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Introduction Guatemala is a country sandwiched in between Mexico, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador in Central America. It is the centre of many things, having the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, the major producers south and the major consumers north. It has a rich cultural history of the wealthy Mayan Empire which as a culture has survived the test of time. The country is a beautiful yet sometimes dangerous collage of activities, lifestyles and culture, being pushed and moulded into shape by a hidden greed and manipulation from the first world. It has amazing biodiversity, climate, position, and money making potential = exploitation!!! Firstly – I just want to say thanks to EIL Ireland, and all my friends in Guatemala who gave me the opportunity to have this amazing experience, made nearly every day a pleasure, and got me back safe and sound. Also thanks a million to anyone taking the time to read or look at any of this document – hope you like it! I understand it is very long and for global issues I would advise looking at the Day 13, Day 32, and my views at the end. I tend to be very honest, throw facts around a bit, and display my own views so I hope this doesn’t appear offensive, dogmatic or self-centred to anyone as this is not my intention (I strongly promote people having their own views, cultures, religions and life paths). All the photos used in this are taken by friends or myself during the trip and feel free to print/use/reproduce anything from this document. If you have any comments/ advice/queries etc. feel free to contact me in the comments section here on SlideShare or on my email markrdon94@gmail.com Best wishes – Mark O’Donovan – (Public Health student, UCC) Day 1 (Thursday, 9th July) - Take off! I felt a little nervous, as it was only my second time ever flying. The journey was going to take 3 flights (19hours) - Shannon-Newark-Houston-Guatemala. I arrived early at Shannon airport with my family and sailed smoothly through customs with a fellow volunteer Mary Connolly. Then things began to get a bit more difficult with the first flight being delayed by an hour and a half but we were elevated to a higher seat class for all flights after this so it wasn’t all that bad. However we arrived in Newark to find out that our next flight to Houston was cancelled. We waited for a few hours in line for a change of ticket, and contacted our partner organisation in Guatemala to let them know our new flight arrival time. It was my first time in New York, and the area around the airport seemed like a messy busy area with people surging round like a hive of frenzied ants. We ended up getting a later flight to Houston and a free stay in Townsplace apartments. It was a nice place to rest up for what was to come.

Shannon Airport Cloudy Journey Newark Airport Houston Airport

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Day 2 (Friday, 10th July) - Robbery!! I woke up refreshed at around 6am with the sun already high in the sky and we made our way into Houston airport for the final plane to Guatemala. It felt like midday! Just like Newark Airport, I was shocked by the size of the place. It had six, possibly more, departure areas each larger than Shannon. On the plane to Guatemala we all had to fill out a short form for entering the country which entitled us to 3 months stay before needing renewal. No physical Visa is needed for entry for us Irish, those from the states and most other countries (except a couple such as Russia and some Asian countries). However the reverse isn't true for Guatemalans who require difficult to obtain Visas for entering every other country. Is this fair? Is it commonly known? This is a clear example of something I noticed more and more over the course of my visit - that Guatemala welcomes the world with open arms but the rest of the world only tries to exploit and control them in return. Upon approach to the country the clouds cleared perfectly just to give us a perfect view of Guatemala City, as if to welcome us in. The city of Guatemala is unique and spontaneous with buildings of all shapes and sizes, trees scattered everywhere as well as large, eroded orange cliff edges in the outskirts, however it still retains the street structure and street design of when the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. Some scars never heal (“The social world is accumulated history” - Szeman and Kaposy, 2010, [medical sociology paper]) but change is always possible. It is a huge city which mostly still lacks the exact, regimented design present in New York or Houston. After arriving in the airport we were greeted by a busking group playing the marimba (a traditional wooden Guatemalan instrument like a xylophone). We then muddled our way through bag collection, immigration control and money exchange - dollars to ‘Quetzales’ (Guatemalan currency named after the national bird the quetzal) without any Spanish! There were two money exchange points in the airport and we were warned by a regular Guatemala visitor that they gave different exchange rates. Just a hint to keep our wits about us! Once outside the main terminal we were met by Carlos the leader of our local partner organisation INLEX. We went with him through Guatemala City to a small peaceful highlands town called Santo Tomas where we would be staying. There were children on the roads with face paint, masks, funny t-shirts and even one wielding flaming torches, all trying to collect money from people passing by. You would never know what to expect there with current population estimates of about 4 million people and it being split into 26 very different zones. Just twenty minutes after leaving the airport we heard a loud bang. The jeep's tyre had completely burst. We had to stop at a busy junction in order to replace it. While replacing it with the help of a local man, another man stopped and said that he saw that someone had burst it on purpose. It was only later that I noticed that two small bags I had brought with me were gone. Someone had stolen them while we were replacing the tire - the noise at the junction, the black tinted glass and the unfortunate fact that we were all standing outside of the car on the same side gave them the perfect opportunity to snatch them. I wouldn't have minded so much only for the fact that my passport, bankcards, and preventative meds were all in those bags - basically everything important! And I even lost €40 to McDonald's purchases before I could cancel the bank cards. Luckily I had my money and phone on me. My host family gave me a warm welcome and despite the language barrier and what had happened, I was having fun there by the evening.

Poorer zone Wealthier zone with old bus passing Medium zone with chicken bus

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Day 3 (Saturday, 11th July) - Emotions!!! I visited the market at Santo Tomas where I was staying with a local family. Santo Tomas is a nice peaceful village and the market is a vibrant place with a nice atmosphere. There was everything from fresh fruit, vegetables and cows, to second-hand toys. Markets are very common and regular in Guatemala with most big towns having one every day and a larger one on Saturdays/Sundays. Later, I went to a large shopping centre at San Lucas to see what the shops were like there. We went by tuk tuk and it was my first time in one of these. It was a squashed, rocky ride like being on a super powered lawnmower, but was great somehow. The shops were cheap compared to Ireland, for example the sports runners for between 80-180 Quetzales (10-30 euro). The euro is a very valuable currency here with 1 euro being equal to about 8 Q and 1 US dollars being equal to about 7.5 Q. The shopping seemed to take a very long time as some shops required a lot of conversation and going through two different checkouts before completing your purchase. Mary was getting a local phone which took a really long time to queue for. I had been lent a spare Tigo phone from INLEX which was really handy. There are three cell phone companies in Guatemala - Tigo, Claro and Movistar. I ended up being quite a bit later returning to my host family than I said I would be which was outside my control and seemed rather frustrating. At Santo Tomas market, we spoke to a Guatemalan man with very good English who had been deported from the United States. I later found out that this is a major issue for the people of Guatemala with the States becoming increasingly strict on illegal immigration. Guatemalans that have managed to work in the US, for 20 years or more, in order to provide a better life for their families, have been sent home by the 1000’s in recent years. Working abroad is the second biggest source of income in Guatemala (coffee production being first). This is a similar situation to what was in Ireland during the famine times. A passport from a European country is a valuable thing. People from developing countries face real barriers to travel and emigration. This makes it almost impossible for people from developing countries to escape poverty or violence. Losing my own passport made me realise what a problem this would be if I wasn’t an Irish citizen, on a recognised volunteer programme, and with a reliable local partner in Guatemala. In Ireland, economic migration has also been a huge part of our history, survival, and flourishing into a rich(?), developed(?) country Depends on definitions). We usually didn't face the same level of restriction/rejection that Guatemala is now today - keeping it poor! Later that day after dinner, I went to church with some members of my host family. It was an Evangelical mass which is quite different from my own beliefs but I was definitely happy to attend. It lasted three hours and I was the first ever European to attend so an American lady translated it into English for me. It ended up like a race between her and the Pasteur and some points which was amusing. It was extremely emotional and family based which in a way made me miss my own family however I enjoyed the new band music - fresh, upbeat and genuine. It was mainly based around the concepts of family and the passing on of sins to offspring and it drew on science and multiple gospels in talking about this. People are very religious in Guatemala with probably over 95% of people having faith in a God. The main religions are Catholic and Protestant, but ancient Mayan religions still exist (in some rural communities). Other religions or lack of religion (e.g. atheist) are virtually non-existent and are not even understandable in some areas where everyone is either seen as a Catholic or a Protestant. The strength of faith here brings to mind something someone said to me here. To paraphrase it - "None of us have the political power, economic power or even physical power to do anything against the country's rulership, the only power we have is prayer". It appears to me that years of repression and exploitation of Guatemala by the rest of the "developed" colonists and corrupt governments has been tolerated through strong faith and community spirit. This exploitation started with the destruction of the Mayan culture and records by the Spanish in 1524 and still continues today in other more hidden forms of exploitation. The world is not “yet” a fair place!!!

Scenes around Santo Tomas and Santo Lucia

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Day 4 (Sunday, 12th July) - Family This day I stayed with my host family who had a family day out planned. We went to San Lucas and it was more relaxed and enjoyable for me this time. There were some interesting unexpected things there like a man who had lizards, rabbits and a huge snake which people could pay to be photographed with. We went in a nice art shop and ate in Pollo Champero which I hadn't been in before. Later that day we visited some of the family's relatives. It was nice to see that they all managing to live in Guatemala as a family. I ended up playing with the children for most of the day which was great fun. Day 5 (Monday, 13th July) - INLEX This was the start of our introduction from the volunteer based NGO (non-governmental organisation) INLEX where we got a brief history of Guatemala and its culture and Spanish lessons. The INLEX centre is located in Santa Lucia, not far from Santo Tomas. We were shown a nice local place for lunch which did chicken diners each day for 15Q. This was supposed to be the routine for the week where we had Spanish in the morning and an activity with INLEX in the afternoon but things change. We went there on a local bus from Santo Tomas (old yellow American school bus). Many of the buses in Guatemala are old ones no longer deemed fit for use in the US. They are then done up with new paint jobs and used for years here. This means that many churn out tonnes of black smoke as their exhaust systems have long since stopped working correctly. The colourfully painted large buses are known as chicken buses and are mainly used by locals as they are cheap and not always the safest for foreigners. There are other classes of bus however such as the decommissioned school bus I took, smaller shuttle buses etc. Other common forms of transport in Guatemala are tuk tuks, pick-up trucks and boats (lanchas).

A tuk tuk

The way to INLEX At INLEX My daily bus

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Day 6 (Tuesday, 14th July) - Ireland's Honary Consulate for Guatemala I didn't have Spanish or an activity with INLEX this day as it was needed for sorting out my stolen passport and goods with Alex (a great guy from INLEX). We first needed to get a police report. I heard that people in Guatemala often dislike the police due to corruption and past issues however the one I saw seemed fine. The fact he actually looked real tough, had a bullet proof vest and was armed with multiple weapons was a little intimidating though. There are a number of different police here - the general police who wear black uniforms, the tourist police in yellow, the PMC (road traffic police) and many private security units working for companies and individuals. For example Coca Cola usually have armed conveys. All the police are armed and are found almost everywhere i.e. entrances to banks, large shops and even some restaurants. After this we had to go to get passport photos and visit the house of Ireland's Honary Consulate for Guatemala (Dr. Roberto Ríos) in Guatemala City for receiving a new passport (as Ireland doesn't have an official Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade in Guatemala). This took a while to find with certain districts requiring key cards to pass security points and others coming to dead ends etc. When we eventually found it, it was a rather normal looking (wealthier district) building with a bronze harp symbol on the wall. Inside was very ornate and I met Roberto Ríos. I needed to fill out a normal Irish passport form which has a section for lost or stolen passports and Roberto stamped it. We then posted it off. I saw a green humming bird on a flower bush which I found are actually quite common here. The other thing I noticed in Guatemala City was the number of road venders selling things to people in cars usually at traffic lights and places where there are traffic jams. I was surprised by the diversity of what they were selling, saw one with mosquito swatters, one with magnifying glasses, some with flowers and one with footballs. There was also a fire blower performing here. With no social welfare here people are forced to come up with a way to make money or leave the country the latter being made nearly impossible today. Other things I saw this day that I wouldn't usually were a truck of armed guards, fork lightening while we ate at Taco Bell and a huge down pour of rain which made the streets turn into actual rivers in some areas like Santo Tomas. The water here can be as high as several feet and the tuks tuks seem to somehow keep running. Thunder and lightning is also a very common occurrence - every couple of days during the rainy season (while I was there). Up until now there had been dry sunny days but it was the rainy season so this was in fact an unusual dry spell known as a canícula.

Day 7 (Wednesday, 15th July) - The tour! At this stage Spanish was beginning to make a little more sense to me and we had another trip with INLEX. The trip was one around Guatemala to show us a number of different agricultural regions in the country. We started in the Highlands which Santo Thomas, San Lucas and Santa Lucia are all within. The Highlands is a region of Guatemala which is about 2000 metres above sea level and is a warm temperate zone. Typically corn, avocados, strawberries, apples, potatoes etc. are grown at this level. Many poorer farmers live in this region and many houses are on sloped hillsides. A little lower down we passed areas where there was red clay like earth which was being made into bricks.

Way into Guatemala City District near the Irish Consulate’s building Santo Tomas after rainfall

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At about 1500 metres above sea level there were many coffee plants. This area is warmer and coffee flourishes here under the shade of other trees. There are two types of coffee in Guatemala; Arabica and Robusta. Robusta has more caffeine, is cheaper and doesn't need shade. Arabica is more expensive, has less caffeine and needs shade cover. There is currently a coffee revolution in Guatemala with most of the countries’ arable land being used for this. The land I saw was part of a large wealthy plantation. In Guatemala most of the country is owned by a minority, with about 80% of the countries agricultural land being distributed between about 5% of the population who mainly grow Arabica coffee and out of the other 20% (owned by poorer farmers) 90% is also being used for coffee production. Also saw a sweatshop building on this day – a horrible looking concrete building covered in barbed wire. At 1000 metres above sea level and lower the area is coastal and the hottest and wettest part. This area is best suited to growing mangos, bananas, coconuts etc. Mary bought a coconut here and I tried some. Unlike what we usually think of where they are round, furry, brown, and with a thin outer shell here they are like a solid blocks of wood. Locals slice these into a cube like shape with a machete then cut the top off and place a straw inside. It was really tasty and I was surprised by how many stands along the side of the road were all selling them. In fact it is normal here for multiple people in a market to all be selling the same thing. Two other interesting things I saw this day were a bridge that had been destroyed by a volcano eruption and a Ceiba tree. The bridge had been obliterated by many large rocks that surged down the river during a volcano eruption. We drove over a new one built alongside it. This was near volcano Frego, one of the 33 volcanos in Guatemala. This one is still active and I saw small puffs of smoke coming from it on a few occasions but we couldn’t see it close up due to a fog. The discharge from these volcanos improves the surrounding soil by providing nitrogen and other nutrients. On the way home we also passed Ciudad Vieja (old city) which was buried under volcano ash like in Pompeii. The city there now was built on top of the original 1520/30s town and the dirt track running through its centre is composed of that ash. The Ceiba tree is a genus of tree (10-20 species) many native to Guatemala and all form massive trunks and crown spreads. The Ceiba has been declared the national tree of the country. Its crown can become so large (mushroom shaped) that whole markets used to be held under it and it had a special place in the centre of villages. It was sacred to the Mayans who believed the universe is structured in three levels that communicate through the Ceiba. Its branches were also believed to allow the opening of 13 heavens. We also passed a small rural graveyard – with many wooded crosses and fabrics.

A shanty town Volcano created river A Ceiba Tree

A small rural graveyard Ciudad Vieja (old city) Rural farms on sloped hillsides

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Day 8 (Thursday, 16th July) - Celebration and Corruption Today we had a shorter Spanish lesson as Gloria (Carlos’ wife) was taking us on a trip to the botanical gardens in Guatemala City. On the way in we stopped in the only main public university in Guatemala (Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala) and had lunch there. The food was nice and the college appeared like a very nice place but it is apparently very politically controlled leading to annual student protest marches. In the botanical gardens there were many amazing plants. Like a 90 year old Ceiba tree, the tree that marimbas are made from, agasve (tequila plant), pepper with eucalyptus like leaves, bananas, mango, bromeliads, two rare rainforest trees endemic to the country etc. Endemic means native but only to a small area for example a single forest or country. There were also other exhibits and information here such as a chart explaining that there are 96 species of toad and frog in Guatemala 22% of which are endemic to here, and another saying that 42% of the newts here are endemic to the country and much more. Central America is the most biologically diverse area in the world housing a whopping 14% of all species of animals in the world and yet is only 0.1% of the world's land mass. After the gardens we went to see the festival of St. Mary which was on this day. There were fireworks, a Ferris wheel, stands of sweets etc. We went to see the old church in the middle of the city where a lot of the celebration was being held. This church I think is the oldest in the country and towers over the rest of the city. It was very beautiful and like many of the Spanish buildings it was built on top of an ancient Mayan site. Also while passing through Guatemala City we saw many other sites such as the presidential palace, cathedral, post office that aches above the road, a mini Eifel tower etc. We also saw a protest outside the police headquarters. Families who have lost loved ones due to political violence and assassination during and following the civil war often come here to demand justice usually to no avail. The civil war was in the 1960s following a CIA coup d’état of the Guatemalan government (resulted from a disagreement between president Jacobo Árbenz and the United Fruit company who had friends in the CIA). This led to a split in the Guatemalan army into supporters of the newly appointed president and guerrilla forces. Villages or individuals supporting the guerrillas or those with progressive ideas e.g. communism, permaculture, and anything else that criticised the status quo were annihilated. A total of 200,000 people were either killed/missing. It was a common fear tactic of the army here to kidnap, kill and never show the body i.e. missing people. It is so sad to think that amongst all the celebration there are still those today looking for these loved ones - daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, parents etc. and being mostly ignored. We got delayed in traffic coming out of the city for 3 hours even with all the shortcuts Gloria knew, arriving home at around 9pm. It was one of the most interesting days I had!!!

Presidential Palace Botanical Gardens Eifel tower replicate and black police jeep

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Day 9 (Friday, 17th July) - Antigua, jade and the law Today we had a longer Spanish class to make up for the previous day. In the afternoon we had a talk about the Guatemalan civil war which I discussed above. There was also a short film by Diego (Carlos's/Gloria's son) which explained about an American priest working in Guatemala (Stanley Rother) who was murdered during the war because he refused to stop helping rural villagers. He has been declared a Servant of God by Rome and is thus possibly on the way to becoming a saint. These poor villages were the least represented by the government and thus became the main guerrilla supporters and targeted people. Systematic genocide against Mayan peoples by the Guatemalan army and their employed extremist branches has now been well documented. Later we went to Antigua with Gloria. This is a tourist city where all the architecture is old fashioned and is retained that way. For example the streets are cobbled stone not tarmac. We went into an inside market where there were loads of stands selling jewellery, knitted items, paintings and masks. It was very nice to look around but you couldn't walk more than two feet without someone trying to convince you to buy something especially in Mary's case. We also visited a jade shop in Antigua. They give you a tour explaining about jade and the Mayans. There are 13 different colours of jade in Guatemala and they have a mineral hardness of 8 instead of 4.5 like in Asia jade so it cannot be scratched by metal. They were much dearer in the shop than the market but you do have a guarantee they are genuine. The market was also open to bartering sometimes dropping as much as half the price. Later we also went into quite a large shopping centre similar to ones in Ireland. I noticed a lot of political supporters around this area promoting their political parties. There were also posters everywhere as the election was coming up on the 6st of September 2015. The elections have been held every 4 years since the end of the 1960s civil war. This year there were 14 parties competing but only a few with any real chance of success. However I heard they may get money for every vote they get. I also noticed that most motor cyclists here don't wear helmets. By law they are supposed to but this is very rarely enforced. Another example of this is the law that a business employing over 300 people must have a day care centre but only Guatemala’s university and one research centre sticks to this or the fact that certain buses and boats appear to have no speed limit or side of the road/path to stick to. Also drunkenness on streets is quite a common occurrence. Funny to see how every country has its flaws and triumphs with the written laws naturally often being quite different from real situations.

Festival of St. Mary in Guatemala City

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Day 10 (Saturday, 18th July) - Hosts We were invited by Gloria to their house for lunch. She and Carlos were great hosts and it was a great lunch - especially Carlos' lemon pie. We talked with Gloria about medical plants and alternative medicine a big interest of hers. I learnt a lot. Later that night I watched a show called heroes with my host family which is half set in Cork, Ireland and half in Guatemala which was a funny coincidence. Day 11 (Sunday, 19th July) - Goodbyes Stayed at home most of the day and had a rest. In the evening it was the birthday of a relative so we went to his house in town and there was a birthday party. This was fun and there were fireworks. Afterwards we had a great time trying to get a family photo and said most of our goodbyes that night as I was moving on to the second part of my project at IMAP (a permaculture centre) the next morning. Permaculture is a type of alternative sustainable agriculture which I will explain in more detail in the next day. Day 12 (Monday, 20th July) - IMAP, a new leaf Diego drove us from Santo Tomas to the IMAP centre next to Lake Atitlan, with its nearest main town being San Lucas Tolimán. IMAP is actually located right next to a small traditional village called Pachitulul and was founded by a number of locals especially Rony Lec, Gregorio Ajcot, and Ramiro Tzunun. Other members of the team I met while there were Ines, Patrick, Este and Neal. The journey in was very nice. The most notable things I saw on the way were a coffee factory and vast coffee fields for miles. The factory can be smelt before seeing it - kind of like rotting silage. We also passed Guatemala's only tolling station which had multiple armed guards followed by many palm trees and roadside pineapple markets. IMAP stands for Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura. Permaculture is a system where one works with rather than against nature (plant growth patterns/climate/moon position/land altitude/access to water etc.) to create a sustainable way of producing food. It follows nature’s laws i.e. no waste, multifunction, diversity, use of locally available resources, etc. Permaculturists believe that it is crucial to have sustainable agricultural systems to maintain the level of comfort/order necessary to sustain the culture of a population. Ancient tribes and civilisations used to follow the natural laws/principles far more often than we do today e.g. the Indians maintained edible forests, Aborigines survived in deserts. At IMAP many techniques are copied from the practices of the ancient Mayans. These are not seen as outdated, and useless but as valuable forgotten knowledge. Using their knowledge/techniques we could potentially live healthier, more sustainable and environmentally friendly lives which our modern inventions (while often not necessary) can make easier and faster. Nature has shown time and time again that when things don't follow natural laws they die out. For example bacterial infections often eventually wipe themselves out through their own over production of waste and human famines are usually a result of single crop dependence (monocrop) i.e. potatoes in Ireland, rice in China etc. - no diversity Right now we like large farms that over produce, are monocrop, use foreign complex unsustainable machinery, damage the environment and often don't work when its naturally best to or avail of natural cycles/resources. Is this system really developed? More importantly can it even last?

Scenes around IMAP – such a nice place

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Day 13 (Tuesday, 21st July) - What is development? I went with IMAP’s volunteer coordinator Neil to a vivero de plantas (plant nursery). It was owned by Victor Chajil who has worked with herbs in the area for over 25 years and believes strongly in natural remedies. I was also introduced to the local school where I had the option of helping out. I learnt a little more about IMAP and permaculture this day and their different view on development. Development is usually (is improving) measured as GNP (Gross National Profit - all the country's profits minus all its costs/losses that year) or by % of people in modern nonphysical jobs. Being sustainable and providing your own needs however usually make far less money than unsustainable large industry i.e. it doesn't appear as development. The same is true for environmental impact where environmentally damaging activities often make more money. Is development really just monetary profit and having as few people as possible in the agricultural/primary sector. Is this even really a good thing? Or should we focus on just meeting our own needs (not exceeding them) and not harming our environment in the process? Also looked around the town of San Lucas Tolimán, which apart from Hotel Tolimán and one gift shop is a very genuine un-touristy Guatemalan town. I started doing Spanish lessons with a really nice local man. I got back and forth by tuk tuk which to my surprise actually went down the long track from the main road to Pachitulul and IMAP regularly despite going up and down like a jackhammer the whole way. Day 14 (Wednesday, 22nd July) - Awareness I saw a ton of butterflies, and lizards around IMAP on this day and on the day before. I attended a permaculture workshop (in Spanish) taking place at IMAP about building gardens in small spaces. Luckily much of it was translated by Este one of IMAP's crew. It was very interesting and had some great inventive ideas, for example using bottles as plant pots which can be fixed to a wooden post or wall, circular flowerbeds rather than straight ones for more planting area and a flower container made of three tires which could fit loads of plants like strawberries etc. Went to Spanish lesson again and went by pickup truck for the first time. The speed seemed kind of scary at first. Second part of the workshop was later and showed examples of Permaculture techniques e.g. spiral flowerbed where plants are placed at different altitudes based on level of water preference. Banana circle a way of naturally purifying dirty soap containing water from the sink (banana has filters like a beehive structure throughout its trunk and debris gets stuck in this never reaching the Banana’s fruit) while at the same time making compost underground and feeding the banana’s excessive water needs. Also using tires in flower beds as areas to stand in which makes work easier and avoids stepping on plants. Seeds are also planted at the right lunar phases to maximise growth and development etc. At night I really noticed all the noise from the lake - birds, frogs, etc. and the stars were fantastic. The setting was all very different from living with the host family and I was finally beginning to settle down and become aware of my surroundings again. It was a really nice clear night for reflecting on things.

A group workshop at IMAP Banana circle Tire planter Lettice in makeshift planter

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Day 15 (Thursday, 23rd July) - Where there be dragons I attended the first of many yoga lessons by one of the other volunteers Reto this morning which I found really interesting and helpful. During the day we were working with compost and found these massive grubs in it that locals called Guiea Sega. They apparently eat the roots of other plants but are harmless to a garden as long as they remain in the compost. We built another flower container out of tires and also a herb spiral, and a roof garden for creeping plants. Started working on a self-fertilising keyhole garden but we didn't have time to finish it. Later this day the other volunteers and Neill left on a trip out they had been planning for some time but a group of students called “Where there be Dragons” arrived at IMAP so I had new and different company.

Day 16 (Friday, 24th August) - A colourful dragon I attended events with the dragons such as a talk by Ronnie (one of IMAPS founders) about what Permaculture is. This was very interesting. Later took part in another guided tour of many of IMAPS features such as the compost toilets, tire and roof gardens, slope and spiral gardens, seed bank and banana circle. I saw a couple of interesting animals this day such as a mouse, and an amazing lizard with a bright green body and a blue tail. It was crazy how much wildlife was there. Day 17 (Saturday, 25th August) - Hotel Tolimán This day in the early morning I saw a huge toad and a bunch of squirrels. These squirrels were leaping from tree to tree right in front of me which was an incredible spectacle. Went to San Lucas Tolimán again and got a tour from my Spanish teacher. He showed Mary and me the main points in the town: the church, bank, shops, hotel etc. We went to Hotel Tolimán afterwards to use the internet as they had a good WiFi signal. It is a nice place (with European food and prices) and a beautiful view of the lake and humming birds buzzed around bird feeders there. I was happy to be out of the heat for a while as it was about 27 degrees Celsius which in direct sun seemed far more.

Giant grub!!! Building a self-fertilising garden Building a roof garden (me) Dragon fruit plant growing on a roof

Giant toad View from Hotel Tolimán Pickup truck and bus Green and blue lizard

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Day 18 (Sunday, 26th July) - Mayan calendar Saw loads of lizards on this day as well - at least 15 of them in the space of about 10 minutes. This happened a lot as time went on as they seemed to be almost everywhere scaling buildings, trees, in bushes etc. They were typical grey in colour as in Ireland but others were shiny green or blue and they were all a little larger than in Ireland. During the day Ronnie gave a talk on the Mayan calendar and later on two fantastic murals at IMAP which explain the story of exploitation and political corruption surrounding Guatemala and Central America. Later on I went to San Lucas Tolimán again and visited a little market by the lake. I actually walked there this time as about 4km from IMAP. The other volunteers came back this day and the “Where there be Dragons” left. Day 19 (Monday, 27th July) - Weeding I did yoga again today and worked with compost and weeding. Found the weeding challenging as the weeds and plants are both very different from those in Ireland and I didn't know which was which. Spanish lesson also seemed particularly challenging this day as well. Met a new volunteer I hadn't met before named Will and learnt from him about an Amaranth growing project IMAP are involved in trying to get 100 local farmers to grow these ancient “super foods”.

Day 20 (Tuesday, 28th July) - Spooky I learnt a new yoga posture today - the San salutation and worked on reclaiming a section of Lake Atitlan that was overgrown, with Will and Gregorio. Today was my first time using a machete and the first of many times getting bitten by ants which are surprisingly aggressive here. My Spanish lesson went well today and it was the birthday of one of the volunteers Sebastian which was a fun event. In the evening the lake seemed exceptionally noisy with birds, frogs etc. all shouting making quite a deep threatening sound. At the same time bats swooped around our heads in IMAPs la salon making the evening rather atmospheric. Day 21 (Wednesday, 29th July) - Another birthday! Today we were still working on reclaiming land from the lake. I also collected Amaranth seeds from plants. When I went for Spanish lesson I picked up a chocolate cake for another birthday. It was the birthday of a local man we call Chico. Him and his wife Andrea own a small general shop in Pachitulul. They are both great friends with everyone here at IMAP. Their whole family came round and we all had some of the cake. In the evening us volunteers had some music and a glass of wine making it even more of a l celebration.

Amaranth – in flower Amaranth – gone to seed Drying papaya seeds IMAPS’ seed bank

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Green stick insect

Day 22 (Thursday, 30th July) - Sickness I spent most of the day tidying and cleaning up things outside as a large group of 36 people were coming. Dug away compost bed and bought an interesting nutrition book from a small library in IMAP’s office. Attended the group demonstration and saw the construction of a circular bed, tire bed and hanging planters by Gregorio for the group (picture used in day 14). I had Spanish lesson again in the afternoon in an ice cream shop which was not really a good idea as it was right next to the road and very noisy. Saw multiple huge toads and a variety of large insects. Unfortunately I was sick during the night - stomach ache and vomiting. Food here is generally very good and fresh but contains a different bacterial flora than what I would be used to in Ireland and this can cause sickness at first in until one adjusts to it. Day 23 (Friday, 31st July) - As things change Didn't feel great after the night before but still cleared a section of the lake for planting with Will again. It was another nice warm sunny day. Later I went to a Spanish lesson which would be my last for a while and was offered accommodation by a local man passing by while a walked back. Thought this was nice offer. Also for the first time I felt very confident going into a shop and buy a notebook with my limited Spanish. Another thing I found surprising was how many people (including women and children) were chopping up pieces of firewood along the road side and carrying huge loads very long distances on their backs, tied around their foreheads.

Day 24 (Saturday, 1st August) - Profit and loss Decided to go with Mary to see a nearby city called Santiago Atitlan. I got a free journey into San Lucas first of all from a local private driver with a pickup truck (people are nice that way here). Got dropped in the opposite side of San Lucas than where I usually get off however and was temporarily slightly lost. Once I met up with Mary we got a regular pickup truck from San Lucas town to Santiago Atitlan. It took about 20 minutes and was an incredible journey around the lake with great views. We passed Cerro de Ora a large mountain (extinct volcano) with its peak completely missing. Santiago was a large city with a gigantic market. It was quite beautiful and a great place for buying souvenirs. It was full of tourists who were only passing through looking for gifts. The local venders all seemed to speak English; some with strong American accents and dollars were widely accepted here. Behind the ornate market stalls were some very poor looking corrugated houses – a crazy contrast!

Banana Tree

Hanging out with some friends at IMAP

Cloud formation locals associated with rain fall

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The lake water here was brown in some areas such as the pier. This was due to pollution caused by too much nitrogen in the water leading to huge algae build-up (eutrophication). From this pier, boats (lanchas) left to most of the other lakeside towns. Prices vary for customers; with the pickup truck in usually being 10Q for tourists but 7Q for locals. It was the same for boats which were asking for 30Q when rate is generally 25Q and 15Q for locals. All prices seem variable and negotiable here. Some market venders can also be very pushy to sell their products following you around stating endless offers – can be hard to avoid this. Day 25 (Sunday, 2nd August) - Rest and Realisation I had planned to go to a self-sustainable village not too far from San Lucas but at the last minute decided not to go. Instead I had a quiet day at IMAP with the other volunteers listened to music, talking, cooking food (even and had some German bread which was very similar to soda bread back home). We had an extremely interesting discussion about the distribution of power in the world with Este using an a summary exercise called the flower of power. We also discussed the two incredible murals at IMAP in quite a lot of detail. It made me question a lot about the world and shifted this project further in the direction of human rights and entitlements rather than just the natural environment. Day 26 (Monday, 3rd August) - Organisation Spent most of the day preparing amaranth seeds and watering plants. Neil and Camila made a work plan for the week based on the moon which was interesting. It is better to plant established plants when the moon is increasing in size from half to full due to the extra pull of the moons gravity pulling the plant’s growth upwards. Whereas for planting seeds it is best to plant when the moon is decreasing in size to favour downwards root growth (which comes first). Also have to work around rain and sun conditions. Had fun in the afternoon collecting papaya fruit which had to be knocked down from trees and caught if possible. Luckily no one got a head ache. Learnt about the regular jobs that need doing - watering, collecting mulch, weeding, feeding composting worms, and adding to composts. Day 27 (Tuesday, 4th August) - Mulch and Sun Ended up being out in the sun nearly all day, mainly adding mulch to flowerbeds. This is needed to lessen weed growth, protect soil from the sun for water retention and mineral uptake, to lessen power of rain on earth and to provide nutrients and feed once it breaks down. Like many things in permaculture it has multiple functions. Was a relaxing job except for the drawback of one bag containing an ant nest - Ouch! Went with Mary for part of the afternoon to see Victor Chajil’s plant nursery again in San Lucas Tolimán (where I had been with Neil to buy plants). Walked in sun as no pickups seemed to be passing but annoyingly 5 passed in opposite direction. Saw a huge black bird of prey sawing around on the way in. We got a basic tour of his plant nursery and he explained about each plant and its medical uses here. He apparently often gives talks like this and sells both the full plants and pieces of them for medical use. He has written three unpublished books and wants the knowledge spread to rural communities where conventional medicine is expensive and not accessible for the majority. Got a pickup truck back with a bunch of high school students and it was beginning to get dark. Still had watering to do and fumbled around in the dark doing it. Think I had for too much sun exposure or dehydration as felt sort of dizzy that evening which went off instantly after drinking some water and dinner. Mary had felt sick for a few days and got herbs for tea to help ease this which did actually help a little.

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Day 28 (Wednesday, 5th August) - Amaranth day Was a day of Amaranth picking, where most of us were doing it for most of the day. Learnt not to force seeds from the seed pods as if stiff this shows they are not ready and it is better to harvest them later. Half of the seeds were going to the IMAP seed bank. The rest we could us in cooking e.g. on oatmeal in morning. From fresh you need to fry them and they pop like mini popcorn and are super high in minerals and protein. Went to San Lucas Tolimán for a while with Mary too to use the internet and got the pickup truck back with the student group again. Day 29 (Thursday, 6th August) - School and political music Saw a number of impressive animals this day including a colourful blackbird sized bird and a great white egret. Went to the local school near IMAP where Mary volunteers each day. There was a special dance event on for the children this day. A number of things surprised me about the event. Firstly the Guatemalan national anthem was played and everyone put their hand to their hearts as a large flag was carried out. Secondly the music played was modern dance and they had a high quality sound system hired for the day. The children dressed up in costumes and danced which was all a good bit of fun for them. Thirdly the children all received a radish as a gift to take home and the school got a gift of a new watering hose. Apparently radishes are really easy to grow here and children by tradition all learn to grow them before leaving school. Also the chairs there were the same as an old batch that was in my primary school when I first started bringing back some memories. This was a lovely event for the school where they generally don't even have enough paper and pens for the students and no computer. There is also always a scarcity of chalk for the black board and it is always used until here is nothing left. It is incredible to contrast this system with that of 'developed' countries such as Ireland. The children always make the best of a poor situation seeming to thoroughly enjoy every day and Mary told me it was a joy and a pleasure to teach them a little English during the time we were here. For most of them Spanish is their second language with their first being a local Mayan one. There are still over 20 Mayan languages in Guatemala and they are still widely used in areas such as this. Here (near IMAP) people speak mostly one called K'iche or Tz'utujil. Some of the students are as old as 17 and are still in primary school as they haven't managed to pass the leaving exams. Even if they do, the nearest main town San Lucas Tolimán only provides the opportunities of becoming an accountant or a primary school teacher, so most will just stay and work at home. Later this day we went on a scheduled volunteer trip to another lakeside town called San Pedro for a political music concert. We hired a private boat to pick us up at IMAP and bring us there which as a group wasn't too costly. However there was huge confusion about which peer to pick us up at and we went from one to another and back to the original again before being picked up. The trip was also rather treacherous with the driver going full speed ahead and stopping a number of times to show us views with the boat almost tipping over in the waves. It was a rather insane journey really. The scenery of the lake is amazing being surround mountains and 3 or 4 volcano's Atitlan, Tolimán, San Pedro and Cerro de Oro. On the way we saw the sun sending rays of light shafting between the mountains which was a magnificent sight. San Pedro is a town situated on the side of San Pedro volcano and is more fancy looking than most Guatemalan towns. It is a kind of arty party town with a big pub scene and mostly contains tourists, alternative Guatemalans, and wealthier Guatemalans from the capital looking for a good time. We met and stayed with two of Estes' friends Eric and his brother who do art lessons with talented local school children in the area. They were really great and showed us their art, gave us dinner and somewhere to stay for the night.

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The concert was very powerful and political and the music was pretty good – sort of country/rock. You could pay to get in by donating seeds of either beans or grains - we had beans. These would then be handed out to local farmers around the lake. I thought this was a really cool idea. They also had one of those remote hover crafts like the ones in the video game COD Black Ops 2. People brought flags and someone else accidentally partly set a tree on fire with a Chinese lantern. After the concert most of us went to a bar. We went to one called the Sublime which was really cool since it was like a beach inside with a good dance floor, sand and bonfire, palm trees and a view looking down on the lake in between the trees. However it is always a shame to see this kind of excess in a poor country. It was a really amazing day!!!

Day 30 (Friday, 7th August) - Contrasting Circumstances We got back early from San Pedro by the private boat again this time a much smoother journey with a different driver. This day ended up being very different from the one before and rather frustrating. I needed to sort out a way of getting sending money from home through INLEX/IMAP as I was running out at this stage and wanted to check the status of my passport. My phone ran out credit in middle of an important call and tried using Mary's which ran out of battery straight away. Had to go to Hotel Tolimán for emailing instead. Wanted to plan a trip to the Mayan ruins of Tikal in the north of the country before leaving and knew I wouldn't have enough money to do so. While eating in the hotel I bumped into a group of public health workers working on a nutrition project in the area with rural indigenous people which being a public health student interested me.

Boat on way to San Pedro

San Pedro and music concert

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This wasn't the only unusual in counter this day. On way back on the pickup truck there was a man probably in this 20s who had two iron hooks instead of hands next to me and he got off at the same stop as me. Compared with the wealthy doctors in the hotel it was yet another visual contrast between different life circumstances and the paths that can be laid out before us. I didn’t speak to him but it was probably a work accident or the result of the war or political violence. Very sad really. Went and got mobile phone credit at a local shop for the first time. You just give them your number and they can use it to get the top up. This was a special day for TIGO phones which were doing a triple credit offer. This offer is generally came out about once a week but seemed to be on a random day. Day 31 (Saturday, 8th August) - San Pedro at night I decided to make the most of the weekend despite being very low on cash and had wanted to do a volcano hiking trip since I had arrived. My volunteer friends (who had done this before) decided not to go that week so I went ahead with it on my own. Rang up about passport also and everything was apparently fine so I was in good spirits leaving. I went with Mary as far as the town of Panajachel (Pana for short) a short journey across the lake from Santiago. I got some information from a tourist office there about a possible trip to Tikal as everyone was telling me it was a must see and looked around the markets for a bit before going to San Pedro in my own time. I was going to climb the 3000 metre volcano the next day. There was no direct lancha from Pana to San Pedro and I was a little worried at first as it was like the 15

th

stop. It pulled into every little village along the way - San Pedro being the very last stop and it ended up being a really nice tour around the lake. Once arriving I spent most of the day looking around the town getting to know the layout of its streets and managed to fine a cheap hostel there for the one night. Later I went to Sublime bar as I got a flyer for free drink and there was going to be live music there that night. I spoke to a number of interesting people there from all different countries - Ireland, Guatemala, Canada, Australia, and Germany. Left late at about 12:30 and rest were staying even later so I left alone which wasn’t really ideal. Was a bit of an ordeal getting back to hostel as it was about 15/20 minutes walk away and I found out there’s no night-time transport there - not well planned on my part. Felt it was relatively safe however if sensible so not too worried but straight away I was accompanied by two drunken men, and a few people trying to sell drugs. I lost them walking up a hill which they couldn’t or probably decided not to walk up. It was a main well-lit street but people had left their dogs out for the night and they weren't the friendliest of individuals so ended up being chased most of the way back. Found out later that these dogs are typical here at night and are “mostly” all bark and no bite. Day 32 (Sunday, 9th August) - Guatemala from 3,000 metres Felt full of energy the next day and got up at 4:30 am to see the sun rise on the way up. There were no tuk tuks before 6am and by the time I got to the base of the volcano walking part of the way with local workers the sun had already up. The paying centre with guides opened at 6am and decided to wait there. I filled out the entry form and got a guide for part of the walk. Before leaving he told me it was just another left and then the same path the whole way up. It must have been on his left (not mine) as he was facing me and the path I look got narrower and narrower. Eventually I left the path all together but after passing through a little forest and the middle of a corn field I hit the main path again. I think I was parallel to it the whole time but 200 yards to the left. It was a very nice walk on the main path through a jungle like forest, along wooden planks and bright yellow soil. Very tiring however as it was a continuous climb and ended up taking regular short breaks near the top. Eventually I got to a campground near the top and 20 minutes later the peak.

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The view from the peak was incredible everything just looked like a map or satellite image. Even a quarter of the way up where the corn field was, I was above some cloud and there was an amazing view. The peak is just over 3000 metres (almost 10,000 feet) above sea level. On one side there was a fantastic forest full of bromeliads and on the other the view of the lake. Where I was there isn't any creator it is filled in by huge boulders one can sit in. It felt really strange to be just 4 or 5 feet from such an immense drop. It had taken 4/4.5 hours coming up and I literally ran down in about 1.5/2 hours. Got back to IMAP in time for lunch and the tiredness hit me then so had a good rest that evening to recuperate for the week ahead. What an incredible day it was – strange to see how small we are in such vastness, yet what an impact we make.

Views around San Pedro volcano (going across left to right)

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Day 32 (Monday, 10th August) - Free trade slavery Seemed like a more typical day than the day before but was very busy. Mulch and aggravating ants, watering, worked on a solution to the money situation and registered for my college course back in Ireland. New things I did were going to Andreas' house to collect tortillas and I tried some fried prickly pear shoots (a very spicy edible cactus, popular in Mexico). Today Neil discussed the world free trade agreements and their current devastating impact on the economy and lives of people in Guatemala and the States. They remove taxation which means something can be sold at whatever cost companies chose even if this damages the economy of a country or locality. It provides companies with a power above the national laws of countries. There have even been a few cases here in Guatemala where mining companies have mined and destroyed local water sources, employment options, and culture, but when the government tried to legally oppose this they were sued by the mining companies who won their case. These agreements also promote environmental damage as they benefit damaging mass production practices which weaken soil and pollute water. However since these practices can produce a lot of economic profit in the short term since they can sell items at very low prices undercutting local business/agriculture. This is also helped by large subsidises in the States or other countries that are given to businesses thus they can afford to sell things even cheaper, build larger farms, etc. This governmental subsidises are not available to locals here or the majority of poorer people in the third or even first world thus even if they produce more and better crops for the space they have, without these payments they have no way of dropping their prices low enough to compete with the large companies. Basically this means locals here due to 'free trade' cannot make enough money doing what they always did and are plunged into poverty leaving them with only a few options –

Continue living as they happily did for centuries and descend into poverty, malnutrition and poor quality of life.

Get a modern well-paid nonphysical job (urban migration and difficult to obtain degrees/skills/language etc. are needed – not possible for most).

Emigrating for work in the first world (also very difficult/impossible and usually stigmatised).

Working for large companies (sweatshops/plantations – poor wage or exploitation but the only possible and the most common choice for many – debatably a form of modern “slavery”).

Illegal activities e.g. growing/selling illegal drugs, stealing etc. (possibly morally wrong, stigmatised, severe repercussions if caught).

This then puts people in desperate predicable situations where the “now poor” country has no choice but to reach out to bailout services such as the World Bank and world trade organisations for money. This aid however is always tied with the conditions being the choice of the 1

st world “providers” who can thus get

what they like from the country (that 1st World legislation put into this position in the first place).

This manipulation that the first world imposes over the third world leads mainly to things like sweat shops and large cheap labour coffee plantations, forced coffee growing (discussed under Day 7). “We” regularly ignore and deny but benefit and avail of these all the same. During my stay I saw a number of bleak concrete barbed wire enclosed sweatshops and large coffee plantations from a distance. Companies such as Starbucks who buy it decide the prices and thus control the industry. A view years ago they decided to buy more coffee than usual from Vietnam and this put many Guatemalans into poverty again. People are losing their culture and freedom while being first put into poverty and then bailed out where we make the terms and have control from then on. So a rather hidden form of slavery still exists today and free trade is certainly not freedom. It gives freedom to a few to do as they please to a majority. This happens in many third world countries not just here. They are not poor purely because of ignorance or misfortune but also because of the system created by our laws and the foreign culture and bailouts we impose on them afterwards. Some individuals from our countries cause poverty, slavery and cultural destruction, while damaging the environment and the majority of us are just participants in this process. Other devastating problems in many countries such as drug/sex trade also only exist because of the money and desire of individuals in our “wealthier” countries – if these desires were different so much violence and abuse wouldn’t occur in the world. Hidden slavery still exists in 2016 and is “mainly” caused by the influence of the “developed” world!!!!

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Day 33 (Tuesday, 11th August) - Worms Not much happened this day and I managed to get money and college registration sorted out. Pickup went past my stop which was a first and I started watering a compost making patch with worms. These worms break down kitchen waste at an alarming rate. They are a Canadian species which has been genetically altered to have multiple organs and never need sleep. Also we finally got round to watching a movie that night which we had been planning to do for some time. Day 34 (Wednesday, 12th August) - No fertiliser needed By today Mary was feeling much better which was great. We constructed the keyhole garden again. This is a form of self-fertilising flower bed originally designed in Africa and now used in permaculture. All that needs to be done is to keep putting in kitchen waste into the centre and it will remain fertilised. This is made by building up the correct layers of mulch, high carbon waste like twigs and compost in layers to form the correct constitution and I unfortunately missed a talk about it by Neil. Saw another movie that night called 'Life cycles' which was incredibly filmed. Day 35 (Thursday, 13th August) - Pizza day Today we built a second keyhole garden. It was also Este's birthday so we had cake and made 4 pizzas which ended up being great. We also tried a Mexican alcoholic drink made from pineapple peel, vanilla, and panela called tepache. One of Neil's friends arrived and it was a rather nice relaxed evening. Day 36 (Friday, 14th August) - Lightening and Fireflies I was bursting with energy this day and transported a load of compost, watered flowers and went for a Spanish lesson in San Lucas again. It went dark suddenly (as it does in this part of the world) on the way home however and had an interesting walk down IMAPS’ lane lit up by lightning and fireflies. It was my first time seeing firefly's and the ones here were small and pure white like little floating Christmas lights. They were quite a sight. Day 37 (Saturday, 15th August) - Scorpion sting Had been stung by something in the duvet twice during the night but couldn't find everything so back to sleep without it. Checked it again the next morning and a scorpion fell out of it. Crazy to think it was a scorpion and it left less of a mark than a mosquito usually would. No really poisonous ones here anyway as far as I know with the worst effect being temporary paralysis of the tongue. Had similar looking bite marks all over my feet on the first night at IMAP so I hopefully didn't spend a night knocked out from scorpion venom! I planned the trip to Flores and Tikal (ancient ruins of the Mayan capital) and received some money just in time. I was going to leave Monday and couldn't wait. I would be taking the bus and Mary was going on a plane due to my passport having still not arrived. Also saw a brown moth that night the size of a large bat which was incredible as larger than my open hand. The other volunteers decided to go on a cycling trip this weekend.

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Day 38 (Sunday, 16th August) - The noisy parrot I went into the kitchen looking forward to the trip North to Tikal the next day. I was in the middle of cutting up some Papaya for breakfast and felt a tickling on my leg under my trouser. Looked down and saw a scorpion again this time crawling up my leg! Ended up kicking it across the kitchen and threw it out. Looked identical to the one the night before guess it likes me a little too much. When ready I went to Pana to pick up tickets for the next day. Took it easy there and was ridiculously overcharged in a restaurant. There were two hostels with the same name as the one I was going to stay at (Hospedaje El Viajeros) and it took me a while to find the right one. The one I stayed at was very nice. There was a rather talkative parrot, turtles and flowers. Used a computer there for most of the afternoon and watched a little TV in evening for the first time in weeks which felt kind of strange. Day 39 (Monday, 17th August) - The journey I went out just in time to get my shuttle bus to Guatemala City (start of the Tikal/Petan journey). Everyone else got off on rout at Antigua so I was the only one going as far as the city. It was still early so I managed to get breakfast and the next bus in the city. There was a metal detector test before boarding the bus like on a plane which surprised me a little. Also at the other end in the Petan province all Guatemalan travellers had to leave the bus for signing forms and the bus was searched for drugs/weapons by guards. Surprised how they had separate rules for tourists and Guatemalans but probably shouldn't have been. It was a very long trip up and the bus and extremely warm. On the way we passed multiple pottery stands and an area with many large greenhouses. We went along a high road with a green valley on one side and a sandstone cliff on the other. There were eagles flying over the valley which were large, black and with white tipped wings. We were above them which was an unusual sight. In the middle of the country it was almost desert with small barren trees, grey dried out grass and cacti. It gradually got greener as we went north and we entered an area with fields, cows, horses and sheep. It would have reminded me of Ireland if not for the animals being different species and the fields being dotted with palm trees as well as broad leaved trees. There was also a lot of limestone around this area. As we went yet further north there were more and more trees and it became like a proper rainforest as soon as we entered the region of Petan. I was surprised by how many villages there were dotted throughout all the rural regions on the way up with one every 15 or 20 minutes. I was also surprised by the number of advertisements and political posters all the way along the road even in the most rural and desert parts. I was overcharged by a taxi upon arrival in the city of Flores which actually took me to the wrong hotel. Someone showed me where the right one was however which was very nice. There can be a lot of money scams in this “wild north” area – which is probably the most touristy region of the country.

Dry warm region Farm lands More trees in Petan

Massive advertising in Guatemala – 2015 Election, Brahva beer, Coca Cola, Pepsi and Tigo mobile

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Day 40 (Tuesday, 18th August) - Tikal I got an 8am shuttle bus with Mary to Tikal (ancient ruins of the Mayan capital city). It was very hot there but tolerable (about 35 degrees Celsius) and even worse in full sun. About 20% of the ruins have been exposed and the other 80% are covered by trees and jungle and are currently not going to be excavated. At the site there are temples (step pyramids), and ruins of separate living quarters for the normal people and the wealthier 2.5%. Commoners had three small houses per family - kitchen, living, and working one so as not to lose everything if the kitchen caused a fire. The oldest temple there was incredible as it had 73 steps and 5 corners. 5 X 73 = 365 and if you minus 5 you get 360. 365 is the number of days in sun calendar and 360 in lunar calendar. Also light from two other temples converges at this one on the summer and winter solstices. Climbed three of the temples, saw 2 upper class housing areas and walked around a lot of the park. The view was amazing from temples and everything looked so flat from up there. Heard other tourist say that there aren't so many natural barriers and it makes you wonder why people make so many. Saw a number of interesting animals there such as a green parrot eating nutmeg, howler and spider monkeys, a black turkey and a baby tarantula (still huge but fairly gentle looking), two black beaked toucans, grey foxes and a mara. Saw some interesting trees and plants also such as nutmeg, avocado, gum tree, and bread nut. The site was fully deserted after a severe drought that was caused by the Mayans cutting down too many trees which altered the local climate drying out the exposed soil. The Mayans had survived as a rather consolidated nation for thousands of years until this mistake which caused them to split into the 20 odd Mayan languages/cultures that exist today. If we are not careful today we are going to make the same fatal mistakes but this time on a global scale and we are definitely not ready or capable of leaving this time (the entire planet). So we better watch out history doesn't repeat itself as each time it does the consequences seem to go up.

Day 41 (Wednesday, 19th August) - Jungle and zip-lining Spent the morning around Flores with Mary and later in the day I went to Ixpanpajul an area in the jungle about 20km from Flores. There I went zip-lining above the lower tree canopy an insane, massively exciting experience. After that I was able to walk around the grounds of the area which were much wilder jungle than at Tikal. Here I heard all the insects and wildlife in the jungle and saw an old jungle stone monument, a giant millipede, many birds, three giant butterfly's, loads of lizards and spiders. In fact everywhere I stepped things ran in the mulch away from my feet and in the trees over my head. I didn't know whether to look up or down as the area was so abundant with life.

Tikal – wealthy living quarters, pattern, buried temple, temples, view from temple, oldest temple

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Day 42 (Thursday, 20th August) - Miles from anywhere I decided to take an even more scenic route on the way back and stop off at a place called Semuc Champey which I had bought bus tickets for back on Tuesday. I was warned on Wednesday that scams are very common in Flores and to be careful. Apparently there was one in the paper from just a few days ago. A man told me that the company responsible is known by everyone locally but the papers won't publish this – leaving them in business. So great I got valid tickets. Overall I quite liked the town of Flores it is a small island accessible by a large bridge and is full of bars, restaurants, a nice market, gift shops, hotels and hostels. It is basically all geared up for tourist’s satisfaction. The one strange thing there that I noticed was huge flocks of swallow like birds that line all the electrical power lines daily making the streets rather messy. It took 8 hours to get to my hostel (Casa El Zapote) in Semuc Champey from Flores and it really wasn’t that far being an expected 5 hours journey. There were a number of strange things about the journey such as the fact that we had to cross a river on a floating raft and that the bus driver went miles of track in order to visit his family in a remote village. After a two hour stop in the town of Coban we changed to a different shuttle bus and went to Semuc Champey - miles down into a beautiful valley in the middle of nowhere. When we got there we got a free pickup to the hostel which first of all wouldn't work just puffing out a load of black smoke and then once it started going up a hill it cut out (and rolled back slightly) ironically right after someone said “wouldn't it be bad of it cut out”. It is not something I am going to forget any time soon. I was happy to get to the hostel (in one piece) and get some good food. I was really looking forward to the next day though.

Journey in Zip-line course Jungle walk Jungle stone monument

Floating raft going across a river Detour Fields near (approx. 20km from) Semuc Champey

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Day 43 (Friday, 21st August) - Semuc Champey Luckily I had bumped into a great bunch of people from Europe and Canada around my own age the day before and hung out with them for the day exploring Semuc. We decided to start off with the Semuc pools and if we had time get a tour of the caves. We first went to a viewing point of the pools and view was incredible. The water was bright turquoise in a valley between two cliffs covered in dense forest. On the way down to them we saw a yellow snake and a tarantula’s burrow which was the size of a small rabbit burrow. Once we got down to the pools we couldn’t wait to go swimming as it was warm out. The water was crystal clear and an ideal temperature. Each of the pools was part of a flowing river but were still and flat joined by little waterfalls in a step formation. At the start there was also a cornered off area where there was some water that went underneath the whole thing into an underground river beneath us. It was amazing how the water had split, some taking a higher route filling each pool in the river and some taking the lower route underground into the unknown. Sadly apparently two people fell in 4 years ago and the bodies were never found so that is why it was cornered off. We later decided to swim further down in some slow flowing water. We never went to the caves but I don't regret anything about it whatsoever. It was a truly great day and we ended it with a great meal and some drinks and talked until around 11pm.

Day 44 (Saturday, 22nd August) - Antigua My alarm woke me up at 4am as I had to get a 5am bus for Antigua on my way back to Lake Atitlan. Felt pretty exhausted but had had such great days. It was a long uncomfortable pickup truck journey from the hostel to our bus as it didn’t even have a hand rail to hold on to safely stand and the road was too bumpy to sit down. I was delighted to get to the bus and fell asleep for sections of the journey back. There was again really nice scenery on the way and we arrived in Antigua by about 3pm. Did a lot of walking around the town to try and get a feel of it and found my hostel Captain Tom and a nice local place for eating opposite. Saw pieces of Indiana Jones and the lost Ark and Hunger Games 1 and got a good night sleep. View from the porch of the hostel of Antigua’s old buildings at night was a really nice scene.

Scenes around Semuc Champey (Including lower down the river and the underground river)

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Day 45 (Sunday, 23rd August) - Back to IMAP I wanted to pop into the village of San Marcus on the way back and take part in a cacao ceremony someone had mentioned in San Pedro but didn't have enough money on me to do it. Instead I had to go straight from there to Pana, Santiago and to IMAP. On pickup back to IMAP surprised that two police officers were also using it. Met a new American volunteer when I returned (rest were away) who had baked some great bread. He was travelling the world in order to study and learn about Permaculture and we had a good evening with both Chico and Andrea calling over. Day 46 (Monday, 24th August) - Passport issue Spent most of day trying to sort out getting my new passport as it still hadn't arrived. Was late for lunch and Andrea luckily had something left over for me. We working on making a new terrace of plants and watered others as the drought was continuing. Day 47 (Tuesday, 25th August) - Same old Again I was working on the passport mess and the terraces. I learnt a lot more about what plants are weeds and what aren't. Also sorted out a herb garden by spreading compost and mulch on it.

Day 48 (Wednesday, 26th August) - Money and guns Got somewhere with passport this day being given my options since the main one wouldn't arrive on time. Was working on terraces and mulching most of day. Also saw a huge bright green stick insect (picture on Day 17). Got more money delivered this day for the rest of my stay just happening to bump into the person passing it on to me a day early in town. Despite everything I had done I had economised a lot along the way and given the value of things here actually spent very little. It was strange day in San Lucas Tolimán as there was an evangelical speech going on in the street and there were a few intimidating looking individuals around including a few non-uniform men with shotguns. I went back swiftly to IMAP on a pick-up truck as (for the first/only time) I had a bad feeling about sticking around there for any longer. Day 49 (Thursday, 27th August) - Rain and Relief Finally managed to make some real progress in obtaining a short term passport, as it had been really bothering me since Antigua (Day 44) when I suddenly found out it wouldn’t be coming. We transplanted chia and amaranth plants into the new terrace we had been preparing over the last few days and had another pizza making event that afternoon which was great. Later in the evening it rained for the first time in weeks which was great for the plants. There was also very strong thunder which seemed to rattle the dishes in the kitchen it was so close.

San Lucas Tolimán (a nice traditional town 4km from IMAP) – including road in and church

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Day 50 (Friday, 28th August) - Precious soil Passport finally arrived and was sorted. Yes!! We finished the terraces and had an interesting discussion with Neil about making and maintaining good quality soil. For example things like mulch, less disturbance of soil, compost, having trees present, buying local organic produce, limiting use of paper, making local fungal/bacterial or fermented composts, not having animals graze one site for too long, slowing water loss through land, covering from sun etc. Day 51 (Saturday, 29th August) - Cerro de Oro In the morning we all went for a walk with Chico and the others to a small nearby extinct volcano called Cerro de Oro (Peak of Gold). Its peak is completely missing and it is a sacred mountain to local Mayan people. We saw a bonfire ceremonial site, a number of carved stone statues, Mayan writing on stones and a little square hole next to a carving of a face which was believed to be some kind of sacred window. The views were also amazing from above the lake at this altitude. We could clearly see some issues though like the pollution (eutrophication) of the lake (long lines of orange algae), and the contrast between the poor and the rich in Cerro de Oro town (villas right next to corrugated shakes). A huge eagle sored around our heads which was also stunning. Later stayed around San Lucas for a bit and we had a meeting at one of the Permaculturist’s houses. It was great to see how beautifully integrated Permaculture was into his home. Ate a traditional tamale (a food I grew quite fond of) from the local market and got a late tuk tuk back to IMAP. They stop at only 7 pm.

Way up and down

Views from the top

Bonfire site, stone statues, and the sacred window

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Day 52 (Sunday, 30th August) – The Cacao Ceremony Today I decided to attend one of the weekly cacao ceremonies in San Marcos by Keith Wilson (the chocolate shaman) to see what it was all about. I had breakfast with Chico in the morning and managed to have a proper conversation with him in Spanish and then started on my journey from Santiago to Pana and then San Marcos. Picked up some souvenirs in Pana and was slightly late arriving to the ceremony but luckily it hadn't started at that stage so it was fine. It cost 200Q and extra cacao sweets for 10Q. It was interesting, a very different viewpoint again with an emphasis on having fun and accepting and becoming one with energies around us from the earth. Some people became very emotional whereas others (including myself) just felt warm, relaxed and receptive. Cacao is in fact very healthy and is the raw form of chocolate before it is heated which destroys many of the natural compounds and caffeine is removed. It is can “help” remove blood clots and blockages, reduce likelihood of sunburn, kill stomach parasites, kill tooth decaying bacteria etc. but should not be considered before conventional medical treatments. Can also have negative effects if one has a weak heart as has very high caffeine levels (like coffee) and typically increases heart beat by 20%. It is also not recommended for those with diabetes or those taking antidepressants as this can result in blood sugar problems and migraines respectively. While generally completely harmless to humans at the dosage we had it can apparently kill many animals such as cows, horses and parrots. I have heard to never feed dogs chocolate before and this is definitely true. Keith believes that huge conscious shifts are coming up and necessary before a public ET landing between the years 2025 and 2033. He teaches an attitude of appreciation for negative events as well as positive in order for acceptance and a removal of drama from life i.e. create a better flow in life. My life definitely did have a better flow afterwards – that day anyway. It finished at around 5:30pm and the boats had stopped leaving San Marcos at this time. I ended up getting a place on a private boat however to Pana since they had a few extra seats and I just paid the general price. Then in Pana I got the very last boat of the day back to Santiago. The usual pick-ups trucks in Santiago had finished passing IMAP so being full of energy I started to walk back the 14km as it was getting dark and had a definite feeling that I could get a lift on route. Thought this was probably a better idea than looking in the dark for accommodation in Santiago since as far as I saw during my stay the rural areas are very safe and the local people very helpful – it’s in cities and at tourist attractions that scams and robberies tend to take place. Sure enough after less than 10 minutes of walking a big political van for holding large crowds stopped for me completely empty. They were playing a tune like an ice cream truck so at first I didn't have a clue what it was. They were passing directly by IMAP and took me the whole way refusing any payment. In fact I would consider it a far safer smoother journey than by the general pick-up trucks earlier in the day. When I got in to IMAP Keith (volunteer) was cooking and had made enough for a few people so it was completely ideal. Day 53 (Monday, 31st August) - Fermenting compost This was my last full day at IMAP which felt really strange and Mary had a nice goodbye celebration with the local school children. I was working with some of the others making fermenting compost at the time which needed a total of 20 bags of general compost to make it but Mary kept some cake for us which was really appreciated. The compost needed to be mixed with lime, manure/green leafy waste, mulch and a mix of warmed yeast and panela. We added these in layers in order to make it balanced and made it a cube shaped pile since this works best as fermentation happens from the centre out. Went to Andreas' house to buy something for my family at home and got a really pleasant goodbye from her and Chico. Also got a very nice goodbye from all my volunteer friends as well.

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Day 54 (Tuesday, 1st September) - Departure Left IMAP in the morning and had what felt like a happy farewell. Feel I have really learnt so much and benefitted much from the whole experience. Got a taxi with Mary to Santo Tomas which wasn't as simple as it sounds. Firstly there were anti-presidential demonstrations going on all over the country so we had to go on small back roads to try and avoid it passing through a nice yellow sandstone region. Then taxi was also over heating meaning we had to stop and start the driver was pouring watering on it. Also the driver didn't know where Santo Tomas was so it look a little longer than expected to get back. When we got back it was raining and the streets were like rivers again. Stayed with my host family for the day and it felt like home away from home as soon as I entered. It was a nice way to leave before returning to Ireland.

How I view things now after the experience

- We alone cannot expect to change the world but anyone can help the world to change - Throughout my 8 week adventure in Guatemala, a country with the highest violent crime rate in Central America, high infant mortality and poverty rates, a place scourged by recent civil war, torn apart by genocide of the Mayan people and still fastened in the firm grips of political oppression and corporate exploitation my views were challenged and altered a lot. It has encouraged me to do a Global Issues course by SUIS and a number of other small activities based around the natural environment and human rights since. From the outside we often hear and see nothing but the poverty, the pain, and the corruption (the problems themselves) but completely miss anything more; like the causes, exceptions or the “hidden” good. While the country is impoverished, wonderfully disorganised and possibly dangerous in cities (mainly just the capital) this is not the one-sided image I left Guatemala with. I see this bleak side as only part of an opalescent multi-aspect situation. Yes I was robbed twenty minutes after arriving but I was always shown great kindness by both a modern Guatemalan family in Santo Tomas and the indigenous locals of Pachitulul; whether patiently talking to me, giving me lifts, giving me gifts!!! or even just a daily smile. I have never seen children so happy, full of life, and honest and adults so helpful, inclusive, and funny as the “poor” (living on less a day than we would get an hour on minimum wage). But many see us “gringos” as just an endless walking pocket of money – the rich foreigners – and never anything more. We live in a world where our lives (conditions and chances) have been constructed around us from birth and we all chose to ignore unpleasant truths seeing our lives here as simply “normal” or “developed”. Both this acceptance and our “unnecessary” excess/waste continue to contribute to unfairness, chaos and cruelty around our world. We also often fail to see how everything is interconnected (as empathised in permaculture), and how our own views and choices are vital but we are still only a small part of a wider world (more common view in traditional beliefs e.g. Mayan). Our modern practices of mass production, trade agreements, corporate power and often manipulated, passive, blind or demoralised publics leads not only to shocking economic inequality, and devastating loss of life (morbidity and mortality) for people but also seeps out further into the natural world creating a catastrophic slam-dunk against the environment. As illustrated recently in global warming debates if we mistreat one and other the environment will suffer in the process and if the environment is damaged this will further negatively impact upon us “all”. Inequality which exists today is one of the biggest problems and “preventable” causes of poverty. Just to throw out some “shocking” statistics - the wealthiest 300 people in the world have more than the other 3 billion, the first world takes 8-10 times more money from the developing world each year than it gives in aid, 1000s of refugees die every single year from being denied entry, forcibly imprisoned or being “deterred” from entering first world countries, and we have caused both global warming and what scientists have now classed as a wildlife extinction event rivalling that caused by an ice age, a solar flare or a meteor impact.

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But these are numbers and facts, not life. Seeing the real lived experiences is always something far more than numbers on a page can convey. There is a complex collage of good and bad in our world with such amazing kindness, empathy, beauty and optimism on one side and violence, hate, sickness and loss of hope on the other. There is always light and dark, yin and yang, good and bad, moral and immoral, and the confusing grey areas between the two. We can debate morals and technicalities forever – is it sometimes right to steal?, does drug trafficking warrant violent mass imprisonment?, are exploitative jobs better than none?, should poor people demand money?, is it right for “fair” system (democratic) politics to half life expectancies in some areas?, is mass production right?, should we all be animal lovers or vegetarians?, are traditional tribal lifestyles really “better”?, is a passive onlooker really any better than a perpetrator? etc…… But in the end someone’s situation which we allow to exist is the largest determinant of the kinds of choices people can and will make and the sad truth is we actually already have (or can make) everything needed for everyone alive today to live equal, healthy and fulfilling lives. Simple kindness is what we all need - I was wisely warned before going that as a volunteer I would gain far more from the experience than I could possibly give to locals and that simply positively impacting upon a single individual would make it all worthwhile. None of us are perfect but the smallest step in the right direction is so important and really does matter. Willingness to help, positivity, promotion of equality and the condemning of abuse is something we can all do and is really important. In medicine and health supportive positive interventions and attitudes have been shown to work better than forced or critical approaches for weight loss and many other conditions involving lifestyle changes. Managers usually economically benefit from treating workers well, teams with a racial diversity of members are better problem solvers and computer programmes have shown that people with kinder characteristics (sharing, giving, forgiving etc.) are statistically more likely to be successful. We all have much to gain from just being nice, looking out for others, seeing the widespread good and beauty in the world and discouraging the hatred, cruelty and violence that are so “normal” in both the “developed” and “undeveloped” world. We need to “think global but act local”. Whatever we can do to nudge views in the right direction is the most amazing thing……. and everyone can do something – just why not aim for the stars!!! In Guatemala what I saw ancient temples, some of the most amazing monuments and natural beauty spots in the world but nothing was more important than seeing the true “poor” – the ignorant bystander.

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Facts used throughout this document: (Excluding the section on views above)

Guatemala has a short form to fill upon entering the country allowing a 3 month stay before needing renewal and simply moving to another neighbouring country for a few weeks renews it.

No physical Visa is needed for entry for us Irish, those from the states and most other countries (except a couple such as Russia and some Asian countries).

Guatemalans need Visas to enter most other countries especially the United States.

Guatemala City still has the street design developed by the Spanish after concurring in the 1500s.

Guatemala City has an estimated current population of about 4 million people and is split into 26 different zones.

The euro is a very valuable currency in Guatemala with 1 euro generally being equal to about 8 Quetzales (Guatemalan currency) and 1 US dollars being equal to about 7.5 Quetzales.

There are three cell phone companies in Guatemala - Tigo, Claro and Movistar.

1000’s of Guatemalans who have worked “illegally” in the US, sometimes for 20 years or more (to provide for their families) have been sent home in recent years.

Working abroad is the second biggest provider of income in Guatemala after coffee production.

An estimated 95% of people have faith in a God in Guatemala and the vast majority being Catholic and Protestant and a smaller minority in rural areas still believe in ancient Mayan religions.

The Spanish destroyed Mayan culture and records when they arrived and concurring Guatemala in 1524.

Many of the buses in Guatemala are old ones no longer deemed fit for use in the US which have been painted up. The more colourfully painted ones are called chicken buses and are used mainly by locals.

There are a number of different police here - the general police who wear black uniforms, the tourist police in yellow, the PMC who are road traffic police and private security units. They are all usually armed.

Ireland doesn't have an official Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade in Guatemala but have a Honary Consulate for Guatemala (Dr.Roberto Ríos) in Guatemala City.

Road venders and performers (including children) are quite common in Guatemala City.

A prolonged dry sunny spell during the rainy season is called a canícula See - http://www.revuemag.com/2012/08/whats-the-canicula-in-guatemala/

Coffee provides the largest source of income in Guatemala. Two types of coffee are grown - Robusta and the more expensive Arabica.

80% of the countries agricultural land is distributed between about 5% of the population who mainly grow Arabica coffee. Out of the other 20% (owned by poorer farmers) 90% is also being used for coffee production.

Guatemala has a variety of climates with temperate weather in the highlands (2000 metres above sea level) and warmer at lower levels – ideal for coffee at 1500 metres.

There are 33 volcanos in Guatemala.

A small town in Guatemala called Ciudad Vieja (old city) was buried under ash like in Pompeii. The city there now was built on top of it and the dirt track running through its centre is composed of that ash. The original city is very old probably dating back to the 1520/30s.

The Ceiba tree is a genus of tree (10-20 species) many native to Guatemala that all form massive trunks and crown spreads. The Ceiba has been declared the national tree of the country. Its crown can become so large that whole markets used to be held under it and it has a special place in the centre of villages. The tree was sacred to the Mayans who believed the universe is structured in three levels which communicate through their sacred Ceiba. Its branches were also believed to allow the opening of 13 heavens.

There are 96 species of toad and frog in Guatemala 22% of which are endemic to here, 42% of the newts here are endemic.

Central America is the most biologically diverse area in the world housing a whopping 14% of all species of animal in the world yet the area is only 0.1% of the world's land mass.

Guatemala City has a mini Eifel tower and one of the oldest churches in Guatemala which was built on top of an older Mayan site.

There was civil war in Guatemala in the 1960s following a disagreement between a progressive Guatemalan president and the United Fruit Company. This company was backed up by the CIA leading to a coup and a split in the Guatemalan army as a result. Those supporting the new US appointed president and opposing guerrilla forces.

The civil war led to about 200,000 people being either killed/missing. Later discovered to be genocide of the native Maya.

An American priest working in Guatemala named Stanley Rother was murdered during the war because he refused to stop helping rural villages. He has since been declared a Servant of God by Rome and is possibly going to be appointed a Saint for his sacrifice.

There was a president election in Guatemala on 6st of September 2015 with 14 parties competing. The elections have been held every 4 years since the end of the 1960s civil war and are “democratic” but usually “predictable” in outcome and have led to many poor leaders.

The main language spoken in Guatemala is Spanish, and English and other European languages are quite rare except for tourist locations. There are also still over 20 Mayan languages spoken in rural Guatemala all emerging from a single language the Mayan people spoke at their capital of Tikal after droughts forced them to leave and split up centuries ago. Two of these were spoken near where I was at Lake Atitlan – K'iche and Tz'utujil. See – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTByrFmp1IM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpDE9z1Yy68 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mayan_languages

Tikal’s severe droughts were apparently caused by the Mayans cutting down to many trees.

Free trade agreements created by the first world have pushed third world countries into poverty and led to modern day “slavery” in large first world exploitative businesses and sweatshops etc. (See Day 32 for full explanation)