Mayan ruins at Tikal

On Tuesday, July 19th, we arose at 4 a.m. to catch our 6 a.m. flight to Tikal, an ancient Mayan city (~400 BC to 900 AD) in northern Guatemala on the border with Belize.  We landed in Flores and hired a driver to take us to the park, about an hour away.  At the park, we hired a guide.

One of the first things we saw was a ceiba, the national tree of Guatemala.  The trees can grow well over 200 ft.  Dad took a video to try to show the scale.  The plants on the branches are "air plants," not parasites.

   Now there is a tree worth climbing.  What a great tree house it would make.

Looking at the monkeys.  The question is which are the monkeys?

Mary Lee along with some guy who happened to be in the area.

That guy again coming toward us.

Spider monkey shenanigans

 It is a good thing that the weather is so pleasant all year round.  Snow just wouldn't make it.

Holding up the walls of a local ruin is not a small task.

This guy seems a little camera shy!

Can you spot the monkey?

There's a gospel metaphor in here somewhere

You would never guess what happened on the way home from Tikal.  At the Flores airport the security lady (one of the TSA type people) told me that I could not take my nail clippers on the plane because the little file was too dangerous.  I insinuated that it was absurd and that it was not sharp nor was it big enough to do any harm.  While looking me straight in the eyes she bent the file portion of the clippers back and forth until it broke off and then handed the clippers to me.  When I asked the other security people they said the file was not a problem.  I think the lady just had to show she was the boss.

Climbing Pacaya--an active volcano!

There is a wonderful bakery across the street from where Teresa and David live in Guatemala City.  Dad delighted in finding out what was hot and fresh out of the oven--then bringing treats back for the rest of the family!  Good thing we don't have anything like that close by in Tucson....

San Martin bakery

Deciding what to buy

There are several active volcanoes close to Guatemala City.  We hiked Pacaya--about a five hour round trip hike.  We "rented" walking sticks from little boys and hired an official park ranger guide at the parking lot.

Our guide rewarded us when we reached the base of the volcano cone by providing sticks and marshmallows to roast in the hot air vents.  When Laurie took her family there two years ago, it was only a few months after an active explosion, so there were still red hot areas in the lava flow and her shoes began to melt. For us, it was hot enough that the sticks would immediately catch on fire when thrown into the vents.

We also hiked down a little path into a cave formed in one of the air vents...of an active volcano.  What were we thinking?!

I guess maybe there are warning signs when a volcano is about to erupt.  But our guide told me that in 2014, she and fellow guides had about 20 minutes to race down the mountain to shelter in her home in a town at the base of the volcano. They endured a half hour of "pure terror" (her words) as "bombas" (loose rocks thrown up by the volcano) rained down on the house, ripping holes in the roof and walls.  In the 18th century, the town of Antigua, at the base of the volcano Fuego, was mostly destroyed by falling bombas when the volcano erupted.  Many churches were heavily damaged and remain that way to this day.

It was a wonderful adventure!

Guatemala: July 14-16, 2016 Sikaab'e, CHOICE Vocational School

Way up in the verdant highlands of Guatemala are nestled a number of small villages in a setting that would make your eyes pop.

  In that beautiful spot is a small school built by the local people under the tutelage of Choice Humanitarian.  It just so happened that Mary Lee was asked to share some brief comments to the departing students who were studying to become electricians.

  The school has classrooms on the main floor and dorm rooms on the upper level.  Mary Lee is seen with an associate.

 Our cabin.

 View from our cabin.

Breakfast is served.

 In a little village the homes are very modest--dirt floors, bamboo walls, tin roof, but smiling people.