Guatemala $1U.S.=7.6 QuetzalesWe spent the first 2 nights in Antigua (about 90 minutes away from the port). I immediately fell in love with the beautiful town of Antigua, Guatemala. The main plaza is gorgeous, especially in the evening when the church and buildings are lit up. We heard marimba music everywhere, and there is a large Mayan population with many wonderful handicrafts.We all went to the university welcome reception where it took place in ruins of an old church/convent. There was food, music, and dancing, and I don’t know who had more fun..Cory and I, or Emma...she was a dancing machine! It was a very late night for all of us, Brandt finally fell asleep in my arms around 11PM! Antigua is a town I could have definitely spent more time in. The colors, architecture, surrounding volcanoes, and mix of people are a breath of fresh air. Our hotel, La Posada de Don Rodrigo, could not have been better..the rooms, courtyards, and restaurant were breathtaking. It almost felt as though we got to sleep in a museum..it used to be the mayor’s house and was built in the 1600s!


It was hard to leave Antigua, and I hope to make it back someday. On the day following our return to the ship, Cory, Emma, and I went to Guatemala City to learn more about the program called Safe Passage/Camino Seguro. This is a program that a young woman from Maine, Hanley Denning, founded. She started this program to help children and families who were living and working in the Guatemala City dump. She tragically passed away earlier this year in a car accident. We were able to visit two different facilities involved with Safe Passage (very school-based), and we were able to see the Guatemala City dump.There is a DVD called Recycled Life that we watched prior to going. Children are no longer allowed to go into the dump (this regulation was just passed within the past few years), and Safe Passage is geared to help the children whose parents work in the dump during the day. Even though I thought I was prepared to see the dump, I didn’t expect the overwhelming feelings that came over me when I was put physically in front of it. The smell was terrible. I wasn’t sure how Emma would deal with seeing this..she didn’t like the smell, and questioned about where the people who worked here got their food. I explained to her that they did get their food for their families through finding it in the garbage. I think she is young to put everything together, but I’m sure it effected her in some way. Before going, we went through clothes and toys to donate to the program..Emma generally has a difficult time parting with anything..and I was very proud that she did choose things to give. What gets me most with this picture is that Emma usually has a smile and a pose for a picture...this was her reaction when I told her to turn around and she saw the camera....Our guide explained to us that the people who work in the dump have a high sense of dignity because they are actually working to support their families. Only a 15 minute walk from where we stood (on the other side of the hill) is where people survive by dealing drugs. The Guatemalans who work at the dump are proud that they are working, and not involved with the drug world. We actually had police escort with us because we were in a very unsafe part of the city. Cory and I hope to find people back home who may be interested in learning more about Safe Passage.

Guatemala has so much more to offer that we didn’t get a chance to see such as Lake Atitlan, Chicicastenango, Tikal Ruins....but it was good for us to see these two drastically different sides of Guatemala..beautiful Antigua and the Guatemala City Dump...merely an hour drive from one another, yet different as night and day.

Thank goodness for tortillas again! I can’t even count how many I ate! Even though we’ve been traveling Latin America all summer...we haven’t had tortillas since Mexico...you can’t get tortillas in the other countries we visited.Emma and Brandt enjoyed the tortillas as well...we will be home in no time!