Guatemala: Dia Uno

(the view from outside our motel balcony...)

To sum it up: Guatemala was incredible.  I could not have spent my spring break in a better way with a better group of people. And something as great as this requires lots of blogging (wooooo, I know you're on the edge of your seat :P)!! I think I will spare you to only 7 posts or a snippet and thought of mine from each day, although I could go on for days about my time there.

Day 1:
We definitely made a jump start on the day, by waking up at 2:45 in the A.M. to get to the airport, through security, and all that jazz for our bright and early flight. Around noon we arrived in Guatemala City, to be greeted by our ride to the Mission in San Lucas.  The drive was about 4 hours and included some gorgeous scenery along the way paired with some pretty bumpy roads.  We came across some pretty fearless drivers, an ostrich (that you could feed for 5 Q!) at a gas station, and a "mystery spot" or paso misterio.

Our driver stopped at the mystery spot to explain it to us.  It appeared that we were on a downward slope in the road up the mountains, but when he put the van in neutral we started to roll backwards.  It was completely against what you would intuitively think would happen, therefore getting the nickname from the locals as "the mystery spot." Some called it an optical illusion, others think it can be attributed to the magnetic pulls from the volcanoes, and others still claim it is simply a mystery.

At the time, I did not think much about this quirky spot, but later in the week and when returning home it gained much more significance for me in hindsight.  It was a great way to start off my adventure in Guatemala because it showed me that everything I saw could be not be explained, but must be experienced.  It was reminder to not make judgments after first glances because that rarely tells the whole story, and I may be missing out on something incredible if I let first impressions have too much of a say. Finally, it was preparing me to be up for anything God was going to have thrown my way because He works in such beautiful, and mysterious ways! Originally, I know I never would have thought about the significance of a mystery spot, but I believe God was teaching me a little lesson through it and I am sure glad it planted these thoughts in my head.

So here's to experiencing and appreciating all of the mystery spots in my life...they sure do keep it interesting!
cheers.

Love, AL