I arrived back in Guatemala on the 10th July. My landlords had been so great and kept my room for me, so I came back to the volcano view. It took me quite a few days to readjust to the 7 hour time difference.
On my first weekend, due to being jet lagged and a broken foot, I couldn't do much. I did manage to have lunch with a friend and visit the fountain in the monastery ruins of La Merced Church. It is said to be the largest fountain in Hispanic America and is in the shape of a water lily which was a symbol of power for the Maya. Shame it didn't have any water in it.
It has been nice the last few weeks as I have got to know some of my flatmates especially Claudia and Luis. We spent one evening making pizza from scratch. Luis is a chef so it was delicious, although the process took more 3 hours, so maybe anything would have tasted good.
Being back at the school has been really nice. Some of the students were very surprised to see me back as I had disappeared for 5 weeks! A big event that went on last week was the Science Fair. All years had the opportunity to present an experiment - from rockets, volcanoes, to renewable energy solutions and facts about light - it was very varied and I was impressed by how much effort the students had put in.
On Friday, Chris (a friend from when I was in Honduras) arrived after a very very long journey. We spent the weekend at another pizza night with my flatmates and in the Guatemalan countryside. Luis drove Arielle, Chris and I into the mountains surrounding Antigua. Our aim was to go to Hobbitenango, a fake hobbit town, but it ended up being very expensive so we walked 100m down the mountain to an awesome restaurant with trails through avocado orchards and amazing views of the landscape.
On Saturday, before meeting up with Chris, Arielle and I went to visit Animal Aware. It is a rescue home for over 450 dogs and 40 cats. The bus journey there which involved 2 extremely full buses was an experience and we ended up in real Guatemalan farming lands. The dog shelter was quite shocking but I'm so glad there is someone doing something about the problem which is massive all over Latin America. We got to walk some of the dogs before we braved the journey back.
Mahalia, another friend who I volunteered in Honduras with, arrived on Monday. She works for EFTC in the UK and is on a work trip out here. It is great that she is here as well as Chris.
Carynm
2019-07-25
So glad you were able to return and enjoy various events at the school including the science fair. The school certainly seem pleased to have you back and value your input enormously. Looks like you are having fun times with both friends and locals. The view walking down from the restaurant looks amazing. Nice that both Chris and Mahalia are with you at the same time. Enjoy your last few days at the school xxx
Daf
2019-07-25
So pleased that your return was appreciated by all and that you have met up with fellow traveller Chris. Amazed and relieved that you haven't adopted and sent back home any one of the 450 dogs. Looking forward to you treating me to your fantastic pizza creation skills when you get back to blighty. x