transformational trips

Sample Itinerary:

Stove Construction and Reforestation in the Western Highlands of Guatemala

Keep in mind while perusing this sample itinerary that all Partners in Service trips can be tailored to you and your team's own desires and ambitions.

Day 1 - Saturday: The Transformation Begins

2 pm (U.S. Eastern Time) - Depart from Dulles International Airport to catch the evening flight to Guatemala. Travel time to Guatemala City is approximately 5 1/2 hours.

6:30 pm (Guatemalan Time) - Arrive in Guatemala City where the PS driver and van is already awaiting us. Since no visas are necessary, the PS team will have little to take care of upon arrival.

8 pm - From the airport in Guatemala City, we'll drive 45 minutes up to the beautiful city of Antigua, where we'll spend the night. A warm, welcoming meal awaits us at our chic colonial-style hotel. While savoring a repast of perhaps chile rellenos and rice followed by fresh fruit, we'll have a brief orientation session. After going over the details of what our trip holds in store for us, the PS staff likes to set aside the rest of the evening for meditation and relaxation. We often share daily devotionals together in the evenings, with time for reflection and discussion before bedding down for a good night's sleep.

Day 2 - Sunday: Lake Atitlan & The City of Xela

8 am - After a good breakfast, we'll begin the scenic drive to Lake Atitlan. Breakfast this morning may afford you the opportunity to indulge in one of Guatemala's morning delicacies: delectable fried plantains battered in cinnamon sugar.

As we climb up through the Western Highlands, we'll pass by several magnificent sites, including the Volcano de Fuego, a constantly erupting volcano. Lake Atitlan was actually formed by a volcanic eruption 85,000 years ago and is surrounded by four active volcanoes. The highest altitude lake in the Americas, it's also one of the deepest in the world. We'll spend the afternoon at this heavenly site, taking in its natural beauty. After relaxing over a full lunch at a local restaurant, we'll begin the last leg of our trip towards Quezaltenango, known in Mayan as Xela.

4 pm - Arrive in Xela, the second largest city in Guatemala, offering every modern convenience. We'll go directly to an internet cafe where everyone can write their family and friends. Afterwards, we'll go check-in at COFA, the Catholic Family Retreat Center. While it's not technically a hotel, COFA offers vacation quality accommodations. The center was established to host spiritual retreats for middle-class families. Their hospitable staff always responds quickly to any need PS team members may have.

6 pm - Dine together at COFA, with dinner followed by a presentation on Mayan Culture by Dr. Daniel Eduardo Matal Morales. Dr. Morales is a well-respected, frequently published professor who hails from the indigenous Maya-Ki-Che community of Guatemala. He'll go over subjects such as contemporary Mayan customs, ancient Mayan history, and examples of Mayan crafts and clothing.

Day 3 - Monday: Stove Construction

7:30 am - After a hearty breakfast, such as black beans, eggs, and tortillas, we'll leave for our partner community in the regions surrounding Xela. Every community Partners in Service works with lays within a maximum of 40 minutes from the city.

Upon arrival, we'll meet with a local mason for a stove building demonstration. After the demo, the PS team will pair off with the local families receiving stoves. These families are active partners in the stove construction, having gathered some of the basic materials needed, such as water and sand.

11 am - Stove construction begins. It takes two days to complete one quality stove. The independent teams can take breaks as needed, with the larger team lunching together as desired. On both days of stove construction, Partners in Service provides a simple packed lunch of sandwiches, fruit and water. However, PS volunteers will have ample opportunity to acquire extra goodies from local shops.

4 pm - Our first service day concludes and we head back to Xela for a hot shower and scrumptious dinner. During team meetings, we'll plan our evening activities according to the interests and objectives of the team. Options include topical films, lectures, devotionals, theological reflection, site seeing, and all night games of spades.

Day 4 - Tuesday: Cooperative Visit & Stove Completion

7 am - Leave Xela early to visit the hand-blown glass cooperative COPAVIC, which produces glass entirely from recycled bottles. COPAVIC is located in the small village of Cantel, a short drive from Xela and just off the main road that leads to Guatemala's coffee plantations.

As a cooperative, COPAVIC employees over 64 families in its community and was responsible for introducing electricity and drinking water to much of Cantel. COPAVIC also sponsors clinics and educational scholarships for the members' children. Our trip to COPAVIC is the perfect opportunity to snap photos of the picturesque setting and mesmerizing process of glass blowing, as well as purchase exquisite gifts.

10 am - We'll return to our partner community in the afternoon and complete the construction of our stoves. After the last brick has been laid and the concrete smoothed over, we'll trek back to Xela to retire to the center for the evening.

It's important to note that teams can elect to build more stoves during their trip than this sample itinerary shows. If so desired, volunteers can perform service up to 5 days of their trip, completing up to 3 stoves per person.

Day 5 - Wednesday: Reforestation

8 am - With our first service project of stove construction complete, we now turn our focus to reforestation. If our trip finds us in Guatemala in the spring, PS volunteers will work in a local nursery to prepare seedlings; if we arrive during the summer, we'll help to plant the saplings other PS volunteers nursed to maturity back in the spring.

2 pm - Travel back to our stove construction service communities to celebrate our accomplishments together. Everyone - Partners in Service and Highlands families alike - is invited to gather over a big, homemade meal. This afternoon celebration is a unique opportunity to reflect and share with one another while enjoying delicious food and each other's company.

5 pm - Return to Xela in the evening for a special treat: a presentation by a Guatemalan women's group. They'll discuss different issues faced by Guatemalan women, and often times they'll incorporate some of these into an entertaining original play performed for the PS team.

Day 6 - Thursday: Chichicastenango

8 am - Depart for the famous Mayan market of Chichicastenango. One of the oldest markets in Mayan culture, Chichicastenango's outdoor market has been full of people trading with one another for hundreds of years. Colorful women's blouses and hand-carved traditional dancing masks are just some of the outstanding goods PS volunteers can find at the market in "Chichi." Right next to the market stands the 400 year old church of Santo Tomas. The church's steps offer a unique acknowledgement of indigenous culture coming from colonial Catholicism - there are 18 steps in total, each representing one month in the Mayan 18 month calendar.

6 pm - We'll have dinner with our hosts for the night, the Ruth and Nohemi Project. The Ruth & Nohemi Project assists widows in their community to produce and market high quality weaving while maintaining ancient techniques. The project was organized to assist women who lost their husbands, homes and crops in a massacre committed by the Guatemalan army in the village of Chantola. PS volunteers will have the opportunity to visit the project's health and nutrition center, and then retire to comfy dorm room accommodations for the night.

Day 7 - Friday: Antigua

9 am - Just after breakfast in Chichi, we'll return to the enchanting town of Antigua. One of the oldest and best preserved cities in the Americas, Antigua is the perfect way to end our stay in Guatemala. A city populated by talented artisans and permeated with Spanish colonial style, it sits high in the western mountains, overlooked by the spectacular Aqua Volcano.

12 pm - After checking into our hotel and lunching together there, PS volunteers have the rest of day to explore this beautiful and historic town themselves. Antigua is host to several fascinating museums and art galleries, and is chock full of shops and cafes offering fine crafts and dining. The town is indeed known for its craftsmanship - from ceramics, terracotta, and silver and jade jewelry to wooden sculptures, traditional toys, and carved colonial-style furniture, and of course traditional clothing and weavings, you can find whatever your heart desires in Antigua.

6 pm - Meet back for dinner at our hotel and our last night together. We'll have the evening to review our transformational trip together, celebrating our accomplishments and cherishing our time spent learning and working with both our fellow team members and our new friends in the developing world. Before turning in for the night, we'll pack up for an early departure in the morning.

Day 8 - Saturday: Returning Home Transformed

8 am - Leave Antigua for Guatemala City and our flight back to the United States. With a noon departure time, we should arrive back at Dulles International Airport by approximately 8 pm, U.S. Eastern time. We're sure to be greeted by our friends, families, and PS partners, excited to get us home and hear all the stories we have to tell.

After returning home, many PS volunteers take the time to write about their often life-changing Partners in Service experience. The PS staff has endeavored to collect some of these writings in our Post Script Project, and would love to incorporate your own personal P.S. account into this collection of transformational writings.

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