Thanks for the email! I honestly can’t understand how you happened to get all of that done in just two weeks! sounds like quite the adventurous trip! Did you not stop in Costa Rica? What? I’m very jealous of it, but mostly that you all get to be hanging out together. It’s OK though, I’m probably having a better time anyways 😉
Sunday in the Heat
This morning we went to church in an area where Estrada spent about seven months of her mission (Bekah was here for one transfer). It is still very hot here, so we are mostly relaxing in our air conditioned rooms and waiting for it to cool off. Bekah and Estrada went to Sensunapan, where Bekah spent about six months of her mission.
Volcanoes and Ataco
On Saturday we hired a driver to take us to some nearby volcanoes and to visit a couple of other old touristy towns. I am really glad we spent the extra money. There is no way we could have seen nearly as much had we ridden the bus.
Lake Coatepeque
After settling in at the hotel, we rode the bus to a famous lake nearby. The lake is beautiful from a distance, but not so much close up. We took a boat ride to the “best” beach on the lake. We swam for a while then returned back to the hotel. It was now almost 9 so we we decided to go to Ban Ban for some dinner. They make wonderful pastries and crepes. This was the highlight of the trip for Mom!
Penniless in El Salvador
On Thursday we caught an express bus from Guatemala City to Santa Ana. This was by far the best bus ride we have been on. The company is called Tica Bus (yes, they are based in Costa Rica). Also, this was the first border crossing where we not asked to pay any money! Santa Ana is not a regular stop for Tica, so they left us on the outskirts of town. Since we had just left Guatemala I only had 1 dollar in cash. They left us at a gas station that was not open so we had no way to get more money. We asked someone how we could get to town and he told us there was a bus that could take us, but it cost $ 0.25 a person. Remember that I only had one dollar, and there are 5 of us! After debating what we should do, the stranger offered us a quarter! Turns out we did not need it, because Bekah happened to have a few dollars left over from her mission in her purse!
Next we had to find the church where Estrada was waiting for us. That is a whole story in and of itself (perhaps I will share it another time). By the time we were ready to move on to our hotel, it was getting late. Mom and Bekah went with a taxi to find a place to sleep. The place we stayed Thursday night turned out to be a real dump, but we stayed the one night and left early the next morning. Because of Semana Santa, it proved very difficult to find a place to stay. However, we finally did find a place that we like. The owner is a hoot and has been very helpful.
The Long Bus Ride
We started the day by travelling to the border with Victor to buy bus tickets. Victor went over to Guatemala so that we wouldnt have to go through customs. He purchased the tickets on an express bus that leaves at 8 PM and arrives in Guatemala City at 6 AM.
On to Antigua!
We crossed over the border to Guatemala around 7 pm Tuesday night. We then got on an express bus that took us across the entire country to Guatemala city. We reached the city about 6 am on Wednesday. After some confusion as to how we could catch a bus to Antigua, we found some tourists who were traveling on a chartered mini van to Antigua. We caught a ride with them and arrived around 10 or 11. Antigua was very nice, it is up in the mountains, so it was not nearly as hot. We spent the day shopping and visiting with one of Bekahs companions who drove out to spend the day with us. The only excitement there was that I lost my bank card. I think I left it in the ATM. We cancelled the card the next day.
In San Ignacio
We took a really long bus ride (little less than 3 hours, but it seemed longer) from Belize City to San Ignacio on Saturday. On Sunday we went to church in Belmopan. The branch president graciously invited us to lunch, which we accepted, since we didn’t really want to go to a restaurant on Sunday. After lunch we visited several of Bekah’s converts and some members of the branch. We got back to San Ignacio quite late. Continue reading “In San Ignacio”
Disaster Strikes on Caye Caulker
We went snorkeling today, which was totally awesome. I’ve never seen so many conch shells in my life. Now I know why they have them lying all over the island here. Anyway, James took his fancy underwater video camera with him and at some point noticed that the bay door was open! Not good. When we got back he tried drying it out as best he could, but it is not functioning. Since Rachel forgot to bring the charger for her camera, there might not be any more picture taking on this trip. Continue reading “Disaster Strikes on Caye Caulker”
El Campo Cafe
Bueno Familia,
Look, remember how I got all mad about you not writing me last week? Again, what’s going on? Shoot me an email eh!
So Bekah is home!! no mention of that yet! tell me about all the fun you’re all having together without me! haha
Also mom to let you know I got your letter three days after you sent it. but I’m probably going to be in the Basin for six months so you can just send it there if you want.
Address:
280 Hemlock Lane
Mesa, WA 99343