Over the river and through the woods to God only knows where we go!

Another day and another adventure begins here in Guatemala. Dr. Saenze took the group on a long hike through the mountains surrounding the little town of Nebaj on a mission to find a village which fell victim to mass genocide carried out by the government in past decades. Everyone but Dr. Ocampo was in attendance making the total number of Gringos traversing the mountainsides Quince (15). The greenery of the mountains was as always, breath taking. Along the way we encountered steep hills patched in farmland, grazing cattle, and the native citizens tilling away under the hot sun above. The science nerds among us enjoyed staring at the soil profiles made clearly visible by the shear force that once formed these mountains.Dr. Tanner and Dr. Smith would be so proud of me haha.

Somewhere along the way our group split up. I decided to stick behind with the slower half of the group since I felt it was most responsible and most respectful to do so. We all made our way to the same little village tucked away in a remote valley though so all's well that ends well. Shirley, Sam, and I made our time with the group fun by challenging ourselves to races up the steep and curvy mountain path. Shirley and I also decided it might be funny and completely accurate to our dorkiness if we skip up a portion of the mountain. It gave me great satisfaction and some good laughs when we embraced our inner dork.

The little village was not only remote but also as one would expect very rural. it was home to a great many farm animals of which I once owned most of them or still own them. They had pigs, goats, sheep, horses, chickens, dogs, cats, and some cows. There was one horse who I decided to befriend who was in pretty beat up shape. She had pretty bad sores down most of her legs, she was a bit thin, and was very very skiddish. After patiently and gently working her over she let me pet her and talk to her. I relaxed her some and tried to see if there was anything I could do to help her but of course there was nothing I could offer her but some gentle words and love.

We then made our way on to Rio Azul (Blue River). It was a beautiful and clean flowing stream that captured and boggled my mind at just how beautiful the color was. We camped out for a picnic under a tree of my choosing. The thing was just begging for someone to eat under it and so I i felt oblidged to do it that honor. It was a nice picnic of cookies and pineapple soda for me before we moved on over the river and through the woods until we came across another town and took a shuttle back to Nebaj.