by
Website Editor
| Sep 05, 2010
The drive to Coban is about 4-1/2 hours - it was soon evident that Guatemala is inordinately beautiful. The landscapes are stunning. Guatemala has the second largest indigenous population in the Americas and we were heading to a remote village where ancient indigenous culture survives.
The torrential rains were supposed to have spoiled our plan to hike at the Biotopo del Quetzal, a reserve that was established to protect the native habitat. The well groomed trails led us up through spectacular waterfalls. Our heart rates were up but so were our spirits. If this park is any example of what we will find of natural beauty in Guatemala we are in for a treat! This park is spectacular!
We arrived at our hotel about dinner time. After a brief unload, Mike, Deb (our team leader) and Amalia gave us a briefing on what to expect and explained how our project came to be. Medical Teams is amazing on how they work as a support to help the people they serve to achieve their needs and goals with our help, not by us taking the lead and telling them what they need or how to do things our way. This is their country and the Medical Teams International philosophy and wisdom is that we are visitors holding a supporting hand that can't be there forever. We know from other trips that it is an exchange, we all leave gaining more than we give. A few rain drops hit our windshield on the drive home but Monday morning we were once again blessed to awaken to sunshine!