After two long days of travel we arrived in the small town of Uspantan, population of approximately 3500. For sure the bus ride from Guatemala City was interesting and took 7+ hours of winding and climbing. We believe our elevation is 8000' or so and as expected the first day was high 70s during the mid day and low 60s with fog in the mornings/nights.
On Sunday evening we met, at a small informal ceremony, parts of two families who will be moving into the new homes we are helping with.
Family 1 is Onofre, we haven't met his wife yet, and their two children Henry and Juanita. Onofre is a mason so he is also the person guiding us in our work.
Family 2 is Marqueta's, her husband we have not met and probably won't because he works in Guatemala City. Marqueta's children are Freddie, Rudy and Juan Manuel.
Tonight, as last night, we are having dinner at a local historian's home and are being treated very well.
More to come later and some pics to share.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Good Friday in Antigua
what an amazing day of sights. In two days we saw a somewhat sleepy town turn into a packed religious celebration. Processions, of which multiple occur simultaneously, are 12 hour affairs,
each one depicting a different event in the last few days of christ. Last night Marcia and I went to the central cathedral to witness the main event. there were thousands and thousands of people packed into the the central park across the way holding a candlelight vigil, and the grand procession with a float that was probably 60 feet in length, carried by probably 100 or so men in black robes. Proceeding the float were hundreds more men in black robes each with large incense burners making for an intense fog that we were thankful the wind was blowing away from us. Hard to describe using this incredibly dirty and not functioning very well keyboard but when we return there will be more pics posted. Lastly, all along the parade route were marvelously created ¨carpets¨ made by families whose homes are on the route made of mostly sawdust, flowers, fruits that are trampled and then quickly swept up after the procession passes by a cleaning crew. Incredible.
We leave tomorrow morning for Guate, as they call Guatemala City here, and the aeropuerto for our return trip to Seattle via Dallas.
Adios!
Mel
each one depicting a different event in the last few days of christ. Last night Marcia and I went to the central cathedral to witness the main event. there were thousands and thousands of people packed into the the central park across the way holding a candlelight vigil, and the grand procession with a float that was probably 60 feet in length, carried by probably 100 or so men in black robes. Proceeding the float were hundreds more men in black robes each with large incense burners making for an intense fog that we were thankful the wind was blowing away from us. Hard to describe using this incredibly dirty and not functioning very well keyboard but when we return there will be more pics posted. Lastly, all along the parade route were marvelously created ¨carpets¨ made by families whose homes are on the route made of mostly sawdust, flowers, fruits that are trampled and then quickly swept up after the procession passes by a cleaning crew. Incredible.
We leave tomorrow morning for Guate, as they call Guatemala City here, and the aeropuerto for our return trip to Seattle via Dallas.
Adios!
Mel
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
massage, latte, Holy Week and the closing celebration we missed
today was a day well deserved for Mel and Raquel. It was heaven to sleep in, have a long long hot shower, sip latte´s in Parque Centro, have a fondue lunch con Margarita y have a great massage. And....in the evening we saw our first Semana Santa processione.
Sorry about no pics, you know the story.
On the HFH side of things we called during the closing ceremony to congratulate Onofre on his new casa. Both Raquel and I were saddened to not be there with the rest of our team. Hopefully someone on our team will add to this post and give us all an update on what happened.
Mel
Sorry about no pics, you know the story.
On the HFH side of things we called during the closing ceremony to congratulate Onofre on his new casa. Both Raquel and I were saddened to not be there with the rest of our team. Hopefully someone on our team will add to this post and give us all an update on what happened.
Mel
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Don Gabriel the hotel owner passes away, a post from Jessie
We were surprised at how soon after Don Gabriel´s death all of this was done. The other interesting experience was a very slow moving procession from the church to (but not into) an imposing building that is used only during Holy Week, and back to the church. I joined the procession as it went past our hotel the first time. People with incense came first, then a platform with a large statue of Jesus and a small statue of Mary, then six nuns dressed in white and carrying candles, then the loud speaker system, and then about 250 people. All the women were in traditional dress. At each corner, the platform was lowered, and everyone knelt while scripture was read by one of the nuns, then a small homily, the Lord´s Prayer, and Hail Mary. No one carried rosaries. Then singing. Then the platform was again lifted and some very out-of-tune music was played. Everyone rose and walked slowly to the next corner, where this was repeated with new scripture and songs. Although I was the only gringo, and the only woman in slacks, no one looked at me or gave any indication I wasn´t welcome. It was very nice walking with all of these indigenous Guatemalans. Although the distance was, in all, perhaps a mile, I walked an hour and 45 minutes, and missed the first and last part of the procession.
Jessie Strauss
Jessie Strauss
Not everything is peachy keen but......
but in the big picture all is well.
Mel´s version...... (Raquel´s version below)
After a weekend trip for 7 of us to the Nacional Parque Semuc Champey, and a lovely time it was with plenty of stories to go with it, we returned to find all was not quite right. In fact, I returned to find some items had been stolen from my room. My laptop, phone, chargers, credit card and drivers license were all gone! You can imagine my shock. The next part(s) are dramatically shortened because it would be small novel to tell the entire story.
In a nutshell, owner of hotel passed away, lots of sons and daughters who know very little of how the place is run, the three employess of the place dumbfounded, the two room cleaners in tears, police investigation and report (a short novel in itself), guatemalan lawyers, mucho phone calls to the U. S., luckily an interpreter from a peace corp group in town, a quick trip to guatemala city the next day, the morning spent at the U. S. Embassy (I forgot to mention my passport was also stolen), a night at a B&B in Guatemala City, a van ride to Antigua. Whew!
Anyway, Marcia and I are now on early R&R in Antigua. Like I said, we are fine, there will be some inconveniences to deal with upon return but now we are in for more adventure. We will be sad though as wE are going to miss the roof going onto Onofre´s home and the closing celebration in Uspantan. We spent some time looking around for a USB card reader today to no availE so unfortunately I can´t post any pictures (more stolen stuff). I´ll get the pics up eventually, you´ll enjoy the one, quite comical, of the policemen getting assistance from the inerpreter filling out the report. Oh yeah, while at the police station I met another Melvin!
Enough for now, and we´re looking forward to the beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week) festivities tomorrow here in Antigua.
Adios!
Raquel´s version:
Hola mi amigos! Our weekend of R & R was a great adventure, although not much rest was involved, and the relaxation part was up to individual interpretation. Seven of us used public transportation to get to Semuc Champey, which is definitely off the beaten path. We think the largest number of people packed into one of the 12 person vans we travelled in was 28. I have a bruise on my butt from being wedged into a seat for several hours. We also spent plenty of time riding standing in the back of small trucks. We stayed at a totally cool place in wood and thatch roofed huts, 2 bunk beds to a room, for about $4 per night. The food there was great, the climate much hotter than our build site, and the scenery gorgeous. We spent a day hiking into and swimming in these amazing pools that are on top of a limestone arch with a river rushing underneath. Hard to explain so you´ll have to take my word for it that it was truly beautiful. In the evening we hiked into a cave to watch all the bats fly out at sunset. This was not my favorite part of the adventure due to slipping regularly on the bat guano in the steep climbs of the cave, but all in all I loved the whole adventure, and we all had a blast together. As my subject line suggests, the next part is not as great. When we returned to our hotel in Uspantan, our room had been broken into and a bunch of Mel´s stuff was stolen, and just a bit of mine. Since the area we were travelling to was more remote, we had decided to leave our valuables behind in what was considered a very safe hotel. Mel´s passport, drivers license, credit card, laptop, I-phone, my phone, all of our cables and connectors and $160 US dollars were all stolen. My passport and US dollars were not taken from the room, and I had my credit and bank cards with me, so we are not penniless in Guatemala. Luckily we had copies of our passports that we had taken with us, which made it easier for Mel to get his replaced. We spent Sunday evening and Monday morning dealing with the hotel staff and the police, which truly was a fascinating experience. To add to the bummer of it for the hotel, the owner had died on Friday, and his children were having to deal with the situation during such a tough time for them. Apparently Uspantan has a reputation of being a very safe place and the hotel has never had a theft before, so they were pretty devastated. We ended up getting the help of an interpreter and the hotel had a lawyer help them and it worked out pretty well for everyone. They paid us the costs of the expenses that would not be covered by homeowners insurance, and the deductible. We cancelled our phones and Mel´s bank cards with the help of Dustin who we had left copies of everything with. Then on Monday afternoon Mel and I left our team behind and headed to Guatemala City to the US Embassy. This morning (Tuesday) after only 2.5 hours he got a temporary passport, and we headed to Antigua where we will reconnect with our team on Thursday. It is way too far (6 hour drive) to go back to Uspantan then turn around and leave again. We are bummed to be missing putting the roof on Onofre´s house, but not at all bummed to no longer be carrying cement blocks down that hill! Not at all what we had planned, but these trips are all about flexibility and going with the flow. We have all had a very interesting experience dealing with the Guatemalan police, and the process of getting a passport, which we never would have experienced, and we have learned some new lessons. Not to mention that we now suddenly have a couple of days to ourselves in a very cool town. Tomorrow will be the farewell party in Uspantan, and down here in Antigua Mel and I will be watching the preparations for Semana Santa, which is a major holiday down here for Holy week. And who knows.....we may even squeeze in a well deserved massage! That´s all for now folks. We are so grateful that we are all safe and that our cameras and memory cards were with us rather than in the hotel! Buenos Noches! Raquel
Mel´s version...... (Raquel´s version below)
After a weekend trip for 7 of us to the Nacional Parque Semuc Champey, and a lovely time it was with plenty of stories to go with it, we returned to find all was not quite right. In fact, I returned to find some items had been stolen from my room. My laptop, phone, chargers, credit card and drivers license were all gone! You can imagine my shock. The next part(s) are dramatically shortened because it would be small novel to tell the entire story.
In a nutshell, owner of hotel passed away, lots of sons and daughters who know very little of how the place is run, the three employess of the place dumbfounded, the two room cleaners in tears, police investigation and report (a short novel in itself), guatemalan lawyers, mucho phone calls to the U. S., luckily an interpreter from a peace corp group in town, a quick trip to guatemala city the next day, the morning spent at the U. S. Embassy (I forgot to mention my passport was also stolen), a night at a B&B in Guatemala City, a van ride to Antigua. Whew!
Anyway, Marcia and I are now on early R&R in Antigua. Like I said, we are fine, there will be some inconveniences to deal with upon return but now we are in for more adventure. We will be sad though as wE are going to miss the roof going onto Onofre´s home and the closing celebration in Uspantan. We spent some time looking around for a USB card reader today to no availE so unfortunately I can´t post any pictures (more stolen stuff). I´ll get the pics up eventually, you´ll enjoy the one, quite comical, of the policemen getting assistance from the inerpreter filling out the report. Oh yeah, while at the police station I met another Melvin!
Enough for now, and we´re looking forward to the beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week) festivities tomorrow here in Antigua.
Adios!
Raquel´s version:
Hola mi amigos! Our weekend of R & R was a great adventure, although not much rest was involved, and the relaxation part was up to individual interpretation. Seven of us used public transportation to get to Semuc Champey, which is definitely off the beaten path. We think the largest number of people packed into one of the 12 person vans we travelled in was 28. I have a bruise on my butt from being wedged into a seat for several hours. We also spent plenty of time riding standing in the back of small trucks. We stayed at a totally cool place in wood and thatch roofed huts, 2 bunk beds to a room, for about $4 per night. The food there was great, the climate much hotter than our build site, and the scenery gorgeous. We spent a day hiking into and swimming in these amazing pools that are on top of a limestone arch with a river rushing underneath. Hard to explain so you´ll have to take my word for it that it was truly beautiful. In the evening we hiked into a cave to watch all the bats fly out at sunset. This was not my favorite part of the adventure due to slipping regularly on the bat guano in the steep climbs of the cave, but all in all I loved the whole adventure, and we all had a blast together. As my subject line suggests, the next part is not as great. When we returned to our hotel in Uspantan, our room had been broken into and a bunch of Mel´s stuff was stolen, and just a bit of mine. Since the area we were travelling to was more remote, we had decided to leave our valuables behind in what was considered a very safe hotel. Mel´s passport, drivers license, credit card, laptop, I-phone, my phone, all of our cables and connectors and $160 US dollars were all stolen. My passport and US dollars were not taken from the room, and I had my credit and bank cards with me, so we are not penniless in Guatemala. Luckily we had copies of our passports that we had taken with us, which made it easier for Mel to get his replaced. We spent Sunday evening and Monday morning dealing with the hotel staff and the police, which truly was a fascinating experience. To add to the bummer of it for the hotel, the owner had died on Friday, and his children were having to deal with the situation during such a tough time for them. Apparently Uspantan has a reputation of being a very safe place and the hotel has never had a theft before, so they were pretty devastated. We ended up getting the help of an interpreter and the hotel had a lawyer help them and it worked out pretty well for everyone. They paid us the costs of the expenses that would not be covered by homeowners insurance, and the deductible. We cancelled our phones and Mel´s bank cards with the help of Dustin who we had left copies of everything with. Then on Monday afternoon Mel and I left our team behind and headed to Guatemala City to the US Embassy. This morning (Tuesday) after only 2.5 hours he got a temporary passport, and we headed to Antigua where we will reconnect with our team on Thursday. It is way too far (6 hour drive) to go back to Uspantan then turn around and leave again. We are bummed to be missing putting the roof on Onofre´s house, but not at all bummed to no longer be carrying cement blocks down that hill! Not at all what we had planned, but these trips are all about flexibility and going with the flow. We have all had a very interesting experience dealing with the Guatemalan police, and the process of getting a passport, which we never would have experienced, and we have learned some new lessons. Not to mention that we now suddenly have a couple of days to ourselves in a very cool town. Tomorrow will be the farewell party in Uspantan, and down here in Antigua Mel and I will be watching the preparations for Semana Santa, which is a major holiday down here for Holy week. And who knows.....we may even squeeze in a well deserved massage! That´s all for now folks. We are so grateful that we are all safe and that our cameras and memory cards were with us rather than in the hotel! Buenos Noches! Raquel
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Our Guatemalan families
Hi all,
It was another scorcher today, but the walls on our house have been completed. I no longer have any use of my troweling arm, and after work when I was doing my laundry on our rooftop, I had to have help with the squeezing things out. Mel was happy to oblige! No such thing as a washing machine in Uspantan, so ring around the collar it is.
A little background on Onofre and his family (the homeowners of the house my team is building) He is 25, his wife is 26, and he has 2 kids who are in school in the mornings and on the worksite in the afternoons. The are delightful and Henry his son is very intelligent. We brought quite a few books in Español that he can read very easily. Onofre is a mason by trade so he is building his own home. I´m amazed and honored that he is allowing me to lay bricks on his home. ¨`Raquel is good¨´, he tells me regularly after checking my work.
Anyway, Onofre´s large extended family lives on a sort of complex on a hillside that over looks the town. He is still very much in town compared to the second site that the rest of our team is working on. Onofre paid a ´¨coyote¨to get him into the US a few years ago, where he worked in Atlanta for 6 months before he was deported in the middle of the night, loosing all his money and belongings. Of course everyone one here wants to go to the US, which has been true of every country I have been too. Onofre and his family will do well as he is intelligent and industrious. His home will be a dramatic improvement from his current situation.
The second home the other half of our team is building is only 5 minutes walk away, but much more rural and down a steep hill. Our team goes to there site to assist with hauling the cinder blocks down the hill when a truck load arrives and plunks it right in the middle of the road. They haul the gravel down the hill in burlap bags. The mom and 3 kids currently live in a tiny shack, while her husband works in Guatemala City and comes home every few weeks for a weekend. Yowzers do they need a new home!!! It will be so wonderful for them.
Tomorrow we quit at noon and 7 of us are hopping on a bus to go to Semuc Champey for some much needed R & R. A few days ago we were feeling bad about leaving work early, but that has passed!!! By afternoons we are so totally fried from the sun, the altitude and the manual labor. Some of our team is in their 70´s, and I told them that I want to be like them when I grow up.
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