Our First day in Panajachel

I would have loved to sleep in a little but the excitement of knowing where I was made me jump out of bed early. Vanessa, Christy and I had a full day planned and we had no time to waste. We all got ready. Vanessa and Christy took their showers, in freezing cold water, but they were clean. We knew before our trip not to count on getting a hot shower so, I thought I would take a shower when we returned from Santiago, when it was not so cold outside. We walked right across the street to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. The menu was in English and Spanish which was good. While we were eating Harold with Mayan Families and a crew of others showed up in his truck to take us to Santiago to meet Vanessa's Daughter's Birth family. The ride was absolutely beautiful and nauseating. The mountains were very winding.

After driving for quite a while we arrived on the other side of Lake Atitlan in Santiago. We got out and this is where the hike began.

I had expected a much rougher hike to get to the birth families home but it really wasn't that bad.

The home was very small and had absolutely no furniture. There was some clothing hanging from a rope that was drawn across from one wall to another. The building itself was in good condition but they have no kitchen bathroom and no electricity. Because they do not have electricity they are not safe there. All five children are so beautiful and they were a little frightened at first but warmed up to Vanessa quickly. One of the girls jumped right into her arms. All of the girls look like Arianna. There is such a strong family resemblance. It was easy to fall in love with these kids and it happened so quickly for all of us.
Vanessa had planned to take all the children and the mother to town and get them all a new pair of shoes. We decided to take a boat back across the lake to get back to Panajachel. The lake was breathtaking.


The sight of the lake and the mountains contradicted the poverty just feet from the shore.
The kids were so sweet and beautiful. I was glad there were 5 of them. I am sure we would have been fighting over them if there were only 1 or 2.
They all love their shoes and after we took them out for pizza. I don't think they ever had pizza before. They acted as if they were not sure how to eat it. The kids were excited to see me pick it up with my hands and eat it. The meal was great then we said goodbyes. But we will see them again on Saturday. Vanessa has gifts for them at the hotel when her luggage gets there.
We all headed back to hotel, made our phone calls home and wrapped presents for our sponsored children that we meet Christy and I will meet tomorrow. Another Great Day in Panajachel Guatemala.