5 Reasons To Volunteer With CoEd In Guatemala Besides The Kids.

By Posted in - Central America & Personal on December 21st, 2012

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We’re on Day 5 of our special Guatemala Week here at Beers & Beans. Enjoy!

By volunteering with Cooperative for Education, you really get one of the best travel experiences out there. Beth and I have traveled a lot over the last few years, and we both agree that our time in Guatemala on the Snapshot Tour was one of the most fulfilling trips we’ve ever been on. All this week, we have been talking about our school experiences, so today we wanted to highlight a few of our adventures outside of the school.

Relax in the hills of Santiago

Every hotel we stayed in during our time in Guatemala was exceptional, but if I had to pick my favorite, then it would have to be Hotel Posada de Santiago. Despite its name, Posada de Santiago is actually a collection of stone cottages set on a lush hillside. Better yet, each cottage featured a hammock outside the front yard. Seriously, I could have stayed here for months, writing, lounging and just exploring the grounds and nearby village.

Take a boat ride across Lake Atitlan

Boats are fun. Lake Atitlan is incredibly beautiful. So when you combine the two, you have one fun, out of this world boat adventure. I love this region of Guatemala and was really happy that it was part of our Snapshot Tour. Here volunteer Tyler Wilson does his best Leonardo DiCaprio as we cross the windy lake on our way to Santiago.

Enjoy the ride (and views)

One advantage to volunteering with CoEd is that you get to traverse the countryside in comfortable shuttle vans as opposed to the country’s unofficial public transportation system of colorful Chicken Buses. Guatemala is a pretty eclectic place in terms of its landscape, so traveling in the comfort and safety of the vans really gives you a chance to relax and take in the country.

See Antigua with an expert

Antigua is the jewel of the Guatemala’s central highlands. The capital city is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site full of bright Spanish Baroque influenced architecture and several colonial churches. As part of the Snapshot Tour with CoEd, we got a guided tour of the city, which was absolutely amazing and a real treat.

Explore a historic coffee plantation

In 2007, after an all night flight, we arrived in Antigua around 8 a.m. and went to a cafe to grab a bite to eat and a coffee. Now, I can’t tell you what I had for breakfast that morning, but I’ll never forget that cup of coffee; it was one of the best I’ve ever had. As I would soon find out, Guatemala is renowned for its coffee. So when CoEd offered an optional tour of Finca Filadelfia Coffee Plantation during our stay in Antigua, we jumped at the chance. Not only was the tour extremely interesting, we also got to sample some great coffee. In addition to the coffee tour, the plantation also offered mule tours and zip-lining.

Have you ever volunteered in Guatemala? If so, what was your favorite thing about the country?

We’re still in the midst of our Guatemala fundraiser! We are raising $2,000 for the children at the Panajxit shcool and we are now 1/4 of the way there with $500 raised so far! Can you help us reach our goal by 12/31/12? Please see below for more info!

If you are new to our blog please see below for information on how you can donate to this great cause and enter in our Guatemala raffle giveaway!

Just in case this is the first time you are hearing about our fundraising campaign, I’ve included the details below about how you can get involved, including info about the prize pack we are giving away to one lucky person!

How it works:

It’s very easy. Make a $15 donation and get an entry into the raffle for the prize pack! Do you want more than 1 entry into the raffle? All you need to do is make a larger donation. Easy as pie! 100% of your donation goes directly to the two student computer workstations we are funding at Panajxit. The donations are also a tax write off for U.S. citizens!

  • $15 Donation = 1 entry
  • $25 Donation = 2 entries
  • $50 Donation = 4 Entries
  • $100 Donation = 10 entries
  • $250 Donation = 18 entries
  • $500 Donation = 36 entries
  • $1,000 Donation = 75 entries
  • $2,000 Donation = If you donate $2,000 we’ll give you a prize pack of your very own!

Each entry earned gives you a chance to win the the Travel Fun Pack!

The Gift Pack Includes:

  • 1 $25 Amex Gift Card
  • 1 $25 Amazon Gift Card
  • 1 $25 Itunes Gift Card
  • 1 Adventurer’s Travel Journal Pack By Earmark
  • 1 Free Download of Getting Out Of Auto
  • 1 Safety Whistle from Tom Bihn
  • 1 Tom Bihn Packing Cube Backpack

Total Prize Pack is worth $165 and the winner takes all!

How Do You Enter?

It’s easy! Just click the DONATE NOW button below or you can click on the green widget on our sidebar to make your donation. Either way will bring you to Razoo which is where we have decided to host our fundraising efforts. Why did we pick Razoo? Well if we can get enough donations quickly then we will be showcased on their homepage, which will let even more people know about CoEd and our mission to fund two computer labs!

Is There A deadline?

Yes there is! We are trying to raise $2,000 by midnight on Dec. 31, 2012. We know it’s a short amount of time but we really want to make these computer stations a reality for the start of the new year. Plus, it will be a great way for all of us to bring in 2013 knowing that we just made a huge difference in the lives of these beautiful children!

How Will We Choose The Winner?

We will write your name on a slip of paper for each entry into the raffle. As soon as we raise the $2,000, Randy will complete an exuberant one man Polar Plunge into the great and incredibly cold Atlantic Ocean! After he runs back to the beach and draw a name out of a hat (we’ll bring it with us to the beach). We’ll be filming the Polar Plunge and name draw on video and then post it on our site to announce the winner! Good Luck!

Please consider making a donation to this very worthy cause today and earn a chance to win a fabulous prize pack at the same time! If a donation simply isn’t in the cards this year, please share this page with your friends, family, coworkers and neighbors so they can learn about CoEd and perhaps join in the raffle themselves! If you are interested in learning more about Cooperative for Education and the work they do please feel free to visit the CoEd website!

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*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first. Thanks!

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