Guatemalan Adventures is Off Adventuring

We will be out of town and away from our blog for a week as we venture to the East Coast of Guatemala and visit the town of Lívingston, also known as "Little Jamaica". We are planning to enjoy the beach, the sun, and plenty of fresh seafood including conch, whitefish, and lobster. After a few days there we will travel by boat up the Río Dulce, a gorgeous green river teeming with wildlife, including monkeys, birds, and manatees. We will then disembark in the town of Río Dulce from where we might visit some hot spring waterfalls and do a little cave exploration. Only thing I ask is: Why hasn't anyone visited us yet? This country is AWESOME!

Nothing Like a Stabbing in the Morning...

A word of advice...PAY YOUR DEBTS in Guatemala! As you should know, my experience at the Bomberos has been pretty fun, as well as exciting. Everyday I am getting more and more accustomed to working in the emergency services field. This morning as I was waiting around for Sunday roll call with a few other firemen, a young man came running toward the station out of breath. Speaking so quickly I could barely understand, I at least made out that something bad had happened two blocks up the street. About 5 of us piled in an ambulance and sped off, donning gloves as quickly as possible. When we got to the scene, a man was laying on the side of the rode bleeding from his chest. We threw him on the stretcher (almost literally) and sped to the hospital. It seems he had owed someone money and couldn't pay, so the person stabbed him in the chest (if they did that to people who have ARMs that are adjusting, I bet we wouldn't have our little mortgage crisis in the States). Once at the hospital it was pretty neat seeing them check for internal bleeding, clean the wound, etc. All I can say is that is a crazy way to start your morning. I guess the victim would agree with me. Luckily, about the only better place to get stabbed is outside of the hospital and with our response and delivery time being about 5 minutes, he should be okay. Welcome to Guatemala...

Yellow Bird Dancers

Recently the organization was visited here in Guatemala by a small group of Native American dancers known as the Yellow Bird Dancers. Invited and paid for by the United States Embassy to promote intercultural exchange, the dancers participated in three unique meetings and performances here in Santa Cruz Del Quiché. The first meeting we attended was very surreal as it was set in the local Mayan ruins on the outskirts of town, a place where Mayan ceremonies are commonly practiced today. The Native Americans were joined by spiritual guides from the Mayan community and together the to groups participated in a traditional Mayan ceremony. Afterward the ceremony, which included the burning of special candles and herbs, various groups of local Guatemalans performed dances and music typical of the area as a display for the Americans. Afterwards, the Native Americans preformed a variety of dances and song (both vocal and with a flute). The favorite of the crowd by far was the hoop dance which consisted of a dance performed with about 12 small hoops and one extraordinary dancer. This meeting of two indigenous communities was a privilege to attend and we believe everyone agreed that it was a very spiritual and inter-connected meeting of minds and culture.

Help Support Our Volunteering!

Some people have recently asked us how they could help us out financially while we are serving and volunteering abroad in Guatemala. Since we both took a pay cut of about 15 dollars and hour to come here and help this organization and teach English to the local Mayans, we are unfortunately at times living off our meager savings.

Luckily, thanks to the Internet you can easily help us while we serve God and our fellow man (and woman). Simply go to www.paypal.com and select "Send Money" and send to the email address: kc7qaz@msn.com Select the amount and pay with credit card or your paypal account.

Consult your tax adviser as this is likely tax deductible.

Thanks for your support!

Western Highland Trekking

Two weekends ago, Toby and I had the pleasure of getting out and doing a little hiking in a different region of the Quiché department. As one of the largest departments in Guatemala Quiché provides a vast array of colorful typical clothing and multiple indigenous languages. We traveled to Acul and Nebaj of the Ixil community to see some new ways of life.

This region of Guatemala is the Ixil Triangle, formed between the towns of Nebaj, Chajul, and Cotzal that speak the indigenous language Ixil (pronounced ee-sheel). Extreme violence and warfare took place in Nebaj and these other towns during the 30 year Guatemalan civil war that ended with the 1996 Peace Accords. The communities are slowing rebuilding their homes and lives after much displacement, disturbance and loss. Despite their past, the people in this region are positive, friendly, and hopeful.


Toby and I arrived in Nebaj on a bustling market day and immediately knew we weren't in Quiché anymore. The typical clothing is very different than what we are accustomed to seeing daily. The women's cortes (more or less skirts) are dark red, but sometimes dark blue, with sparse vertical thin yellow stripes. Their huipiles have intricate woven geometric designs made with a variety of colors. Some women also wear fancy head cloths woven into their braids and piled on their head with pom-pom tassels dangling down.


We headed out on our hike precariously because we didn't know any details, just to follow this road out of town and continue on a path. This path was to take us up a mountainside and over into another valley where the sleepy rural community of Acul lies. We successfully trekked across, getting caught in an afternoon rainstorm halfway through, but making it there joyfully. We had the pleasure of walking with a local man for a bit that was hiking up to tend to some cows in a field on the mountainside, in addition to seeing beautiful vistas of each community.


Acul offered us a chance to see a more simple way of life, how majority of Guatemalans live. Only about 400 people live in the community, each with their simple mud-brick home and patio gardens with farm animals roaming. I swear there was probably 10 animals to each human in the community because we saw so many baby cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, kittens, dogs and more! The best however was the beautiful Swiss-style chalet and farm that's been run by an Italian-Guatemalan family for over 50 years. The cows roam free on beautiful green pastures and make some of the best cheese in Guatemala. The scene was picturesque as we sipped on coffee and listened to the sounds of animals, instead of traffic and firecrackers.


If a bit boring, at least our trip to Acul and Nebaj was delightfully relaxing. The lack of house and street lights, noise pollution, and commerce was a nice treat. We watched fireflies twinkle in the fields, interacted with some sweet locals, and got back in touch with nature. Ahhh....peace.

It's a boy!!!

Toby and I are proud to announce the newest member of our family....is a boy! Yes, that's right we are now the proud adoptive parents of little Nieve.

Our new kitty adoption was a big of a surprise. The short of the story is that last week I was feeling sad about my grandmother passing away. Then, a co-worker of ours stopped by to ask if we wanted a kitty because she remembered us liking them. We had previously discussed getting a kitten, but had decided against it. This time, however, seemed like a sign to us, plus it really perked up my spirits. We discussed everything and decided...YES! And, in honor of my Grandma Snow, we named him Nieve which means snow in Spanish.

We received our cute new baby boy (kitten) on Wednesday this week. He is mostly a charcoal gray color with white paws, a white nose, and a white chest/belly. Like any kitten he is very playful, often attacking the shower curtain, my hair ties, shoe laces, and Toby. We've found that he tends to strike up little bouts more with Toby than myself. He is very sweet and loving though, and especially enjoys snuggling up close with us. We are now co-sleeping with a little kitten because he adores sleeping close to us in the night. And unlike other cats, Nieve seems to always move closer so that he is touching us. We just hope he stays this nice and friendly!

Toby to the Rescue...as always.

Last night while on duty I had my first fire call (about time). Despite the rainy night, around midnight I was woken up from a sound sleep by one of my compañeros who told me we had a fire. Looking up, I saw the red light lit on the signal tree in our quarters signaling that there was indeed a fire. Keeping my boots and turnouts at the foot of my bed I hopped in them and grabbed a helmet. I slid down the pole (which I love to do every time) and headed for the truck. The driver was already inside and myself and two other aspiring firefighters hopped on the back of the truck, holding on to the railing while we sped off. I have always wanted to do this though it was against the rules when I worked at the US Forest Service and I believe the same goes for other fire agencies in the States as well. But, as I have come to see, their aren't many rules in Guatemala. After a bit of a drive outside of town we got to the fire which turned out to be a small cantina or bar. It didn't take long to get the main body of the fire knocked down and then we started to dig up things to find additional hot spots. Soon after we realized a small portable vender's stand next to the fire had some how caught on fire as well. My team grabbed the bolt cutters, but when the other guys couldn't get through the lock on the door, the task was turned over to me. (I have a reputation at the firehouse for having big feet and for being strong...go figure). I got through the lock fast and we wrapped up the rest of the fire quickly and headed back to go to sleep...again. Saving the country one cantina at a time... Bomberos Voluntarios.

PS: This picture was NOT the fire. Hopefully you figured that out alright beacuase I said the fire was at midnight. Good mind test eh Charlie?!?!