Blogs from Río Dulce, Caribbean Coast, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 10

Apologies again, we had a problem with the internet back at the orphanage so haven't got online in a while. Quite a lot has happened since the last blog, mostly fiestas (parties or celebrations). First one up was Carnival, its basically like a kids version of the carnival that they have in Brazil and every other Latin American country, except it was a month after Guatemala's Carnival due to the school term starting around the same time. All the volunteers painted their faces green and wore little antennas, we were supposed to be martians in case you cant guess from the photos. So basically each class did a wee performance, the younger kids did group poems and songs, and a few of the older kids did dances, some were pretty funny. One girl from each class ... read more

So let´s see, where to start? Well my flight went well from Dulles to Miami. While I was waiting in miami, guess who I see? Mr. Don King himself and he waved at me :) I met this girl, well two ladies, Mr. Ill and Nina. Nina was from Brazil and she was really helpful and friendly and Mr. Ill was very friendly and spoke about her travels to Rio Dulce and Puerto Rico I believe it was... Hmm then I flew from Miami to Guatemala where I cruised throuhgh baggage claim, "reclamo de eqipaje" and then out into the street where many people where standing gazing at the people coming out of the airport. I saw Aura and her friend the taxi driver and we went for a ride, exchange money at the bank or ... read more

So I have all my ducks in a row and am ready to fly out. I leave on Monday, 10th at 5am in the morning from Dulles, land in Miami for a 4 hour layover and then an hour and a half flight to Guat City. I'll stay the night with a friend of a friend named Oswaldo and then on to Rio Dulce/Backpackers the next day after a 6 hour trip by car (la coche or el carro). Voy a Guatemala! ... read more

Aldea de las Brisas, or Brisas as its known here is the closest jungle village. Not a lot to say about it really since its so small but I just wanted to put some photos up of it as it is lovely. All the houses are made out of bamboo and reeds and inside they are just one large room usually for a family of at least 5 people.This is where we come to get away from the orphanage for a couple of hours. There are a couple of little shops for fruit and veg, and tabacco and beer. Most of the kids here come to school in the orphanage everyday, but there is also another school here so not all of them. Some of the women also wash and dry our clothes if you don't ... read more

The flight to Guatemala City was an uneventful one. I arrived in Guatemala City without having printed off the instructions on how to get to the orphanage, like the eejit that I am. But I remembered that there were 2 bus companies that could get me where I needed to go. So I found a taxi and asked the driver which bus company still ran to Rio Dulce after 5pm, and of course he brought me to the wrong bus station. So I had to get another taxi to the next station where I got my ticket to Rio Dulce, a town named after the river that it spans, meaning the sweet river. At first, driving out of the airport, Guatemala City looked a lot like Mexico City, except maybe a little bit cleaner. But as ... read more