Are you curious about volunteer travel? Is a trip to Guatemala on your boomer to do list? Today, you can learn about both from Rebecca Wilks of Skyline Images.
Antigua, Guatemala
Carolee, one of my most philanthropic friends, nagged me for years before I agreed to go to Guatemala.
The ‘hook’ was to support the nonprofit Cooperative for Education (CoEd). As a member of a Rotary Club, I was impressed with the sustainable program design of CoEd’s textbook, computer center and reading programs as well as their commitment to education for rural students. While visiting the programs on CoEd’s semi-annual Project Tours, I was able to visit locations in Guatemala that tourists cannot normally reach — culturally rich places where the people primarily speak one of 21 distinct Mayan dialects and dress in regional clothing (the women in elaborately embroidered huipils.) But that was just the beginning.
Happy faces in Guatemala
On my first trip in 2007, I was blown away time and again during the experience. Guatemala is a strikingly beautiful place — a playground for a serious photographer. There are 29 volcanoes (3 active), the highest of which is nearly 14,000 feet in elevation. Lake Atitlan, consistently labeled one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, is surrounded by volcanoes and dotted with Mayan Villages.
Lake Atitlan
Antigua Guatemala, the historic territorial capital, is picturesque and irresistible. The city is known for cobblestone streets, brightly painted historic buildings and coffee plantations (Fincas) along the slopes of (perhaps you guessed) nearby volcanoes. City and coffee tours as well as zip-line jungle adventures and volcano hikes are popular diversions for boomer visitors.
Antigua is a common destination for Spanish language immersion schools. I’ve returned several times to my favorite, San Jose El Viejo, built among the ruins of one of Antigua’s over 50 churches (ranging from ruins to fully functional). The local joke is that a town with so many churches must be full of sinners.
The real attraction though, as I hinted above, is the Guatemalan people. I have had the great privilege to visit schools in remote villages as part of a CoEd Project Tour. The people of Guatemala are warm, generous and joyous — and a photographer’s dream. Each face, from the kids to the elders is compelling, and in brightly-colored Mayan clothing they, like Guatemala, are irresistible.
Carolee was right. Guatemala has it all.
Have you visited Guatemala? Or have you participated in a boomer volunteer travel program? Post a comment to share your experiences.
Rebecca Wilks is a retired gynecologist, who has turned her attention to fine art images. Check out her site at Skyline Images.
All photos courtesy Rebecca Wilkes
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Rebecca,
I love how you paint a true picture of Guatemala; as a friend once said to me, it is one of the true jewels in South America.
I haven’t personally spent any time volunteering in Guatemala but I fully intend to. It has to be one of the fastest ways to get to know the locals and learn how friendly people can be to strangers.
Twitter: DonnaLHull
October 9, 2011 at 8:30 am
Paul, please let us know how your volunteer travel experience in Guatemala works out.
Donna Hull active travel,boomers,boomer travel recently posted..Three Hours in Milan
Twitter: coednews
October 7, 2011 at 5:55 am
Donna,
Thanks for featuring a guest post from Rebecca about Guatemala and Cooperative for Education. We think you and your readers would really enjoy CoEd’s upcoming Project Tours from February 21-26 or July 24-29, 2012. More information is at http://www.coeduc.org/tours. Thanks again!
Twitter: DonnaLHull
October 9, 2011 at 8:28 am
Thanks for stopping by. Cooperative for Education sounds like a worthy volunteer travel experience. Good luck with your mission.
Donna Hull recently posted..The Temple of Heaven: Where Chinese Boomers Hang Out
Twitter: boomerwiz aging young, travel light,love what you do
October 9, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Today, a friend suggested I make this my winter spot this year. She loved Antigua. I am looking for modestly priced accommodations for a long stay. Any suggestions for somewhere to stay. Happy to find your site and love love the itchyfeet URL. Thanks.
Twitter: DonnaLHull
October 10, 2011 at 9:12 am
Hi Patricia, thanks for stopping by. Glad you like our site. I don’t have any Guatemala recommendations for you. But I’ll ask around in my social media circles. Stay tuned.
I know a fantastic place to stay long-term in Antigua! Mi Casa Guest House is run by Elvira Batz. She offers comfortable bedrooms, hot water, and homemade food for $85/week (at least, that was the last price I heard). Contact ecbdba@hotmail.com or 011-502-7832-4496. Elvira and her husband, Enrique, speak conversational English.
In the interests of full disclosure, I work with the organization mentioned in this post, Cooperative for Education, but the Batz family has no financial connection to CoEd. We simply know them because many of our staff have stayed with them on multiple occasions (I believe I have been their guest 5 or 6 times while studying Spanish). They are welcoming and her food is excellent! I recommend them without hesitation.
I went to Guatemala earlier this year on a volunteer/cultural exchange trip sponsored by Global Citizens Network. It was a wonderful experience and I would recommend that trip or similar trips from other organizations to anyone, and I really fell in love with Guatemala in the short time I was there.
From the research I have done, it appears that Cooperative for Education does wonderful work. I get the impression that the trips that CoEd sponsors (the Snapshot tours) are focused on showing the work CoEd does and introducing people to the culture, rather than having an itinerary where travelers do a lot of volunteer work in Guatemala, but I also think that this is actually a component of most forms of voluntourism and it helps to set people’s expectations about what they are accomplishing when they go to countries on trips like these. I suppose that is always the question that I one feels about doing short term voluntourism trips to developing countries–what can a person really do in a short period of time, and are the trips about volunteering, about cultural exchange, or a combination of the two, or something else? Maybe the important thing is what you take away from these trips, and what you give in terms of cultural exchange–I have found that the people in the communities you visit really appreciate that someone from so far away has taken an interest in their community. In any case, I think that taking any trip like this is pretty much guaranteed to be life changing and when you come back home your attitude about a lot of things change and you feel inspired to want to make a difference.
MIke recently posted..Guatemala and Reverse Cultural Shock
Twitter: DonnaLHull
November 1, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Thanks for stopping by Mike and sharing your Guatemala volunteer experience. I think it’s important for boomers to know what they are getting involved with before committing to a volunteer trip. You’ve given great advice. Hope you stop by again.
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