The monthly Quetzaltrekkers parties have a certain notoriety around town… This is entirely because they are wonderful fundraiser events that we use to raise money for our Community Projects fund. This is a fund that is dedicated to helping the wonderful communities that we walk through on our hikes, such as buying the solar panels that we brought to Chuatuj in September!
Two of our finest salespeople, Ash and John, making sure those shots got sold at the party!
The party raised enough money to buy the paint needed to redecorate the exterior of a school in Santa Catarina Ixthuacan, the town we stay in on the first night of our Xela – Lake Atitlan hike. Thanks to Paddy for hosting us once again!
We were then kindly invited to come and help paint the school itself. Despite our lack of experience in the decorating department, we more than made up for it with our enthusiasm (sort of)… The delay between the party and the painting was so that we could wait for rainy season to pass us by before we started applying the paint!
Even our coordinator Conrad, notorious for never leaving the office, (literally) got his hands dirty!
So last week, on Tuesday 18th November, the guides all took a trip to Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan to get painting! There was plenty of wall to paint and our diverse range of heights meant that every corner was covered.
After a long morning painting, the crew headed over to Don Luciano’s comedor for a well-earnt lunch. It was also quite possibly the first time anyone had eaten anything other than breakfast there. Thank you to Luciano and his family for once again providing Quetzaltrekkers with top notch food!
After returning for an afternoon stint of painting, it was time for thank-yous and goodbyes. The school now has a beautiful new lick of azul to boast, and the guides can now claim that we know how to paint! We wish everyone at the school and in Santa Catarina the very best and want to say thanks for the opportunity to get involved…
Quetzaltrekkers Guides 