My Trip to Guatemala Jun 16-21

At a museum on a mountain

Out of the blue I received a call from my aunt, asking me if I wanted to go to Guatemala for a few days. I told her yes and rearranged my schedule to be able to go. Aside from a trip to Mexico when I was two years old, this was my first trip out of the United States and the first stamp on my passport! My experience in Guatemala was amazing and I cannot wait until I go back.

Itinerary: We flew from Houston into Guatemala City and then took a shuttle to Antigua.
We stayed in a beautiful Spanish Colonial house with some friends who regularly visit Guatemala. After a few days in Antigua, we headed to a remote cliff-side bungalow on Lake Atitlan. After two days in Lake Atitlan, we headed back to Antigua for the remainder of our stay.

Overlooking the city of Antigua

What I loved about Guatemala: The scenery was honestly spectacular. Mountains surround the city of Antigua, which is nothing like I've ever seen before and the plants are all exotic and beautiful. There were coffee and nut farms all along the mountains, leaving a beautiful patched look from afar.

Speaking of coffee, the coffee there is amazing and the Guatemalans take it very seriously. Most of the coffee shops roasted their own beans, which meant the flavor so incredibly smooth and fresh. On top of this, almost everywhere had "leche deslactosada" (lactose free milk), a dream come true for someone with a dairy intolerance. The food in general is amazing. Everything is fresh and local and you can truly taste the difference. We went to a macadamia nut farm and met the dirty old man, Lorenzo, who owned the farm. We had macadamia pancakes with macadamia nut butter and it was so f*cking good and hardy.

Macadamia Nut Pancakes

Lake Atitlan

At La Escalonia Cafe

The colors in Guatemala are incredibly vibrant and an important part of their culture. While walking around I noticed some Guatemalans wore ethnic clothing while others wore western clothing, but other than this there seemed to be no difference between them. I asked our friend who was familiar with Guatemala and she told me that the colors and weaves of their clothing represented their ancestry and family line in Guatemala. She said that from city-to-city there was a different and specific type of weave and color scheme that represented their city. It's extremely important in Guatemala that you pass the clothing colors and weave down to your children. If a child were to stop wearing the ethnic clothing, they would be completely disowning their family. However, those whose ancestry doesn't go as far back, do not wear the ethnic clothing.

Also: Jamaica (hibiscus) Tea. It is now my favorite thing ever.

What I didn't love about Guatemala: The cobble stone roads and the way people drive in Guatemala.... A cobble stone road sounds so romantic and cute until you and three other people are riding in a took-took, which is essentially a 3-wheeled lawn mower with a Ziploc bag duck taped on.

A took-took

Also, if you think people drive crazy in the U.S. think again. Guatemalans are like, "lanes? Pfft! Speed limits? Completely unnecessary! Speeding up a turn on a foggy mountain in a chicken bus? THAT'S A GREAT AND REALLY SMART IDEA!"

Things that were different in Guatemala: Children work. It's the not-so-great part about living in a third world country. A 10-year-old boy named Henry sold us fava beans and nuts. He's 12 now, but he was working 2 years ago when my aunt was there for the 1st time and had probably been working before then. Little girls as young as 4 sell you bracelets and carry baskets full of treats on their heads.

Antigua was extremely serious about recycling and not littering. Their streets were completely clean, which was refreshing. However, in some of the poorer cities, there was some trash, though they still had signs up about not using waste.

What I learned: A lot of Spanish! I learned just enough to order food and get around the city and I can't wait to learn more.

That people aren't that different even if it looks like they are. It's easy to look at a picture and see a woman with a different skin color, different clothes, different language and completely different lifestyle and kind of separate them from the people you know. But the truth is, everyone is just someone going through life. They like to joke and laugh, they have kids and pets, they like good food and their lives aren't quite as alien as they seem. It's hard to express in words how much it changes your viewpoint to meet and talk to people who seem so completely opposite to you and realize that... they aren't.

Something funny: My green hair was a first for a lot of the people in Guatemala (it's a surprise to American's too). I got multiple comments while walking, heard a little girl say in Spanish, "look at her painted green hair!" to a friend, and a guy took a picture of me in La Parada (an awesome cafe btw) and posted it in the google photos section! The funniest thing, however, happened at the market. My aunt was looking a poncho to buy but decided against it. As we were walking something whacked me on the head. I turned around in surprise to see the old shop owner had whacked me with her walking stick and said, " I love your hair." She gave off an adorable grandmotherly vibe, and I honestly love her.

Leaving Panajachel by boat

Something I didn't expect: he remote cliff side bungalow was VERY cliff side and VERY remote. We had to buy groceries in Panajachel before we road a boat to our place in Lake Atitlan because the nearest town was a 25 minute hike down a mountain. Then we had to carry our groceries and luggage up a cliff while it was pouring down rain. It was crazy, but also fun. The only restaurant near us was owned by a German man who moved to Guatemala. They served your cream hot with your coffee and there were chickens, roosters and cats just walking around the restaurant.