Reaching and Incredible Destination

On day three of our Mission Trip to Villa Hortencia II I was brought back to more of my element.  We left the large cities behind and entered a mountainous, rural area, with lots of landscape to see.  I marked the weather down as cloudy, then sunny, and then cloudy again.  I would notice as the trip progressed that this would be a common pattern.  My emotions for the day are relief, awe, and adrenaline.  I was relieved to finally have reached our destination, and in awe for where and what our destination offered.  My adrenaline came from the scenery and activities we would take part in that afternoon.  My journal states that words can not do it justice but I'll let you decide.

May 22, 2010

This morning I woke with the roosters in Nebaj, Guatemala, and took some time to read out on the breezeway of the hotel.  We had a quick breakfast and then strolled the city core and market.  A Catholic church in the city square was over 200years and possessed an incredible presence and evoked a feeling of time travel when you entered.  I sat quietly at the back and said a prayer thanking God for bringing the team that far and to watch over us for the remainder of the trip.  I then slowly made my way to the front of the church looking at the Saints, posed in glass cases on the walls, and admiring the heavy timber construction of the structure.  We then went to the market which was very eye opening .  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency would be kept very busy here.  The smell was sometimes very sickening, especially near the meat and pepper stalls.  Not really something I enjoyed and I hope the market in Antigua is more appealing when we go there.

The drive from Nebaj to VH II was similar to the drive to Falls Brook except longer and more extreme.  The topography here is always steep but yet there is less water than you would expect.  The road was paved for the first portion but gravel and dirt road the last portion.  Hair pin turns are the norm with many, many, switch backs.  As we neared the village we entered a pinch between two mountains and then suddenly a valley opened up in front of us and far below.  In the foreground but still some distance was VH II.  We stopped for a group photo and from there I felt relief to have reached our destination.  From that point forward I never stopped smiling.  As I write this my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

Unpacking the gear and setting up the house took no time.  Then we had a great lunch of bacon spaghetti and chicken.  After lunch we went and met the Village Mayors and Elders.  Introductions and prayers were said and the team was made to feel very welcome.  After that the team was given the rest of the day to explore the Village and its surroundings.

Jordan and I (there you go Jordan I mentioned you) went back to the house to change into shorts as we were going to explore the river near the Village.  It was a modest river as far as the flow goes, but one of the tributaries contained an incredible waterfall.  Words can not do it justice.  Of course I had to take a swim and jump off some rocks.  Many of the team joined me in the water and the guys all jumped off the rock face where the falls tumbled into the big, clear, pool.  It was an amazing team building experience.  From there we went to a cave and had another swim where only Jordan, Ray, and I braved the dark waters.  Though the cave was fairly open, the chamber was larger than most homes or buildings in the Village, the water was surprisingly cold, even for a guy who regularly swims in the Bay of Fundy.  With the air temperature being so warm though it was an invigorating experience.  The swim at the falls could be considered my Central American baptism.

As we returned to the Village, Denise and Lauren started playing games with the kids.  When they brought out the frisbee I had to go join in and Sara T quickly followed.  The kids caugt on quickly and the young boys soon got rowdy and very comfortable with us.  Even with a language barrier, playing is universal.

In the evening some kids came to our home in the Village and talked and joked while actually trying to teach us some Spanish.  After they left some families came and we shared stories and we showed them a map of the world and told them about Canada, New Brunswick, our farms, and courting and marriage.  Domingo served as the interpreter.  I asked about fish in the rivers "rio" and he stated that there are none.  I will need to check on the reasons for this because the rivers are cold, and have some great fish habitat.  Was it over fishing, passage barriers, or water quality that keep the fish away. (Just as a note, one website has 166 freshwater fish species listed for Guatemala, but some of these are more bay and estuary based life cycle fish.  I am trying to compile a list of fish that might exist in the rivers around VH II)

Another incredible day that will long be remembered.