From Bob Walz

Day 6 ñ Final full day in San Ignacio, Belize. Much of the morning was spent visiting and discussing potential Rotary projects. One of the missions of a Rotary Group Study Exchange is to identify potential projects that Rotary Clubs in our District (which includes 68 Rotary Clubs in eastern Minnesota, from the Iowa border to Pine City and west-central Wisconsin, from Ellsworth to Hayword) could co-sponsor with a Rotary Club in the countries that we are visiting, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras.

There was no shortage of potential projects as all three countries are developing nations, with Honduras the poorest Spanish-speaking country in the western hemisphere. I was staying with Andre Lopez, a former American who had retired in Belize, the San Ignacio President-elect and their ìgo toî guy on projects. In fact he was just back from a Project Fair in Costa Rica where those seeking funding for their projects meet with potential funders. Andre gave me a list of projects, from assisting schools to finding a source for test strips to identify diabetes among the locals, Mayans, like American Indians have a very high rate of diabetes. We also visited several potential projects.

In the afternoon Andre gave a couple of the team members and me a tour of greater San Ignacio. We first stopped for lunch at Clarissa Falls for more typical Belizean food and then we were off to Spanish Outlook, a large Mennonite community. We took a short cut to Spanish outlook by way of crossing a river via a hand-cranked ferry. That, in itself, was something to write home about. However, what we saw on the other side of the river was amazing. Here was a town of 10,000 that reminded me more of Iowa than it did of anything we had seen in Central America to date. There were large farm buildings, modern stores and homes, paved roads, and everything was clean. Andre told us this was were people from Belize often went to get parts or supplies because their stores had the largest selection, best prices and services in the area. We spent most of the afternoon there, stopping at a dairy to sample the best ice cream available.

Day 7 ñ We left for Guatemala at about 8 a.m. We arrived at the border an hour later. Here we would transfer to a tourism mini-bus arranged for us by the Guatemalan Rotarians, as their were no Rotary Clubs in the northern Guatemala to pick us up or meet us there. The tour bus took us to Yaxha, a rather remote, but large Mayan ruin. It was the largest and most breathtaking Mayan ruins we had seen to date. Fifteen hundred years ago, more than 10,000 Mayans called it home. The architecture and knowledge of science and mathematics of this ancient civilization left us in awe. Most of the Mayan ruins we had seen and would see on our trip had large drainage ponds to capture rainwater for use during the dry season. Such systems were not needed here as the site was built next to two large lakes which we viewed from the tops of the temples. We climbed up the stairs of temple and from there we could see the layout of the city.

We spent most of the day there before heading to the twin towns of Santa Elena and Flores. Santa Elena is the largest city in northern Guatemala, a city of more than 25,000. Flores is an a small town of 2,000 located on a island and very much a tourist destination. Without Rotarians there to host us, we spent a night at a hotel.

Day 8 ñ We left for Tikal at 5 a.m. In most of the promotional material you see on Guatemala, you will here Guatemala called the land of endless spring (at least in the highland areas where the weather is near perfect year round) where you can experience the spirit of the Mayan people.Ý And no place in the world will you find that more than at Tikal, the largest and most famous Mayan ruin in the world. You should not visit Guatemala or Belize, without including a trip to Tikal. It is that impressive!

Tikal once had a population of more than 100,000. We spent most of the day there, climbing to the tops of several temples, including Temple 4, the tallest of Mayan Temple in the world. From there you could see the tops of several other temples and buildings, including several that had not been made recovered, only visible from there because of the dense jungle that now covers most of the temple and hides it from view from the jungle floor.

We could easily have spent more time at Tikal, but we had to return to our hotel in Santa Elena, get our suitcases and travel to Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomas, Guatemalaís largest port on the Caribbean. It took us about 5 hours to get to our destination, an ìOn the Runî gasoline station store in Puerto Barrios. We met about a have dozen Rotarians who took us out to a restaurant for dinner at about 9 p.m. Late night dinners would become the norm for the next week.

Day 9 ñ The Puerto Barrios Rotarians had arranged to take us to Livingston and Akí Tenamit by boat via the Caribbean and Rio Dulce. We arrived at Livingston, located at the mouth of the Rio Dulce. It is a town of former Caribbean slaves, accessible only by boat settled and now a tourist destination. There we were met by Steve Dudenhoefer, a former American who founded Akí Tenamit and other non-governmental organizations to aid the indigenous people of the area. We met him at Buga Mama, a restaurant and training school in Livingston that benefits Akí Tenamit. Steve explained that Akí Tenamit is a non-governmental organization which promotes sustainable development of rural, mostly indigenous Mayans. We walked the beaches and were given a tour of Livingston by Steve. From there we returned to the boat for our trip up the Rio Dulce to AkíTenamit.

We returned to Puerto Barrios exhausted from one solid week of being on the go from early morning to late a night, either touring their country, visiting existing projects or learning about new projects. After dinner I attended a meeting of community leaders from Izabel Lake Department (i.e. state) to discuss another major sustainable development project for Rio Dulce/Lake Izabel (Lake Izabel is the largest lake in Guatemala, located on Rio Dulce). We met with the newly appointed governor of Lake Izabel, a classic politician who offered moral support, but little else.

Day 10 ñ A Day to Recovery. The morning began with a visit to a church, health clinic and school. It was the first test of my newly acquired Spanish skills when I spoke with a group of teachers for almost an hour in Spanish. The school had no library, no computers (only a broken down typewriter), inadequate classrooms and facilities, but dedicated teachers and students that wanted to learn. Unfortunately, mandatory education is only through the 6th grade and many drop out long before the 6th grade to help their families earn enough money to survive. I think the Puerto Barrios Rotarians sensed that we were exhausted. They took us to a SPA for backrubs and, in the case of the women members, manicures and pedicures. They also took us to the Amatique Bay Resort for the afternoon to swim and rest. After swimming in their pools and in the Caribbean Sea, I found a hammock to catch up on my sleep.

Day 11 ñ Trip to Guatemala City. We left early the next morning for what should have been a 5 hour drive to Guatemala City. We stopped at Poptun for a bathroom break and to refresh. The clerk there was the daughter of the owner. She lived in Eden Prairie had returned home for a couple months to visit her mom. It made for a friendly visit. The scenery along the way to Guatemala City was very different than what we had experienced to date. Up to this point it was the lush greens of the tropics. It was more desert like between Puerto Barrios and Guatemala City. Along the roads there were many cacti and the trees had lost their leaves as a result of the dry season. About 40 miles from Guatemala City, traffic came to a near stop. We had experienced this before when we encountered trucks bringing sugar cane to be processed. It was different this time. It looked like long caravans of empty trucks and buses. We came to a truck strike.

We were assured that the strike would break up within an hour. Well, an hour passed and nothing changed. We called again. They again assured us the strike would be broken up and asked us to put our luggage back on the bus. They were convinced the bus would leave by 6 p.m. It didnít. So we again called on the cell phone of the Peace Corps woman who had stayed with us, missing an opportunity to take a taxi to safety and a meeting she was to attend in Antigua. This time they offered to send a mini-bus to pick us up. They would get as close to our location, but we would have to walk out. We would have to leave our suitcases on the bus and they would get them to us the next day.

Minutes later, the parking lot of the station-store was closed off and they asking us to leave as they were closing it. Some truck-drivers offered us protection behind the station store. About that time, the driver of the mini-bus arrived.

Day 12 ñ Antigua. The Rotoract, a Rotary organization for younger professionals, were our hosts on our first full day in Guatemala City. Much of the morning was taken up with getting our luggage. Our Rotoract hosts knew that we needed something enjoyable to do and see and they, like the Puerto Barrios Rotarians, made the right decision. They took us to Antigua, the 500-year-old previous capital of Guatemala. We had lunch and a few beers at one of the restaurants, visited a church that contained the relics of Hermano Pedro who had been canonized a saint, visited some of the shops and then we went to the market. We returned that evening, changed and when to the Conference Dinner which included a dance. We got home late that evening.

Day 13 ñ Our presentation and back to Antigua. We attended the plenary sessions of the conference on Friday. Belize, as was pointed out, is English-speaking, so they arranged for live translations using an earphone. There were many speakers. One speaker challenged the group to do more on public relations, marketing Rotary. He went at least 45 minutes over schedule. By the way, there were signs and billboards all over Guatemala City advertising Rotary and its service to the community. We decided to shorten our presentation to 30 minutes. We gave our presentation in Spanish before an audience of 300-400 Rotarians from Central America. I opened with a 7 minute overview of our mission and introduction to our team and team name, Paz y Amistad and how the word Paz itself explained our approach here, to building friendships (amistad) by walking in their shoes (or zapotos) - the A to Z of creating peace.

Day 14 ñ Final day of the conference. We again attended sessions in the morning. We saw video clips of the many Rotary projects in the three countries. Awards were given out and lots of speeches. At about 1 p.m, our team went separate directions. I went to see a Rotary micro bank project in Santa Lucia Milspa Altas, stopping for lunch on the way. I thought I was going to a bank, but instead I learned that this was a loan program, financed by several Rotary Districts, to provide women small loans ($80 to 120) to operate self-sustaining businesses. The women formed organized into groups with names such as ìThe Blessed,î ìFaith and Hope,î and ìCumplidadorasî (or we keep our promises). Each group has 10-20 women in it and has officers, including a treasurer. Saturday was the concluding event of the conference, a major banquet and dance where everyone dressed up. We arrived at the banquet at about 8 p.m. There were beverages and appetizers at each table. Music and dancing started at about 8:30 p.m. The dance floor was full ñ Central Americans like to dance! We had gotten accustomed to having supper late, around 8 or 9 p.m. Tonight, it would be closer to 10:30 p.m before we got served, a little challenging for a diabetic like myself. All night long people we talking, hugging, kissing on the cheek (the custom in Latin America), taking photos, and discussing how Rotary could make a positive difference in the community. These are passionate people, passionate about Rotary, dancing, and seriously wanting to help their communities. I was proud to be part of this International community of Rotarians. I kept thinking that they must find our conference quite boring in comparison.

Next week will be our final week in Guatemala. We will meet with lots of Rotary clubs, sometimes, three in one day (for breakfast, lunch and dinner), visit lots of projects, and make professional visits. We also will go to Lake Atitlan (one of the most beautiful lakes in the country), IRTSA (a Disneyland style park), and a major artisan market in the area. Then on to the final leg of the Group Study Exchange, our trip to Honduras. Following Honduras, part of the team will return to the USA, part will go back to Belize for a couple days of rest and relaxation on one of their beautiful beaches, and I will go on to Costa Rica to meet with more Rotarians, Scout Leaders, Church officials and potential Rotary Projects. Hasta semana proxima, that is, until next week.

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