For Culver-Stockton College’s Fall 2024 three-week, I went on a twelve-day adventure to Belize and Guatemala as part of the study abroad program. The program took us to Antigua and Flores in Guatemala and South Water Cayes in Belize. During this time, I kept a journal of my experiences. These articles consist of an abridged version of this journal. This is Part 2:
Day 4
This day started by going to a Macadamia nut farm. Here, we learned about the growth, preparation, and uses of the Macadamia nut. The nut goes through multiple phases before it reaches our plate. We got to see the methods and machines they use to complete this process. They even gave us neck-and-face messages and pieces of chocolate.
After the farm, we went to a traditional Mayan cooking class. The class was taught by a Mayan woman and her family. The woman, Erica, taught us how to create her favorite childhood dish. We prepared ingredients, cooked over a fire, and even made our own drinks. This experience taught us a recipe that was important to Guatemalan culture. We were then taken to learn about the special textiles created in Antigua.
We ended the day with a trip to a coffee plantation. We learned about the different kinds of coffee and beans. They took us through the farm where they grow the coffee and let us try the beans straight from the plant. We ended the tour by sampling different coffees that they brewed in-house.
We had dinner on our own again. I went to a local crepes shop. I decided to try a crepe that was made of multiple different kinds of meat. The meal tasted slightly off, but I was so hungry I still ate the entire thing.
Day 5
I woke up on the fifth day extra early to see the sunrise. Sadly, I had to quickly return to my room due to sickness. I had developed food poisoning and spent the rest of the day in bed.
Day 6
We woke up at 3:00am to head to the Guatemalan Airport. We had to leave extra early, so we would miss the city traffic. We waited in the airport for security to open, taking turns watching luggage. Our plane was small, about 20 people, which was always causing me to be nervous. We had a short hour flight before we landed in Flore.
Our new guide, Lusic picked us up to take us to our new hotel, La Casa de Don David. This was the nicest hotel we stayed at. It consisted of multiple cabins, a restaurant, and a patio. Each room had two queen beds and a large bathroom.
We had dinner at a restaurant down the road from our hotel. The restaurant had both a pool and a lake for us to swim in after we ate. The lake had a dock that led to a small house-like structure. The rain had caused the water to come up over the path, but that didn’t stop our fun. We stayed out swimming for hours until we crashed in bed.
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