Rio Dulce and Livingston

Waterfall at Finca Paraiso

Me and Thomas at the waterfall

This past week Thomas and I took a longer trip down to the coast.  Our first stop was in Rio Dulce (Sweet River) where we stayed in an amazing hotel named Hotel Kangaroo run by an Aussie man and his Mexican wife.  We had to take a 5 minute boat ride to arrive at the hotel built on stilts in a marshy area of the river.  Our room overlooked the water and 2 of the walls were almost completely made of mosquito screen.  We felt like we were in the jungle.  The next day got even better when we went to Finca Paraiso.  We took a small bus to a farm and then walked along a path in the woods until we found what we were looking for-the waterfall.  Although this waterfall might not be as beautiful
as some others you may have seen before, it is certainly the most unique.  Along the bottom of the waterfall is a cool, slower moving river.  The water that makes the waterfall originates from hot sulfur pools on the cliff above. The water the flows along until it falls off the cliff creating a hot waterfall that pours into the cool river.  It was incredible.  Thomas and I spent the whole day in the water-climbing up the cliff into the bathwater pools above, swimming behind the waterfall, and standing under the warm waterfall and letting it give us an aqua massage.  This was hands-down the best part of our whole trip!

View from Hotel Kangaroo

Room at Hotel Kangaroo 

Beach in Livingston

Crabs at the hotel in Livingston

           

The next day we took a long boat tour down the river to Livingston on the Caribbean coast.  The views from the boat tour were fantastic and we had the opportunity to see several unique natural features along the way.  When we arrived in Livingston it was like we stepped off the boat into another country.  The Livingston area is known for the Garifuna culture- think a mix of Jamaica and Latino culture.  The food there was also unlike anything we’ve had-soup made of coconut milk and seafood, which was surprisingly good especially considering I don’t like coconut.  Thomas and I found our hotel on the beach, which turned out to be a roughly constructed bungalow, but the sound of the ocean made up for the accommodations.  Unfortunately, though the culture had a Caribbean flavor, the beaches didn’t get the memo.  They were covered in both sea debris and trash-not something you’d want to spend any length of time on.  After one night in Livingston we decided to head back to Guatemala City and spend some time with friends before we leave on Monday.  I am unbelievably excited to go back to the USA and spend some time with my family tomorrow!!! 

Firsts…

Sorry I haven’t written in a while.  In the past couple of weeks Thomas and I went back to Lake Atitlan and visited the large artisan market in Chichicastenango.  There hasn’t been too much to report about those excursions.  After that, Thomas and I were busy planning a hybrid focus-group/information session for the parents in Paquip. 

Jill's Students

A group hug on the last day

One of the fathers weaving fabric used for traditional skirts

On the drive to Paquip
-we literally drove through the clouds almost every morning

The home of one of our families-the large stone square on the right is their stove

For those of you who don’t know, Thomas and I have been spending our week days in a small rural town outside of Tecpan.  Thomas has been spending his days visiting 5 different families on a regular basis and I have been teaching English, observing, and helping in the Kindergarten class (or the equivalent) in Paquip.  I also had the wonderful opportunity to accompany Thomas on many of his visits with the families (due to school being unexpectedly closed), and I got to know a couple of families fairly well.  All that I have learned and seen is too great to write in a blog, but the experiences I have had in this town will be sure to stay with me for the rest of my life. I will miss my students and the families I have come to know greatly.  

On a lighter note, I have decided to compile a list of firsts-things that I have seen or experienced while on this trip.  I hope you enjoy!

FIRST TIME…

1.     being serenaded by a taxi driver

2.     seeing a live hummingbird

3.     climbing through a cave

4.     climbing a volcano

5.     riding in a tuk-tuk (a 3 wheeled motorcycle that is covered with a heavy canvas to make a car)

6.     riding a running horse

7.     getting a back massage (no offense Thomas)

8.     a taxi driver has requested that we all pray together for protection from buses before beginning our journey… don’t worry we made it there and back safely

9.     witnessing a stray dog eating a diaper (most disgusting thing ever)

10. being offered directions with a straight face that include “you can turn left down this street but just go slowly for a little while because you'll be going against traffic for a few blocks since this street is one way.”

11. in a police station (no we didn’t get in trouble!  Unfortunately, Thomas was pick-pocketed in the Tecpan market, and we had to file a police report.  Hopefully this will be my last time in a police station).

Today we left Tecpan permanently for this trip.  We traveled back to where we started our journey, Antigua, whose beauty and climate I can appreciate even more having been in Paquip and Tecpan for so long.  Tomorrow we will be traveling to the capital and then spend a short vacation on the Caribbean coast before our flight home.  I’m very excited for this leg of our trip as it is sure to bring some new experiences, and it marks the beginning of the end of our time in Guatemala-I’m very excited to be back with my family in the States!