Thanksgiving Day - after the volcano

Content by Joanne

Yes, that is a puff of smoke on the second volcano!

After our volcano experience, we drove on to our homebase Tecpan, making a quick stop for cash, pharmaceuticals (in a store complete with armed security), and ice-cream! On the way, we passed the auto-parts center of Guatemala - Chimaltenango City. Not necessarily a place that I would recommend for a longer stay, but interesting nonetheless. The scenery was rolling hills, trees (with the occasional palm-tree) and lots of chicken-busses belching smoke.

On arrival at Tecpan and our hotel at the Hotel Villa de Don Pancho, and we are quickly ushered in to the large eating area for our delayed lunch.

After lunch we met our families. I can not remember all their names right now - I am just getting the team names down.

The first family includes the father and his wife, along  with one grown daughter, a young daughter, and a young grandson. His house was washed away by hurricane Agatha in May, at which time he lost a son and daughter (the mother of the grandson we met) to the storm. During this catastrophic day, his son-in-law (the father of the grandson we met and husband of the daughter who perished), was severely injured and now on crutches and unable to return to work in the fields for 12-18  months. Imagine...

The second family was represented by the father. His family includes 6 children and 5 grandchildren, and they too lost their house in Agatha. He gave a bit of a speech in Spanish about how thankful he was. Our interpreter did not try to keep up, as the father was quite emotional and everyone understood the meaning. There were very few dry eyes in the room.

We then had some cake and soda, followed by a meet-and-greet with the families. The children were eventually drawn out by seeing their pictures on various cameras, and they even got to take a few shots.

It is going to be excellent....