After the stop to see the carvers, Day 4 began in earnest as we crossed back into Guatemala for the long trek to Antigua. When we reached Guatemala City, Josué pointed out all the tiny shacks lining the steep valleys of the city. Lots of people from the countryside come to the city in search of work only to find few jobs, lots of danger, and housing in the most marginal of places. Everywhere we looked there were walls topped with razor wire and buildings patrolled by armed security guards. Josué said that many of the poorer neighborhoods are controlled by violent gangs who prey on those without money. Many newly arrived women are forced into prostitution resulting in an upsurge of HIV infections, as well as familial disgrace that prevents them from being able to return home. The police refuse to go into many of these barrios because they are so dangerous.

Luckily, our final destination was the lovely colonial city of Antigua, about an hour away. We arrived to find cobblestone streets lined with colorful buildings all surrounded by three huge volcanos. After checking in at the comfortable Porta Hotel, we took a short walking tour of the city with our local expert, Manuel. We started at the oldest cathedral in all of Central America, La Merced. Painted bright yellow with ornate white plaster detail, this Baroque-style church was only in use for six years before the colonial government moved the capital to present-day Guatemala City due to severe earthquakes and volcanic erruptions in Antigua.

Day 5 was one of the most interesting and fun of the entire trip. On this day we visited a kindergarten class in a small village near Antigua . The kids met us at the bus, gave us name tags with small dolls on them, and cheerfully led us by the hand back to their classroom. All of them were dressed up in traditional clothing, sang the national anthem, recited the pledge of allegiance and a poem, and performed dances. Josué also gave us a short tour of the school which has been partnered with the Grand Circle Foundation to improve its facilities. Afterwards, we split into smaller groups and went with students and their mothers back to their homes for a hosted lunch. Dave, Kathy, Kathryn, Jenny, and Carol walked with Jose Miguel and his mother Rosaria to the Garcia's house. There we were joined by Jose Miguel's grandparents and two of his aunts. Although the conversation proceeded through broken English, broken Spanish, and a lot of hand gestures, we had a a good time and were all able to learn a bit about one another. Jose Miguel also showed off his bike (with training wheels) as we ate lunch.

On our way back into Antigua, we stopped at another small village to see (and buy) some traditional weavings. One of the friendly women in this cooperative demonstrated her work on the backstrap loom and then dressed Jenny up in traditional garmets. Back in town, we went to Casa de Jade for some lessons on jewelry making and some shopping. We also stopped at Casa de Artes to look at a traditional clothing (like women's huipiles shown to the left), carved masks, and other local art work. Even with the power out as it stormed outside, we could still see all the bright colors and decoration.

Day 6 started off with an early morning departure from the city bus terminal via a Chicken Bus. Riding with the locals on these colorfully decorated old American school buses was pretty entertaining for both us and them. We drove up the side of Volcan Agua to the small indigenous village of Santa María de Jesús. Here we walked the narrow paths of the local weekly market. All the stalls were watched by women and displayed a wonderful assortment of fruits, vegetables, sardines, and staples such as dried beans and rice. Josué gave us samples of produce such as the picayo and the zapote. The abundance of skinny dogs wandering the town convinced Jenny to save bread from breakfast each morning after this to give to those who needed it some nourishment. After the market, we got back on our regular bus (Carlos had followed us the whole way) and drove to the town of San Pedro las Huertas. Although the church we had come to see was closed, we watched as local women did their laundry in the central plaza (where the water was free). Some had children strapped to their backs in weaved cloth and there were a few kinds waiting for their school day to start. Back in Antigua (after a harrowing detour over a hole-ridden bridge), we visited three small museums at an old monastary called Santo Domingo. Lunch, on the patio of a nearby old hotel, consisted of an excellent regional dish made from pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, onions, chiles, and tomatillos.

Day 7 began with a trip to Centro Cultural la Azoteca where we went to both a music museum and a coffee museum. Lily, a Maya Kakchiquel woman, was our host and demonstrated a number of traditional instruments. Back on the bus, we headed toward Panajachel and Lago de Atitlán. On the way we drove through the town of Chimaltenago, where Josué pointed out a number of brothels and discussed the growing HIV rates. Later, we stopped for lunch at a place called Chicoy that looked like a log cabin. The food was great and we got to watch as our tortillas were patted out by hand, cooked on a comal and delivered steaming hot to our table. Driving through the town of Solalá we saw men wearing traditional pants with a kilt-like wrap, as well as a somber but colorful funeral procession. Finally, after winding down the steep and curvy road to the bottom of the valley we reached our hotel perched on the edge of Lake Atitlán. Although the rain and clouds kept us from seeing the three volcanos ringing the lake, we still had a good view of the water from our balconies.

Day 8 was another great day as we headed out by boat to the village of Santiago Atitlán. At the docks we were met by several Tuk Tuks (small three-wheeled "taxis") and climbed in for a ride to the traveling shrine of Maximón. This "evil saint" is a part of Maya syncretism, a blending of Catholocism and traditional Mayan beliefs. The shrine was housed in a dirt-floored shack and was attended by the cofradia of Santa Cruz (at the time there was a controversy because the deity should have changed houses but was being held at the past year's house).

After this excursion, we walked through the cobblestone streets to the church and plaza. We then split into two groups to go to the market and buy items that Josué had assigned to us. Our group had to get beans, corn, sugar, coffee, and soap. Merchandise, old women, young kids, and skinny dogs all contributed to the chaos of this cramped market space, but we succeeded and arrived back at the plaza just in time for a downpour. The boys from the nearby school didn't seem to mind the rain as they played soccer on the slick cobblestones. Because of the rain we weren't able to take the boat back, so instead we piled onto another chicken bus. The high point (or most embarassing) was when Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" came on the radio and all the gringos (our group) spontaneously broke out singing. The locals thought this was pretty funny, but it was entertaining. Arriving in San Lucas Tolimán, we had lunch at a beautiful old hotel overlooking the water. Kathryn and Josué both got the whole fried (and slightly scary looking) Tilapia. Since the rain let up as we ate, we were able to take the boat to our next destination in the village of San Antonio Palopó. Here we visited a family of weavers to whom we delivered our market purchases. Nine people shared this tiny two room house and had to move their loom outside every night to make space for their sleeping mats. We also visited another weaving shop, part of the village's efforts to develop some economic sustainability through an artisans' cooperative.

Day 9 was primarily a travel day as we needed to go back to Guatemala City to catch a plane for the Petén. On the way we stopped at a women's educational cooperative, called Ixoqi', sponsored by the Belgian government and led by Mayan women. At the cooperative, young women come from around the region to learn crafts like weaving, sewing, and baking so that they can start small businesses in their own villages. As we neared the city we stopped at a giant topographical representation of Guatemala that was created in 1904. Josué told us that the scale model is nearly exact. It provided a great visual representation of the country's dramatic geology. Entering the city, we fought traffic for about an hour and wound our way past a deadly accident. As we neared our destination of the Zona Viva we drove down a road lined with vendors selling everything from umbrellas to pirated DVDs. As we waited for a signal to change, two men came by with a small herd of goats. Vicky made a joke about drinking goat milk because of lactose intolerance, so Josué got her a fresh cup millked on the spot. Since most of the city can be dangerous, we stayed in the well guarded (and tourist-oriented) Zona Viva which wasn't much fun.

Our 4 am wake call on the morning of Day 10 was brutal, but the 50 minute flight was a lot better than spending another 10 hours on the bus. Getting off on the tarmac in Flores at 7:30 am, it was already hot and sticky. Josué had warned us that temperatures would be over 100°F with at least 90% humidity in his native Petén region. Our new driver, Victor, took us to the Villa Maya Lodge where we had coffee and cookies since it was too early to check in. The deck overlooking the lagoon was surrounded by red flowered acacia trees, but the water was filled with crocodiles. No swimming here! After this snack and a change to cooler clothes, we drove around Petén-Itzá Lake to the town of San José where we visited a church. We tried to get some treatments from the local bone breaker (a kind of chiropractor), but he wasn't home so Kathryn and Jenny didn't have to be the guinea pigs for the group. Along the road Josué jumped out to buy Guyen, a sour fruit with a huge seed in the middle that is a very popular seasonal snack. It was tasty, but a lot of peeling work for a small pay off. Next we visited the town of Isla Flores for a little shopping and some lunch under a thatched roof. Our afternoon back at the hotel was leisurely, with

Howler monkey and macaw "conversation"

plenty of time for swimming in the pool, playing games, and watching the resident howler monkey.

Day 11 started early for Kathryn, Jenny, Garth, Carol, Dick, and Ginny as we set out at 3:30 am to see the sunrise at the top of Tikal's Temple IV. After an hour in the van with our local guide "Willy" (aka Guillermo), we arrive at the site for a quick one-mile hike through the jungle. The humid air rang out with the cries of howler monkies that Willy said many people mistake for the roar of a jaguar. Already hot and sticky, we finally made it to the base of the temple and looked up at the long, crooked set of stairs that was our final hurdle. When we reached the top we were surprised to find about 30 other people all sitting there in virtual silence waiting for thesun to come up. With the dense fog we didn't see much, but after it got light the other groups (mostly college-aged kids) left and Willy kept telling us to be patient because the fog would "melt away" soon. Sure enough, the other temples began to reveal themselves and then fade away again into the mist. This spooky vision was accompanied by the melodic song of Weaver (Montezuma Oro) birds. We also say some Green Parrots and Keel-billed Toucans. As we had a leisurely picnic breakfast we watched an army of ants work in unison to carry crumbs left by other visitors up the steep steps of the temple. We also listened to Willy as he talked about being a crew member for Survivor Guatemala and crew chief for Survivor Panama, and taught us more about Tikal.

Later in the morning we met up with the rest of our group and toured the rest of Tikal. We started out at the Great Plaza, the North Acropolis, and Temples I, II, and III. We walked through some of the smaller structures and then hiked up Temple V for another great view. We also saw the unusual triple ball court and the Bat Palace. By this point we were all hot and tired, but Victor helped us revive before lunch with a cooler full of ice cold wash clothes. After a brief stop at the small museum and the visitors' center, we headed back to our hotel, but not before a good majority of us fell asleep on the bus. We had a refreshing dip in the pool and

later watched a great lightening storm as we dined on the deck overlooking the lagoon. It was a beautiful and tranquil scene.

On Day 12 we began to make our way toward Belize, but not before stopping at the Mayan site of Yaxhá. This is where Survivor Guatemala was filmed and production closed the site to visitors for six months. Being just above Lago de Yaxhá, this ruin had spectacular views of the water from the top of structure 216, which many of us climbed. This classic-period site is

Call of the Weaver Bird Montezuma Oropendola

estimated to have about 500 structures, though the majority are still unexcavated. After a picnic lunch onsite we climbed back into the bus and continued on to Belize. Along the way we drove through a part of the road that is being further developed (we drove on gravel roads for about an hour) and Josué pointed out Mayan remains in the cuts on the sides.

Just before the border we made a pit stop at a local gas station where people also stocked up on the essentials, namely beer and water. We lucked out at the crossing and didn't have to take our luggage off the top of the bus, but we did have to walk through customs (previously, Josué had just collected our passports and had been able to take care of everything without us).

Monkeying around