Travels

This blog is about our Missions trip to Guatemala from Toronto with a stopover in El Salvador in 2015. We stayed in Guatemala City, visited a waterpark, small villages, the city dump and cemetery. We then headed to the mountains for our “work”. We stayed in a steel building, similar to a large storage shed in Chichoy. They provided us with cots, meals and great hospitality. In Chichoy we worked the fields, visited the school and enjoyed some fun events with the children.

From Chichoy we traveled through the mountains to Popabaj (riding on the roof tops of the jeeps) No rules there! In Popabaj we helped build latrines, worked on the homes and smokeless stoves. The families of this little mountain village were so friendly and hospitable, the children colored pictures for us, they showed us around the village, we all ate together and were happy to see three families recieve goats so they could have milk.

This blog includes photos and information about the country and the story of our amazing trip.

Once we arrived, we met our guide, Hugo and Victor who escorted us to Casa Blanca hotel in Guatemala City and stayed with us for the most part of our journey. The Missions office was nearby, called For the Love of Missions.

Then we visited the For the Love of Missions office and helped them out with their beautiful crafts they make to sell.

We visited some other places in Guatemala City before heading off to the mountains for our mission work.

Guatemala is bounded to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize and (along a short coastline) by the Gulf of Honduras, to the east by Honduras, to the southeast by El Salvador, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean.

Guatemala City is divided into approximately 21 zones, or “zonas.” They number the zones in a spiral pattern starting with zona 1, which is the most central and oldest zone in the city. Guatemala is also divided into 22 departments (departamentos) which are divided into 340 municipalities. Most places of interest are found in five zones, Zone 1 in the north of the city, where you’ll find the Palacio Nacional, Zona 4 in the center, and Zonas 9 and 10, and zona 13, in the south. The Parque Central in the heart of Zona 1 is the most important landmark. Most expats living in Guatemala settle in the capital, Guatemala City, or  Antigua.

In Zone 1 you will find the Historical Center with many buildings neo-classic style. The city center is a bit overcrowded by locals, merchants and noise, but its the place where the real the essence of Guatemala is.

In the Mercado Central part of the city center is where you will find many local handicrafts and unique Guatemalan souvenirs as well as colorful flowers, fruits and vegetables.

In Zone 4, also known as “4° Norte” (Four Degrees North) you will find the trendy part of Guatemala City. This zone consists of 4 blocks, all in direction to the four cardinal points, making it the only place with diagonal streets in Guatemala City. This was once an older zone with factories and warehouses, but now it has many restaurants, cafes, galleries and bars.

In Zone 10, on the other hand, is known as “Zona Viva”, where most hotels, restaurants, hospitals and financial instutions because it is the commercial district.

A tree-lined boulevard that separates zone 9 from 10 is known as La Reforma, this is where you can bike or walk around and see the monuments along the roads.

“Chicken buses” in Guatemala City are refurbished school buses from. the United States, they are usually at least 10 years old with high mileage. The buses get autioned off and driven to Guatemala. The term Chicken bus comes from the fact that the passengers used to transport live animals on them, not so much anymore. Private transportation is strongly recommended over public buses and shuttles. But if you are feeling adventures and can speak Spaniosh well, it would be a unique experieince to ride the chicken bus. Travelling by bus is the cheapest however a very unpopular option even by the majority of locals. Taking a taxi can be questionable, do your research first. The Yellow taxis belong to a private company which has every car registered and monitored to ensure safety.

Fresh Fruit & Vegetables and busy streets

Guatemala City Dump

The Guatemala City garbage dump is the biggest landfill in Central America measuring over 40 acres . Over a third of the country’s total trash ends up there. There are many people who visit the dump’s trash to find treasure in someone else’s trash, but they risk breathing in the toxic funes and biohazardous materials to do it. They also risk their lives as they hang on to the Yellow trucks before they come to a stop to unload into the dump. The people with the most seniority seem to “mark” their scavenger space for when the truck pulls away by placing their palm flat against the cargo hold. Some rush in to quick and get crushed under the truck tires. The regulars at the dump seem to know which trucks come from supermarkets and restaurants, so they rush to grab anything edible for themselves or to be sold. The piles get so high and think that creates an occasional avalanche, burying bodies. In 2005 a cloud of methane gas over the dump caused a massive fire affecting the families that worked and lived in the basurero. After the fire, the city build a wall around the dump and had armed guards keeping people out between dusk and dawn. Children were no longer alowed inside. There are more then 60,000 people that live in extreme poverty in the Guatemala City garbage dump community.

The General Cemetery in Guatemala City, one of the largest in Central America

The Guatemalan citizens who can afford to purchase grave plots have to pay for them annually, and payments have to keep coming even after the purchaser has died. This cemetary happens to be on the edge of the city dump, there are huge walls that hold up many coffins that are placed in like drawers. If they dont make a payment, the coffines get pulled out and pushed down the hill into the dump.

The neighborhood built on top of land of the dump, mostly made up of items collected in the dump.

The children walk to take a bus to school (a Safe Passage volunteer passes out bus tokens to the kids every day), while their parents with their ID tags (something they started after the 2005 fire) head over to the dump to get an early start. Safe Passage is something that was started in 1999 by a young women who opened an unused church to teach a handful of kids, it has now grown to over five hundred kids. We had the opportunity to meet some families and tour their homes, very lovely people.

Parque Acuatico Aquaventura

The last thing I expected on this trip was a visit to a waterpark. This is the largest waterpark in the area and is located  Km 79 autopista a Puerto Quetzal Masagua, Escuintla, Guatemala.

This park includes Adult Pool, Pool for babies, giant waterslides, interactive water games, Wave pool, sports courts, picnic area, aquatic restaurant and Canopy. Open Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Heading to the mountains for some Mission work

We headed to the village of Chichoy Alto, in the region of Patzun, Chimaltenangois roughly 38 mi or ( 60 km ) West of Guatemala City. We spend time at the school, helping with education. Education in Guatemala is free and compulsory for six years. ( usually ages 7-14). Some children attend pre-primary school before the age of 6. The school year runs from January to October, then the summer holidays run for 12 weeks. School hours run from 730am -1230pm. High school is expensive ave $600-1200per year.

Education System in Guatemala: Primary – Primary School ages 7-13, Secondary – Ciclo Diversificado (Diversified Secondary) ages 13-16, Vocational – Technical Secondary School (Upper Secondary) ages 16-18 and Tertiary – Primary/basic school teacher education. The children put on a show and dance for us on our first evening, we each received a flower from the kids as well. They were great performers and so happy. When visiting the school, we involved them in interactive games, brought soccer shirts and soccer balls for them. The school we visit was undergoing some construction to add to it. They recycle the pop bottles in their gardens, very creative!

We traveled from Chichoy to Popabaj where we did most of our work.

We stayed in Chichoy Alto to do our mission work

Our accomodation was in a community center/storage type of building, a large open space with cots lined against the walls. There was a washroom and an area to wash up and wash dishes with cold water only. The food was prepared by the local women and cooked on a large pot on an open fire. It was a great experience and a fanastic view from the upper level of the building we stayed in. We enjoyed some family time with the locals as well. One evening was a marshmallow roast, music and food with all the families.

Views of the area around where we stayed in Chichoy

The School – Escuela Oficial Rural Mixta Aldea Chichoy Alto

Fun games with the kids, soccer, frisbee and piñatas!

Working the very sloped fields in Chichoy

Road trip to Popabaj

There are not many rules (up in the mountains anyways) we sat on the roof tops of the jeeps through the mountains, great view all around from there. We stayed in Chichoy but drove to Popabaj to build latrines and smokeless stoves and help make homes by making mixing dirt and water to create a mud to put on the outside. Chopping cement blocks with machetes was interesting! In Popabaj, we had a tour of the small village, learned how they live day to day. We were there for the delivery of three goats to three families to help them out with milk. The children colored pictures and gave them to us, very sweet!

Popabaj

The Latrines, Stoves and mud homes, the work we went to Guatemala to do.

Hiking Volcano Pacaya – what an awesome experience

Pacaya first erupted approximately 23,000 years ago and has erupted at least 23 times since the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. Volcano Pacaya is an elevation of 2,552 metres (8,373 ft). After being dormant for 70 years, it began erupting in 1961 and has been erupting since then. Most of its activity is Strombolian (relatively mild blasts) but it occasionaly has Philian (marked by colums of volcanic debris and hot gases ejected very high) The last known eruption was March of 2021. There is a lava store that the gentlemen moves everytime the volcano erupts, but he doesn’t have to close. In this store he sells alot of homemade jewerly and other sourvieners from the area. Walking along the lava fields, I could feel the heat on my legs fromthe fires still burning deep inside. At one point we stopped and cooked hot dogs and marshmallows in the fire through a hole in the lava.

We ended our trip with a few days in Antigua.

Antigua is surrounded by three volcanoes, flowers and mountains. It is a colonial city with beautiful buildings, chapels and cobblestone streets that preserve the Spanish-Baroque architecture which made this place a UNESCO world Heritage Site.

Fun facts about Guatemala

The National bird is the name of the Guatemalan currency, The Quetzal

Guatemala means “land of many trees”

Guatemala has been inhabited for 20,000 years

There are 22 languages spoken in Guatemala but the official language is Spanish

The CIA overthrew a socialist government in 1954

Tajamulco Volcano is the highest point in Guatemala, at 4,220m. 

There are 33 volcanoes and 3 (Agua, Fuego and Acatenango) watch over the colonial town of Antigua

Coffee, bananas and sugar are its main products.

A story about Chocolate; they say it is orginally from Guatemala. The word Chocolate comes from the Maya word “xocoatl” which means bitter sweet. The cocoa was the basis for a thick, cold, unsweetened drink, sugar was not yet discovered, they used different spices for flavour. Hot chilli peppers, which are still used in gourmet chocolate today.

Guatemala is known as the “land of the eternal spring” because a warm tropical climate. Guatemala is divided into 3 main parts: the sparsely-populated northern plains, the volcanic yet largely-populated central highlands and the agricultural Pacific lowlands. There are over 300 differrent microclimates which means weather can change rapidly from one region to the other.

Packing clothes for all weather, layers are always a good choice. Sunscreen, mosquito repellent along with your swimsuit and camera are a must.

Two UNESCO sites are the ruins of Quirigua and the city of Tikal with alot of history of the Mayan civilization. Antigua Guatemala, a colonial city, boasts beautiful architecture and cobblestone streets.

Most Expats living in Guatemala settle in the capital, Guatemala City, or Antigua.

The Guatemalan cuisine ranges from National to International, street food, traditional sweets and fresh veggies are found in many restaurants in Antigua and Guatemala City. The cuisine is a blend of different cultures. Unique combinations of spices, aromas and textures bring together extraordinary flavors. More traditional dishes are commonly stews slowly cooked with dry chilies, meats and different vegetables. Besides that there is Maize (corn), beans, and pumpkins as part of the Mayan gastronomy. Now alot of the Mayan traditions and way of cooking are infused with European recipes and ingredients.

The water in Guatemala represents a big issue on a national level. Around 90% of the natural water is polluted which affects the rural communities. There is a company that has been providing water filters to purify the water. This has saved many families from stomache diseases from the bacteria in the water.

Power in Guatemala is 120 V and the same plugs as in the US. Depending on your country of residence you will need to bring a plug adapter (usually Type A / B). Ideally you bring a universal power strip to charge several devices at once.

Entry requirements: All passports should be valid for a minimum of 6 months from the date of entry in Guatemala. Always good to check with your Embassy first for updated information.

I hope you enjoyed reading about Guatemala and seeing the photographs.

Janet