San Juan

¡Hola!

We started the morning off with another delicious breakfast in the hotel. Everyone was excited for the day ahead. Breakfast consisted of fruit, pancakes, and coffee. The walk from the hotel to the lake is short, when we arrived the boat we were going to take hadn't arrived yet. This resulted in a photoshoot with a gorgeous view of the mountains in the back. We got on the two-story boat and were off for an hour long ride to San Juan. For the majority of the boat ride, people took pictures, laughed, and enjoyed the view from Lake Atitlan.

Once we arrived in San Juan, it was gRiNd time, a long hike up a steep hill, only to be late for mass. The church in San Juan was beautiful and everyone enjoyed the similarities and differences between their mass and ours. It seems to be more laid back here, but the thing with Catholic mass, it is all the same. Some us made some friends during mass, as well.

Next on the agenda was the honey tour-- it was very special for us Guatamigos that came last year, because we got to see Freddie! He is doing great, if anyone wanted to know! The honey tour was led by a 10 year old boy, who spoke so well for his age. He was able to tell us about all the different kinds of bees, some that make sweet honey, others that are used as medicine. After our tour we were able to buy things such as suckers, eyelash enhancer, and chapstick. During this time, we had to depart from one of our leaders Thomas, who is returning to Germany to visit his family.

Time for chocolate-- we went to a small chocolate shop, that happened to have a short presentation on how they make their chocolate. It smelt delicious!!! The chocolate they sold, was more bitter than we were used to, with an inconsistent, soft texture.

By this time we were super excited for COMIDA. Lunch was at a cute coffee shop, with things to buy. We ate chicken, rice, vegetables, and some really yummy sauce. At the coffee shop after we finished eating, they had a coffee tour right out back. All of us were educated on how it is grown, produced, and packaged. Many of us discovered how caffeine is obtained after roasting the beans. Also, did you know espresso has the least amount of caffeine content?!

Our next adventure was to the weaving co-op. There we got to see how the women made thread and dyed it with all natural substances, such as: carrots, beats, basil, different seeds, and many more. After they dye the thread they can then weave it into different things like blankets and scarves. It was very cool to see how the women work. It take 6 days of work to make one scarf by hand and they begin learning their craft around the age of 10.


We had about 30 minutes left and some of us went to a medicinal plant tour where a woman explained how different plants are used. There 5 of the women are midwifes so purchases made of the medicinal plant products go to them. All of our purchases throughout the day made an impact on the community of San Juan. During the tour, others went shopping, which was a theme for the day.

The boat ride back was a lot less smooth, with waves, but was still a blast! The moms had a photo shoot, many of us talked, and still enjoyed the view. We got back to the hotel, got some snacks from a shop down the road, and chilled. A little while later, it was time for more shopping for us students! All of us looked for bracelets, our favorite purchases.

Dinner was a buffet at the hotel!!! Bread, rice, potatoes, cream puffs, and all the other carbs were a favorite at our table. We ended the night with reflection and journaling. Today was an amazing day for all of us!

-Larkin and Caroline



Hi mom and dad I'm having a fantastic time and miss you!!! Please give Worms a big hug for me. Love you.

- Loin

Hola Geraldo, grandparents, and others
I'm having so much fun and so is mom!!! Love you guys!
-Larkin