On to much better topics…GUATEMALA!
I loved Guatemala. Actually, I should be more specific, I loved Antigua, Guatemala. We arrived in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala as schedule to find that Puerto Quetzal is a dock, literally, just a dock. Okay, truth be told, there was a grass covered hut, a small outdoor restaurant and a dock, but it was not a city. The closest town to Puerto Quetzal was San Jose. I didn’t see San Jose because everyone I spoke with told me not to waste the money it took to get there. I guess they didn’t care much for it.
Upon our arrival a few of us caught a ride with our interport student, Pablo, to Antigua. Usually in each port we will pick up a student and a lecturer from the next port of call and they will sail with us to their home county. They provide us with information about their country and sometimes, if we’re lucky, travel tips. Mario got to talking with Pablo the night before we docked in Guatemala about the best way to get to Antigua for the day. During this conversation Pablo offered us a ride with him. He said he had a truck that had benches in the back and he could take as many as we could fit. To me this sounded a little shady but honestly it beat the $180 price tag the taxis were going to charge us. So off we went with Pablo. As we were walking it began to rain so I thought it was a good idea to ask Pablo if this truck of his had a cover on the back. He said, oh yes, don’t worry. Then I asked him if he left his truck there before he flew to Nicaragua or did someone drop it off for him. It was then Pablo turned to me and said, “My driver is picking me up”. I realized quickly that this truck Pablo was talking about probably wasn’t what I had imagined. Moments later we were introduced to Pablo’s driver as he pulled up in a black Land Rover. A ha. His “truck” was definitely covered.
So in we hopped and drove to Antigua. Mario, Ebonie, one of our students and I spent the day roaming around Antigua. It is a beautiful city nestled in between mountain sides and volcanoes. The streets are charming and the people are very friendly. After our day of site seeing we were off to meet up with some students at Pablo’s sushi restaurant. Pablo is a 27 year old medical student who is part owner of a swanky restaurant near the main square in Antigua. It was beautiful inside and the food was delicious. I have been craving sushi the entire trip and was too afraid to try it up until now. I knew this was a place that took great pride in their food just by looking at the entrance. The students all showed up (many of whom had never tried sushi) and we had a great meal. After dinner we sat in the bar and had martinis with Pablo and his friend, Andrea. They were both so gracious and we received VIP treatment. Andrea’s cousin actually goes to Stanford so I told her I would look him up with I got home. The time came to venture back to the ship and we hopped on a SAS bus that was heading back.
The next morning a few of us had a day trip planned to Antigua. It was a field directed practicum for our friend, Ray’s class. Unfortunately, Ray had been put on bedrest after our trip to the beach house in Nicaragua because his foot became infected (perhaps it was the gasoline plant we walked through) and he could not lead the trip. Doug filled in for him and we spent the day with 20 or so students visiting churches in Antigua. Well, that is what the itinerary said. Unfortunately, our guide had us following a procession through the streets of Antigua that was honoring a patron saint. This procession just happened to be stopping at all the churches we were stopping at and we were not able to go in to any of the churches due to the celebration. Well, this was true for all but one stop, the Cathedral. He had us walk through the Cathedral DURING MASS! We almost died. Many of us stayed outside until we could no longer see anyone from our group and didn’t have a clue where he was going. So at the last minute we tried to tip-toe our way through (hard to do with a group of Americans in shorts and tennis shoes – uh). It was not a fruitful tour and many of us split off from the group early in the game.
After a bite to eat we went to do a little shopping. The markets in Antigua were full of beautiful glassware, masks, textiles and wood carvings. I got separated from Doug and Rasa while we were shopping because I was trying to purchase something and was taking a little longer than I had expected. When I met back up with them Doug squealed when he saw me and started pulling a black plastic bag off of something big in his hands. Little did I know how much joy the thing in the bag would bring Doug and the rest of us. He had purchased a wooden monkey he named Pablo. I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone so excited by any purchase ever in my life. We have adopted Pablo as our mascot. (Lisa and I eventually kidnapped Pablo and took him around the ship for a photo shoot…you had to be there)
On the morning of our third day in Guatemala I was signed up to trip lead a group to visit the Mayan ruins in Copan, Honduras. I was feeling a little ho-hum about this trip and didn’t know what to expect. All I knew is that I would be riding in a bus for 6 hours to get there and this didn’t excite me at all. I’m so glad I went. It was fabulous! A lot of folks flew up to Tikal so our group was very small, only 16. When we arrived at the ruin site we were the only ones there. We essentially had a private tour of a very spiritual and cool place. It poured rain the entire time but no one seemed to care. It was just cool to be sitting in the jungle learning about these amazing, once hidden, temples and alters. After our tour we explored the museum a bit and then headed back to town. The town of Copan is very small but charming. Most of the locals grew up there and all of them thrive on the tourism that comes through.
After walking around the town, shopping a little and having a fabulous steak dinner I went to bed and called it a day. The following day we had our morning free so a few of us ventured to the “residential” area of Copan. This is the place the Mayans lived many many years ago and is not visited by many tourists. In fact, there isn’t a gate to get in or anyone collecting tickets/money. Fortunately, there was a guide there who was waiting for another group to arrive that gave us a tour in Spanish. One of the students we were traveling with was able to interpret for us and we had yet another private tour.
As we departed Copan we were driven up to the hills for lunch at a bed and breakfast that over looks the ruins and the town. Hacienda San Lucas had a stunning view and was a wonderful location to end our tour of Copan. We had a great meal, walked around the grounds a bit and off we went for our return 6 hour drive. I returned to find a group of my friends eating dinner and heading out for some drinks at the restaurant by the dock. I quickly changed and went with them.
Our last day in port I didn’t have anything planned and thought maybe I would try to go back into Antigua. This thought was quickly altered when I woke up not feeling great. I kind of figured it was a slight hangover since I have not been drinking much at all this summer and I went out for drinks the night before (little did I know it was going to be a full blown stomach bug). I spent the day on the ship just hanging out and doing a whole lot of nothing. It came time for us to depart Guatemala and say good-bye to the last port of Summer 07. Everyone was getting nostalgic and hugging at the gangway. Part of my responsibilities include helping out at the gangway as on-ship time approaches. The benefit to this is the fact that we are always the last ones on the ship. After everyone boarded the ship and we knew we were all accounted for myself, Lisa (the Director of Student Life) and the four RDs (Mario, Doug, Ebonie & Garrett) went to the dock and took one last photo of us in front of the ship. It was a sentimental moment.
Anyway, up the ropes came from the dock and we sailed off on our way to San Diego.
We still have our closing activities to attend to (Ambassador’s Ball and Commencment) and the last minute wrap up responsibilities but for all intents and purposes my Summer 07 adventure is finished. It is hard to believe that in a week I will be back at work in California and students will be returning to begin the 07-08 academic year.
Where did the last 2 1/2 months go?
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