My name is Tyler Dambach. I am a Junior at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and I will be writing today’s daily blog.
We woke up around 0800 after spending our first night at the Purpose Hostel in Antigua. We started off the day by waking up and spending some time around the hostel, mainly taking in some sunlight on the roof top area before going to breakfest. We headed over to Violeta’s for our first breakfast in Antigua at 0900. Violeta served us ham and egg omelets with a side of black beans and plantains. One thing that I’ve noticed so far about eating at Violeta’s is that the food is ready not long after we arrive. The service has been great, and it is a good place to practice ordering drinks or coffee in Spanish to work on our Spanish speaking skills.
After spending about thirty minutes eating breakfast we headed back to the Purpose Hostel which is only about a five minute walk down the street. We then met up with Captain Lennon and got ready for our adventure up to El Pilar. El Pilar is located about two miles away from the Hostel and it has a nice swimming pool where we planned on hanging out for part of the day. The walk up to El Pilar was different from walking around in the center of Antigua as it was a more conservative area. Once we arrived we took a swim in the pool and also took part in a soccer game with some locals. Unfortunately our soccer skills were not up to par and we lost the game. However, it was nice to get a little exercise and a fun way to be a part of the Guatemalan culture.
After spending a good chunk of our day at El Pilar, we walked back down towards town and stopped to have a late lunch at Caoba Farms. Caoba farms was arguably the best restaurant we have been to so far as it had great burgers, chicken, pizza, and fish. There was a live band, farm animals, and a bunch of little vendors selling food, snacks, bracelets, and necklaces as well. The restaurant was pretty big as it had multiple areas to eat in, one of which had a 20 foot by 20 foot TV screen where we watched a part of the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles game.
After returning to the hostel after our late lunch, we went over our groups that we will be working with throughout the rest of the trip. These groups were assigned by Captain Lennon, and each group will be working at a separate work location each week. After each week, the groups will rotate to a new location, so each group works at each location for a week. Medical supplies, PPE, and other personal hygiene products were issued to each group to ensure proper preparedness upon arrival to our worksites tomorrow. After having this group meeting, we were able to have free time for the rest of the night. Throughout the trip we always have to be back at the Purpose Hostel at 2100, and can only leave if we have a buddy with us. Some of the group went to watch the Patriots game at a restaurant while others did their own thing. Overall today was a great experience.