Our First Real Taste of Guatemala

Hi Everyone!

This is Mary, Katrina, and Jasmine writing from an internet cafe in Poptun, the destination of our first homestay. We are staying in Ixobel, a small neighborhood outside of Poptun, but right now, we are listening to the pouring rain while in town completing our scavenger hunt. After completing our difficult, to say the least, 9 hour hike to the cave yesterday, we have settled into our homestays with amazing families. We will be eating all of our meals in a specific family´s home everyday as a group. Our lunch today consisted of delicious chicken, rice, vegetables,  homemade apple juice, and tortillas.

Finca Ixobel, our fist eco-hotel, was a great way for us to get a taste of Guatemala and to settle in. On Friday, we went horseback riding. We rode for two hours up a steep mountain and had a blast. We also loved the caves which we hiked to on Saturday. We had no idea what to expect but it ended up being amazing, even though it was pretty scary.

Mary is staying with group member, Lillie, in Thelma´s house. There are five kids in the house and 2 dogs, Carnela and Carenlo. Katrina is staying with group member, Whitney, in Gloria´s house. She has two sons, Mario and Carlos. She also has a dog, Tigre. Jasmine is staying at Fernando´s house with 2 host sisters, Brittney and Catherine. We are all struggling to get over the language barrier and start our volunteer work at the school with the kids we are staying with.

Love and miss you all,
Katrina, Mary, and Jasmine.