Fun In & Around Antigua (+ Photos)

The girls go ziplining near Antigua; one of the surrounding volcanoes.


By the stables Finca Filadelfia; on the terrace with volcano in background.


The Latte Lover Girls' Club.


Saying we worked the entire time would be stretching the truth - note: photos! Upon arrival in country, Steve slept in while I visited a coffee plantation/"resort" outside of Antigua in Jocotenango. 5 of us ladies decided we'd like a birds eye view of the area, best served by ziplining! Whoooo! Hooo!

Photos:Share the Gifts & the Love

Raxruhá:In the kitchen getting lunch; Nina & Easter's birthday celebration.


Peeking inside the clinic; Volunteers take a break with dental humor.


Kids show off the school supplies we donated. Thanks to those of you who sent funds or supplies!

Clinic Photos: Patients & Volunteers

View of the working clinic; Medical providers Melissa & Joyce with Guatemala volunteer/translator


Donated reading glasses help a lot thanks to sister, Laura; new girlfriends/patients.

Giving Thanks

In the end, although we gave of our time & talents, we're better individuals for the experience & nourishment we receive back multi-fold. God has given us our own special gifts/talents & it's our responsibility to share them with others! We were infused with the generosity & love of the local people and we came away better ourselves.

Thanks to several patients & organizations who donated products & supported us: Dag & Jim of Crest/Proctor & Gamble, Dr Er-Jia Mao, Scott Keene of Burkhart Dental, Tidi Products; Tom & Laurie Perricone/Chesley, Maureen Searle, Evanthia Nanou, Arian & Harold Giesholt/Lane, & my sister, Laura Benjamin (who mailed me 2 dozen reading glasses!)

Photos: In Clinic

A satisfied dental patient with Nina & Dr Steve; New reading glasses.


Patiently waiting for their name to be called to enter clinic; Pastor Andres with Dr Steve attend a dental patient.


Waiting his turn to see the physician.

Local Routine

We entered into lives where a daily routine of a family's survival includes a basic multitude of mouths to feed, clothing to wash, corn to grind, seeds to sow, tortillas to prepare, dirt floors to sweep, water to fetch, babies to carry & keep healthy. We attended to dental abscesses, rotted teeth, smiles filled with blackened cavities, headaches, backaches, stomach pain, eye damage (from sun & dust), blurry vision, to name a few maladies. Others were a bit tougher: a leg so infected, a little boy couldn't walk, a man with severe flesh burns & holes due to electrical wiring malfunction, an verbally & physically abused young lady.

Photos: In Church, Getting Acquainted & Clinic Set-Up Sunday

Paula reads Spanish books to the children; Upon arrival volunteers bring supplies into the clinic.


Young men share time together.


Children at church service; children have a special presentation song for us.

Sunday at the Nazarene Church

Our Guatemala team of 27 arrived for a 10-day medical-dental volunteer work stint in Raxuhá (Rah-shoe-HA), a small town in central Guatemala, Alta Verapaz. We were warmly welcomed by Pastor Antonio & wife, Rosemary. Sunday churchgoers filed in slowly over time and after all the usual ceremony, a group of children sang & performed for us. Afterwards, we got busy moving church pews & setting up a temporary but functional "clinic". On Monday, the crowds drew near & started a line that didn't quit till our last day, Friday.

Photos: Around the town of Raxuhá

Waiting in the shade, the juice vendor is a big hit; Paula makes friends with the watermelon vendors at the local market.


The local market gets underway early; To market via different modes of transportation.

March Volunteer Work in Raxuhá, Guatemala 2011

Arriving in Guatemala always seems to me as a time-altering landing some centuries past - when the dust kicked up from dirt roads trails behind the walker like constant exhalation of smoke puffs; when the roosters cackle nightly in juxtaposition with yipping dogs; where colors are so intensely vibrant they make your eyes hurt; when people carry loads on their heads, backs or strapped to their foreheads typically destined for pack mules or horses; where travelling a few miles to the nearest well or river is where precious liquid silver, water, is drawn.

Arrividerci, A Presto!

I found visiting Italy emotionally difficult, more than I imagined. Lingering memories of both mom & dad hovered as ghostly veils in those places we had travelled together. Luke's enthusiam for travel & knowledge of history fanned the flames of wonder & amazement at sights where I wish he could have been with us.

Everyone asked when we would return. It's then I bring to mind what my Italian friend said when she was correcting a letter I'd written to one of the family in my struggling Italian: Paula, you want to use arrividerci instead of addio. After all, you want to leave the door open to the future ... you want to say so long for now, see you again sometime, instead of i'm never coming back again. Well, then, it has to be arrividerci, a presto! dear family!

The Rite of Conclusion: Milano (Big Bang or Gliding Transition?)

Flecking off that irksome countdown whisperer, I was determined to enjoy the last couple of days in peace, without being cheated of what remained of my blithe Italian spirited adventure.

It seemed an unending drive from Viterbo to Colico. Long highway stretches, rush hour traffic followed by divisive narrow detours, finally arriving in Colico mid-evening, way after the fat lady had sung her last note. We managed to find Carmela's place, with her, Benito, Carmen, Romano & Ivan, all patiently awaiting our approach, well, perhaps a bit worried...

Carmela's just as alluring, & self effacing as I remember; a smile dawns upon her entire countenance. She's beautiful inside & out. So wonderful to see all the family together & we set off in a tangled jumble of leap-frog with languages once again! Ah, it was so darn good to see my family again!

Setting off to Milan early the next morning, we weaned ourselves away from our bucolic, cozy,friendly B&B 'Sci d'oro' with vistas of Lake Como & distant mountains, and delish (!) breakfasts. Giuseppe & his friend, Martin, met us for our appointed viewing of "Il Cenacolo" housed in Santa Maria delle Grazie church. Just thinking about seeing da Vinci's "The Last Supper" made the hair on my arms electrify; I had wanted to see it for long! The immense scale, the imagery, portent of Jesus' destiny, in that hushed, vastly barren, hollowed room, underscored the magnificence of the work.

We gawked at the opulent Gothic Duomo cathedral with its commanding flying buttresses, strolled through the popular 19th century arcade, The Galleria, stopped at La Scala Opera House & Sforza Castle & a brief visit to see Giuseppe's mom, Irma.

The following day, our wonderful tour guide, Benito, ribboned us around Lake Como, lunching at Dongo, where the Italians still proudly announce that it was here that Mussolini was captured trying to flee over the Swiss border. On to the picturesque lakeside village of Menaggio where we had the best gelato in all of Italy! Steve rebuked me saying every corner has a gelato shop & I say each one is the best in all of Italy! Seriously, Steve, THIS one had the best gelato!

Photos: Milano & Lake Como ... the Northern Terminus

Finding peace in Carmela's garden;Ivan, Romano, Benito all giving directions.

Different viewpoints of Lake Como: Menaggio & Colico.

Menaggio's version of a "malecón" or boardwalk.

Pranzo with Carmela & Benito in Dongo; View from our B&B in Colico.

Photogenic "girls" in Colico; Giuseppe teaches us some Italian.

Commonality of plumbers & Italian men; Milano's Duomo.

Standing outside Santa Maria delle Grazie;"Last Supper" painting inside.

Visiting with Irma; Milano's impressive Sforza Castle.

Meet Me in the Middle: Visiting Viterbo Families

Picking up a rental car & an Italian driving "attitude", motoring south to north, passing Rome again for Viterbo, 1 hour north, we were met by Marcello & Adriana & their beautiful, darling girls. I was surprised to see how tall Vanise was & met Eleonora for the first time. Luckily, Adriana speaks a lot of English so I didn't have to struggle with my rudimentary Italian jumbled with Spanish, peppered with the excitable hand gestures & corresponding Italian gusto!

Joining us for dinner were Rosetta & Alfonso & his visiting brother, Silvio, we had so much fun & laughter, in between the usual multitude of meal servings & courses; right hand on the fork, left hand imbibbing the local grape harvest in succession interfused with sprinkles of Portuguese, Italian, English & Italian. Wow! how delightful. Why don't we do this every night?

Nowhere was the melancholic euphoria so intertwined though as when they surprised us with a visit to the plateau that is Civitá di Bagnoregio, mom's favorite travel spot in Italy. The radiant sun elevated my spirit, the shadows intensified my restlessness. A walk through time, in more ways than one.

We met with momma Ninetta, also Antonio Franco & Clarise & Claudia in Carpisa where they bestowed more gifts! I am speechless & overwhelmed... Ninetta treats us all to fabulous pizza at a local pizzeria the following night. Wandering through the winding cobbled streets, it seems I had another past here sometime. Passeggiata over & over again, that perpetual evening stroll, couples arm in arm, dogs roaming, kids giggling, scooters zigzagging, lighted cafés beckoning, a bevy of activity & charm, I feel captivated like one following the Pied Piper. If so, lead on, Piper!

Photos: Viterbo families .... In the Middle of Italy

Goodbye Foggia-Ascoli families!Hello Viterbo families:the Guadagno's!

More Guadagno's,at Carpisa;home with Rosetta, Alfonso, his brother,Silvio.

Sisterly smiles, Adriana & Rosetta; eye delights: Italian pastries!

Cuddles with Vanise & Eleonora; with Ninetta.

Civitá di Bagnoregio with Marcello too; lunch en route north to Milano.