Fuentes Georginas

Krista and I took an afternoon trip to Fuentes Georginas yesterday. These hot springs were set in the most idyllic scenery: strangely tropical for such a high elevation, but with cool mountain breezes, along with a dramatic wall of vines and ferns cascading around a steep but gentle waterfall. The three man-made pools differed in temperature, where the first was fed by piping hot natural sulfur water. The second pool was a combination of an overflow of the first pool along with a less steady stream of colder water. The third was an overflow of the second. Neither Krista nor I were able to put anything more than our toes into the first pool, but the second pool was perfect for soaking, and we spent nearly an hour taking in the scenery and speaking Spanish with our two travel companions: Eduardo, the brother of the woman who runs our school, and Janet, a student at our school from Germany. 

The trip to Fuentes Georginas included taking an hour-long chicken bus to the neighboring town of Zunil, where we needed to find a driver for the 30-minute drive up the volcano to the hot springs. Most people find a pick-up truck to jump in, and ask the driver to wait for an hour or an hour and a half until you are ready to head back down the hill. Eduardo found a friend with a car to drive us, which ended up being much appreciated as the drive down the hill in the back of a pick-up truck would have been quite chilly while being so wet. 

The entire experience was extremely refreshing, especially as it came one day after our hike to the highest peak in Central America. Our bodies needed to relax, and there was no better place than in the hot springs at Fuentes Georginas.

The highest point in Central America!

Volcán Tajumulco, reaching to the height of 4220 meters (~13,900 feet), is the highest point in Central America. We climbed it this past weekend! David has climbed several mountains this high or higher in the U.S., but this was the highest mountain for Krista and the highest that we’ve climbed together! 

We left Xela early Saturday morning with the adventure company Quetzaltrekkers. After traveling for a few hours on a couple of different chicken buses, we arrived in Tuhichan to begin our hike. Our group consisted of 14 people: 11 participants and 3 guides. The majority of the group was American, though Spain, Australia, Canada, and Germany were also represented. An unusually high number of the group were (or are) guides of some sort. We had a spelunking guide from Canada, a NOLS sailing and backpacking instructor working in the Caribbean and Wyoming, an Australian hiking guide, and of course David was a rafting guide. We journeyed through farmland, open meadows, and sparsely wooded forests. Some dark clouds threatened from the sky, but we were blessed with the occasional glimpse of sun and it never actually rained (or snowed!). 

In the afternoon after hiking for a few hours, we set up camp at the saddle between two peaks of the volcano. The area was sheltered from the wind with a number of pine trees and the campsite even had three toilets.

Later that evening, we hiked up to the smaller peak – Serra Concepcion – for sunset. The setting sun brilliantly illuminated the clouds in the sky. 

The night was cold and we woke up to a covering of frost on the ground. It was around 5am when we began the ascent to the highest peak of Tajumulco. We viewed the sunrise from partway up the final climb.

At the top, we enjoyed views that (on a clear day) would extend as far as Mexico (north), the Pacific Ocean (west), and more volcanoes in Guatemala (to the east and south). An enchanting thick blanket of clouds filled the valleys below the volcano, making it barely possible to see to Mexico and impossible to see the ocean. The alternating pattern of clouds and smaller mountain peaks was beautiful. The crater of the volcano was also impressive. We hiked around the entire rim.

After returning to our campsite from the sunrise ascent to the peak, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of oatmeal, packed up camp, and headed back down the mountain. It was a gorgeous trek with wonderfully interesting people. 

Of note, the organization we chose to hike with - Quetzaltrekkers - is a neat group formed several years ago with all volunteer guides and from which all profit from the treks (they lead several in the area) are used to support a couple of nonprofits that rescue and support former “street kids” of Xela (www.quetzaltrekkers.com).

Afternoon Adventures

Each week our school schedules optional afternoon activities for its students. After a morning of class, we return to our house for lunch and then later meet up at school for that day’s activity. Last week we learned to make tortillas…

Cindy, teaching us how to make tortillas

David, enjoying a homemade tortilla with beans and fresh cheese

 And we went to Salcaja… where we visited one of the oldest churches in Central America (built in 1524) and tried two local liquors: Caldo de frutas (made from many fermented fruits) and Rompopo (made with rum, egg yolks, sugar, and spices)…

And we went salsa dancing (unfortunately we have no pictures, though it was lots of fun!).

This week we went to a multicultural event that was hosted by a local university and held in a nearby exhibition hall. We learned about the 23 Mayan cultures, languages, traditions, and foods.

Yesterday we visited San Andres Xecul. The main attraction of the town is their brightly colored Catholic church. It’s painted red, yellow, and blue and has neon lights on the inside. The town is built into a hill, which we climbed up to see a smaller church (also brightly colored).  

 

 

El fin de semana

During the first week of classes at an evening activity hosted by our school, we met a bunch of students who are participating in a 6-month stint in Guatemala. Their time here includes studying Spanish, volunteering in clinics and at health education centers, and traveling around Guatemala and other parts of Central America. They are a “pre-health group” of 14 students consisting of 13 females and 1 male, all of whom are planning on applying to medical school or starting medical school this coming fall. There is even one girl here who is going to be a first-year student at Stanford’s med school in the fall!

Anyway, while we were eating dinner with this group of students at our school last week, a couple of them mentioned that they would be going to Lago de Atitlan for the weekend. They offered for us to come along. We were excited for the chance to visit somewhere we were hoping to go, as well as learn from some English-speaking friends about some of the intricacies of traveling within Guatemala.

Lake Atitlan, or Lago de Atitlan, is the largest body of water in Guatemala. The lake is 8km across from north to south and 18km from east to west; on average, it is 300m deep. According to our Lonely Planet guidebook, this huge lake is actually the crater of a very ancient volcano. The crater was formed 85,000 years ago through a massive eruption called Los Chocoyos. Ash from the eruption blew as far as what is now Florida and Panama! Thousands of years later, smaller volcanoes were formed. Volcan San Pedro, reaching 3020m above sea level, was the first to form, then came Volcan Atitlan and Volcan Toliman.

On midday Friday, Alex (a student living with us in our house and currently volunteering at one of the local medical clinics) met us at school to bring us along with him to catch a bus for the lake. “Minerva” – the bus station – is a long walk away or a short ride in a “mini-bus” from school. After opting for the mini-bus option, we shared a makeshift seat in something like a 15-passenger van that had been converted to transport closer to 20-passengers. After the short ride in the van, we dodged through hundreds of people and markets stalls, to reach the row of “chicken buses.”

What’s a “chicken bus”? Chicken buses (camionetas or parrillas to Guatemalans) are the most common form of transportation from city to city here. These buses are former American school buses that have been given another life, often with new colors and altered interiors. Once a school bus in the U.S. is ten years old or has reached 150,000 miles, it is auctioned off. They make unpredictable and frequent stops based on wherever the passengers are going along their stated routes. Our bus was “direct” to San Pedro, requiring no transfers to other buses, but certainly stopping many times along the way. It was painted green and white, had luggage racks hanging from both sides of the ceiling in the bus and along the entire top outside of the bus. The radio blared a mix of soft rock and fiesta-like Spanish songs. We were on our way!

After a 4-hour ride climbing hills, traversing gigantic speed bumps, winding around mountains, and dodging potholes, we eventually made the bumpy descent to San Pedro. On the other side of the lake, Panajachel is the major tourist town, perhaps because it is easier to access from Guatemala City and Antigua. San Pedro is a smaller lakeside town with both visiting tourists and a vibrant traditional culture. In addition to speaking Spanish, people here commonly speak two Mayan languages: Tz’utujil and Kaqchiquel. There are over 20 Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala, but most of the people who speak these languages also speak Spanish.

Hotel Tepepul Kaan, San Pedro

When we arrived in San Pedro, it was just starting to rain. Our friends, Alex and Cami, had been here before and wanted to swing by a fair-trade store to purchase some gifts. We followed them down a cobblestone street to the water, then up a little hill, and finally to the hotel they had stayed at last time. Hotel Tepepul Kaan is a cute three-story building with views of the lake, colored glass windows on the door of every room, and hammocks on the porch of each room.  While settling into our rooms, the rain really started coming down. We ventured out to Zoola, an Israeli-inspired restaurant. We sat outside on mats on the floor and a low-set table, while the rain poured down on the tent-like roof. The spot was wonderfully relaxing and the food was delicious (David had lasagna and Krista had ktzitzot – meatballs in a special tomato sauce). 

Zoola

The rain let up a bit by the time we had finished dinner, so we wandered around town and found a travel agency that specializes in local adventures. We decided to hire a guide to take us up Volcan San Pedro the next morning.

Tuktuk

Dominic, our guide, met us at our hotel at 6am. Together we took a tuktuk (3-wheeled mini-taxi) to the base of the volcano. The sun was rising and the early morning light was beautiful. We ascended the volcano via a well-maintained trail, weaving through coffee plants, small fields of corn, and jungle-like areas as well. On average, the trip to the top (3020m) takes 3.5 hours; we arrived in 2:20, just hiking along. The top was covered in clouds! Occasionally the sun broke through and we could glimpse another volcano or part of the lake in the distance, but most of the time we spent resting in the clouds. We did get to see the giant crater of the volcano. There were three distinct peaks in a triangle that formed a crater in the middle. Fortunately for us, this volcano is inactive, although there are still a handful of active volcanoes in Guatemala. It was crazy to think that thousands of years ago there were regular eruptions and hot lava flowing from Volcan San Pedro. The hike was our first time really exercising since we have been here and it felt so good to be drenched in sweat and feel our hearts pounding! Our guide also made our trip so satisfactory. We were able to practice lots of Spanish with him and shared with us about his family, his work, and his town (San Pedro). We could probably write an entire blog entry about our conversations with him.

After hiking, we spent the afternoon relaxing in the hammocks or on the rooftop of the hotel, eating yummy food, wandering around town, and trying to speak Spanish with whomever we met. 

We happened upon a cute café that was filled with books and games to borrow. We played a couple games of backgammon while sitting lakeside on a beautifully sunny afternoon. 

At night we went out with Alex and Cami for mojitos and nachos at Café Atitilan (with live music) and then dinner at a little French restaurant (with more live music across the street).

The next morning we jogged around town, went to breakfast, and meandered through their very large Sunday market and bought some bananas and freshly bakes bread for the bus ride. We enjoyed a couple of chocobananas and a chocomango before hopping on our bus back home. 

Bienvenidos a Guatemala

In the airport

 We arrived to Guatemala City via Miami on Monday morning. We were picked up by a taxi at the airport. Then we took a a 4-hour bus ride to Xela. We were greeted at the bus station by someone from our school who then brought us "home."

In front of our school

 We are living with a family that lives 5 minutes away from the school. There is a mom, dad, and three children. The parents make and sell bread. The children are 9, 20, and 23. Everyone is very nice. The food is delicious.

David studying Spanish in the garden

We are studying Spanish for five hours every morning from 8am until 1pm. We each have our own instructor. David learns from Carmen. Krista learns from Claudia. We have snack at 11am. Each day there is different food. We are learning lots of Spanish. Soon we may begin blogging in Spanish!

These are simple sentences. This is how we think in Spanish.

Beyond Words

Emily and I just returned from our trek. AMAZING! I thankfully started feeling better during our bus ride out to Pokhara last Saturday. Then our 5 days of trekking - with a day in Pokhara on each side of the trip - was like nothing I had done before. I only wish David could have been there with me. He was with me - though wish he could have seen it with his own eyes. I will blog in more detail soon... here's one pic for a starter :)

Home sick

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8)

Last night I went to bed feeling great. I was excited for my last day at the hospital and happily anticipating our trip to Pokhara on Saturday for our week-long trek. Well, a few hours into sleep, things went from great to okay and from okay to bad. I seem to have come down with some bug - hopefully of the 24-hour variety - that kept me up all night and kept me from going into work this morning. Feeling sort of down and pretty crappy, I curled up in my bed (so thankful to have a bathroom just steps away) in hopes of feeling better.

I write this post not to seek sympathy, but to share the power of community and prayer. Libby offered to do anything at all, as soon as I broke the news that I'd not be joining her at the hospital today. In fact, she is doing a number of favors for me today. Miley - our house "didi" - busy washing laundry, cleaning dishes, keeping everything tidy - came into my room to check-on me... she had a sense without even have seen me that I was sick today. Not too long after her visit, Ross - another housemate - a man who has diligently been coming here for over 30 years to work on Bible translation, came to offer any help that he could be. Just now I wondered downstairs to find a DVD in our common room. There I met a Canadian couple, about to head out from the house here to do some Christian ministry work in a village outside the valley. They prayed for me.

I'm not feeling 100%, not by any means. But, my spirit feels much refreshed. As you go about your day and decide whether to reach out to another (or not), know that Jesus will work through you to heal in so many ways, in tiny ways and big ones, if only you call on Him.

I'm supposed to head over to Kathmandu later tonight to meet Emily and bring her back to my guesthouse so that we can prep for our journey that's scheduled for an early morning departure tomorrow. I know it is all in God's hands. Pray that His mighty will be done!

From our rooftop on laundry day: black socks, solar water heaters, and mountains in the distance.

Rhinos, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

On Friday I took a 6-hour bus ride to Chitwan to meet up with Emily. On Saturday we took a 1- hour bus ride with her Habitat for Humanity group into Chitwan National Park.

Our destination was the Island Jungle Resort. We arrived via dirt road and knew we were in the right place when we saw the sign above. However, there were no buildings around - all we could see was the jungle, river, and a couple of wooden canoes. Oh right, we're staying on an island! So we took the wooden canoes across the river, packed in with our backpacks and about 10 people per canoe. Ours gained a bit of water as we crossed, but we made it safely!

We were greeted with a cup of mango juice and our "schedule for the weekend." Our first activity was an elephant ride!! We had four people on our elephant - Emily, her Habitat roommate Sonia, our driver, and myself. It's hard to get a picture of yourself on an elephant, but here's a glimpse at us while riding the elephant; you can see another group of riders in the distance.

We journeyed through tall grasses, rivers, and jungle trees. Splashing, crunching, crushing whatever was in our way!

Here is a closeup of our little lady:

After returning from our exciting ride to our gorgeous riverside resort, it was time to eat lunch. After lunch we changed into our "bathing costumes" (shorts and t-shirts, since we didn't bring bathing suits) and headed down to the water...

So that we could wash (and ride!) the elephants. Here is Emily surfing on an elephant who is lazily lying on her side.

Later in the afternoon we went on a walk through the jungle looking for rhinos, tigers, and sloth bears, among many other animals. Here are scratch marks that a tiger has left on the trunk of a tree, in order to mark his territory. We saw fresh tiger poop, fresh claw marks in the sand, and the half-eaten carcass of a water buffalo - but we never actually saw a tiger up close. Fine by me.

Hard to see in the photo below, if you look close - on the sand across the way - is a crocodile bathing in the evening sun.

We returned at dusk via wooden canoe.

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains

and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and

all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Isaiah 55:12 (NIV)

We enjoyed watching the "stick dance" performed by a group of teenagers. The dance was originally danced with the intent to ward off malaria. Later in the evening, Emily and I joined the dancing fun.

I woke at 6am the next morning for an early morning "bird watching walk." Though the weather was a bit too misty to see the birds, we definitely heard them. Best of all was when we saw a giant rhino rise from the water into the mist. He's hard to see below, but he is there! The scene was quite majestic.

We enjoyed breakfast, another hike, reading by the river, and lunch before heading back to Emily's hotel in a nearby town. Who ever though Em and I would end up in Nepal together?! God works in crazy ways.

Momos in the Dark

A reflection from David regarding our first day in Nepal...

On our very first night in Nepal, Krista and I headed from the airport to the touristy district of Kathmandu called Thamel. The guesthouse we stayed in, Kathmandu Guest House, has been around for a long time, and many things in the area are measured by how far away they are from the Kathmandu Guesthouse. We got in at about noon so we had all afternoon to explore. Strangely,  it was 10:15pm back in California and when you are in airports and airplanes for nearly 40 consecutive hours, you're body becomes confused. Am I tired, or am I just being irritable for no reason? Am I hungry or is that pain in my stomach from eating four airplane meals in a row?

We walked around town a little bit where every store front sells knock off North Face and Marmot clothing gear. The streets are teemed with honking motorcycles and tourist vans wiz by forcing pedestrians onto the sides of these roads that were clearly not designed for vehicles at all.

After settling in and finding some snacks, we fell asleep mid afternoon, waking up with a big appetite at about the right time for dinner. Now, we had never looked at a menu in Nepal before, nor did we know the standard rate for different types of food, so we explored. We went to six or seven restaurants and asked to look at their menus. What's a doso? How about a momo?

Krista probably could have went on looking at menus for 30 minutes, but after walking into several restaurants just to walk back out again, I was turning into a kid at a candy store. I didn't care what I ate, so long as I could eat something, and eat it soon. So we landed on a restaurant called the "Momo Star." it had a long, skinny dining space elevated three or four steps up from the entrance. The split level was then filled with the kitchen underneath the dining area. There were maybe 10 tables that could seat four people each. After staring at the menu trying to determine what type of food would come if I ordered this or that, we decided it was only fitting to order a plate of Momos, the namesake of the restaurant. After a few minutes, we were served milk tea (delicious!) and the Momos canes out shortly afterwards. Momos turned out to be a thin layer of steamed dough with some sort of filling. They are really quite tasty and usually come with some spicy sauces on the side.

By this time, the sun was long gone, but we felt confident finding our way back to the guesthouse. As we were munching on our Momos, a strange a unexpected (by me) thing happened: all the lights in the entire neighborhood shut off. My mind started racing: there's about to be a massive earthquake, people are going to get robbed, we didn't bring a flashlight with us, hold Krista tightly!

A few seconds later, a few lights turned back on, but not at the same brightness as before.

The majority of Nepal's power is generated with hydroelectricity. With H2O flowing from the highest point on earth to nearly sea level in about 100 miles, there is a lot of potential energy. But this time of year is dry season in Nepal, which means not much water flow and not much energy.


Without their primary source of energy, the Kathmadu Valley is subject to "load-shedding" which means that everywhere household, store, restaurant, hospital, etc. only has 10 hours of electricity each day. We had a schedule posted at our guesthouse for each day of the week and when the power would be on or off. Each day was different, and we would generally have two five-hour chunks of time where we would have power. Sometimes it would be in the middle of the night, sometimes in the middle of the day. If we ever wanted to turn on a light, use the microwave, or try to have a semi-warm shower, we would have to wait for the electricity to come on.

Our adventures had only just begun.

Through the years