Snapshots of our Beautiful Town

I love walking!  It is one thing I was looking forward to getting back to doing when we returned to Guatemala.  We live in the "Land of Eternal Spring" so our weather for outdoor walking and activities is perfect.  Several days a week I walk with a friend.  On the other days I walk by myself in town.  It's fun having a walking buddy, but I also enjoy walking alone listening to praise music.  

Our town is beautiful!  The views never get old to me.  Many times I stop along the way to take photos.  Here are some random photos of our town that I took on recent walks.

 

My walking buddy, Betsy, ordered us these matching hats.  She knows I love purple. 

 

I especially love the gates and doors in our town.  Many are colorful and unique. This blue gate with the pop of color from the flowers always makes me smile. Another great thing about where we live is that flowers bloom here all year round.

 

Many people have flowers in their windows. 

 

We have beautiful ruins all over town. 

 

street view 

 

I love this purple!  I have some of it at my house.  I think it looks like grapes when it's blooming.

 

As I was crossing a street, I looked up and noticed that you could see the cross from where I was. The cross is a famous overlook in our town.  The views from up above are fabulous. 

 

 

On the path that I walk with Betsy, we pass by a coffee farm.  Lately, the beans have been bright red and ready for picking.   It's harvest season for the coffee growers.  

 

 

 

 

The purple Jacarandas are in bloom all over town. They are my absolute favorite!

 

Bougainvillea

 

Our town is colorful as you can see from these buildings. 

 

Inside view of one of the ruins. 

 

a local fruit market 

 

 

The entrance to a hotel.  How unique to use chairs for decorations. 

 

This made me chuckle. 

 

Another hotel entrance.  

Most everything here is open air.  I love that about where we live! 

 

That yellow building was once our language school. We spent six months there back in 2007 studying Spanish. Every day at break we’d sit in that park and eat our snack. We rarely talked because our brains were too tired . It’s now a hostel, but I will always smile and reminisce when I pass by it. 

Hope you enjoyed this glimpse of our town.

Overnight Hike on the Santa Maria Volcano

The last weekend in January, David and Cruz set out on a father/ son adventure.  They joined four other dads and eight other high school boys for an overnight hike/ camp out on the Santa Maria volcano near Quetzaltenango.  In spite of the hike up and down being way more strenuous than they had anticipated, they had a really fun time.  They enjoyed being together with the others and having this shared experience between them.

 

heading out from the house for the drive to Xela

David's bag weighed forty-two pounds.  I think they would have liked it more without all the extra weight to carry. 

 

 

Driving towards the volcano on Saturday morning 

 

 

the group ready to start hiking 

 

 

Somewhere along the way up, the strap on Cruz's bag broke.  That made the rest of the hike a challenge.  It was their first overnight hike like this.  We did not have adequate gear for it, but if they go again, we will definitely invest in better equipment.

 

stopping to rest 

 

 

views on the hike up 

 

  

 

Once everyone arrived at the top, they set up camp.  

 

The sunset was amazing! 

 

Morgan and Cruz 

 

 

 

other volcanoes in the distance 

 

You could see Santiaguito volcano down below.  It is active.

 

 

Sunday morning sunrise 

 

 

 

 

Canon and Cruz 

 

Enjoying the views and trying to stay warm.  A cold front had come through that weekend and it was cold! 

 

packing up for the hike back down 

 

 

a group photo after the hike

 

They drove from there to Fuentes Georginas where they spent some time hanging out in the hot springs. It was a great way to relax their tired bodies after the two day hike.  They had lunch and then drove back home. 

 

 

Cruz bought this patch to remember his trip.  We collect patches from National Parks and will now add this one to our collection.  Before he even unloaded the car, he ran in to show it to me.  He knew I would be proud.

 

I am thankful they had this time together.  They made some great memories and strengthened their bonds with friends.