Acatenango and art day

Greetings from the Guatemalan airport.

I'm just about to start the next part of my big adventure, but first a recap of some of the best days of my life.

Since I last wrote I have: finished a stove, climbed a volcano, played teacher and eaten more banana bread that is physically acceptable.

The stove:

On Thursday, Felix and I set off to a cold day in Santa Maria to finish the stove for Jaqueline and her family. To my delight there wasn't much for me to do (as I'm not a skilled mason Felix did some of the tricky smoothing the rendering) so I got to play with the kids, tough life I know.

But really, I got to play horsey and make faces at the chubby little 5 month old. It was such a humbling day. While the mother washes and cooks, the 10 year old boy (third of five children) will look after his 5 month old brother, soothing him, carrying him, entertaining him, while his other siblings are at school. I observed that the typical indigenous family is like a well oiled machine: constant, efficient and never a tear.

When it was time to say fair well I could almost feel my heart burst. I will never see these people again, and yet I have a deep seeded love for them. The respect they showed me by inviting me, a total foreign stranger, into their home, subconsciously teaching me about humility and compassion, all the while living their lives to the best of their ability. I will always be grateful, and may the stove represent a small part of that gratitude.

Art Day- After a good nights sleep (mixing cement is the recipe for a good nights sleep) I joined the teaching crew for Friday- Art Day! I was armed with a little spanish, plenty of hugs and my camera. I merely wandered the classrooms, high fiving kids that came up to me with their work (which was most) and hugging those that merely came to me in search of affection. With my camera I captured their fascination, their eagerness to learn, and their beautiful smiles. It was a magical day, with a morning class and afternoon class and at least an hour of playground time which involved being a climbing frame, playing jump-rope and tag.

On friday afternoon as we left Santa Maria I whispered a good bye, for now. And a silent thank you. Gracias Santa Maria.

With two days left in Guatemala what better to do, I thought, than to climb a volcano. So, I emotionally blackmailed my housemates and signed up for a 4am start Saturday morning and 9km of gruelling hiking. Now, I encourage you all to google Acatenango. Its a beast. Our guide informed us as we were already part way up that although its the third tallest volcano in Guatemala its the hardest to climb.

Great, so at sparrow's fart we arrive at a little village at 2200metres. We meet our guides, two local men and three dogs, and off we set. To save you the sweating details it took us 5 hours to climb through the cloud forest and up to the top of the volcano, a nice 3970metres (I like to round up to 4000m- please note that is a 1800metre climb, yes that is right, 1800metres). Once you get to the top you can see Fuego, te active sister of Acatenango, peaking through the clouds, occasionally burping.

It was the most amazing feeling to be above the clouds. I loved it so much so I've decided to the Peruvian GVI challenge of climbing Nevado Chachani, a 5600metre volcano that sits on the outskirts of Arequipa, Peru, where I will spend two months building and teaching with GVI. So, I'll be writing soon with details, encouraging you to part with your hard earned cash for this good cause- all proceeds to GVI and their good work with these indigenous children and their families.

Anyway, after a further 2.5hours to get down and a good nights sleep I am terribly sore. But, alas, it was worth it, every cloud filled moment.

So, now as I sit in at the airport about to leave Guatemala I think back to my time and smile, how can I not? I thought after a second time it would be easier to leave, I was wrong. I've made friends for life, furthered my love for the culture and the indigenous people. So to everyone who has made my time here magical (I won't name you all, but you know who you are) thank you. I love you, and Guatemala. I love you too.

Hasta lluego. Yo prometo.

Acatenango and art day