Everything Happens for a Reason! +some pics from Guatemala

In an earlier post, I wrote that I was going to Guatemala. I was originally supposed to volunteer in Guatemala until Thursday of last week, and then take a bus back to El Salvador. From El Salvador, I would fly out to Panama.

Well, the plans to volunteer in Guatemala fell through because of safety issues due to recent crimes in the area where the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation was located, Zone #2, so instead I decided to just visit Guatemala for a long weekend. We left Tuesday back to El Salvador, instead of Thursday as I had originally planned. By Thursday, a volcano near the town of Antigua erupted, and tropical storm Agatha had caused massive flooding and mudslides, killing over 100 people... Guatemala declared a state of emergency.

I left El Salvador on Friday, May 28th. The day before, the only road to the airport was completely blocked  due to a protest by students and bus drivers, so I would have not been able to fly. The day after, El Salvador declared its own state of emergency due to tropical storm Agatha, and halted all air traffic; so I would have also not been able to fly.

I was heartbroken that I could not volunteer in Guatemala, but I see that everything happens for a reason! If I would have stayed in Guatemala until the end of the week, I might still be stuck there now.  I was also very lucky to have flown out of El Salvador on Friday, and to have made it to Panama safe and sound. Thank you to everyone who was thinking about me and my family, we are all ok and everyone has weathered the first storm of the season.

I'm having an incredible time in Panama, I'll post about my experiences here soon!

Some pictures from Guatemala: (what a beautiful country with such rich heritage!)

These pictures are from Antigua, Guatemala.

huge monuments in Antigua

Burger King! I thought this was hilarious! Hello Capitalism!

sitting next to an old pal

traditional wooden puppets at a store

inside a Spanish monastery destroyed by earthquakes

These pictures are from Panajachel and surrounding towns near the lake:

While crossing the lake, I took this photo of a nearby boat, known here as a "lancha". Beautiful.

Buying some local attire, very colorful!

My dad and I near the Santiago Atlitlan dock with a recent purchase   

This little girl followed me around until I took her picture and gave her 1 quetzal and bought some pens from her

hanging out near the dock of Santiago Atlitlan

A look inside of a tiny store in Panajachel