Guatemala: There and back again
So, I have been taking entirely too long to post about my vacation. My goals of blogging are really falling short lately. Oh well, as they say "mas vale tarde que nunca!"
I started out my Semana Santa by riding on a 15 hour bus trip to Guatemala City, Guatemala joined by my friends Kayla, Brittany and Estee. WE stayed at a nice little Hostel named Quetzelroo owned by a friendly guy named Marcos. The day after we got there we had a lovely tour of Guatemala city. The city seemed so clean and organized compared to what we were used to. =) We got to see many beautiful buildings, a market, and a processional(basically what for lack of better words, I will call a Catholic Parade) for Palm Sunday.
Later that day we hopped on our first Chicken bus (thus named because they are often used to transport goods for markets, etc. often carrying cargo such as chickens) It was pretty cool because I actually ended up sitting my this nice 15 year old boy who happened to be listening to some Hillsong music in Spanish. So he let me listen to it and I didn't have to sit by any creepy people. =) What a blessing.
Our next stop was Panajachel. This is a small town filled with little shops and restuarants on the lake Atitlan. This is a very large lake surrounded by volcanoes and tiny towns/cities. We were joined by Erin, Ramiro, Josh, and Molly a day later. On several days we took boat tours to different towns. It was beautiful and a lot of fun to see so many different things and people. Unfortunately it was difficult not to spend money because I wanted to buy something from every small child I met. They were just so cute! Anyways, here are a few pictures.
After this, the next part of our vacation was spent in Antigua. This was Guatemala's capital before Guatemala city. There are cobblestone streets, many shops and restuarants (very delicious ones) and old buildings and ruins. It was fun to walk around and see everything.
I also got to go and hike a Volcano one morning. This was a little difficult for me (I had a little trouble breathing in the altitude and steepness) but it was still fun. At the top we got to get inside a volcano vent and roast marshmallows, both of which were pretty cool. =)
Antigua is also very famous for its processionals and alfombras. Alfombras are "carpets" made of anything from plants and flowers to sawdust. They have elaborate designs and are beautiful to look at! These are made before the parades and then the parades walk over top of them. I really enjoyed seeing these works of art made before my eyes.
The processionals were a great way to keep me thinking about Easter and remembering why I was on vacation. These were beautiful parades with many people in robes carrying ornate floats. After the first parade, I began to notice that the people were wearing black robes every day. In these black robes, the people would walk down the street followed by incense and sad music. It was apparent that they were mourning the death of Jesus. These types of processions seemed to be going on for days. Although they were beautiful, I started to feel very sad about them. I started to feel anxious for Easter when we could really celebrate the resurrection. Unfortunately we had to leave very early on Sunday morning, so I’m not sure if there was a processional that celebrated the resurrection. But as I sat down to think of it, I realized how easy it was to become bogged down in simply the death of Jesus, without realizing his triumph. Don’t get me wrong, it is important for us to realize that it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross. But for many that’s where it stops. I am a sinner. I am stuck in sin. Jesus suffered because I am a horrible person. While we may always have struggles as long as we are on this earth we have so much more hope than that! God also says that if we die with Christ, we are also resurrected with him and he offers us freedom!
Now, since this was my last stop... you might think that my adventure is all over, on to the next part of my journey.
Right before leaving at 4 in the morning on Easter Sunday, as I was getting my things together. I suddenly realized that I didn't have my Residency card. AFter frantically searching all my things, we decided that I didn't need to worry because it shouldn't be a problem till Honduras. Also we had another girl who was in a similar situation because her purse had been robbed in Antigua.
Unfortunately we were wrong. You see our bus route went from Guatemala to El Salvador to Honduras. The Guatemalans let us leave just fine from Guatemala, however in a El Salvador we were put to a stop. The man at the border decided (mostly because we were Americans, well and a Canadian) That he would not let us through, unless we paid him 114 $ each IN CASH. He threatened not to give our passports back until we did so. We got our passports back telling him that he could not do this. But unfortunately we were told we had to get off the bus. So, myself and Kayla, both of us completely broke are asked to take our luggage and leave. Fortunately my dear friends Estee (who was the only one of us with any money left, about 67$ to be exact) and Ramiro (who is a male and from Nicaragua, so he speaks fluent Spanish) offered to get off with us.
From here we walked back to Guatemala, maybe a quarter to half mile down the road. Here we talked to a man in customs who assured us that the El Salvadorean official was not being honest. He told us that even if we did everything he asked (he told us we needed to go to the Honduran Embassy in Guatemala) he would come up with a reason to give us a "fee". So he told us we should go to the other border straight from Guatemala to Honduras. He got out a piece of paper and started writing down the names of little towns with amounts beside each one. He told us that right outside we could find our first bus. So this began our 11 hour journey to Copan, Honduras.
Chicken buses and small Central American towns in general are not very safe, but people were praying for us. Somehow all four of us managed to make on time, on Easter Sunday, (when not all these buses run) each bus that we needed. WE road on 8 chicken buses. We split one granola bar between the four of us, and each had one cookie as our food for the day. We also found some ice cold coke. Coke has never tasted so wonderful in my life.
Somehow we managed to have just enough money to get to where we needed to go, eat dinner (well we did end up having to go back and paying for it in the morning, thanks to the gracious owner, since their credit card machine wasn't working) AND found a place to sleep that we could still afford. Four of us. All of the buses, the food, the place to sleep, 67 dollars. The fact that we even got there, time wise and safety wise, is only a complete testimony to God's amazing provision. None of us had ever been so happy to see Honduras as in that moment.
The next morning, we found the earliest bus possible back to Tegucigalpa at 2:30 p.m, which put us home in our houses around 11. IT was a very long trip.
and one of the best parts, while in Copan I found my residency card. I put it somewhere separate from my passport for "safekeeping" in case something happened. OF course. While I felt slightly angry at myself, and really just very stupid, I do believe I was there for a reason. I also learned some valuable lessons:
1. God provides. He took such care of us in this journey that could have fallen apart at any minute.
2. God uses other people. I cannot thank my friends enough for helping me. Without Estee I would be stuck in Guatemala completely broke with no way to get money. Without Ramiro, I would not have been able to communicate nearly as well and I also wouldn't have felt nearly as safe.
3. It wasn't fun, but there were plenty of moments where we could find joy laugh and simply say, "Well at least this is an adventure." A positive attitude can bring you a long way.
Anyways, so this was my experience I'd love to tell you more if you wish. Mostly though, I am glad to be alive, back at school, and loved by God and many others. Thank the Lord for his faithfulness!
I started out my Semana Santa by riding on a 15 hour bus trip to Guatemala City, Guatemala joined by my friends Kayla, Brittany and Estee. WE stayed at a nice little Hostel named Quetzelroo owned by a friendly guy named Marcos. The day after we got there we had a lovely tour of Guatemala city. The city seemed so clean and organized compared to what we were used to. =) We got to see many beautiful buildings, a market, and a processional(basically what for lack of better words, I will call a Catholic Parade) for Palm Sunday.
Later that day we hopped on our first Chicken bus (thus named because they are often used to transport goods for markets, etc. often carrying cargo such as chickens) It was pretty cool because I actually ended up sitting my this nice 15 year old boy who happened to be listening to some Hillsong music in Spanish. So he let me listen to it and I didn't have to sit by any creepy people. =) What a blessing.
Our next stop was Panajachel. This is a small town filled with little shops and restuarants on the lake Atitlan. This is a very large lake surrounded by volcanoes and tiny towns/cities. We were joined by Erin, Ramiro, Josh, and Molly a day later. On several days we took boat tours to different towns. It was beautiful and a lot of fun to see so many different things and people. Unfortunately it was difficult not to spend money because I wanted to buy something from every small child I met. They were just so cute! Anyways, here are a few pictures.
After this, the next part of our vacation was spent in Antigua. This was Guatemala's capital before Guatemala city. There are cobblestone streets, many shops and restuarants (very delicious ones) and old buildings and ruins. It was fun to walk around and see everything.
I also got to go and hike a Volcano one morning. This was a little difficult for me (I had a little trouble breathing in the altitude and steepness) but it was still fun. At the top we got to get inside a volcano vent and roast marshmallows, both of which were pretty cool. =)
Antigua is also very famous for its processionals and alfombras. Alfombras are "carpets" made of anything from plants and flowers to sawdust. They have elaborate designs and are beautiful to look at! These are made before the parades and then the parades walk over top of them. I really enjoyed seeing these works of art made before my eyes.
The processionals were a great way to keep me thinking about Easter and remembering why I was on vacation. These were beautiful parades with many people in robes carrying ornate floats. After the first parade, I began to notice that the people were wearing black robes every day. In these black robes, the people would walk down the street followed by incense and sad music. It was apparent that they were mourning the death of Jesus. These types of processions seemed to be going on for days. Although they were beautiful, I started to feel very sad about them. I started to feel anxious for Easter when we could really celebrate the resurrection. Unfortunately we had to leave very early on Sunday morning, so I’m not sure if there was a processional that celebrated the resurrection. But as I sat down to think of it, I realized how easy it was to become bogged down in simply the death of Jesus, without realizing his triumph. Don’t get me wrong, it is important for us to realize that it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross. But for many that’s where it stops. I am a sinner. I am stuck in sin. Jesus suffered because I am a horrible person. While we may always have struggles as long as we are on this earth we have so much more hope than that! God also says that if we die with Christ, we are also resurrected with him and he offers us freedom!
Now, since this was my last stop... you might think that my adventure is all over, on to the next part of my journey.
Right before leaving at 4 in the morning on Easter Sunday, as I was getting my things together. I suddenly realized that I didn't have my Residency card. AFter frantically searching all my things, we decided that I didn't need to worry because it shouldn't be a problem till Honduras. Also we had another girl who was in a similar situation because her purse had been robbed in Antigua.
Unfortunately we were wrong. You see our bus route went from Guatemala to El Salvador to Honduras. The Guatemalans let us leave just fine from Guatemala, however in a El Salvador we were put to a stop. The man at the border decided (mostly because we were Americans, well and a Canadian) That he would not let us through, unless we paid him 114 $ each IN CASH. He threatened not to give our passports back until we did so. We got our passports back telling him that he could not do this. But unfortunately we were told we had to get off the bus. So, myself and Kayla, both of us completely broke are asked to take our luggage and leave. Fortunately my dear friends Estee (who was the only one of us with any money left, about 67$ to be exact) and Ramiro (who is a male and from Nicaragua, so he speaks fluent Spanish) offered to get off with us.
From here we walked back to Guatemala, maybe a quarter to half mile down the road. Here we talked to a man in customs who assured us that the El Salvadorean official was not being honest. He told us that even if we did everything he asked (he told us we needed to go to the Honduran Embassy in Guatemala) he would come up with a reason to give us a "fee". So he told us we should go to the other border straight from Guatemala to Honduras. He got out a piece of paper and started writing down the names of little towns with amounts beside each one. He told us that right outside we could find our first bus. So this began our 11 hour journey to Copan, Honduras.
Chicken buses and small Central American towns in general are not very safe, but people were praying for us. Somehow all four of us managed to make on time, on Easter Sunday, (when not all these buses run) each bus that we needed. WE road on 8 chicken buses. We split one granola bar between the four of us, and each had one cookie as our food for the day. We also found some ice cold coke. Coke has never tasted so wonderful in my life.
Somehow we managed to have just enough money to get to where we needed to go, eat dinner (well we did end up having to go back and paying for it in the morning, thanks to the gracious owner, since their credit card machine wasn't working) AND found a place to sleep that we could still afford. Four of us. All of the buses, the food, the place to sleep, 67 dollars. The fact that we even got there, time wise and safety wise, is only a complete testimony to God's amazing provision. None of us had ever been so happy to see Honduras as in that moment.
The next morning, we found the earliest bus possible back to Tegucigalpa at 2:30 p.m, which put us home in our houses around 11. IT was a very long trip.
and one of the best parts, while in Copan I found my residency card. I put it somewhere separate from my passport for "safekeeping" in case something happened. OF course. While I felt slightly angry at myself, and really just very stupid, I do believe I was there for a reason. I also learned some valuable lessons:
1. God provides. He took such care of us in this journey that could have fallen apart at any minute.
2. God uses other people. I cannot thank my friends enough for helping me. Without Estee I would be stuck in Guatemala completely broke with no way to get money. Without Ramiro, I would not have been able to communicate nearly as well and I also wouldn't have felt nearly as safe.
3. It wasn't fun, but there were plenty of moments where we could find joy laugh and simply say, "Well at least this is an adventure." A positive attitude can bring you a long way.
Anyways, so this was my experience I'd love to tell you more if you wish. Mostly though, I am glad to be alive, back at school, and loved by God and many others. Thank the Lord for his faithfulness!
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