Geographically Guemes Island and Guatemala have very little in common. The only similarity is that both begin with the letter “G”. Yet, this year, while Guemes was in the throes of a wet harsh winter, flowers were in bloom in Guatemala. Perhaps that was a small part of the attraction that led several Guemes Islanders to Guatemala’s sub tropical rain forests, lakes and volcanoes.

The major reasons for several of our islanders being there, are as diverse as our islanders themselves: Language immersion, solar energy, mobile library and poverty reduction awareness through micro–finance are issues that some of us share with each other.

The stories encompass Guatemala’s big cities, rural villages, hospitals, entrepreneurship, libraries. Any and all of those things create Guatemala’s culture and history.

-MJ Andrak

Micro Loans ...

Mary Jo Andrak explores the large effects of tiny loans among the Mayan poor.

Mobile Library

As a member of the Anacortes Rotary, Barbara Hoenselaar works with Rigoberto, the director of Probigua, a spanish teaching school in Antigua and Judith who is the librarian hired to accompany the bus to the various villages and schools.

Solar Energy...

Ian and Zander Woofenden visit, teach and play.

[From the right] Zander and Ian with Cris and Tyler in Xela.

Santiago Atitlan

Guemes and Atitlan are connected through Atitlan electrician Henry Mendoza, who was on the island for SEI workshops during the mudslides, and through Frea, Ian, and Zander Woofenden, who have visited Atitlan.

Instituto Guatemalteco Americano [Updated 2.26.7]

Cristyn Elder and her husband Tyler have been in Guatemala since September.

Cristyn works for the US State Department training new teachers in schools where new English programs will be started. Tyler builds websites from his home office in Quetzaltenango.

Dixon (Cris' Dad) and Tyler get to know these feathered friends at the Macaw Mountain Bird Park and Nature Reserve in Copan, Honduras. Dixon stayed in Guatemala for two months, waiting out the Pacific Northwest rains (and snow!) studying Spanish.