Staining the dock of paradise

So, today we painted the deck. As a volunteer in Del Lago hostel you not only cater to guests in the reception giving information, checking them in and out, and showing them the accommodations. You also work as a liasson with the kitchen ladies and translate food orders from mostly English-speaking tourists to the Spanish the cooks speak, which at the same time is not the their first language either since they speak Katchikel, one of the 22 Mayan-derived dialects spoken in the Atitlan lake in Guatemala. So communication while not perfect is a beautiful miracle. In addition, volunteers have the life changing opportunity to help out the community, so as part of your shift you may be sent to Konojel, a 100% non-profit organization to help empower Guatemalan women, fight child malnutrition and poverty.

We met Alex at 10 am on the little stage the hostel has for local performers, open mic sessions and karaoke and movie nights. Alex gave us three 3¨ wide brushes, two buckets of staining paint, some tape and said we could have some beers if we felt like it while doing the job. Rod, Michele and I started right away. We swept the boards of the deck, wiped them with a wet piece of cloth and began staining. The day was incredible, the sun beaming up there, a soft breeze and a desire to do it, to enjoy all of it. We were smiling just holding the brushes. We quickly worked in “three teams of one.” Each one had an area to work on always leaving an unpainted path for the others to return. It was organic, we were very effective, we did not work like a machine, we were a temporary organism.

Tomorrow, I will have my first two days off since I got here. Days off? Haha, I am having such a great time.

All photos and texts are original