Guatemala: Tuesday and Wednesday Recap

It is Wednesday afternoon and we are resting at the hotel after 2 days of work on the job site and a day spent exploring a few sites near Xela.

I left off with dinner Monday, so that is where I will catch up from!

Monday evening we went for dinner at a tapas Mediterranean restaurant that was very tasty. Then an early bedtime for me, I think others played cards for a bit too.

Tuesday was back to the build site! We had breakfast at the hotel, loaded up the van, and drove about 30 minutes through town. The day started with more rebar tying, bending, and cutting. Not too long into the day we moved to mixing, moving, and pouring concrete. With our team of twelve, 3 masons, Fredy, and two habi-friends from the Habitat Guatemala national office, many hands made heavy work a little lighter.

Before lunch we had half the concrete for the foundation walls poured. We enjoyed another lunch prepared by our fantistic lunch caterers and shortly headed back to work. The afternoon was more bucket brigade on the concrete and the addition of block brigade to get the masons ready to go for laying block on Wednesday.

Our friends from the national office joined us for the full day. It's always great for me to get to share Habitat stories and comeraderie with like minded and kindred Habitat types.

After the work day we had a little free time and checked out another local spot for cake and coffee before dinner. (I just went with the coffee as we are far from being under fed on this trip!) For dinner we went to a place called Tacorazon which was delicious. It was started by a guy from Boston and is clearly where the expats hang out. I'm sure for the food, but also for the English speaking employees I would guess : )

After dinner there were card games to be had. And miracle upon miracles, 4 of us on the team know how to play euchre! We played a game or two and I couldn't tell you the last time I played, but it was great to play again!

Today was a built in cultural day to allow us a recovery day from the heavy lifting and to stay out of the way for the next step on the house which is a little more meticulous. We had breakfast at the hotel and loaded up to start our exploring.

We first ventured to Cerro El Baul, a suggestion of my local habi-friend. It is a bumpy but enjoyable ride up to an overlook of the city. None of us realized how large the city was until looking down on it from above. It was definitely an appreicated suggestion and must do quick stop when visiting Xela!

Next up was to head to the hot springs, Fuentes Georginas. The drive alone was worth the time. The countryside here is beautiful! There were loads of farms and various crops to see making the landscape look like a beautiful patchwork quilt. We stopped for a good photo op and headed on up the twisting, narrow road.

The hot springs were a hit! After a few days on the build site the hot water felt wonderful to our aching muscles. I have never been to a hot spring, but will certainly make it a travel must do if ever I am close to one again. We had lunch there as well and shotly following lunch started the 45 minute drive back to Xela.

Our last stop before heading back to the hotel was a recycled glass shop. They take glass turned into to be recycled and make it into usable glassware. Having my own home now I find it hard to pass up purchasing the beautiful artisan goods you see all over here! So of course I bought a few items : )

After that stop, we headed back to the hotel. Though the hot springs were relaxing, it seemed that everyone could use the afternoon to rest a little more.

This evening we are going to the home of a Habitat family to make dinner with them and have a lesson on making corn tortillas!

Hard to belive the trip is already half over. Tomorrow is another day on the build site and an evening of pizza and bonfire with our local habi-friends! All team members are having a great trip and learning a lot.

Many thanks for following along, hopefully I will get at least one more blog out before returning home!