From Puerto Barrios it's some 100 miles walk to reach Zacapa, a small town surrounded by arid mountains. When we arrived to the city borders, we bought some six pounds of bananas and started looking for a campsite for the night. We were calculating our chances at the church yard when Amilcar, the owner of the nearby rubber-shop approached us to help. He tried to reach the man responsible for the church for hours, without luck. When it started to get dark, he escorted us to the fire department. He told us that they would surely help. And he was right. Thanks to him we met the staff of the fire station and their captain, Valdemar Madrid. While we were waiting for a small monetary help in Zacapa, we were allowed to stay in the classroom of the F.D, that was used to train new recruits.
Most of the firemen are local volunteers, and the youngest of them was a 16 years old lad. In Guatemala firemen are often the ambulance as well. And they do not slack about too much, they take care of Zacapa, other 42 small villages and the families living in the mountains. Volunteers work a day for free every week to help their fellow citizens. Hats off to them. We cannot thank their help enough and we wish them good luck and peaceful shifts.
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