Rain, Rain Go Away!

Pictures: Lake Atitlan

Our group took our last weekend trip together this past weekend to Lake Atitlan, and unfortunately a fantastic weekend was damped both physically and literally by downpours, but we made the most of it. We left CASAS Friday morning and stopped at a coffee cooperative near Lake Atitlan, which was great. We've been learning about globalization and the Guatemalan coffee industry this week in class, so it was such a nice opportunity to experience coffee production first hand. The cooperative explained what they did, basically advocating for labor rights and fair trade prices for different crops in 11 of 22 of Guatemala's departments, and in this department (Solola) they focus on coffee, and explained the coffee making process to us. We were then able to buy coffee and other goodies they had, like brown sugar produced along the Pacific Coast. On the way to the cooperative we drove through the coastal area to be able to see some new scenery and saw a lot of the sugar cane crops and palm trees. Friday night we spent in Santiago Atitlan and had dinner at a retirement center started by a widow whose husband died in the Civil War, and I guess CASAS has a long standing relationship with her so every group eats at her center and helps support her work. She also does amazing beadwork and we all bought many pieces from her. Saturday we walked to a nearby community named Panabaj, a community that was devasted by a mudslide caused by Hurricane Stan in 2005. We took a tour of the town and learned about its history from an organization called ANADESA, started by MCC which has many local programs including support and training for local women. On our walk back to our hostel it started raining. We had a free afternoon which most of us spent in a cafe and buying beadwork. Saturday night walking back from dinner the electricity went out, and it was still pouring, so we spent one dark, wet night in the hostel. It was an adventure. Sunday morning we were supposed to take a boat across the lake in the sunshine, and see the crystal clear volcanoes around the lake. Alas, Sunday was still pouring, fairly windy, with lots of clouds and fog, so CASAS made the executive to cancel the boatride, even though several of us still wanted to go. But we made up for it. We drove around to Panachel, a pretty big tourist town on the lake, and some of us took a boat from there and went swimming in a hot springs area. By that time the lake had cleared some and it had stopped raining. The volcanoes were still clouded in, but you could make out some of them, and the place was truly magical. We had such a great time in the lake, definitely another experience I will never forget. The only downside to this great time was the fact that we didn't get to spend any time in the Panachel market, which was looked amazing. So many shops with such different things, a more laid back atmosphere and not as many people. I bought a few things running back to the bus, but oh well, you can't do everything.

So that was my weekend! A very Happy Father's Day (one day late) to all the great fathers, including my own! :)

I cannot believe I'm going into week 5! Oh, and Wednesday starts free travel! I am going with 6 other students to Tikal, then over to Belize. We will leave Wednesday night on a bus, spend Thursday in Tikal, then leave Friday for Belize. Apparently Belize has the second largest corral reef in the world, and we are planning to spend a lot of time snorkeling. I'm so excited! Classes restart Wednesday. So hopefully everything works out! That being said, I probably won't be able to update the blog again until next Wednesday or Thursday.

So there's another little update. Hope everyone is doing well!
Much love,
Rachel