Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala 2/4/22

Friday and like us I'm sure you can't wait to see how the team get on at Hospitaltio Atitlán in the town of Santiago Atitlán on the lake.

With no clinic today International Vision Inc can take an extra hour in the morning. The boat does not leave until 9am. Herman's mother has organised breakfast at her home just down the street from our hotel. Organic coffee from their own garden; eggs from their hens; homemade tortillas; homegrown beans and avocado. Its a feast and after breakfast we get a tour of their garden to fully understand how sustainably Herman's family try to live. Every item has a purpose from the corn plants in the nursery ready to be planted out; a tilapia pond with a water exchange system to the lake; cotton on the trees for spooling thread and making fabric; Firebush leaves or similar that make an excellent medicine for diabetics. Everything has a place and a purpose and the knowledge Mikael shares with us is a learning that has passed through generations coupled with her own skills and experience. We might be among the first visitors but we expect many more will take this Garden to Table breakfast tour. We would highly recommend it.

Right on time we finish our descent to the embarcadero and our captain has already loaded our bags. Today we sit out front in the morning sunshine and enjoy the smooth hum of the boat across the water. At Santiago a car awaits to take us back up another series of streets and hills to Hospitalito Atitlán. We have no idea what to expect only that at this stage we know Guatemala does not disappoint. Executive Director Jacinto gives us the guided tour and answers our many questions. The clean organised hospital; the multilingual staff; the neat well stocked pharmacy; the ergonomic design and layout for patient flow come only as a happy assurance of hopes realised. The hospital caters to a community of more than 75,000 many from rural Mayan areas. Jacinto introduces us to Lynn and we sit and discuss Hospitalito's needs and wants. In a project of this scale, strategic planning is key to achieving sustainability. Eye care fits within the current strategic plan and we could potentially combine our resources with the developing Ophthalmology services. Such discussions are only in their infancy and partly this meeting allows both groups to see if the dynamic could work. The answer to that question is potentially yes. Having exhausted all the questions we can possibly ask of Hospitalito and feeling a bit exhausted ourselves we retire to the adjacent Bambú hotel for lunch. We take a look at hotel rooms and rates, Herman fills us in on the local area and economic activity around Santiago. Sitting there on the verandah we gently probe the idea of how ready the team is to broaden our 'international' practice. No decisions, the articulation of possibilities and dreams. There are commitments in our own lives; our families at home; funding; resourcing two destinations; logistics; Haiti. We head down to the wooden jetty to take the boat back to Panajachel. The captain eases out of the sheltered bay, across the choppy waters and on to our destination. Eric is back and some locals help us transport our bags from boat to bus. We say our goodbyes to Herman and begin the road trip back to Antigua.

Is it really Friday already? Did we just do all that. Tania sends us on the updates from Cami and clinic preparations for tomorrow. We had said 50 patients and the list is already longer. Just as well we had a rest day today. ETA Antigua is 9pm, the same hotel as previously and Marielos on reception gives us a lovely welcome. We drop the bags and regroup for a nightcap. Feet up, a good week so far, many people helped and in the course of conversation it is said 'When we come back..'. The speaker gathers themselves, we look at each other and smile, the comment fits well with everyone. It seems that while we were distracted with all the other wonderful experiences of this country, Guatemala captured a little corner of International Vision Inc. The 'how' and 'who' we will work out at a future date and Haiti remains the main priority for the team. But for now, with big smiles it is buenas noches Guatemala, hasta mañana. As Arnie says 'we'll be back'.