San Andres: Saint of enchanting light

We just arrived in Nicaragua after being blessed with a beautiful time in San Andres, Peten. Check out some of the moments that closed out our unforgettable time in Guatemala with these pics...

A tease

Saludos our loyal blog followers!

Our group is alive and very well in San Andres after an adventurous 9 days living and touring stunning Alta Vera Paz. For nearly all of these 9 days we didn´t have access to electricity or even running water and, needless to say (but to likely more dismay of the group), internet. Unplugging and un-showering were well worth it though, as we shared daily baths in a turquiose-emerald river with nutria and stopped in the pristine rain forest to drink from underground springs. Take that facebook! Though we´ve just uploaded some new photos to our flickr page, stay tuned a short while longer for student updates. Tis a delicate battle for the 2 computers with a fast internet connection in town!

With love and licuados,

Alex and Jackie

3 days, 46K

Some pics from our recent 3-day, 46 K, trek in the Guatemalan Highlands, from near Xela to San Marcos...

Check out additional photos on our Flickr page!

Relaxation on the Shores of Lake Atitlan!

Hi all!

Well, here we are, almost done with a relaxing week in San Marcos, Guatemala. It is incredibly beautiful here! It really is like a relaxed, tropical paradise. It was so amazing to arrive here, especially after our crazy 3 day trek. All in all, our trek was a total of 48k, with some pretty ridiculous mountain climbing the whole way. We crossed rivers on tiny log bridges, walked through clouds, and forged our way through tunnels of bamboo. The temperature fluctuated from steamy hot to freezing cold in minutes. We often shed layers because of the extreme heat, only to put them back on only moments later. We had the treat of a hot springs on the first night, which felt amazing on our cold, dirty feet. We traversed some of the steepest trails I have ever hiked, often balanced precariously overlooking treacherous cliffs. On the morning of our last day of hiking, we witnessed a beautiful sunrise (though unfortunately surrounded by heaps of trash). We tackled our last decent with ease, into the city of San Pablo. There we took a boat over to our current abode, San Marcos.

San Marcos is incredible! We are all taking it easy for the most part, which is the exact opposite of our trek. The food here is incredible, with tons of little cafes and restaurants to choose from. I find it hard to imagine no longer having 3 delicious meals a day after San Marcos. I and three others have been taking massage classes, making us extremely valuable to the rest of the group. All in all there is a very "hippy" vibe here. I have only eaten meat once in my stay here, and dreadlocks, tattoos, loose clothing and chill attitudes are the norm. I can confidently say that more people here speak English than Spanish. However, I am enjoying it thoroughly, and I will certainly be sad to leave.

I hope you are all doing well, and stay tuned for another update next week!

-Montana

Sho Long Xela!

One week in Antigua, another week in Pasac, and now 2 in Xela! I can't imagine living in a homestay for two weeks in a this big city.. especially after getting used to stone toilets and very, very 'refreshing' showers. I wonder what its going to be like?? I can't wait to experience Chichi. I wonder if my family..WHOAAA there goes our two weeks in Xela! Yes, Xela came and went, and if I may speak for everyone we are ready to get back in the dirt. However I am sure I'll think differently after 3 days of trekking.

Xela has been full of spanish-learning and thrift-store raiding. The warm welcome and booming friendliness at Casa Xelaju made our learning experiences very enjoyable. After getting lost wandering through this byzantine city, thundering down jeopardizing cliffs in the chicken bus and getting ripped off by determined cab drivers, I truly feel that we have gotten the most out of Xela. The city has given us a nice medley of chillaxing late-night musical cafes, and a racing rush from dodging speedy motorcycles and graffitied school buses.

Now, the wonderful experience of Spiritual Week awaits! I, personally, am hoping for some massage and drumming classes. After rummaging through wilderness for three days and a long boatride to our new home, we are all going to be even more ready for this educational and relaxing week. And after two weeks of 5 hour a day Spanish classes, a break from the escuela will be a nice breather.

Waking up at 5:30am tomorrow to meet the group in front of the trekking place! Super stoked! One last 20 minute walk through Xela with my tipping and tossing large backpack will be the perfect finale.

Oh, I almost forgot one of my favorite gifts given to me by Xela. My name is no longer Jared, but in fact Colocho...or at least it seems that way here. Thanks to my anomaly of a curley head and the difficulty of pronouncing the J in Jared, a Spanish translation of "Curley" has become my new identity. And it's awesome.

So long everyone, we'll be in touch! Wish us luck!

-Colocho.. (but you can call me Colochito). ;)

ps... I miss you Emily! Love yea!

Thoughts on Xela

Hola Carpe lovers!

After oh-so-stylishly ¨chacha-ing¨ off the stage and out of Pasac we arrived in Xela city, with the group anxiously waiting to meet each homestay family and our 1:1 Spanish teachers for the upcoming two weeks.I found myself in a state of culture shock moving from the small village of Pasac to a huge city with all the modern conveniences of America.

The group is beginning to feel more like a family and everyone has significantly improved their Spanish. We have had many fine adventures in Xela including learning how to salsa and testing out our bailando skills at a salsa club, working and playing with children at a Xela after school program, eating lots and lots of Xela Pan, and, most memorably in my mind, riding on a "chickenbus" to Chichi (the biggest market in Central America).
Guatemala public transportation is the best and even though I was sick with the flu while riding on a capacity 54 bus with 72 other people, I still look back on the 3 hour journey quite fondly. We only got in one accident on the way there and back, so I consider ourselves mighty lucky.

This week we are off to endure a strenuous trek full of sore muscles, blistered feet, and happy souls.

Adios amigos!

-Vita

Caserio Pasac Municipio Nahuala Departemento Solola Pura Maya

At the end of our unforgettable week with the Roots and Wings Institute in Pasac, our hosts casually asked if we would wear the Maya Quiche traditional clothing for part of day at the end of our stay. Concurrently they asked if our group would learn a short folkloric dance to perform in front of a few of the villagers. As the day of dress proceeded, details of our performance surfaced--our group was the main act for a Noche Cultural, the organizers needed us to perform another dance of our choosing highlighting our (US) culture, plus an introductory speech and song. We suddenly realized the surprise guest performance scheduled to appear at the Noche Cultural was not a surprise to us. We began to sweat underneath the thick fabric of our juipils and cortes.

Our group hastily chose Wagon Wheel by Old Crowe Medicine Show as our introductory song, more because Devon already knew most of the chords and we could just sing (or speak) the catchy repetitive chorus behind her as she sang the main verse. For our second dance performance, our modern piece, if you will, we chose the uber-overplayed wedding, bar mitzvah, and middle school dancefloor hit Cha-cha slide well, because it was on Montana's ipod and the line dance with called instructions would allow us to perform with zero preparation. That's right, we decided to improv Cha-cha slide to a group of 200 Mayan villagers while dressed in their traditional attire at the pueblo's Noche Cultural. If the song seems inconceivable to mess up, think again. Words can't do justice to the perplexed look at the townsfolk faces as we Cha cha slided off the stage. Above you'll find our group shot pre-performance.

Eh-Bah (Adios in Quiche)!

-Alex and Jackie