After Lunch, we all went on a hike up one of the several mountains surrounding the town. At 2 o'clock we set out in foggy weather, making it a cool and relaxing journey. Our hiking guide led us through a poorer neighborhood to get to the trail. When even recognized some children in the area from working there earlier in the week, and one even decided to join us on our hike. The trail was extremely narrow, forcing us to walk in a single-file line. The trail had many leaves and lose sand, causing many of us to lose our balance. The trip up the mountain took nearly an hour, and by the end everyone was winded. At the top of the mountain, there was a small store set up for tourists like us. After some gift shopping, admiring the view, and some picture taking, we started back down. the trip down was much easier, and only took a half hour.
With our hike over, most of us went back to the hostel to kill time waiting for dinner. After dinner, we went to 7 o'clock mass in the mission church. Even we could understand very little, we all gained from the experience. All of the Guatemalans sang in unison, despite their lack of song books in the church. It was also interesting to see the small differences between an American and a Guatemalan mass. One of the more noticeable examples was the way they received communion. In Guatemala, there is no option to receive the host in your hand, the Eucharistic Minister delivers the host directly to your mouth. When mass ended, we all went back to the hostel.
Being in Guatemala did not stop us from keeping up with sports going on in America. Back at the hostel, everyone got together and watched the duration of the playoff game that was on this night. We were all delighted by a good game with many nail biting moments. This capped off the day nicely, with everyone having fun cheering for their team. It was the end of a nice day free from work, and a great start to the second half of our trip.
-Sean Whitty
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