Mary Micikas JoAn Dwyer Whitney Strong
Programs APRAS WWCSG Culture
Logistics Volunteer

Logistics

Vaccinations

  • Check with your local health center for information on vaccinations, but what we recommend are:
  • Hepatitis A and B
  • Up to date tetanus shot (in the last 5 years if possible)
  • Typhoid vaccination
  • You do not need Malaria pills unless you are traveling outside of the lake area, Antigua or Guatemala City
  • Many volunteers bring cipro for intestinal problems (sometimes this medicine works, sometimes other medicine is needed)
  • If you are worried about intestinal problems from water, food, etc, we recommend you bring GSE (grapefruit seed extract) or garlic pills which you can buy at health food stores. (That is what we use to treat ourselves). Or another idea is to take a pro-biotics as a preventative medicine such as acidophilus
  • Don’t worry too much about this… many people get diarrhea and it lasts a day or two, but past groups have expressed that they wished they had known these remedies before hand.
  • Meds List

Group Leader

We will coordinate all the lodging, transportation, food, construction, medical components, etc. for your group as well as any free day activities. Talk with your group about what kind of free day activities they would like to do, but feedback from past groups tells us that sometimes instead of trying to fit every fun activity into the week, that they prefer just some downtime to hang out at the lake (just to keep in mind as you are planning your trip).

o Free day activities;

• Free day in Panajachel: Pana is the most touristy town on the lake; there are tons of artisans selling their goods all over the town. We do suggest that before you buy lots of goods in Pana that you look at the artisan work that groups and individuals sell in San Juan, as these products are fair trade, the women are getting paid fair prices for their weavings, and the women themselves are selling their goods instead of intermediaries. Plus you will meet them women who make the goods and have a chance to learn from and interact with them.

• In Pana there are many hotels and restaurants as well as a nature reserve which is an option to visit.

• Free day in Antigua: Antigua was the original Spanish colonial capital of Guatemala. Thus, the whole town has a very Spanish colonial feel with lots of ruins and churches that date from the late 1500s. Antigua was devastated by an earthquake in the late 1700s and the capital was moved to Guatemala City. Antigua is the most popular town in Guatemala for tourists. There are many restaurants, hotels, shops, artisan market, and museums. There is a very good half day tour which is done in English by Elizabeth Bell; she is a very knowledgeable, English speaking (from the US) tour guide who has lots of information about the history of Guatemala and Antigua. This tour costs $20.

• Market day in Chichicastenango: The town of Chichicastenango (about 2 hrs from the lake) has one of the biggest market days in Latin America. People from all the chichi area come to sell their textiles and arts to both Guatemalans and tourists. There is also a very old Catholic church where the traditional Mayan spirituality and traditional catholic religion is meshed during the Sunday services. Market day is Sunday, and some groups like to go to chichi for the day (though groups usually prefer this after a week of work because they feel it is to exhausting to do this before starting a hard week of work).

• Free day in San Juan: Many teams have expressed that they would almost rather have their free day on the lake and stay in San Juan because there is much they feel they do not have a chance to do while they are working. Options for free day activities in San Juan are:

  • Short or long hikes up the mountain behind San Juan.
  • The hill of the cross is about a 45 min round trip hike—really good views o La Nariz (or the nose) is a longer 3-3 ½ hour hike which takes you all the way up to the top of the mountain (that looks like a nose) behind San Juan where the views are incredible.
  • Women’s weaving co-op: Learn the natural dye weaving process, learn how to use the traditional back-strap loom and learn the history behind weaving and the different designs of the indigenous Mayas in Guatemala—also have the opportunity to buy naturally died fair trade weavings from the women who make them.
  • Coffee tour: Tour of the organic fair-trade coffee co-op in San Juan. Walk through the coffee fields and then see how the coffee is processed, and at the end enjoy a cup of organic, fair trade coffee.
  • Afternoon at the beach. The nicest beach on the lake is located just a short walk or drive from San Juan, we can bring a picnic lunch and hang out at the beach.
  • If teams are interested in traveling to other places in Guatemala, we can arrange all this, know that the prices for the trips will be higher and the group will need at least a couple free days in order to account for travel days. Such trips include: Tikal, Coban (semuc champey), Rio Dulce, Monterrico (the pacific beach).

• We will have you deposit most of the money for hotels, food, construction materials, transportation, etc. ahead of time, but be sure to bring enough money to cover incidentals ($100 per day) and make sure people from the team bring sufficient money with them to cover free day activities, food, and souvenirs (there are lots of weavings and such to buy here).

  • The currency here is the Quetzal (the value varies but is usually around 7.5 quetzal to 1 US dollar). We recommend that both the team leader and individuals bring money in cash (either US or Quetzal—if you want to exchange before you come). There are no places in the villages that accept traveler’s checks, credit cards, and there are no ATM machines in the villages. There are ATMs in Panajachel and Antigua but people sometimes have problems being able to get money out of ATMs and there is a limit of about $200-300 that the ATMs will let you take out in one day. Thus ATMs and personal checks are not recommended to rely on to get money out with. (Really cash is the best). The bank (and there is one in San Juan) will exchange US dollars for quetzals.

• Suggestions to bring:

  • Copy of group member’s passports
  • Copy of UMVIM accident insurance policy
  • First-aide kit