After language school we parted ways . . . The Millers to Guatemala and The Ezelles to Belize. It was bitter sweet, but we had hopes that we would see each other again. After all, Belize and Guatemala are bordering countries.
They made the trip to Belize to see us first, and actually visited with us at two different times, but we still hadn’t made the trek to Guatemala to see them. But, we did have a good excuse . . . young children and travel don’t always mix well.
Well, we still have young children, but they are a little older now. So . . . aching to visit with David and Glynis again we finally made the trip. We boarded a boat here in Punta Gorda and it took us about an hour to reach Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.
Once we arrived in Guatemala we took a short taxi ride to the bus station where we waited on the next bus to Guatemala City. While waiting on the bus we ate a little picnic lunch on a park bench. Then when it was time, we boarded the bus.
About 6 hours later, with one rest stop in the middle, we finally arrived in Guatemala City. It was a long ride, but the kids did great. They even got to watch a little movie on the bus. And, thanks to Dramamine (for motion sickness) both the boat ride and the bus ride were non-eventful :-) Once we stepped off the bus, we saw David’s and Glynis’ smiling faces.
The first place they took us was to a mall! It was wonderful and all 6 Ezelles were excited. I know you are wondering what is so exciting about a mall, but put yourself in our shoes . . . we don’t have anything like that here in Belize! There was a really neat play area there for the kids, but I don’t have a picture of it. There was an awesome food court! Cohen and I had Subway!!!!! The kids had McDonald’s!!!!! We were enjoying life! There was even a Wal-Mart inside the mall! Now, you have to admit that that is different!
After the mall, we headed to Antigua, where David and Glynis live. Needless to say, we all slept well that night. Upon waking up the next morning, this is what we saw from their upstairs balcony. . .
This one isn’t active anymore.
But then we got in the van and they took us to see some more volcanoes. There were actually two volcanoes side by side, but the picture we took didn’t really do it justice. This picture is of one of the two volcanoes. It is active, the other one (not pictured) is not.
Here we are looking at the volcanoes. Notice the long sleeves and jackets! It was really cool while we were there! We “Belizeans” were freezing, but it was oh so nice!
Check out the thermometer inside their house this same morning . . .
If only we could have taken these temps back to Belize with us! Living in the mountains does have its advantages!
Check out their yard! It may be completely walled in with razor wire for security, but isn’t it beautiful!
I had to get a picture of somebody! We had good intentions of getting a family shot before we left, but you know how that goes sometimes. Here are David and Cohen. Two good looking fellows don’t you think!
The kiddos enjoyed the back yard . . .
Of course we had to play the part of the tourist and see Antigua . . .
Since we were there the week before Easter, they were getting ready for their celebration. Here they are carefully using colored sawdust to create what will probably become a very detailed “rug” that they will walk on during their holy week processionals. Unfortunately, most of them participating in this believe that by doing this, they will be earning their way into Heaven. They need to know that it isn’t by our works at all, but only by the saving work of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. He, taking the punishment for our sins is our only hope.
There was a band playing in the park . . .
Check out this McDonald’s! There was an eating area on the inside but I didn’t get any pictures of that. I did get some pictures of the outside, however . . .
This was a beautiful flower arrangement and fountain in the middle of some shops . . .
Now this is a bus with style . . .
The same day we were visiting Antigua, there were also lots of high school kids there on field trips. I wish you could have seen just how many teenage girls went crazy over Nathanael. It happened so much, as a matter of fact, that as we were walking down one street Cohen could see a group of teenagers heading our way. He said to me, “Get the camera ready for a video!” And, so I did. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to upload it so that you can watch it. But I think Cohen is working on a movie about our whole trip, so I'm sure he will include this video clip too.
That night, David and Glynis treated us to . . .
The next morning we got an early start and headed about 2 1/2 hours away to an area called Panajachel. That was one rough ride! So many twists and turns, it could make your head spin. We took Dramamine, of course, but didn’t take it early enough. So, a few of us (including me) turned a little green. Thankfully we made it without any messes. Panajachel sits on Lake Atitlan which is often referred to as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.
Here is a satellite view of the lake. I put a dotted line on there to show you where we traveled across. We went from the village of Panajachel to the village of Santiago. It took us about 30 minutes or so to cross the lake. That is a pretty big lake! Do you see the volcanoes? I think there are about 3 or 4 of them. They are all inactive.
And since it was pretty cloudy the day we were there, we didn’t really get any good pictures, so I found this picture online . . .
Once to Santiago, we shopped until we just about dropped. And, we had a picnic lunch in the middle of town. Enjoy the pictures and get a feel of the cultural experience we had . . .
That pretty much sums it up. The next day we woke up at about 4 in the morning so that we could get ready and be at the bus station in Guatemala City on time. Once there, we hugged and said our goodbyes. We boarded the bus at about 6:30 a.m. and headed back down the mountains to Puerto Barrios. We then took the 2 p.m. boat back to Punta Gorda and stepped through our front door around 3:30 p.m.
This map gives you a good visual of our travels. Until I looked at it myself, I hadn’t really realized just how far into Guatemala we had gone.
It was a good trip! I think we all look forward to doing it again some day. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!
