Guatemala City and Atitlán

Volkhardts and Metzgers

We spent a lot of time in Guatemala on the road. It seemed like everything was a 3-5 hour drive. So on three occasions we spent the night in a hotel in Guatemala City, between other destinations.  While we were there it was great to reconnect with Steve and Karen Metzger. We've know Karen since Biola University days. She and Steve are teaching at the Guatemala Christian Academy, after retiring from their professions in Louisiana.

From Hope of Life in the arid eastern department of Zacapa we headed to the Atitlán region where colleagues John and Sharon Gowan are serving.  We worked together and were friends in Ecuador, even took joint family vacations together! They live in the small town of Panajachel, along the shore of Lake Atitlán. 

Lake Atitlán, from Sololá, Guatemala

 As you can imagine, tourism is a thriving business there, and there is a large expat population that enjoys one of the most picturesque settings in Central America. But that's not what took the Gowans there.

Video Production on Deditos

John worked for years in the television ministry of HCJB in Quito, Ecuador.  Now he's on assignment with a media ministry called the Viña Association.  They are doing some of the most creative children's video programming that you'll find anywhere, using finger puppets to tell Old Testament Bible stories.  Watch some of the videos on their Vimeo page, get an overview of the ministry on the Viña website.  It was great to tour the facilities and hear the vision for the TV series, which extends far beyond the Spanish language of the original production.

Gowans and Volkhardts @ Casa del Mund

Our last day in Guatemala we hired a boat to take us to Casa del Mundo, a restaurant/hotel on a cliff above Lake Atitlán.  It was about a 20 minute boat ride from Panajachel ($12). They bill themselves as "Guatemala's most magical hotel," and I couldn't argue with that claim.  We enjoyed a long lunch (about $5 each) on our own terrace with John and Sharon, and finally tore ourselves away when it looked like the lake might be getting rough. What a great way to end a two-week trip!


More photos of Glen and Shelly in Guatemala

More of Glen's nature photos of Guatemala