Guatemala

[bonniejoy03]

Received an email last night and they are still digging out. Not sure when some of the roads will open. Concern is the rainy season is just beginning! The main goal is take care of the families in need.

[omegaet]

We have received two additional emails from residents of Guatemala and it sounds as through the clean up efforts are moving slower outside of Guatemala City (to be expected) and the seasonalrains seems to have arrived.



Apparently, as long as no additional tropical activity develops in the near future, most people can deal with the ongoing clean and repair.

[showard1]

travel,



We received emails from our friends in Santa Cruz over the weekend. Happy to say, they are safe and very involved in the relief efforts.



Reports indicate that the village of Jaibalitowas basically destroyed, and the peoplehave beenevacuated to temporary housing in Santa Cruz. There is talk of relocating these villagers to another area permanently.



Santa Cruz was without power and water for four days last week -- ironic, since they got 15" of rain in a 12-hour period. There were rockslides, and mudslides, but so far, no deaths have been reported on that side of the lake. That's the good news. However, sveral homes were destroyed, along with significant property damage. All in all, people are pretty shaken. The rainy season is far from over, and the ground at this point is very unstable. As previously reported, many of the roads around the lake were washed out and closed. Repairs are now underway to get the main access re-opened.



Relief efforts are continuing with participation from many residents in the lake area. The plight of the villagers is paramount, and food packages are being provided to hundreds of Mayan families as a result oftheir generosity.



Also received word that Antigua received 3 - 4" of ash from Pacaya. Obviously, the volcano is off-limits to campers and climbers for the time being.



On the other side of Lake Atitlan, the village of San Antonio Palopo suffered large mudslides which destroyed much of the village and resulted in many deaths. This information has been reported earlier -- referencearticle, "Retirees Help Storm-Ravaged Guatemala."



Looks like it will be awhile before Guatemala can recover from last week'sdestructive disasters. It's heart-wrenching --

[[email protected]]

Just got an email from Elizabeth Bell in Antigua and she says all is fine in Antigua. I also received an email from Mayah at the Laguna Eco Lodge and she mentions that is was very heavy rain with some damage to the surrounding local communities. Laguna Lodge is fine and she said they were very busy with bookings since it is getting into the summer when there are more tourists - although I know I would not go to guatemala in the summer since it is the rainy season and you never know what the weather will be like, however, Mayah does say that this time of year is very green and lush with lots of flowers and grasses blooming around the lake.

Denise

[showard1]

Yes, things are getting back to normal quite quickly, given the severity of the storm. We've heard that more rain fell at Lake Atitlan in 2.5 days than in all of 2009. It appears that the Guatemalan government has responded very well to the disaster, and many roads are now open.



NGOs and ex-pats living around the lake are helping out with immediate relief efforts. Temporary water purification systems are in place in San Antonio, though it will take some time to repair the pipesacross the mountains to Tecpan which is the villagers primary water supply. Foodavailability is sufficient for the moment. However, there is much concern about the long-term effects of the flooding on food crops. Many lives were lost in this area and homes destroyed. Temporary housing is in place for now.



No recent reports from the other side of the lake. Did hear that a large part of Jaibalito was victim to the mudslides. Also, that Villa Sumaya is no longer.



Of course, much of the mud and debris is now in or nearthe lake. Contamination concerns are another issue --



Even so, tourists are always welcome, as many livelihoods depend on it. Don't know what the over-all impression of the lake area is today. Perhaps one of the more intrepid recent visitors will weigh in on LL.

[bonniejoy03]

Hi S......Isn't Villa Sumaya next door to Laguna Eco Lodge?



I heard that they are moving the people out of Jabilito. It was a great village. We got some great coffee from Hans. (He makes it himself with all the means of production right at his "inn." Casa Palopo was supposed to open this week (or last week.) I think it will be awhile to get the region back in order. The roads are pretty narrow and steep. It will be interesting to get machinery in the area to help rebuild.

[showard1]

I'm not sure where Villa Sumaya is (was) located, but will check one of my resources -- I do recall that it was a well-known yoga retreat in the Santa Cruz-Jaibalito area.



We had the Sunday brunch at Club Ven Aca during our April trip. Heard that it was safe from Agatha's wrath; however, the owners were quite shaken by the rock and mud slides over there, so don't know what their future plans are.



Even though the lake area appears to be at least stabilized at this point, much work is yet to be done to restore village life. NGOs are offering assistance throughout, as well as other charities and individuals. When you think about the losses, not only in lives, but also in property and possessions, i.e., weaving looms for the women to be able to support their familiies,this is just the beginning of the recovery process.



Such lovely people --

[omegaet]

Someone sent me this link, which does have a couple of areial video showing some of the devastation:



http://www.lakeatitlanhealth.com/



The web site does go into to detail about the on-going eco probem with the lake.

[[email protected]]

Villa Sumaya is right down the trail from Laguna - Mayahat lagunadid not say anything about it being gone, however, on one of the real estate sites I did see that it was up for sale - so maybe that is what they mean by gone?

She did mention that Jabalito was pretty much gone - that town was a bit higher up in the hills and most of it was not right on the lake - we walked the trail about 1/2 there but never did go all the way to the town.

D

[bonniejoy03]

We walked to Villa Sumaya for possible food and drink from Laguna Eco. Nice place. They had a group meeting while we were there. Can't believe it is gone. I think they do a lot of yoga type retreats. Jabilito is a really cool village. Hans had a cute small place and he made coffee from beans to being processed. There was another wonderful Norweigan? man who had a LOVELY place to stay. Lee from Kayak Guatemala took us around the village and introduced us to some of the residents. Can't believe what has happened.