Girlfriend Getaways

PIF adventures are appealing to active women who embrace new, exciting adventures! All tours are designed to empower women and enrich lives. Every experience provides a physical challenge that encourages women to push themselves and support each other throughout the process. Every adventure taps into a woman's maternal instincts, pulling at her heart strings in a variety of ways.

This fall a group of six female Sojourners shared an adventure in Guatemala hiking, biking, kayaking and building energy efficient stoves for Mayan families outside of Antigua. Not only did volunteering provide an opportunity to bond with one another, we also connected with indigenous women who welcomed us into their homes. We learned to make tortillas, live simplistically, and embraced their children as if we were an extension of the family. The experience proved that though we may live worlds apart geographically, girls will be girls no matter where you travel.

Whether it's hiking at Lake Atitlan or building stoves for families, the bonding that occurs between women while traveling creates friendships that last a lifetime!

Contact PLAY it Forward Adventures at www.pifadventures.com to schedule your next girlfriend getaway!

Lake Atitlan - "The place where the rainbow gets its color"

Lake Atitlan in Guatemala is one of the most spectacular bodies of water on the planet with equally spectacular origins. Born of volcanic activity about 85,000 years ago, the lake that became Atitlan was initially a giant, circular "bowl", or caldera, that formed when the region's surface collapsed from an expulsion of magma from beneath the earth's crust. Over time, the caldera filled with water and became the lake the Mayans call "Atitlan", meaning "place where the rainbow gets its color".

It is Central America's deepest lake, plummeting nearly 10,000 feet below the surface in spots, and its shining waters are ringed with smaller volcanoes. Several Mayan archeological sites have been found around the lake, and many villages still proudly carry on Mayan traditions in their artwork and wares.

We'll enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lake and its surroundings as we kayak, hike to San Marcos, swing in hammocks and do yoga on the patio at La Casa del Mundo or Vulcano lodge.

Things To Get Used To

Sojourner, Matt Russell, shares some of the things he had to get used to after returning from 11 days in Guatemala.

http://athousandmillions.blogspot.com/2008/11/things-to-get-used-to.html

Give the Gift of NEED

For anyone who needs a holiday gift idea this holiday season, I recently came across a great one. NEED magazine has put together a holiday gift pack that contains nine issues of the magazine for only $54 - that's one third less than the cover price! The recipient would receive five back issues for the holiday as well as a subscription for one year starting in February. I think NEED magazine, with its beautiful photography and inspiring stories, would make the perfect gift for anyone on your list.

If you want to know more about the magazines or purchase a gift pack, visit www.needmagazine.com.

Energy Efficient Stove Building in Guatemala

Collaborating with Global Visions International provided a great opportunity for cultural exchange last month. The second PLAY it Forward team built 3 stoves for indigenous Mayan families over the course of 2.5 days. This was the shortest service project GVI had ever done and we pulled it off without a hitch. The purpose of the stoves was not to replace existing methods, but to provide more efficient, healthier ways of cooking. They are built high enough that children cannot reach the burner, wood consumption is reduced by 70%, and each has a chimney directing smoke outside of the home.

Our group was comprised of five women and one young man, two tour guides and a tour leader. The first home we were assigned housed 30+ people. We built two stoves for this extended family and enjoyed the community of women that would congregate each morning to make hundreds of tortillas. They treated us like an extension of their family and their children were not shy to show their affections.

The second home we were assigned housed one family with three daughters. The littlest one, five year old Maria, made for a wonderful assistant. Cesar was our local foreman and everyone raved about their experience working along side him.

The experience proved to be a success not only in providing efficiency in cooking, but also in the cultural exchange experience we ALL got. The families were hospitable and grateful and just as happy to share 2.5 days with us as we were with them. Many tears were shed on the day of our parting.

Guatemalan Artist Extraordinaire, Andrea Marmol Juarez

There is a great cafe in Antigua called Cafe NoSe which supports local painter by displaying artwork on their walls. I recently stopped in one morning to check things out and was immediately drawn to a black and white painting on a blood red canvas. I've always had an affinity for feet since I feel bare feet and shoes can tell a lot about a person's journey. This particular painting caught my eye because the subject was a child's feet in lace-less shoes with both toes cut out of the front. I had to have that painting! And I had to meet that artist!

I took down the artists name, Andrea Marmol Juarez, and contacted her immediately. I returned to Cafe NoSe later that afternoon to meet an exquisite young artists eager to share her story and her art with me. We perched ourselves at the bar where she talked and I listened.

Andrea is a 20 year old native of Antigua who uses her paintings to support herself and provide financial assistance to her mother and father. Attending art school in Nicaragua, Andrea's family had doubts about her creative endeavor and hoped she'd rather become an attorney or business professional. Once her art began selling, they became very supportive and proud of her artistic talents and now encourage her to continue. With the recent loss of her fathers job, Andrea's mother was forced to go back to work. To help support her family, Andrea began contributing finacially with the proceeds from her art.

The inspiration behind each piece is her fascination with people and their individual personalities. Her paintings are inspired by a photograph, but altered to capture the essense of each person. The shading and techniques she uses make it difficult to tell the painting from the photograph. Andrea told me more than once that all photographs do not make good paintings and she needs to "feel inspired" by the subject in order to paint them.

Thomas, the child whose feet I adored, was a small child from Panajachel whose feet had outgrown his shoes. His mother cut the toes out in the hopes of getting a few more miles out of them.

I didn't buy the painting that day we met. I went back to my hotel room contimplating what I would regret more, buying or NOT buying that painting. When I mentioned it to my parents over the phone, they insisted I buy the painting and they'd give it to me as a Christmas gift. It was the perfect gift since it would give and give and give again... to me, to Andrea and to her parents.

For more information about Andrea Marmol Juarez, to purchase her art, or to have a custom portait painted, contact PLAY it Forward Adventures at 651.493.8817 or jodi@pifadventures.com.

Just a Guide?

The role and responsibility of a Tour Guide is often misunderstood if someone doesn't understand the value behind a good leader.

At PLAY it Forward Adventures, a guide is not just a person who shows you the sites. Local guides and PIF Tour Leaders inevitably serve as teachers, doctors, travel agents, psychologists and friends while traveling with Sojourners in the field. When you break down all qualities necessary to prvoide good service during adventure vacations, you realize that few people in the world are capable of filling such a role. Not only do they need to know the history and culture of their country, lead an active lifestyle, be certified in Wilderness First Response, but they also need to be committed to a lifestyle of absence; absence from their own life in exchange for educating and guiding others through a memorable and safe vacation experience.

The guides PIF employs are passionate about their jobs and are lifelong students themselves. They give up days, and even weeks, of their own lives to lead our Sojourners through their country, educating them on everything from history to vegetation.

The level of experience and qualifications of tour guides differs greatly from tour operator to tour operator. PLAY it Forward Adventures prides itself on safety. We encourage all adventure travelers to research the experience level of tour guides and leaders before putting your life in their hands on your next vacation getaway.

Safe travels!