5 Years of Love

On 10/22 we celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary among our yoga friends in Rishikesh, India.

Dear Patrick,
You are my soul companion on this journey of life. These last 5 years have been the most exciting, interesting, challenging and rewarding of my whole life. You make me see the best in myself and push me to new levels I never thought I was capable of. This world adventure is so magical because I have you to share it with.
I love you more every day.
Amalia

Dear Amalia,
I think you're great too!
Love,
Pat

The Cooper Family visit - Rochester, NY

We were fortunate enough to spend an entire week with our good friends, Chris 'Coop' & Adrienne Cooper and their adorable kids, Bo'jak and Skylar.

The week was filled with non-stop activities such as biking "15 miles on the Erie Canal," voyaging to the base of Niagara Falls aboard Maid of the Mist, baking bread, brewing beer, eating home-cooked meals and garden-fresh veggies...and plenty of toys, toys and more toys. (Thomas the Train songs aplenty :)

It was a blessing for us to be with them. To see their lives and watch the kids grow and learn. We love them dearly and are thankful we could enjoy a gorgeous week in upstate New York. It was of course nice to eat home-cooked meals and do a little laundry where needed as well. ;)

Enjoy a few choice images we captured from our time with them.

Love, patralia (coop & adrienne's nickname for us as a duo)

Under the Sea

Manatee seen off the coast of Caye Caulker, Belize!

Amalia frolicking amongst the fishes.

Some nurse sharks coming in for a meal.

Semuc Champey - One of the most beautiful places!

Hi!

So we have been a little delayed between posts as internet cafes and time is limited. But here are some images from one of the most beautiful places we've ever seen. It is Semuc Champey located in central Guatemala. A little difficult to get to, but unbelievable once there. There is a river, Rio Cahabon which runs down through caves just below this wonderland of pristine limestone pools above. The pools are all wonderfully warm and clear. We will post some more images of these later as Pat just couldn't stop taking pictures (between swims that is).

We are now back in the US for some friends' wedding and then we leave to Nepal and India soon!

Our time in Guatemala was wonderful and we will indeed need to go back. Our Spanish was coming along nicely and one more month would have us conversing in full style.

Much love,

pat & mollie

Mayan Wonder

These are the amazing Mayan ruins at Tikal. The park has an array of natural wonders including the animals you see here: grey fox, howler monkey and toucan. The top temple pictured is from the grand plaza, the "Jaguar Temple", the second temple is the reconstructed Temple #5. Amazing!

Thoughts on the Third World

After looking over the pics on our blog you guys must think we're cruising through paradise. We haven't really shown the nitty gritty side of Guatemala, so here are some of my thoughts on the Third World.

I have trouble with the phrase "I'm proud to be an American" because I'm not always proud of our country's values or actions, but I will say "I am very lucky to be an American." This is my first time in a third world country, aside from a few trips to a Mexican resort when I was a kid. Guatemala is a gorgeous country, rivaling in natural beauty and tropical splendor anything Hawaii or the Caymen Islands have to offer, but lets just say I was in for a bit of a shock.

After my first cold shower I had to come to terms with a number of first world conveniences I had taken for granted. Even armed with my light saber (the nickname we've given to our Steripen water purifying device) I still suffered from intestinal disorders and a bad bout of food poisoning, which had me on the floor or a communal bathroom clinging to a toilet that didn't flush. A harrowing ride on the local "chicken bus" where the driver whipped around harpin turns at 70mph and passed tiny tuk-tuks on blind curves had me clinging to Patrick for dear life. Everyone here seems to be carrying either a shotgun or a machete or both. And everyone is looking at us: because we are white, because we are a foot taller than them, because, even in our rattiest and smelliest clothes, the gear we are wearing on our backs is more than most people's entire net worth.

It is all sobering and sickening and fascinating at the same time. More than anytime in my life I realize how blessed I am to be an American - to have opportunity - to have US dollars in the bank. My rock bottom standard of living is an unattainable dream for many Guatemalans. But its also made me think - since I have 10 times as much I should be 10 times as happy - right?

This is my little friend Elda. She is 10. I asked her to show me where the bathroom was and she gave me a huge hug and wouldn't let go of my hand for the rest of the day. She took me to her house -a 4 room cinderblock with dirt floors. She proudly showed me the room she shared with her 3 siblings and her scruffy pet rabbit Blanca. When I asked how many siblings she had she said 2 sisters living, one dead and one brother. Very matter of fact, its just the way things are here. Elda's family is rich by Guatemalan standards. Her mother runs a tortilla business where she makes 2 Quetzales (about 24 cents) for 10 handmade tortillas. Her father owns a "lancha", a local water taxi (we paid $3 for a 30 min ride). This family is so happy. They were so happy to have us hang out in their tortilla hut. They bought us coke and stuffed us with all the tortillas we could eat. The whole family joined us on the lancha ride to our hotel. Each of them probably owns about 5 things. I have a 10 x 10 storage unit packed with junk waiting for me. I gave Elda my lip gloss and it was like I had given her the moon.

Pat and I just sent half the contents of our backpacks home with Jeremy and Rachel when we sadly had to part ways. We are going to take a clue from our Guatemalan friends, strip down to the essentials and concentrate on what really matters - being with someone we love.

~Amalia~

Lago de Atitlan 2

Here are a few more pictures from around Lago de Atitlan! We just finished three days of Spanish lessons and need to continually practice. ;)

Tomorrow morning we catch a boat and then a chicken bus to Coban! As the roads here have suffered mucho under the heavy rains this year, it will be a true adventure.

We do have to be careful because the poverty makes people desirous of robbing us. So keeping our prized possesions generally out of sight is importante. Hasta a luego amigos!

A Magical Wedding

We were so honored to be included in the wedding of our friends Jeremy and Rachel on Friday. Patrick officiated and Amalia sang and took pictures. This is what a destination wedding is supposed to be.

We are staying at a beautiful cliffside retreat called Casa del Mundo and its just spectacular as you can see from the pictures. We are on the shores of Lake Atitlan surrounded by three volcanos. The water is crystal turquoise and we are surrounded by a lush jungle garden. Wish you were here!

International stop numero uno- Guatemala

Hola amigos!

Well after several weeks in Colorado visiting friends, hiking mountains, swimming in lakes and rivers, we have embarked on our international trip. Yesterday we flew into Guatemala City and then headed straight to La Antigua.

Other than a slight delay out of Houston, we had no problems! Having our friend Jeremy Shockley as an intepreter and unofficial guide doesn´t hurt either!

We are trying to navigate the keyboard and computer in order to get some awesome images up for you to enjoy. Until then, we´ll put up images on occasion and blog accordingly. You can still email us as normal and-or send us a blog comment.

Lots of love to you all!

Amalia and Patrick