Mom & Dad in Guatemala...a FULL week!

About a month ago my parents joined Travis and I in Guatemala for a week…a very FULL week!

Check out our itinerary:

Day 1: Mom and Dad arrive in Guatemala City and are greeted by Franciso (Guatemalan driver with NO English) at the airport. As tricky as it sounds they arrived in Antigua at my apartment easily! We went to eat at Rainbow Café and then saw the city. We visited: the Central Park, the Arch, Santa Clara Ruins and the Jade Museum. After a full day, we ate dinner in the apartment.

Ruins at Santa Clara. 

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Flying into Guatemala City. 

Guate!

Women washing clothes at the Tanque la Union in Antigua. 

Santa Clara Ruins

Dad and I. 

Mom and I.

Checking out the old choir balcony. 

View from the top.

The public hospital and church lit up at night. 

A procession before Semana Santa (Easter Week)

Passing in front of the cathedral.

 Day 2: TRAVEL DAY! We left at 4am to take a shuttle to Guatemala City. From there, we took a 7 hour bus ride to Rio Dulce. In Rio Dulce, we had lunch and then headed to Livingston via boat. Rio Dulce (Sweet River) is where the ocean meets the largest lake in Guatemala. Sweet water is fresh water, so the river is aptly named. It was a beautiful trip on the river…with the landscape changing at every turn. We arrived in Livingston and settled into our hotel. The hotel, Villa Caribe, was amazing. We had a two story room with two balconies that overlooked the river and ocean. We swam a bit that afternoon and then had a great dinner of wine and seafood.

Day 3: We headed out from the hotel at 8am and our first stop was Siete Altares (Seven Altars). This is a tiered waterfall with, you guessed it, seven tiers. We were there during the dry season, so there wasn’t a lot of water, but it was still a beautiful hike. We celebrated with a Gallo (the Guatemalan beer) at the end of the hike. We then headed to Playa Blanca (White Beach). This is a private beach were we enjoyed the sun, water, food made right on the bead, and coco-locos (coconuts with rum inside). It was a fun day! 

View from our hotel room in Livingston. Great pool!

HUGE plant! 

There were tons of boats like this in the area. 

A statue in the ocean that wards off pirates and gives good luck to fishermen. 

Gallo after the hike!

Part of the museum by the falls. 

These fish are called machete fish. 

Mom & Dad with their coco-locos. 

Our coco-locos! 

Grilled fish, rice, tortillas, and salad. 

Travis and his watermelon. 

Eating lunch.

On the boat. 

Finding Nemo boat. 

The only way to get to Livingston is via boat, so the coke bottles have really piled up!

Scary spider!

Mom and I in Siete Altares 

Coconut tree growing from a coconut. 

Catch of the day. 

Playa Blanca. 

Waiting for our boat to Rio Dulce. 

Welcome to Guatemala! 

This is the fort that separates the lake from the river. It still has the canons that were used to ward off pirates. 

Rio Dulce! 

Dad in the pool at our hotel. 

Travis and me!

Great view from the pool. 

Dad wanted a picture of the anchor...I made it more interesting.

Day 4: Leaving the hotel at 8am, we took a boat to Puerto Barrios, one of the largest ports in Central America. Here we caught a bus all the way back to Guatemala City. It was quite the experience! Because we bought our tickets a week before we were in seats numbered 1-4. Little did we know, this was a double-decker bus. We were on the second level essentially right above the driver. It was quite a view! 

In our front seat! 

First class!

Finally in Guate after 6 hours!

Day 5: Today we went on a coffee tour of Finca Filidelfia—a coffee plantation. It was great to learn about how coffee is grown, made, and obviously how to drink a good cup of coffee. From there, we headed back to Antigua and had some great food and hit up the markets. We went to lunch at El Tenedor, which is a restaurant up on the hill. It has some great food and a great view of Antigua and the volcanos!

Beautiful church on the way to the coffee plantation. 

Finca Filidelfia. 

BIG cactus!

Coffee saplings. 

Women doing the grafting process. 

They use the roots from one type of coffee and the plant from another.

Children at the plantation. 

From right to left. The red beans then three more layers!

Coffee drying. 

Scooping up the coffee. 

Dad and I at the plantation. 

Hanging out in the big jeep. 

Mom and I at Santo Domingo one of the five star hotels in Antigua. 

Carpets (popular decorations for Easter)

Antigua from El Tenedor. 

At El Tenedor. 

Motorbikes all lined up in Antigua. 

Most popular form of transportation (chicken bus/camioneta).

Tuk Tuk 

Jose Viejo--One of the oldest ruins in Antigua. 

Another carpet. 

Day 6: This was the Constru Casa day! We helped to build a home in San Mateo Milpas Altas. We worked with Mario and his team of masons to build a home for Feliciana and her family. Mom and I had a good time helping as much as we could, but really, Dad did the majority of the work. He wanted to stay a few more days just to work and the masons wanted his help too, but we only had one day! It was such a great day though! It was sunny with some breeze, and Dad really enjoyed building a home while having a view of three volcanoes! It was so wonderful to be able to share a small part of my work with my parents. We also got to stop at Semillas de Esperanza  y Amor (Seed of Hope and Love), a school in San Mateo. It was a great experience! We enjoyed El Tenedor up on the hill so much, that we returned for dinner!

The construction team. 

Digging trenches with our friend. 

Plumbbob level

Mom and Johhny

Dad working away as Johhny learns how. 

Tapping holes in the block so rebar can go through. 

Making the footings. 

Dad was the only one that actually worked. 

Drinking pepsi from a bag. 

It is a great way to do it!

View from the construction site, with both volcanoes in the background. Notice the house there? The uncle  that lives in the new house, that was his old house. 

Working too hard to smile. 

Pretty great view of all three volcanoes--Aqua, Fuego, and Acatenango. 

Maria Emilia and her new stove. 

She is a wonderful woman and is so proud of her new home. 

She is one of my favorites!

Dad checking out a finished home. 

Making the concrete volcano. 

Add caption

No need for a mixer here...we have 6 working!

Waiting at the school. Forgive my expression. 

Office. 

The school. 

Library. 

Classroom. 

Another classroom. 

Cafeteria

Small garden...they teach the students life-skills such as farming
in addition to their regular classroom materials. 

Chicken bus!

Inside a tuk tuck. 

Dad's odd picture...

View from El Tenedor at night. 

Our table. 

El Tenedor. 

Day 7: We visited Lake Atitlan today and four small towns on the lake. It was a great trip, but we were all pretty tired!

View of the lake.

From our boat. 

A market at the lake. 

The lake is so high that many buildings have been underwater for a few years. 

The lake is surrounded by three volcanoes. 

This place makes thread and fabric...all naturally. 

Old and new church. 

Instead of deserts at this place you could get cigs. Great!

Beautiful place!

Day 8: VOLCANO DAY! Today we climbed Volcano Pacaya. Mom rode a horse up the volcano and Dad, Trav, and I hiked it. It was such a great view on top! We were even able to roast some marshmallows on some of the hot parts of the volcano. We really enjoyed it and had time to come back to Antigua for a great lunch and some shopping in the market.

Mom on her horse.

Dad and I are pretty tired!

Almost to the top. That is the volcano that you can see in
Antigua...all three of them actually.

Mom and I on top!

Made it!

Mom in the cave. 

Pretty excited to be up there!

Roasting marshmallows. 

What a good looking couple!

Great view!

Resting (on our way up). 

"Huh, what?" 

Resting...again. 

Dad...on a volcano. 

Trav in the hole...

Day 9: Mom and Dad went home on this day! It was so great to be able to share my home-away-from-home with them, especially our work with Constru Casa. I know that we made memories that I will not soon forget and them either.

Hope you enjoyed our trip and the photos! 

Adios,

-Kaycie & Travis