Historically, the area was considered to be one of the finest agriculturally in Guatemala. Now tourism is the main driver of the economy. This was a breathtaking view from the streets of Antigua Guatemala. A city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches. It was the third capital of Guatemala. The name means “Ancient Guatemala”. The city was laid out in a square pattern, with streets running north to south and from east to west, with a central square. The city is surrounded by three enormous volcanoes and mountains, plains and hills. This is called “Valley of Guatemala.”
City/ location- This was a rural town located outside of the oldest city, Quetzaltenango. Without any water for irrigation, I was impressed that this local organic farmer was able to to capitalize on the very little rainfall during the last few weeks of the dry season. Next month brings the rainy season and his crops are planted and ready. He planted by hand the corn, beans and potatoes….watered just enough from his cistern rain barrel to promote germination. Now that the plants have made it through their toughest and riskiest stage, getting to over 6” tall…..now, they are set and ready for the rain. These staple crops will be harvested and stored to feed his family through the winter.
Pizza Hut photo. This was on my birthday. I celebrated turning 33 on Sunday April 9th,…and on the last day of our productive trip to Guatemala,… was craving a little American pizza. I am grateful to have had the honor to have met, spent the night, and shared my birthday evening with my new friends Previenn Sosa and his wife Gabriela Marroquin and adorable son. Their son played in the pizza hut playground while we enjoyed a large hot pizza and a pitcher of Sprite. They really humbled me and welcomed me into their family. We discussed empowering the local indigenous people with clean base power, clean water and clean crops.
Volcano in Antigua Guatemala with Reverend Choe and Daniel
The two folks are the missionaries. The younger guy on the right is the associate pastor to Reverend JaHak Palbo Kong. These gentleman picked us up in the middle of the night from the airport when we landed in Guatemala. Tornados in South Carolina the day before our flight caused us to be delayed, but they were there to welcome us and take us to the hotel. Reverend Choe was elated to catch up with his old friend and missionary who he helped relocate to Guatemala ten years ago. His missionary and longtime friend was proud to share how his church had grown to several hundred members and were raising funds to start their second church in a more rural part outside of Quetzaltenango.
Reverend JaHak Pablo Kong and Reverend Choe at the site of a local small farm where the altitude was so high that we had to be conscious of the low oxygen level. We made our way to Quetzaltenango to have dinner with the church leaders. We discussed the need for a “business mission”…their goal was to empower locals with the education and job train so that they could then support their family.
We stopped for an unbelievable lunch break in a small town after a three hour drive through rural Guatemala. The served steak, fresh sweet corn and baked potatoes family style with an assortment of fresh salsas for to top everything off. Enjoyed hearing how Reverend Pablo Kong started his church from scratch and how he not only survived but overcame the struggle of building a church from volunteers and donations. He was proud to share and take us after lunch to see the site of his second church. They had completed the first floor and were starting the second and third levels. Construction schedules are hard to predict due to labor and funding, but the first level was empowered and fully functional. He shared how members met regularly and worshipped in the first level. During the week, volunteers would help with construction of the remaining levels of the church.
What is he growing? This farmer Jose was preparing to plant peppers and tomatoes inside of his hothouse. He had two more weeks two prep the area. He was using a cistern to catch rain from his roof to help make it through the dry season and have a successful as possible harvest. He was using this pile of debris and old plant material as a food source for his single “toro”….which produced manure that he used as compost around each plant for organic soil amendments.
What building was this? This was the completed first level of the missionary’s second church. We celebrated the tenth-year anniversary for his first church and then got an update on the status of the construction of the second church. All construction was completed by volunteers and through donations. We were in a rural town outside of Quetzaltenango- “western Highlands” – 61% of the population is indigenous to the land. Quetzaltenango is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of ~2300 feet. The indigenous people call the city “Xelaju” (pronounced shay-lah-WHO) or more commonly “Xela” for short. It is considered to be “the capital of the Mayas”
What city? This photo is located in the heart of the city of Quetzaltenango. Being the oldest city in Guatemala, the demand for basic electricity has caused breathtaking spiderwebs of conductors that left me amazed.
& 15) Memories of the balloon vendor? This gentleman was sipping coffee during the calm early morning hours, set up to sell the happiness that a helium balloon will bring to the local children near the soon-to-be packed Central Park near our historic hotel. He said that he came early to enjoy the last few weeks of the dry season. People came to relax by the tree-shaded gardens, shop at artisan markets and see striking colonial-era landmarks at the lively park set in Quetzaltenango’s historic center. I learned that April closes out the dry season which frequently will not receive a single drop of rain for months on end. May through late October, the rainy season will come and rain falls consistently, usually in the afternoons, but there are occasions in which it rains all day long or at least during the morning. The lady with the cotton candy machine run by a gas generator was also memorable. Without reliable electric, she could not earn a living to support her family..
See ballons he sold. This was during the early dusk of Saturday evening. Children enjoyed feeding the children as their parents relaxed and socialized with other locals.
This was my new friend Previenn Sosa with his adorable son. He and his wife Gabriela Marroquin invited me to spend the night with them in her mother’s home. Their family left an impact on me. Previenn and Gabriela took me along with them as we went grocery shopping Sunday night. They own a small hotdog stand that they run by themselves…..homemade chilidogs were the favorites of the locals. Gabriela stayed up late that evening preparing chili on the stove because they had a big order the next day of $50 chili dogs.
This was a local indeginous lady who was volunteering at the church to prepare the fabulous meal. They fed over three hundred members of the church, along with many first time visitors. She was preparing celery and bok choy that was going to go into our chicken soup. ( I have reached out to the asst pastor of the church to try and get her name and story)
These homemade donuts were hot and fresh for locals to purchase as they enjoyed an evening with friends along the edge of the public park. Not sure of how they pronounce them, but they were delicious!
