Angi's Adventures: Semester Abroad: Guatemala, Part 2

The first excursion we took out of the city was to Iximche. We spent the day walking around the ruins and hearing lectures by a Mayan priest. It was only for a day, but it was nice to get out of the city and see some countryside.

Listening to a lecture amongst the ruins:

Our next trip was to Nebaj. This was a longer trip; it was meant to be 3 days, 2 nights – but turned into 4 days, 3 nights due to all buses being canceled for Independence Day on September 15. The weather was often rainy and cool, and I ended up getting a bit sick. I also ended up getting fleas from the chickens that wandered freely around the home where Lori (another girl in the group) and I slept for the first 2 nights.
In Nebaj we met with an amazing organization that helps the kids and teenagers in the community. This is especially important as suicide rates are very high in the area due to effects of the Civil War. Nebaj was an area that was heavily hit; on one of the days a few of us went on a tour and we saw some of the mass grave sites. We also took part in some of the Independence Day activities, including a pageant and a parade.

I bought a lot of cool stuff from this lady:

These crosses have the names of many who died during the war:

A mass grave:

Watching some kids do back-strap weaving at the community center:

Playing with the kiddos:

Watching part of a parade:

They were marching in heels!!:

After a cold, flea-bitten weekend in Nebaj, a few of us decided it was time to hit the beach! We headed to Monterrico and spent a couple days in the sun and sand. It was a lot of fun and a nice escape from studying.

Playing ultimate on the beach:

On another weekend we went on a day trip to Antigua. Antigua is an old capital of Guatemala. They follow strict rules as to what colors buildings can be painted, and the city is still has a very “Spanish-colonial” feel to it. A few of us chose to stay the night and an extra day so we could hike Volcan Pacaya. This volcano is active, so it was pretty cool (but also quite smelly!) to get to the top. It also gave a great view of the surrounding country and we sat up there and enjoyed the view for a while before making the fun climb down (you pretty much “ski” down the ash portion of the volcano; which, btw, was not easy to climb up!).

View of the city:

Hiking up Volcan Pacaya:

At the top of the volcano:

At the end of the “study” term, we had a 5-day weekend to do whatever we wanted. Several of us decided to go up north (via a small, slightly scary airplane) to visit the famous Mayan civilization of Tikal before heading over to Caye Caulker, Belize for a couple days in the warm sunshine of the Caribbean. It was there where I first went snorkeling; we got to pet rays and nurse sharks, so it was pretty great first-time experience!