Guatemala 2023: Day 1

Monday November 20, 2023

​Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The adventure begins with ten women and two men making their way to San Felipe, Guatemala. Most of us, by the end of the journey, had not slept for more than 30 hours and yet the energy was high, the mood was happy, and the anticipation was palpable. In total, two plane trips, a very long bus ride, what felt like a million checkpoints, and 5000 km later, we arrived safely at our destination.

I thought I would start this chronicle with two things - a glimpse of the CNS team members and the actual location hub in which we will call home for the next seven days.

Our group is varied- we come from all across the province, working and living in both rural and urban communities. Most of the group are nurses, but we also have Personal Support Workers (PSWs), an Occupational Therapist, and a Primary Care Physician originally from Colombia. Most of us are eager to experiment with our limited knowledge of Spanish, often hastily relying on Google Translate, while others have a very respectable command of the language. Two of our nurses, Carey and Kristen, have been practicing with Duolingo for the past year in preparation for the trip - impressive! Some of the team members are veterans, having made this journey several times before. Our leader, Lori Hollinger in particular (we have affectionately started calling her “Jefa” - “Chief”) with her partner, Luke, are master conductors, facilitating every step of the journey, translating with ease, and gently guiding and supporting our team. We also have some “newbie” team members, including myself, trying to take in as much as we can, hoping to be useful contributors, and soaking in the meaning behind what we’re trying to accomplish.

We are staying at the Cabana del Viagero in San Felipe, Guatemala. A local family hosts our group, Micaela, her husband (who’s actually a teacher and is so appreciative of any school supplies that we bring), their two-year old son Leo, and another expecting one on its way! While the accommodation is simple in many ways, it is perfect in others - meals that taste home-cooked, tropical vegetation with vibrant color-flowers and plants, and friendly people who offer a smile and an “Hola” with every passing encounter. When we arrived, most of us were ready to go straight to bed, but the smell of fried chicken and chips with homemade tortilla bread greeted us, and so we broke bread for the first time as a team along a wooden table with the sound of serenading cicadas in the background. 

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