Lucas: A Day On The River

With little past foreign travel experience I signed up for this trip with the hoping for a gentle introduction into a traveling lifestyle. This trip has done just that, but no amount of preparation could have prepared me for the culture shock I've experienced these past days. The Guatemalan people are so cheerful, accepting and eager to interact with us poor spoken Canadians. Today was a perfect example.

 

We awoke in Rio Dulce at the beautiful Nanajuana hotel, arguably the nicest of the hotels we have stayed at thus far. Nanajuana is located at the head of the Dulce River, which will also be our transportation for the day. Two boats were hired to take us from Rio Dulce to Livingston, with a few stops along the way. First being Castillo de San Felipe de Lara, an armed military fort built to stop pirates of the Caribbean pillaging Spanish riches.

After the fort we enjoyed a leisurely ride to Casa Guatemala, an orphanage that also doubles as a school. Most of the children spend the entire year at this orphanage, some will go home during holidays and school breaks. Our guide said that because some families are so poverty-stricken, the school prefers to keep these kids at school during breaks because of the state of malnourishment that some of these students return to school in. Despite the poverty that most of these kids live in they were so playful and excited to see us that you couldn't help but love them. We had brought pencils and Valentine’s Day cards for the kids, and they seemed overjoyed in receiving even such simple gifts. Even though we had just met them and talked very little, leaving was difficult and filled with lots of hugs and smiles.

Our next stop was at the school of tourism in Aktinamit. Laurel interviewed and translated for one of the students asking her questions about her education and plans for the future. The woman told us how the education system differs from the Canadian one. She explained how students were given education, job options and training based off industry needs.

From Aktinamit we traveled to our end destination, Livingston. Livingston is a beautiful fishing community located on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. The city is bustling with life, energy and phenomenal music. Although we only spent one night in the town, Livingston was one of the most diverse cultures I've seen thus far in Guatemala. The city contains a cultural mix of Garífuna, Afro-Caribbean, Maya and Ladino people.

Lucas Putnam-Rea is a first year Communication Studies student.