Day 1 GUA Trip - Antigua

Yesterday we flew from SEA to LAX to catch a red eye flight into Guatemala City early this morning.  Once landed we went through customs, collected baggage from baggage claim and had to wait for customs to match everyones bags to their ticket from the whole flight. We then were picked up by 16 person Coaster Bus (or Turisimos) that we rode into Antigua to our Hotel for the night. Once everyone had their room keys we dispersed to drop of baggage and meet up to head downtown for a late breakfast. 

The conditions here are not as extreme as other cities and not near what I am told it is like in the villages, our team leader describes Antigua as a tourist stop. It still is rural in itself though, the road beds are built of cobblestone from the early 1500s to the conquistador time. The buildings are just as old and you can find many ruins throughout the city, either abandoned or in use still in terrible condition. I have taken photos of some parts of day 1 mainly on my camera and will have to wait to post them later this week, but you will get to see some of the conditions I'm writing about.  This city is full of history and I wish I spoke and could understand Spanish better so that I could converse better with the locals, but without it still is extremely interesting.

  

After taking two flights to get to Guatemala City my amputated leg was fairly swollen from the pressure with many altitude changes. With that in mind, 1/2 mile walk to downtown was pretty uncomfortable for my body, but I was able to return to the hotel after brunch to rest.  I propped my right leg up and put a compression sock on my left limb and propped it up as well for my 2 hour nap. I woke up feeling better and ventured onto the roof of our hotel building to check out the view of the two volcanoes Antigua lies at the base of, Agua and Fuego. My Freshman and Junior year at CWU I actually debated on changing my Major to Geology to become a Volcanologist, but my love for Physical Education was too strong. The Volcan De Fuego is currently erupting so I hope to see the view at night before we leave if the sky is clear enough. I then joined our group for our devotional meeting where we ran through our itinerary and game plan for teaching at the school in Cotzal.

Following our meeting we ventured out for dinner, as the group walked myself and one of our leaders took a Tuk Tuk (like a very tiny scooter/taxi cab). That was a pretty crazy experience, no street lights, no separated lanes, people every where and vehicles every where, it was intense.  

So I may be crazy, or not, but I decided to not bring my crutches on this trip and solely rely on my prosthetic leg for the 10 days in a foreign country. I brought my charger with me so I will be charging my knee every night just to be safe, but there is one large danger for it! WATER DAMAGE!! My prosthetic is not waterproof and Guatemala has many random flash rain storms.. So I found so waterproof pants tonight after dinner that I hope will help me keep my knee safe!

Now the plan for tomorrow, up for breakfast at 7:30 with devotion to follow at 8:30 where we are studying 1 John 1:9, 3:6, 4:4, and 5:13. After we will be on the road by 9:30 for Nebaj and the day will consist of travelling! 

-Stay Tuned Y'all!