Blogs from Guatemala City, Capital Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 3

I want to see at least little of Guatemala while I’m here and I had the opportunity to stay with a friend in Panajachel. A guy I know told me I could go with him and he could show me how to get to the bus. He had a couple of meetings in towns along the way but said I could tag along. I decided that in order to not inconvenience him, I would check into a room at his hotel so we could go together early in the morning. Once I checked into the hotel, I found my friend who told me that I would slow him down on a hike up to a finca (farm) and that I would have to wait for him in the villages while he went to his meetings. Basically ... read more

Note: Anything highlighted in blue is a link to another website – mostly the organizations I’m mentioning in this blog. Last time I came to Guatemala I, like most tourists, headed out of Guatemala City within a couple of days and went to Xela, Antigua and Lago de Atitlán. I had no interest in this busy, dirty, polluted city. This time I came to Guatemala City because of a project called Karen’s Soy Nutrition Project (KSNP), which I have been hearing about for two years. With nothing going on for me in the States, I decided it was a good idea to come see the good works down here. I tagged along with a friend, Chuck, who came here to work on the project. Arrival The first night we arrived, we took a taxi to a ... read more

Today was the day we left Lanquin to head back to the city. Our shuttle was crowded, but everyone ws nice. Most people we meet are traveling for a minimum of 7-8 weeks, but many are traveling 9 monthes or more. It is amazing. I wish it were more common for Americans to do trips like this. The majority of people we meet are from other countries and speak multiple languages. I think we have a lot to learn from them. I spent the majority of the ride talking to an Israeli girl. I was amazed at how much she knew of American politics and ashamed of how little I knew of hers. She was surprised that I was already teaching and explained to me that in Israel, ever citizen enters the army at 18 (boys ... read more

I arrived in Guatemala early morning, and Jess (my sister) took me to San Martín bakery for lunch. I had delicious Horchata for lunch (a rice milk/cinnamon drink-see picture), and we bought bean bread for a snack later. Refried black beans are incredibly popular in Guatemala, and they are SO good! After lunch, we walked to where a woman was selling tortillas. They were unique to any I have ever had- smaller like the corn tortillas from Mexico but thicker and more the consistency of flour tortillas I later found out they were made from a mix called maseca. We got a huge stack for Q4, or about 50 cents! Cultural Notes: -They speak VERY fast here -People greet you with "Buenos días" here, but they also say it as you are leaving, which confused me ... read more

Guatemala, meer dan andere landen in Centraal Amerika behoud zij haar cultuur misschien wel het meest. Of in ieder geval is het het meest zichtbaar. De grootste Indiaanse bevolkingsgroep leven nog volgens eeuwenoude tradities en dragen traditionele klederdracht wat bijzonder kleurrijk is. Dit is zichtbaar in Antigua, de eerte stad van Centraal Amerika als we dit mogen geloven van een lokale man zittend op de rand van een fontein. Antigua kent zijn pracht en praal en dat is niet onontdekt gebleven. Waar klederdracht echt tot zijn recht kwam was op de weekend markt in Solola. De markt wordt gehouden voor lokale bewoners wat niet wil zeggen dat wij de enige buitenlanders waren maar één van de weinigen wat bijzonder is. De markt was druk en daarom hielden wij ons op aan het park waar mensen zaten ... read more