discounted price. There's nothin' better than some fresh coco right outta the nut. And yes... we did actually put limes in the coconuts and shake 'em all up.

Coco Loco Fiesta 

Jammin' out with fellow beach buddies 

The three days at Tela were fun because of the company rather than the place. Tela ended up being a rather run down city. Electric wire strung between buildings, most densely over busy main streets, and gave a perpetual "christmas-lights-up-in-July" feeling (I'm sorry... I once again neglected to bring my camera). The beaches were packed with Honduran families, and several stage-like dance floors were set up all along the oceanside. Fewer foreigners were here, as we later found out that the big tourist places to visit are Utila and Roatoan, a couple of islands off of the Honduran coast farther south. Having spent money on a $100 cab ride, Justin and I were in no position to do much touring around, and neither was the rest of the group. It was a great group dynamic. Everyone did their own thing, but were also inclusive. Some people went snorkeling with local tours, some went running with Justin, some shopping. I spent most of my three days at the beach, soaking in the sun and playing my newest fun instrument, the Ukelele. 

We did check out the night life a bit as well. The stage-like dance floors were a blast, and stayed open till the sun came up. On our first night out in the town we met up with a group of English-speaking Hondurans. They were a group of  culinary students from the National University of Honduras. I spent most of my time talking to Ana Rubio, a beautiful young lady with quite a passion for her studies and an incredibly interesting life story. On the last day in Tela, I spend the day with this fun group in one of Honduras's National Parks and beaches. The group dynamic was fantastic. A constant vibe of happiness surrounded their conversation; I miss them all. 

Our journey back from Tela wasn't nearly as bad as the arrival. Justin and I started our journey at 6:30a.m. and arrived back at the monastery in Cobán by midnight. Bus fares were cheap, and crossing the border was easy. Our only painful experience was the micro-bus back from El Rancho (about 2.5 hours away from Cobán). In one little Euro-van styled bus, these crazy drivers fit in at least 40 people because it was the last run of the night; standing, leaning, squashed, I've never had a more miserable bus experience. We were certainly happy to finally reach our beds, where our desk lights weren't even turned on before we hit the pillow.

HELPS Trip #3 - Tejutla

HELPS Trip #3 - Tejutla

Wednesday, March 21, 2012, was the longest traveling day I've ever experienced in my life. Explaining logistics would be boring, but you should know it took us 13 hours (which included over 6 buses; healthy mix of both mirco-bus and auto bus) to arrive in Tejutla. Very little food and rest during this day lead to some grumpy, exhausted Johnnies arriving to the HELPS medical team, stationed in a hospital on a hillside with a beautiful view. We arrived only just in time for a hot, delicious lasagna meal and rewarding reunion with Casey, Connor, and the rest of the friendly faces of the HELPS team.

Our Endless Journey

Connor gets busy in the operation room

Christy "Triage-ing"

Our experience with the Tejutla Crew was truly unique. Having joined a crew 1/2 way through their work week, the system of admittance, scheduling, and clinic were already well established. This actually made fitting in easier for us. More translators are always good news for medical teams; Justin and I posted up one-on-one with a doctor and their respective clinical teams. I worked a few hours with Pediatrics, a few with OB/GYN, and a few with clinical. I saw for the first time a live ultrasound of an unborn baby… life-changing. I met more incredible people on this mission, many of whom were coincidentally from St. Cloud, MN! I worked primarily with Dr. Steve Jameson and Dr. Eric Barth, both of whom were very patient, informative, fun gentlemen. I had a really great discussion about faith with Pastor Jim Tetlie (thanks, Jim!). Sonia Russ, my favorite translator, has the biggest heart and the greatest sense of humor.  Mrs. Christy Rice is the best Triage-r I've ever seen. Also, shout out to Dr. Jim O'Neill (one of those terrible 'Tommies') and Judith Scott for compiling "The Guatemala Dictionary; for interpreters/heath care providers." We have a copy, and it will come to use in future missions!

Learning from Dr. Barth

Sonia translating for Dr. Jameson

The person that liked the mission the most, however, was without a doubt Kurtis Nusbaum. Originally, our plan was to stay for only Thursday, then leave Friday for two days at the beautiful Lake Atitlan before returning Kurtis to the airport. After the first day, Kurtis asked if we could stay one more, which of course we did. 

Playing hacky-sack for the first time in years with the
high school translators

Kurtis was put in charge of controlling the Triage line. This included organizing the lines bursting full of people; basically crowd control, and occasionally occupying the attention of little kids. To some this might seem a mundane task, but when it started hailing on the first day and there was a stampede of people trying to squeeze into the doorway to the hospital, Kurtis and the rest of Triage were essential. Not only that, Kurtis's Spanish improved immensely over only 3 days of working at Triage. I hope he has the opportunity to return to a place like Guatemala with a medical team later in his life.. he seemed to cherish every moment. 

Kurtis, Sophia, Sonia, Me ... taking a break from translating

Thursday and Friday came and went quickly. Tejutla 2012 was filled with the typical medical team upper-and-downer stories, hopes and failures, celebrations and defeated looks. I met a 17-year-old man who couldn't (and wouldn't be able to) see out of his left eye after a fatal car accident. Several young women were unaware of their pregnancy. A 93 year-old woman made it from a village several hours away from Tejutla, and a young man of 5 had never learned to talk because of a severe but fixable ear infection in both ears. Many times we cannot help these kind of people. We try to send them to a specialist at a nearby hospital, but many cannot afford the medical expenses. More often than not, we send them away rather satisfied with a routine check-up and bottle of antibiotics, while the real health problem while persist due to their lack of ability to pay for it. This is difficult to consider sometimes, but for risk of sounding cliché or oversimplifying… at least it's SOMEthing for them.

A beautiful Saturday morning awaited our much shorter trip from Tejutla to Lake Atitlan - Panajachel. We gave out hugs and said our goodbyes, promising a brief reunion with the team in Antigua for the HELPS banquet.

View from Panajachel Hotel Room

Lake Atitlan was a short-lived, fun adventure. We arrived in Panajachel, small city next to the lake, at around 3p.m. We took a brief adventure exploring the shops, went out to eat with a perfect view of the lake, explored the beach at night for an absolute crystal-clear view of the stars. I gotta get back to Lake Atitlan ASAP. Before hitting the sack, we shared drinks with Chris Buckshaw, a young entrepreneur who recently started a company called "El Camino VolunTours". His idea is to populate the idea of an alternative "break" experience, what he calls "a volunteer vacation." He's spent his last few years bringing several groups to experience a true cultural exchange  by organizing humanitarian projects in Guatemala and Nicaragua. His program seems to be popular and growing; it was refreshing to talk to another young ambitious entrepreneur (please feel free to check out www.voluntours.ca for more info). We wish him the best of luck with the future of his project!

We got Kurtis to the airport in the nick of time. After enjoying a lunch and saying our goodbyes, we left Kurtis for his journey back home while we headed to Antigua for a few days to enjoy the plush compliments of HELPS International's hospitality. I especially loved this mission's banquet, where I had the great pleasure of meeting Steve Miller, the founder and President of HELPS International. He is a man of big ideas and endless giving; its a wonder what the world would be like without men like him. Thanks again to all members of the Tejutla 2012 trip… our short time spent together was a blessing… hope you come back next year!

Welcome St. Pat's Parish… and Kurtis!

Welcome Saint Patrick's Parish of Edina, MN!

After so much traveling during the past weeks, it was good to finally settle in back at the monastery again. We didn't have much time, however, before we were blessed with guests. While our friend Casey was visiting for a few days, we prepared a "pseudo-schedule" for the Saint Patrick's Parish group from Edina, MN, that visited the following week. This pilgrimage trip included several fantastic people, including always  smiling Cappy Moore, the director, and my Mom and Aunt Ann! We made sure that we had a full, fun week planned for the crew before meeting up with the whole crew on March 12 at the Guatemala City airport.

The Cave

There was some hiking involved

Because Justin and I have already become very familiar with Cobán and the surrounding area, we were the point-men for the group's tourist activities and excursions. Aside from the many prayer groups, masses, and community meals that were already arranged by Cappy and Father Pedro, Justin and I accompanied the group out to several cool spots in Cobán, including San Jorge Mount (where my profile picture is on Facebook), the marketplace, the monastery's farm, and a day-long excursion to a local aldea for water-filter distribution. Everyone from St. Patrick's brought along gifts for the people of the aldea. My mom even brought a portable printer for printing off photos for people in the community. It was very special observe a group like that visit an aldea for the first time. 

Enjoying an aldea meal

Hair ties were popular with the little Qui'Chi girls

On Friday, we were joined by our good SJU friend Kurtis Nusbaum. Kurtis was looking for an alternative place to spend his spring break, and he thought it no better idea than to fly down to Guatemala and help us with our work. He arrived in time to join the Saint Patrick's group for the most exciting excursions; more specifically, that of Chicoy Cave and Semuc Champey.

After another crazy Saint Patrick's Day filled with green beer and green jello, Justin, Kurtis and I rose late on Sunday March 18 to plan an early trip out to Semuc Champey. We were leaving a away early because we were interested in going swimming and spelunking in Semuc's beautiful caves (not for the feint-hearted). We planned to meet up with the group the next day at the Semuc Champey pools. 

We stayed in Lanquin that night at a fun little hostel called "Zephyr Lodge." Everything with Zephyr works on the "tab" system: I have since found out that the "tab" system and I do not get along very well. Early the next morning, I woke to find a not so kind tab to pay and a very sick Justin. Damn! After I paid my astronomically high bill, Justin stayed back while Kurtis and I jumped into the truck to Semuc.

Tarzan 2012

I really hope that Justin gets another opportunity to do the Semuc Caves, because it was probably the most unique tourist experience I've had since coming to Guatemala. Mix images of the cave scenes from "Indiana Jones" and "Tom and Huck," and you get a slipping, sliding, swimming, jumping, climbing experience… all with a lit candle in your hand to guide the way! Our tour included several other young people from Europe. Our guide, Marcos, showed us every ledge we could jump off and every little cave-made slide. This show even continued outside the cave, where we swung on a giant tree swing out to the river. The last big challenge before the actual Semuc Champey pools was to jump off a bridge about 20 meters above the river. If someone tells me to jump off a bridge… I guess I will do it! And I was the only one that did.

Semuc Champey was as wonderful as I had heard. It's basically several pools and little waterfalls of very warm water.  Marcos showed our group all the cool places to dive and slide down, although not everyone decided to participate. We also met up with the St. Patrick's Group and Justin (who they had picked up, and was at the time sleeping like a rock). We stuck around the pools for a few more hours before departing for Cobán once more.

Look before you Leap

The following day, Tuesday March 20, the St. Patrick's group headed back to Guatemala City early to catch their flight. I know that they really enjoyed their experience, and I'm glad we were able to show them what our part of Guatemala has to offer. As they were mounting their return journey to Houston, Kurtis was helping us set up the skeleton to our now existing site for the monastery, www.resurrectionpriory.org. This moment was certainly a long-time-coming, but we could not have done it without Kurtis. His experience with writing HTML code was absolutely invaluable to our starting the site. Now, our ongoing process is gathering current news and the events concerning the community, and to eventually try to expose the site's usefulness to parishioners, guests, and the community itself. Once again, we couldn't be at the point we are today without Kurtis. Kurtis, if you are reading this, THANK YOU!

Kurtis and Me at Semuc

Anyway, after a day's work on the website, we settled our plans for the next few days. Kurtis showed strong interest in getting involved with the HELPS medical trip that was already underway. Our only obstacle? The HELPS site (Tejutla) was on the other side of the country. We faced potentially 12-hour journey.. by which we weren't completely sure of our exact route. Our plan? Just keep on asking for Tejutla.. and eventually, we'll get there. Early the next morning, we hit the road!

***** means 5 Star

 We left Dangriga with ample time to make our launch out to San Pedro. San Pedro is a small tourist island off the coast of Belize City. San Pedro is known for being expensive, but it also has the best nightlife in Belize. Normally, Justin and I wouldn't find ourselves within 1000 km (sorry America, but it's the metric system everywhere else in the world), but this time we had good reason: we were going to visit my parents at the ***** Phoenix Resort. Upon arrival we were greeted with a refreshing cold drink, a penthouse-like hotel room overlooking the hotel pool and Caribbean ocean, fluffy cloud-like beds, and, most importantly, my loving parents.

Justin and I spent just under a week (Monday - Friday) with my parents on San Pedro Island and the surrounding area. Every lunch and dinner we went out for fantastic food, and every day we went on some sort of adventure planned through various agencies. On our first day, we went snorkeling and swam with sharks, sting rays, barracuda, and turtles.  Our guide was excellent. He would clap his hand a certain way to get our attention underwater, and then he would audibly announce interesting information about the sea life above water, but so we could still hear. He even had us each hold and touch a friendly 12-foot nurse shark and pet a tame sting ray on our head! It was a magical first day.

Yep... house in the middle of the ocean

Little Cabin on our private island

Our second day in paradise was as good as the first. We went on a fishing excursion with Oliver and Brian. While I didn't catch anything on this excursion, I did SPEAR something! That's right; when we didn't get our fill of fish for the day. Oliver took us snorkeling for lunch. He used a long metal spear with a rubber band sling to spike a few snapper and redfish. Spearfishing is thrilling not only because of the hunt, but also the danger behind doing it. Any time you go to retrieve a spear, a Moray Eel could possibly strike out and bite your thumb off! Also, after you have a catch, the blood trail from the fish can attract sharks. Oliver even told us a story about a tourist that volunteered to hold his "catch" bag. He ended up having to fend off a Hammerhead shark from taking a nice chunk of flesh out of this woman. "She was about walking' on water when dat shark came 'round!" he laughed.

We enjoyed a delicious fish meal on a remote residential caye (island) near our fishing spot. It belonged to a father-son family close to Oliver. The island had two quaint beach houses, adorned with front porch on the bottom and an attic bedroom that overlooked the sea. The whole scene was something off of a postcard. I'll never forget it.

View from Little Cabin

Our third day involved a small airplane ride to the mainland for a long ride out to Mayan ruins and cave tubing. While this day was certainly fun, the "car-won't-start" situation, long hours spent traveling and the strange-natured tour guide we had made for somewhat of a drawn-out adventure. Even so, the Xunantunich ruins were quite interesting, the howler monkeys sounds were crazy, and the Cave tubing (just like it sounds) was quite relaxing and unique. 

Xunantunich

As mentioned before, the rest of our time was spent looking at the shops, eating at fantastic restaurants, and checking out the local area. From having drinks at a "swim-up" bar on Caye Caulker (neighboring island community) to getting painted during the Mardi Gras celebrations in town (we were even told not to wear nice clothes all day that Tuesday, for risk of ruining them!), it was the stay of a lifetime. My favorite "nightlife" occasion happened with the Chicken Drop. While the chicken never shat on our boxed numbers, the mere entertainment of watching a bunch of drunk gringos yelling idiotically at a scared-shitless (literally) chicken.

Before long, our weeklong dream in paradise came to a close. My parents departed for the airport as Justin and I headed back to Dangriga for one more night at Terrance's house before hitting the long trek back home to Cobán.

A Belizean Welcome

Where did March go? I've stepped away from my blogging duties for what seemed to have been a few moments, but now I find myself a month and a half behind on recounting my latest adventures. Several momentous occasions have occurred between then and now, but I will keep my recount as brief as possible to get you all up-to-date on my experiences in Guatemala and beyond.

The Tecpán medical mission came and went, and soon enough, it was already 5:30a.m. on the morning of Saturday Feburary 18. As I climbed into Maricio's truck for the long ride back to Guatemala City, I mused over the daunting day of travel we had ahead of us. Our goal was to reach Puerto Barrios by nightfall.. and we still needed to retrieve our passports… from Cobán. 

We were all over the country in one day

In our rushed effort to arrive in Guatemala City for the 8:00a.m. medical team bus a week ago, Justin and I had forgotten probably our most important traveling item: our passports. We couldn't leave the country without them. It made for quite the long travel day the following Saturday…

-2 hour bus trip from Tecpán to Guatemala City

-5 hour bus trip from Guatemala City to Cobán

-3 hour microbus trip from Cobán to El Rancho

-4 hour bus trip from El Rancho to Morales

The last bus to Morales was twice as long as normal, as we got a flat tire which took an hour to fix. The bus was filled with people, standing in the isles, sitting in the seats. It was a sauna by the time we were on the road again. As soon as we arrived in Morales (about an hour outside Puerto Barrios), we checked into the only hotel in the area… $25/person. Even though this is a bit spend for our tastes, we didn't mind. Finally.. a place to lie down! Needless to say, we slept soundly.

Justin made a friend at Terrance's house

Our next travel day wasn't as bad, but we started out later that we had hoped. By 1pm, we found ourselves in a water taxi across to Belize from Puerto Barrios. We caught the first bus up the coast from Punta Gorda, our arrival port. We were rewarded with a truly Belizean experience upon just mounting the bus. A group of young Belizean fishermen sat next to us at the back of the bus and invited us to a taste of their Rum and Sprite. One thing led to another, and soon enough we were invited to their house in Dangriga, a small fishing village between Punta Gorda and Belize City, our ultimate destination. Since we weren't going to make the launch out to San Pedro Island that day, we accepted their offer. Free lodging is free lodging! Many may consider this decision dangerous, or downright foolhardy. I can't say that it wasn't a risk, but we spent several hours with these guys (who were accompanied by a girlfriend), and it was apparent they meant to ill-will. Traveling does sometimes involve taking risks, and this is a risk that paid off ten-fold. 

We spent our whole Sunday evening in a true Garifuna village (please see my "Livingston" blog for information about the Garifuni people). Glen, Terrance, and Willie were the names of these locals. They lived in structures that were reminiscent of Galveston beach houses from memories of my youth. Big, tall stilts held a 3-4 bedroom house with a big living room in the middle. We learned some words from their own Creole-like language ("Baka- tone" = "back of town"), ate a delicious homemade chicken meal, shot pool and drank Guinness at the local tavern, and slept on a less than cozy but "it's-the-thought-that-counts" mattress. Price tag? Free. 

Playing in the living room with the kids

Glen and Terrace refused to let us purchase anything, even though we did force them a few beers for them at the bar. We were treated so incredibly well, I can't thank them enough for the hospitality. In hanging out with them, we discovered that they own their own island about 30 miles off the coast, next to Tobacco Caye. Here, Terrance and Willie will bring tourist groups out for a night on the island, which is adorned with a full bar, a few beach houses, outhouse, and a fishing shack. We promised to make it back for a trip out to the island sometime, but I'm not sure when we will be able to make it. Someday!

The next day, Terrance walked us down to the bus station. Before leaving, we sat down for lunch and insisted that we buy Terrance a meal for all the hospitality he showed us. He picked the cheapest thing on the menu. We ate and enjoyed each other's company before departing. Another very special traveler's experience of pure hospitality.