Trip to Tikal

The third-year health promoters will graduate from their training program on December 15th. To celebrate, we all took a trip to Tikal. A nurse practitioner, visiting phyisican, and the Parrochia all pitched in to fund the 12-hour road trip and all the meals. This was the first time many of the health promoters had traveled past Guatemala City. In all, there were 9 health promoters, 6 of their children, 3 gringos, and the driver…19 in a minivan made for 15 (only two of whom got seatbelts), so that meant kids on laps, on the floor, and balancing on half butt-cheeks. But we made it in one piece and without much drama.

We did get stopped by the police for what remains an unclear and undeclared reason. The driver had to tuck a good sum of money in his registration papers so that we could continue on (this is “just the way it works” here).

We stayed at a Parish in the town of San Benito in the region of Peten. There is a thriving health-promoter program there and we briefly met their promoters but, through a little miscommunication in planning, didn’t spend an evening sharing traditions and performances with them as had been done during the trip two years ago when the current graduated class celebrated their graduation.

The first night we met with Sue Hammerton who started the health promoter program in San Lucas and is ADORED by them all. She was delightful though I only got to speak with her for a few minutes. That night the health promoters treated us all (in honor of Sue) to a great ceremony of traditional dancing, songs about illness and health, mock patient visits, games, and jokes. We fought off heat and mosquitos to get a little sleep that night.

The next day we visited the small, peaceful island town of Flores where we met, Janette, the expatriate nurse who orders medications for health promoters across Guatemala via Concern America. Then we took a boat to a tropical island animal reserve called Petencito.

On Sunday we visited Tikal, which the “Rough Guide to Guatemala” says is “possibly the most magnificent of all Maya sites”. Tikal was a Maya metropolis first constructed around 900 BC and inhabited until about 900 AD. It was “discovered” in 1695 and excavated beginning in 1956, though only 15% has been fully uncovered. The temples are enormous and the stairs up them are remarkably steep and of questionable stability. In fact, the stairs up one of the temples were closed in January due to two serious falls, one of which was fatal. The views from their tops over the jungle are incredible. When we started out in the morning we saw a couple of different monkey troups and later in the day saw a red fox, a pisote (something that looks like an anteater), and several toucans.

We returned home and slept for 4 hours before embarking on the long return drive marked by a brief stop at Rio Dulce, a large river and lake in Southern Peten.

Petrona and Rosa getting ready to danceShom and Socorro hugging to pop a balloonRosa and her daughter waiting for boat to PetencitoGroup on boat to Petencito from FloresSocorro and little Helen on boat to Petencito

Outside of Petencito

Petrona and Rosa in Petencito

Vicente and Abelino with a wild pig in PetencitoLeopard in PetencitoToucanKate and Abelino hiking the trails of PetencitoDominga and Rosa hiking in Petencito

Petrona Castro trying out gringo shades

Kate and Vicente on dock to return from Petencito to FloresHealth promoter group entering TikalJungle canopy in Tikal

Shom and Rosa on top of pyramidHelping Vicente capture our feet AND the top of the pyramidResting at the top of the pyramid

Un-excavated pyramid

Rio Dulce