Clark-Peterek Belize

Tribute to Andy Palacio

 It has been a year since Andy Palacio, a cultural icon in Belize and world-renowned musician, unexpectedly passed away.   On Saturday, January 17th, people from all over Belize joined together in Punta Gorda to pay tribute to this great man.  The ceremony started with several traditional spiritual Garifuna rituals which included singing and dancing.  Students from local schools recited poetry and also sang songs.  Members from the Garifuna Collective performed, and the celebration of Andy Palacio’s life went on late into the night.  It was a beautiful celebration, and we are so honored to have been a part of this special night. 

 

 

 

St. Benedict R.C. School

Last week work began in the St. Benedict R.C. School Computer Lab.  With the help of John, I set up 5 computers in school library.  Last week Standard III students began using the computers, learning about the computers and how they work, as well as learning to play educational games.  The students have had a great time on the computers and can’t wait to come back every week. 

St. Benedict Butterflies

The St. Benedict Butterflies Girls Club started back up on Tuesday, January 13th with some fun and games.  We start out every meeting with some time outside, and the girls have been having a blast with the jump ropes, hula-hoops, volleyballs, and futbols that were purchased with funds from Kids to Kids, a great non-profit that works with Peace Corps Volunteers to help meet the needs of communities.    

After some fun outside, we began a two week collage project.  The girls searched through magazines for pictures and words that represented who they were, their likes, and interests and assembled the pictures in the shape of a face.  The old Belize Visitor’s Magazines were a hit, as the girls tore through these, excited to find pictures of Belize.  The girls were really creative, and it was so much fun seeing which pictures they included in their collages.  The collages are finally finished, they turned out great, and the girls had lots of fun. 

 

 

 

 

Antigua, Guatemala

After some time in San Salvador, it was time to begin the journey back to Belize.  After a day of   touring the capital city, we boarded the King Quality bus bound for Guatemala City early the next morning.  The ride across the country was quite pleasant.  The seats reclined and had foot rests.  We were even served a meal and refreshments.  We crossed the border into Guatemala with no problems a few hours after leaving San Salvador.  After a five hour trip, we arrived at the bus station in Guatemala City. 

 

We have been to Guatemala City before, and we feel pretty comfortable in and around the city.  We took a taxi to different bus station, and we boarded a bus headed for Antigua.  After a trip through the streets of Guatemala City picking up passengers also bound for Antigua, we were off to last stop in our trip around Central America.

We visited Antigua last March during Semana Santa, and we highly recommend that you visit this beautiful colonial city!  The capital of the Department of Sacatepequez, in the highlands, Antigua has a population around 35,000 .  Founded in 1543, La Antigua, which  means “Old Guatemala,” and was the third capital city of the country.  After several earthquakes, the capital city was relocated to its present day location, Guatemala City.

The weather in Antigua was beautiful, and we spent our time touring the city, relaxing in the park, browsing shops, taking pictures in the market, and enjoying some delicious food.  We said goodbye to this great city and continued our trip back to Belize.  We had a wonderful time on our return trip to Antigua, and we look forward to future visits. 

We took a shuttle back to Guatemala City and loaded the Litegua bus to Puerto Barrios.  Once in Puerto Barrios, we stopped by Immigration and loaded a boat headed across the Gulf of Honduras back to Punta Gorda.

After 5 border crossings, 9 buses, 5 taxis, 3 collectivos, and 2 boat rides later,we are home.  Now it is back to work.  We have lots of exciting things happening with our projects, we look forward sharing them with you. 

Our trip around Central America was so much fun, and we truly enjoyed ourselves.  Thanks so much to Ginnie and Anthony and Bryan for the great travel trips and info! 

San Salvador

After some time on the beach we headed back to San Salvador.  We reached the city mid morning after a bus ride from La Libertad, dropped our stuff off at Hotel Happy House, and headed out on a tour of the capital city. 

Founded in 1525 by Spanish conquerer Pedro de Alvarado, San Salvador was originally located 30km northeast of where it is today.  With a population of 1.8 million people this capital city is the second largest city in Central America.

We started out the day at Museo Nacional de Antropologia, a wonderful museum with great exhibits on the culture and history of El Salvador.  Next was the Museo de Arte de El Salvador, The MARTE has a beautiful collection, and we enjoyed the Salvadorian Art Exhibit, Joan Mirò Exhibit, and the Monumento a la Revolución.  After the Art Museum we walked to the Monumento a El Salvador del Mundo, or "Monument to the Saviour of The World," one of the most recognizable monuments in El Salvador (pictured here). Next we traveled to the Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador, the final resting place of Monseñor Oscar Romero, a hero in El Salvador.  Our day ended with a trip to the Mertocenter, the largest shopping mall in Central America. 

We had a great time in San Salvador and wish we had more time to explore this great city.  We are now on our way back to Belize via a stop in Antigua.   

Playa El Tunco

We left La Palma early Sunday morning on the 119, a local bus headed for the capital.  The 84km trip to San Salvador took about 2 1/2 hours, as we stopped along the way to pick up travelers and vendors, who were selling everything from ice cream, cold drinks, candy, fresh strawberries, and even medication. 

We unloaded at the Terminal Oriente Bus Station and waited for Marcelo, our taxi driver.  Marcelo is the "go-to man" in San Salvador.  Referred to us by our PTO in Belize who served as a Volunteer in El Salvador and later worked as an APCD, Marcelo is trustworthy and dependable.  He is often called upon by El Salvador Peace Corps Volunteers in and around the city, and he is always ready to help.  Marcelo loaded us into his taxi and took us to our next destination, Playa El Tunco on the western Pacific coast of El Salvador. 

The western Pacific coast is known as the La Costa del Balsamo for the basalm trees that produce the unique aromatic oil, Balsam of Peru.  Thousands of families once worked in the basalm trade business that dates back to pre-Hispanic times, however today only around 400 men harvest basalm.  La Costa del Balsamo is known to have the best surfing waves in Central America. 

La Libertad is about 30km south of San Salvador and is well known around the world for Punta Roca, the best wave in Central America.  Just down the road from Libertad, about 10km, is the beach-side community Playa El Tunco.  A favorite of Salvadorians, El Tunco is quiet and not as crowded as La Libertad with beautiful black volcanic sand beaches.  When we arrived on Sunday morning, the beach was packed with families enjoying the warm weather. 

We stayed at the Totuga Surf Lodge, a nice and quiet place with beautiful grounds and a pool.  We spent our time in El Tunco relaxing on the beach, laying in hammocks, swimming in the Pacific Ocean, and watching surfers ride waves throughout the day.  Playa El Tunco truly is amazing, and it was hard to leave this beautiful place. 

We are hanging out in San Salvador, exploring the capital city before we begin our journey back to Belize.   

La Palma

We woke up early Friday morning and loaded Transportes Casasola, an express bus headed for La Entrada.  Once in La Entrada we boarded Transportes Sultan Express and made our way towards the border of Honduras and El Salvador.  A few hours later we stepped off the bus in the colorful town of La Palma.

Surrounded by mountains, 10 km south of Honduras, lies this artist community in northern El Salvador in the department of Chalatenango.  Well known Salvadorian artist Fernando Llort moved to La Palma in the early 70´s for inspiration.  He started an artisan's co-op, La Semilla de Dios, working with the residents of La Palma to create his bright simple images, and developed an art movement that represents El Salvador around the world. Today 75% of the population in La Palma is involved in producing this unique art, on everything from wooden tables and chairs, crosses, bowls, boxes, seed bracelets, key chains, napkin holders, and clothingg.  Art is everywhere in La Palma.  Storefronts are brightly painted, murals adorn walls, and even the telephone poles and park benches display the art this community is so well known for. 

We have spent our time in La Palma walking around the town, taking pictures, eating pupusas, enjoying the beautiful weather in the park, and browsing the many artisan shops.  We visited La Semillo de Dios as well as the gallery of another famous Salvadorian artist Alfredo Linares.  Our visit to La Palma has been wonderful, and we are so glad that we decided to stop here.

Next we are headed south towards the Pacific for some time on the black sand beaches of El Salvador´s coast. 

Happy New Year!

After a few days at home in Punta Gorda, we packed our bags again and headed south.  We boarded Requena´s Charter across the Gulf of Honduras to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.  From Puerto Barrios we headed towards Honduras on the Litegua Bus.  After a bus stop, a border crossing, and a few taxis later, we finally arrived in Copan Ruinas, Honduras.  

Copan Ruinas is located in western Honduras near the Guatemala Border.  Copan Ruinas is a beautiful little town with cobblestone streets and very backpacker friendly.  We stayed at the Iguana Azul, a very affordable and clean hostel with hot water.  The staff was friendly and happy to help.  We celebrated the New Year on the streets of Copan Ruinas with the crowds, popping fireworks, singing, and cheering.  Residents of Copan Ruinas love fireworks and New Years was like no other.  The celebrating went on through the night and into the morning.  

On New Year's Day we hiked to the Copan Ruinas Archaeological Park, about 1 km outside of the town.  The weather was beautiful and the walk alongside the road was very pleasant.  Declared a heritage humanity site by UNESCOin 1980, Copan has been referred to as one of the most artistically advanced and elaborate of all of the ancient Maya Cities.  We spent the day touring the site and museum.  The main plaza was quite remarkable and the many carved stelae and altars were impressive. The Hieroglyphic Stairway was amazing, displaying original ancient carvings.   The Museum houses original sculptures and carvings and was definitely one of the highlights of the day.  We had a great time exploring the Ruins. 

We spent the rest of the day walking around Copan Ruinas, enjoying the wonderful weather and good food.  Copan Ruinas was a great way to begin our trip through Central America.  We are now hanging out in the artist community, La Palma, in Northern El Salvador.

Christmas in Texas

This year we spent the Christmas Holidays in Texas.  John and I drove all over Central and South Texas, went to a wedding, saw a movie, went shopping, ate some good food, and spent some time with our friends and family.  It was a great trip, and we only wish it lasted longer so we could see more people.  Thanks to our friends and family for taking such good care of us and being so patient with us on such a short trip.  Next up Central America!