After arriving in Guatemala City, home to 3 million people, I toured the city and learned many facts about the people and culture I would be visiting for the week. The purpose of my trip was to learn what the protocols for growing and shipping disease free cuttings and hybrid seeds from this country of eternal spring.

Parque Minerva in the North side of Zone 1about 1.5 miles. Made between 1904 and 1905 by the engineer Francisco Vela Irrisario, this is a unique and amazingly detailed three-dimensional map of the country in concrete. How could he do this without computers?

From the visitors' observation box you can see the flow of the country's rivers and lakes. The 108,889-square kilometers that make up the Republic of Guatemala are accurately condensed into only 1,800 square meters.

To see all the rivers, volcanoes, mountains, valleys, and the coast laid out before you gives a viewer good insight for starting a tour around the country. We made a 3 1/2 hour trip to Jalapa to visit Ball Seed Company and Goldsmith Seed Company. Extremely interesting country, people and landscape.

At Goldsmith Seed Company we saw how Mammoth Pansies are pollinated by hand. No bees allowed!

In conjunction with our trip, Don and Ruth Snow drove and donated their Toyota pickup from Gilroy California to a Jalapa orphanage for use in medical distribution and care. Follow their quest here. http://www.jalapabound.blogspot.com/ and if it is in your heart, please make a donation to them at http://www.lampcharity.org/donate 

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