Guatemala Day 5

This morning we got up early and left at 6:00 am.  We drove about an hour and a half and stopped in the middle of the mountains at a little restaurant for breakfast.   I ordered a plate with eggs, sausage (two types – they are known for their sausages), pancakes, and hash browns.  They gave everyone bread and butter shortly after they brought us all coffee and juice.  Then they gave everyone a bowl of oatmeal, followed by our meal.  It was good – the coffee was actually pretty good to.  Though I have to say, though no one seemed to agree with me, that the eggs weren’t quite as good as the ones we had at McDonalds the other day.   Then we drove a while more. On the drive we got to see a lot more volcanoes, even one erupting (slightly)  - it was shooting out a bit of black smoke for about a minute.  Then we got to drive the mountain pass – weaving in and out of the mountains, a curve in the road about every half mile or less.  It was a great view!  We arrived in a town at a school, where we did another presentation.  But first some of us served them lunch, while the rest of us played with them. I was on the playing team.  We spent a lot of time playing catch and stuff – they love it and so did I.  Everyone seemed to be having fun!  The kids were the most engaged in our dances and songs (and such) – which made it all the more fun.  It was sad, again, when we had to leave, they came and hugged us as we walked out the door. 

From this point on our R&R time had started (rest and relaxation). The R&R time is the rest of the day plus all day Friday, Saturday we leave for Honduras. On the drive back we stopped at a gas station to fill up the van, take a washroom break, and change into more comfortable close if we wanted to – which most people did.  We then went to the “surprise” that we were told about at breakfast.  We went zip lining.   I thought it would be cool, but I wasn’t too sure how I’d like it. I am so scared of heights, stomach drops and most roller coasters.  I asked God to conquer those fears for me, for He says more than 300 times in the bible, “Fear not”.   Praise God, He did just that. I had a blast, as did almost everyone else.  The zip lining place was at lake, one of the few in Guatemala.  It was surrounded by mountains (including 5 volcanoes: 3 of them were active volcanoes).  We got our zip lining gear on and hiked about 20 minutes up the mountain. The hike consisted of 5 different hanging bridges (some quite long), all swayed a lot, yet provided a great view: one was over a waterfall.  The zip lining itself consisted of 8 different lines, all different lengths, speeds and height. The fastest was about 59 feet per second, the slowest was about 39 feet per second.  It was gorgeous!  The zip lines were between two mountains, so we got a great view of the mountains, the lake and an active volcano straight across the lake!  The experience was priceless! After about a third of the lines we had to hike to the start of the next line.  Afterwards, I wanted to do it all again.  I am now a lot more open to going zip lining. 

We then drove 5-10 minutes down the mountain, down closer to the lake, to a town full of shops and such.  We ate at a restaurant right on the lake at about 3:45 pm (this was our lunch, we skipped supper), and afterwards I exchanged some of my US money for Guatemalan money – they had a good rate.   Then we went down the street of the shops to a hotel located right in the middle.  We checked into our rooms, which were  like small(ish) little cottages attached alongside of each other instead of on top of each other.  It was pretty cool. I roomed with Daniel and Hector.  Then we went out in groups 3 girls and 1 guy per group (2 girls didn’t want to go shopping).  We walked around the shops (we were told to meet at the café by the hotel at 9:00; it was only 6:00).  Again, shopping was a ton of fun, even though I spent quite a bit more than I was planning when I left Canada – it has still been worth it.   Well the group I was in (Dana, Janette, and Amanda) decide to stop early and save out money, since Friday we are planning to go on an hour boat ride (1 hour each way) across the lake to another town, and shop there for an hour.  So we came back, put our stuff in our rooms and came to the little upstairs room in the coffee shop to play cards (ERS or SLAP as the Canadians call it).   We played until everyone else came, then we ordered a drink and desert. I got a banana milk shake and a slice of Oreo cake – and, oh my, that was the best Oreo cake I have ever had, it was delicious. While we ate we talked about our plans for the next day and such. Bryan had to rest his foot (he hurt it while playing with the kids at the school, and zip lining didn’t help at all) as did Rosalie (her foot randomly got swollen the other day and now was starting to hurt when she walks on it), so please keep both of them in your prayers.

Then some of us went to the pool, dangled our feet in and talked. Then some left, while others got in for a swim in some cooler water.  Eventually I got in and it was a lot of fun.  After a long day, we finally got to settle down in bed. It was a good day!

The view of the mountains (& volcanoes) on the other side of the lake:

Getting our equipment on before ziplinging

The hike up to the first zip line:

Zip Lining and the views:

Yes that is a volcano on the other side of the lake.

Zip lining into the start to the ropes course:

And watching everyone do the ropes course: 

Zip Lining Diploma:

More Pictures from the day:

Bryan and Oto.


Hector being our "guide" and teaching us along the way.


The place up in the mountains we stopped for breakfast.





We passed these guys while driving and we named them Emily and Patrick.








Liz