Category: Guatemala
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Giving Thanks, Making Peace
MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Thanksgiving day – I awoke this morning far from home and family but filled with a profound sense of gratitude. Grateful for the sun that was just beginning to brighten the sky outside my window; grateful for the dear friends who have given me a home in this city of cities.…
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The river will find a way: Voices of the victims
SAN LUCAS TOLIMAN – I arrived at the home of Rony Lec of the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute (IMAP) at 9 a.m. and found him meeting with a group of young men from Ajpu, a local youth group. The post-storm response of the government was slow and disorganized, I had heard from various people around town,…
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First the ashes, then Agatha – then the gifts from heaven
PANAJACHEL, Guatemala – For three days I’ve been traveling the villages of Lake Atitlan, watching the slow shift from disaster to windfall. On Saturday, we stood together in Marvilla’s kitchen at Posada Dos Volcanes in San Lucas Toliman, one of the mostly Mayan villages that ring this lake, watching in disbelief as the mountain began…
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Rain of ashes in Guatemala
PANAJACHEL, Guatemala – Atitlan, the sparkling lake of legends and lore, glistens a slatey grey today. Clouds drape the mountaintops on all sides; boats are making their way across, one by one, taking their places at the rickety wooden docks where they will soon be ferrying people to villages across the water. “It’s a sad…
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Xela, Guatemala: Where the Maya meet the world
QUETZALTENANGO/XELA – It’s 7:30 a.m. at Parque Central and the city is beginning to stretch and come to life. The plaza hums with the voices of students in their crisp navy uniforms and white knee socks, boys with gelled hair combed carefully into a peak, ladies in their cortes tipicas, their brightly woven traditional skirts,…
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Conquering Tajumulco: Me and the volcano
XELA, Guatemala – At 4:45 a.m. on Saturday, eight sleepy people from five different countries showed up at Casa Argentina, bracing themselves for the adventure ahead: a two-day trek up Volcan Tajumulco, the highest point in Central America. I was among them. The three volunteer guides from Quetzaltrekkers were going over the final details. Yesterday…
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Looking back at Guatemala City
XELA, Guatemala -– I set off early this morning to find a café where I could work. It didn’t take long to find one as they are scattered all about the town’s historical center. Before 8 there are few businesses open, which is the main challenge; a couple of comedores are serving eggs, beans and…
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A Mother's Day greeting from the Racoons
Mother’s Day is celebrated here in Guatemala on the 10th of May, regardless of what day of the week it falls on. project management assignment So today was the big day – and I do mean big. It began at 6:30 am with a mobile loudspeaker blasting an upbeat blessing from the streets, mañanitas-style. That…
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A Mother’s Day thanks to Guatemalan world changers
QUETZALTENANGO, Guatemala – I awoke this sparkling Mother’s Day to the sight of the Santa Maria volcano from my rooftop, rising green and conical over the mountains that surround this charming city in the highlands. Quetzaltenango, known to Guatemalans by its indigenous name, Xela, is quite literally a breath of fresh air. The slap-slap-slap of…
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Hotel Ajau: A green deal in Guatemala City
GUATEMALA CITY – I have spent the past week making contacts, getting the lay of the land and working on freelance stories, and I couldn’t have found a better home-away-from-home here in the capital city than Hotel Ajau. I’ll admit I chose it because I read in Rough Guides that it offered a good price,…