Thursday night I stayed with my Guatemalan family. I woke up at before 3am on Friday and knew that I was going to have to get up soon. My alarm was set for 3:25 because the bus could come anywhere between 3:45 and 4:15. However, thinking that I needed to get that half hour of sleep in, I put my earplugs in so that I would fall right back to sleep. The next thing I knew, I woke up and it was 4:30!!! I JUMPED out of bed, thought I could maybe hear a motor running outside, ran down the spiral staircase, dropping my cellphone in the laundry sink on the way, ran to the front door and flung it open. Huffing and puffing and nearly in tears, I saw that the driver was waiting there! I quickly explained in Spanish that I had just woken up and could I please go and get my stuff. Thankfully I had packed everything the night before and only needed to toss a few things in, use the baño and run back out.
Off we went. The Swiss girls in the minibus slept for the first few hours stretched out, each to a seat. They told me later that the driver had had difficulty finding the house I was at, so he hadn't been waiting long. God does provide, despite my foolishness!
The driver was INSANE! He weaved in and out of traffic, driving at break-neck speeds, not really caring if a light was red (they do have stoplights in Guatemala city!), or if there were pedestrians or cars in front of him. There were no seatbelts, but I clung to my seat, seriously scared. At first I thought it was because I made him late, but later on he stopped for about 20 minutes at the side of the road for no apparent reason (I assume he must have been early) and then continued to race onwards. He didn't speak Spanish either, and I wasn't entirely sure of my schedule. I thought I would get to Rio Dulce at about 8am, but actually, that was when I had to get off (at a place where there were no white people and everyone stared at me) and wait for another bus (didn't know which one, but a nice gentleman showed me). I was pretty scared and stressed that I might not make it to the boat before boarding time. Eventually I made it to Rio Dulce and was dropped off conveniently right in front of the hotel that the other girls were staying in and right by the dock where we were to board the catamaran.
The sailing trip was AMAZING! It was a 46' boat, able to sleep 13 people (albeit squishedly), but we only had the 4 of us girls, plus the captain and sailor: Raul and Carlos. Raul doubled as the cook and he was a wonderful cook. Everything he made was from scratch: vegetable soup, pancakes, typical breakfasts, tender beef stirfry, salads, spaghetti made from fresh roma tomatoes, egg-coated fried cauliflower, mashed potatoes, fried mackeral, rice, French toast, home-made cake!! and pudding, and lots of fresh fruit: papayas, watermelon (I wasn't allergic to it this time!), the best pineapple I've ever had, and oranges. Mmmm.
It was hot too, so we did a lot of swimming in the warm lake, read our books, relaxed in the hammocks between the pontoons, and played cards. So relaxing... We also stopped at several places: a hot waterfall that felt like we were taking a shower, a small town called Livingston that is at the mouth of the river on the Caribbean which is only accessible by boat and was started by shipwrecked slaves from Africa, a little river where we got off and paddled around on surfboards to a handicrafts market, we passed lots of thatched huts and locals paddling themselves around in wooden dug-out canoes, and we were surrounded by jungle the whole time. I didn't see too many animals, but apparently sometimes you can see monkeys, manatees, toucans, etc.
Monday morning we were back at Rio Dulce and we boarded a bus (much nicer one this time) back to Guatemala. On one of our stops I bought some more papaya dripped with lime juice. I never used to like papaya, but the fresh stuff is really good. We took the big bus to Guatemala City (about 5 hours) and then a mini-bus to Antigua where we found a hostel for 35 quetzalas per night (less than $5!)
Tuesday Alyson and I took a taxi that Heather (the girl who lives in Antigua) recommended to Chimaltenango for one more wheelchair distribution with a new group. It went really well, and despite the hwy being closed due to a demonstration, all but one of the people who needed wheelchairs were able to come. Chris drove us back to Antigua, we toured a jade factory with the group, then went for a classy Italian dinner.
Wednesday morning I got up around 7, went for breakfast, then the mini-bus picked me up around 8:15 for the airport. This driver was much more friendly, chatted with me in Spanish, let me sit in the front seat, and drove much more safely! By 10:30pm I got home (11:30 for me). I'm definitely going to miss Guatemala, although I'm excited to see my family and friends again and wear clean clothes! This has been an amazing, unforgettable experience and I have learned a lot about: Spanish, wheelchair mechanicking, people, Guatemala and its culture, and God. I am very thankful that I had this opportunity! THE END (maybe? ;p)
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