Hey guys,
So we just left Guatemala, our last port of call before coming home to the United States. I was extremely scared before going there because of the many things I had heard about the country before arriving. We were told of the many violent crimes that have taken place in Guatemala. These include busjackings, murders, muggings, etc. related to gang violence and economic desperation. We experienced these things due to the fact that as we rode on the roads of Guatemala, there were billboards advertising bullet proof vests. You know it’s dangerous when it is economically sound for a company to advertise bullet proof vests in the open like that. Also, for our SAS sponsored trips, we had armed police officers escorting us wherever we went in order to keep us safe. Lastly, almost every establishment that might have money, say a shop, a bank, etc., had a guy with a shotgun standing outside to protect the place. The country is a dangerous place, but a beautiful place as well.
Our first day started very late. They didn’t open the gate until 11 or so. That means we didn’t get under way until about that time. I went with my friends Ruth and Audrey to a small village called Monterricco on the coast of Guatemala. This town was so small, it only had 1 ATM in the entire town and it was broken… There was a black, volcanic sand beach there where we spent most of our time. The waves that were created on the beach were 10 to 15 feet high, the riptides were dangerously strong, and the sand was hot, but it was extremely beautiful and fun to spend time on such a unique beach. My phone also got wrecked by the waves :’(. I spent a large portion of my time there kicking a makeshift soccer ball around with a local Guatemalan kid who was about my age. He didn’t speak a word of English, but I knew enough Spanish to talk about where we were from and what our names were. His name was Michael. He was a lot better on the sand then I was, I guess he was used to it. We also had the most amazing lunch at this small restaurant. It’s like they took Mexican food and made it 10 times better.
The next day I journeyed with SAS to Volcan Pacaya. It is an active volcano in Guatemala. A group of about 25 of us hiked to and on the volcano. It was by far the best hike I’ve ever done. We got to saw flowing lava, a small eruption, and some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. The pictures I took there can’t do it justice. The hike took about 2 hours up and an hour and a half down. It was not strenuous, but it was beautiful.
The final day I spent on another SAS trip to Antigua. Antigua in the old days was one of the most important cities in central and southern America. It is also the former capitol of Guatemala. The trip was to mountain bike through the surroundings of Antigua. We got to see parts of Antigua that we never would have seen without going on this trip. We went down back roads, saw many cathedrals, through narrow passages, through coffee farms, and so on. It was an amazing trip. We biked about a total of 15 or so miles. It was a lot of fun and makes me want to start biking more when I get home.
Overall, Guatemala was a great country to visit, but I’m not sure if I’d go back again due to the fact that it is a dangerous place. I would never go to Guatemala City as I hear it is one of the most dangerous cities on earth. I’m glad I visited, but I can’t wait to be home. I can’t wait to hang out with my friends, sleep in my own bed, etc. It is amazing that we have gone this far and the trip is almost over. I only have 5 days left aboard this vessel, then I am home. There will be updates along these final few days. We still have the Ambassador's Ball, Convocation, and Disembarkation. I hope you all have enjoyed my blog over these few months. I have worked really hard to make it interesting and informative. I’m curious to see who has been following it as I went around the world. If you could email me at sptrombetta@semesteratsea.net, that would be really cool. I just want to know who has enjoyed it and what they enjoyed about it because I am planning on doing a blog over the summer of my summer in Seattle working for Microsoft and I want to get better at doing this.
Thanks,
Steven at Sea
P.S. here is the information regarding the final performance of MICE on this world tour:
MICE World Tour presents
El Mundo Unido
a live concert on the Panama Canal
On May 3, 2009, MICE (Mobile Interactive Computer Ensemble) will perform a live concert on the Panama Canal in Panama, Central America.
The concert will take place at 1pm and will stream live on the MICEcast web audio server, the Panama Canal Authority Webcams, and by radio broadcast on WTJU 91.1 Charlottesville.
Webcam link:
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=Miraflores
MICEcast link:
http://std1.ladio.net:8000/MICEcast.m3u
I don’t know about the time yet, but I’ll post that when I know it.
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