Another day in Paradise! Well it is Spring here all the time. The weather forecasts have been calling for rain but the volcanoes are the ones in control and if conditions are not right we do not get rain but lots of Sunshine. We woke as the sun did this morning and made a cup of tea to start the day. Don did his breakfast cooking and we were then set for the day. We spent the early morning on the computers reading a story (me) and doing research (Don). Late morning we started out on our continuing quest to find stoppers for a pair of crutches.
The Hunt is On - Again
We walked to Parque Calverio to chat with Tom who was our contact when we came to Xela the first time. He lives here with his wife who is Guatamalan so we thought they could give us a better address for the medical supply store we had been told about. Tom was able to show us on the map where the place was - complete with street address and everything. Only one small problem with that -- none and I mean NONE of the streets have any signs!!!! You can not identify the streets! It is most frustrating! We hiked and hiked and by golly we did stumble on the medical supply store. For less than $4 we bought a set of crutch tips! The next step is to find the post office here and mail them to Joan on Lake Atitlan. They should be delivered to her and it might even happen before she can no longer walk at all. Mission Accomplished.
As we continued our walk we stopped at McDonald's to get an ice cream and rest for a little. We then hiked to Mont Blanc, a shopping mall with a grocery store attached, to pick up a couple of things we could not find closer to home. When we were done Don looked at the map and we decided we would just walk back home and not do the bus search. Lucky for us the walk back was ALL down hill (really, really down hill). It's a bit hard on the knees to keep yourself doing only a walk down something that steep. It didn't take very long and we were back in our own stomping grounds. All of our chickens were out and about inside the house when we got home so we unloaded our shopping and went to our room, me to rest and Don was going to read but he ended up taking a short name (I did not go to sleep!). We spent the later afternoon messing around on the computers. I have a good book on the computer so I was involved in my story until time to warm up the soup for our dinner. After dinner we once again went out for a walk and tried to find the Lenten procession we could hear but we did not locate it. Our walk took us to Parque Central where people were out walking about and visiting. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the Lenten Procession will be around Parque Central along with lots and lots of people. If we go we will not have anything on us for anybody to steal. Lesson Learned.
I finished my computer book and have another one to start tonight but first I thought I would pop some popcorn the old fashioned way. We discovered that the popcorn taste much better cooked this way. When that is done I do believe I will call it a day. Catch you tomorrow with more Spring.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Nice Weekend
We had a very nice, restful weekend. We did not do much but read, locate and prepare or eat our meals and check our email. Saturday I was still coughing but the meds picked up at the big grocery Hiper Piaz seemed to be helping with the spasms. I go for longer stretches of time without coughing so I call it progress. Our third guest/roommate returned from her travels and spent Saturday cleaning and repairing her 'nest'. Her room is as small as ours. The designer of this building was a nut case! This place make little sense to me but it is comfortable enough so it will do till the end of April.
Sunday we walked to church early enough to catch one of the Lenten processions as it went by the church. This one was a women's float of Mary and all of the carriers were older women in 'ropa tipica'. It was really beautiful. Then we walked on to the church. All along the sidewalk in front of the church were vendors selling Lenten Palms with flowers and ferns in the arrangements. When you entered the church you were given a simpler arrangement of palms so that everyone had their palms. The Archbishop said the Mass and entered the church from the front blessing the palms and the people as he came up the aisle. The palm arrangements added a simple beauty to the process. The altar was well decorated with just palms. We had forgotten our Mass books so we had to listen hard to catch the Spanish which the Archbishop spoke very clearly and using simpler Spanish. We were able to follow pretty well and we knew the story of the passion. We had lunch right after church since we were out and then walked back across the park to our house. The rest of the afternoon we spent reading and computing. Around 5pm we took ourselves out for a walk in our neighborhood since the weather was beautiful and we were needed to get out for a bit. The three girls we live with is a great deal like living with chickens! They chitter-chatter and giggle and run around much like brainless chickens but they are nice. The girls were all out for the evening so we took our showers and were in bed reading long before they came home. I slept well and the coughing did not wake me up with every other breath so all total---a good night.
Monday morning and I have had my oatmeal and tea made by Don and below us the Spanish school has begun class for the day. Our chickens are still sleeping. I am not sure how they sleep through the process of us cooking breakfast because this place is a sound chamber.
Sunday we walked to church early enough to catch one of the Lenten processions as it went by the church. This one was a women's float of Mary and all of the carriers were older women in 'ropa tipica'. It was really beautiful. Then we walked on to the church. All along the sidewalk in front of the church were vendors selling Lenten Palms with flowers and ferns in the arrangements. When you entered the church you were given a simpler arrangement of palms so that everyone had their palms. The Archbishop said the Mass and entered the church from the front blessing the palms and the people as he came up the aisle. The palm arrangements added a simple beauty to the process. The altar was well decorated with just palms. We had forgotten our Mass books so we had to listen hard to catch the Spanish which the Archbishop spoke very clearly and using simpler Spanish. We were able to follow pretty well and we knew the story of the passion. We had lunch right after church since we were out and then walked back across the park to our house. The rest of the afternoon we spent reading and computing. Around 5pm we took ourselves out for a walk in our neighborhood since the weather was beautiful and we were needed to get out for a bit. The three girls we live with is a great deal like living with chickens! They chitter-chatter and giggle and run around much like brainless chickens but they are nice. The girls were all out for the evening so we took our showers and were in bed reading long before they came home. I slept well and the coughing did not wake me up with every other breath so all total---a good night.
Monday morning and I have had my oatmeal and tea made by Don and below us the Spanish school has begun class for the day. Our chickens are still sleeping. I am not sure how they sleep through the process of us cooking breakfast because this place is a sound chamber.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Normal Day to Where is the Chicken Bus
Friday Morning March 26
TGIF to all who pass this way today. We were up with the sun this morning because the day did not start out overcast. The sun is a bit hard to ignore when you have just light fabric covering the windows. At any rate we are up and fed and ready for what the day may bring. Our only plan at this point is the lunch special at Pollo Campero’s which means we will have to be dressed by then. We lounge around in our sweat suits because it is chilly here early in the morning. It will warm up nicely during the day although if you stand in the shade for too long you begin to get a little chilled.
We are a bit of a pain to the young folk staying here because the whole house is one giant sound chamber. It is concrete and brink construction with no insulation (judging by other construction we see going up). Our young folks are also a pain for us because they like the night life and burning the candle at both ends. They come in extremely late and even when you try very hard to be very quiet it is nearly impossible. Don is a bit like a bull in a china cabinet when he works in the kitchen. Add his whistle to his nearly every waking move and you have noise in motion. Thank heavens he does not whistle when he works on the computer. When he is working on finding grant opportunities he is as quiet as mouse. He will be well occupied while we are here.
We did check out the other volunteer group Don located here in Xela but they really wanted someone with more time to commit to the project and someone with more Spanish than we have (of course this one is being run out of a Spanish school). It turned out to be a massive number of computers, scattered around in 30 communities. Don decided we really did not need to put that much effort into a project that would not be self sustaining if no one could continue to keep the computers spy ware and bug free. That frees up more time to explore Xela when we get our ‘sea legs’. I am guessing by next week we will venture out to see what we can see (and I will carry food as well as water).
The Chicken Bus That Wasn’t To Be Found
Another different kind of chicken bus story. We walked to a location not far from the house where we know we can get on a bus to take us to the big grocery - the Hiper Piaz-- ( I will not try to tell you how to say this) We boarded the bus and took off and while there seemed to be a lot of people in town we didn’t think much about it but went on our merry way. There is no way for information on what is happening in the city to be broadcast so that there would be some rhyme or reason for when things happen. It turns out that Friday is Big Market Day! That means that several more streets are closed and anyone who has or grows something they want to sell set up a stall and viola! Jack is Your Uncle! They are in business. How you actually shop on these days is over whelming. Maybe part of the problem is that as gringos we have to be security savvy around that many people. We were hungry by the time we reached the mall so we started off by fueling up. We strolled through the mall first just because it was there and to be sure there was no place there that we could find a crutch tip before we went down to the grocery. At the grocery we were looking for a pharmacy to find something to help with a cough that is not really a cough but a spasm and is driving me crazy at night. At first all we saw was Vicks -- the full alcohol version -- that might have knocked me on my butt, however, the pharmacist saw what I was looking for and heard me hacking and he pulled something of the shelf from behind the counter that has no alcohol or sugar so we decided to give it a try. Next we wanted to find a medical supply place that was suppose to be near where we were but after a lot of walking did not find it. The search will continue tomorrow. Our last location to hunt for is a Mennonite bakery where they sell a brown bread, fresh cheese, and even butter. This is a place we had shopped at when we were here last time. Don would like to try the butter but we are afraid we could never get it home and today would be a fine example of that.
Chicken Bus Story -- we were done with our shopping and decided to head back home because my energy level was dropping. Sounds simple when you see or say it that way. Today was not a simple day. On top of all the people prowling around for the Market Day this week's Procession for Lent was going to happen right there also!!! It was the most noisy, chaotic, nonsensical, difficult situation we have enjoyed in a while. There is street construction to add another twist by changing bus routes. There were lots of buses - just none going our way! Finally someone heard us asking yet another bus if they went our way and pointed out a spot on the other side of the street where we might catch the right bus. Success was a last ours and we headed back stopping to eat our second lunch which was just another light snack but was plenty for the need.
Tonight in our place one of the girls is having friends over to help her celebrate her birthday. She says they will arrive around 7 pm for about an hour or so. Not sure if I buy that because her evenings out last six hours or more into the wee small hours of the morning. Don wants to leave but I am not one to venture out with no destination and no place to be. Does not seem smart to me. The party will just have to take into account a couple of old poots on the premises! Ha! sorta tickles my funny bone.
TGIF to all who pass this way today. We were up with the sun this morning because the day did not start out overcast. The sun is a bit hard to ignore when you have just light fabric covering the windows. At any rate we are up and fed and ready for what the day may bring. Our only plan at this point is the lunch special at Pollo Campero’s which means we will have to be dressed by then. We lounge around in our sweat suits because it is chilly here early in the morning. It will warm up nicely during the day although if you stand in the shade for too long you begin to get a little chilled.
We are a bit of a pain to the young folk staying here because the whole house is one giant sound chamber. It is concrete and brink construction with no insulation (judging by other construction we see going up). Our young folks are also a pain for us because they like the night life and burning the candle at both ends. They come in extremely late and even when you try very hard to be very quiet it is nearly impossible. Don is a bit like a bull in a china cabinet when he works in the kitchen. Add his whistle to his nearly every waking move and you have noise in motion. Thank heavens he does not whistle when he works on the computer. When he is working on finding grant opportunities he is as quiet as mouse. He will be well occupied while we are here.
We did check out the other volunteer group Don located here in Xela but they really wanted someone with more time to commit to the project and someone with more Spanish than we have (of course this one is being run out of a Spanish school). It turned out to be a massive number of computers, scattered around in 30 communities. Don decided we really did not need to put that much effort into a project that would not be self sustaining if no one could continue to keep the computers spy ware and bug free. That frees up more time to explore Xela when we get our ‘sea legs’. I am guessing by next week we will venture out to see what we can see (and I will carry food as well as water).
The Chicken Bus That Wasn’t To Be Found
Another different kind of chicken bus story. We walked to a location not far from the house where we know we can get on a bus to take us to the big grocery - the Hiper Piaz-- ( I will not try to tell you how to say this
Chicken Bus Story -- we were done with our shopping and decided to head back home because my energy level was dropping. Sounds simple when you see or say it that way. Today was not a simple day. On top of all the people prowling around for the Market Day this week's Procession for Lent was going to happen right there also!!! It was the most noisy, chaotic, nonsensical, difficult situation we have enjoyed in a while. There is street construction to add another twist by changing bus routes. There were lots of buses - just none going our way! Finally someone heard us asking yet another bus if they went our way and pointed out a spot on the other side of the street where we might catch the right bus. Success was a last ours and we headed back stopping to eat our second lunch which was just another light snack but was plenty for the need.
Tonight in our place one of the girls is having friends over to help her celebrate her birthday. She says they will arrive around 7 pm for about an hour or so. Not sure if I buy that because her evenings out last six hours or more into the wee small hours of the morning. Don wants to leave but I am not one to venture out with no destination and no place to be. Does not seem smart to me. The party will just have to take into account a couple of old poots on the premises! Ha! sorta tickles my funny bone.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday - Yet another Great Adventure----grrrrrrrr
Today my eyes popped open at 6:50 am - late enough to be able to get out of bed and stir around and not feel guilty about waking anyone (most especially the one who was out last night from 9pm to 4am--I would not be functioning today but she left at mid-morning). I woke feeling almost human, a good thing. Don made breakfast but had to get creative with the food we had available. We had gone to the Market the day before to pick up odds and ends needed but the store was playing music SO LOUD! you could not think. So Don bought more powdered milk (for cooking oatmeal) instead of more oatmeal. It is hard to shop when the person standing next to you can not hear you! It's also not a lot of fun. Breakfast you say? - well it started with a banana, hot tea, and a bowl of left over soup followed by an orange and more tea for the one who wanted more. Not bad really as it has held us together up to this point in the day. The time here now as I write is 11:20 am. Guatemala has plenty of sunshine and does not change times which is great for me because I don't have to make that adjustment along with learning to live next door to a mountain.
After eating we both pulled out the computers and checked our email. Then we took a quick trip to the open air mercado to buy eggs where we can get a dozen instead of 36 at a time. We have no place to put more than a dozen eggs. Guatemala does not put eggs in the fridge even in the stores. We do after they are bought place them in the fridge and I can't tell you if this is good or bad. The eggs are good when cooked, look right, smell right so perhaps I need to research the refridgeration of eggs, hmmmmmm. It is close to lunch time so I am going to go pry Don's hands of the keyboard so we can do something about it.
Today is a no plan day. Don can work for the non-profit from here so that makes life a tad simpler.
Yet another Great Adventure----grrrrrrrr
Okay are you ready for another 'chicken bus' story? To be honest this was not a chicken bus but Xela's answer to the tuc-tuc -- a 15 passenger van! Yes the ayudante still hangs out of the door and yes they can overstuff them. On our bus today they managed to stack 25 people into the thing! But wait!!!!! That is NOT the story! We left the house at lunch time. Don Said, "we can take a bus and get off at Polo Campero" it won't take very long! Hah! famous last words! The bus had signage that said they went by the terminal from which we could get to the mall. Our seats were the last seats on the bus! We watched the bus load and unload. It amazes me that they get on even when there is no place to go/sit. We got a grand tour of a part of the city we have never been to AND did not come close to the mall, our destination. When all of the people on the bus had been delivered and we were still sitting on the bus the driver wanted to know where we were going. Imagine that! He said his bus did not go there but Don pointed out that the sign on his bus said he did. To give the driver credit he did find us another bus that WOULD stop at the terminal. So Don paid the man for the 'tour' and we got on the new bus. Much to our surprise we went right back to the location we had started from (where we got on the first bus). The new bus would indeed take us to the terminal but he had a route to complete in the process. Now you all know that diabetics get 'testy' when they get hungry and by now it was almost 1:30 pm. You will be happy to know Don still lives --he just was the handiest person for me to vent on. I bought some peanut butter and crackers today and I will not leave without having something with me to eat---just in case. To be fair---things like this happen all the time in GUA -- not everything you plan to do actually happens the way it was planned. You must have Plan B ready all the time.
Once we arrived at our destination the first thing Don did was FEED me. This Pollo Campero was completely hidden behind more or less permanent street vendors. We found the front door, entered, and found a nearly full restaurant. We were lucky and found a table and quickly placed our order. It less than 15 minutes there was not a table available in this fast food restaurant! It was hopping! Here in Xela the music seems to be mostly marimba music and not too loud. When our meal was done we went to Mont Blanc which has a grocery store to buy some spices we can't find closer to home. We were done quickly and headed back out to find a bus that would take us back to our starting point. We took most of the same scenic route we had coming out but we did land where we started and that is a short walk to the house.
Can I just tell you how much fun it is discovering which buses will take you where you want to go???? There is no printed schedule and while their route maybe on the front of the bus that does not mean they will actually go there. It will be trail and error. I will be bringing food with me if we leave here headed for a meal. Generally we eat two meals at home and one 'on the road'. The travel is difficult and time consuming so if we go out we eat out. Seems to be working well as my BG was 105 this morning so something is working.
Yet another Great Adventure----grrrrrrrr
Okay are you ready for another 'chicken bus' story? To be honest this was not a chicken bus but Xela's answer to the tuc-tuc -- a 15 passenger van! Yes the ayudante still hangs out of the door and yes they can overstuff them. On our bus today they managed to stack 25 people into the thing! But wait!!!!! That is NOT the story! We left the house at lunch time. Don Said, "we can take a bus and get off at Polo Campero" it won't take very long! Hah! famous last words! The bus had signage that said they went by the terminal from which we could get to the mall. Our seats were the last seats on the bus! We watched the bus load and unload. It amazes me that they get on even when there is no place to go/sit. We got a grand tour of a part of the city we have never been to AND did not come close to the mall, our destination. When all of the people on the bus had been delivered and we were still sitting on the bus the driver wanted to know where we were going. Imagine that! He said his bus did not go there but Don pointed out that the sign on his bus said he did. To give the driver credit he did find us another bus that WOULD stop at the terminal. So Don paid the man for the 'tour' and we got on the new bus. Much to our surprise we went right back to the location we had started from (where we got on the first bus). The new bus would indeed take us to the terminal but he had a route to complete in the process. Now you all know that diabetics get 'testy' when they get hungry and by now it was almost 1:30 pm. You will be happy to know Don still lives --he just was the handiest person for me to vent on. I bought some peanut butter and crackers today and I will not leave without having something with me to eat---just in case. To be fair---things like this happen all the time in GUA -- not everything you plan to do actually happens the way it was planned. You must have Plan B ready all the time.
Once we arrived at our destination the first thing Don did was FEED me. This Pollo Campero was completely hidden behind more or less permanent street vendors. We found the front door, entered, and found a nearly full restaurant. We were lucky and found a table and quickly placed our order. It less than 15 minutes there was not a table available in this fast food restaurant! It was hopping! Here in Xela the music seems to be mostly marimba music and not too loud. When our meal was done we went to Mont Blanc which has a grocery store to buy some spices we can't find closer to home. We were done quickly and headed back out to find a bus that would take us back to our starting point. We took most of the same scenic route we had coming out but we did land where we started and that is a short walk to the house.
Can I just tell you how much fun it is discovering which buses will take you where you want to go???? There is no printed schedule and while their route maybe on the front of the bus that does not mean they will actually go there. It will be trail and error. I will be bringing food with me if we leave here headed for a meal. Generally we eat two meals at home and one 'on the road'. The travel is difficult and time consuming so if we go out we eat out. Seems to be working well as my BG was 105 this morning so something is working.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Want to see the pictures?
If you want to see the pictures check out Don's blog. They take forever to load so I am not going to take up the band with to load them.
Go to http://dongua2010.blogspot.com/
Go to http://dongua2010.blogspot.com/
Shopping in Xela
This morning Don had a bee in his bonnet to take one of Xela's version of the tuc-tuc (took took) to go to the mall. We woke at seven and he was up and making breakfast to the tune of some diddly -dang dog barking it's fool head off (and had been barking since 2:45 am). I am not sure why people have dogs here. They seem to mean nothing to them and they are poorly cared for, never neutered or heck ever see a vet. They don't revere them and they don't eat them (this is judging from the hords of dogs around). Okay, enough, I was just peeved because no one put a concrete block around this dogs head this morning ....... that's mean but at 3 am I WAS mean.
We ate a chicken buritto at Polo Comparo for lunch with a bit of fries to go with it and a bottle of water. It turned out to be too much food for me, I was over stuffed. I guess if I learn to pay attention to my tummy I won't put on any weight. Then we entered the mall which is two story. It has the usual stores and this time we even found a bookstore. The bookstore was a little 'out there' like a throw back to our hippie era.We had a couple of needs for our 'kitchen' like a knife that would cut hot butter! We found us a Crocodile Dundee knife! It will cut anything but there is little finesse in using it. We hunted down a couple of mugs for tea instead of the dinky cups we have been using and need to make a second cup to complete any meal. When I ran out of juice (energy) we headed back to catch a small bus back across town.
Tonight I cooked. It was not fancy. I have dubbed it a scrambled omelet. I thinly slice onion and any vegetables we have on hand and top it with a little tomato and then pour in the egg. It is filling and not fancy but provides a bit of protein along with some vegetables. Don did the manly thing and helped me do the dishes. We have some issues with the cleanliness of most things in the kitchen so we do our own thing and use our own stuff and feel better about the whole thing. I got sick but it was not because we have been careless. We have not eaten street food (and now it may be sometime before I take that step).
Earlier in the day Don had taken in the laundry so when we returned from the mall we set an alarm to remind us that it would be ready at 4 pm. It was clean and not wadded up but their folding skills need some work.
At the mall we got more clothes hangers and hung up most of our shirts so we don't look like a wrinkled mess when we head out into the wild blue yonder.
My energy level is all used up but we are still alive and we will continue to blog as we can.
We ate a chicken buritto at Polo Comparo for lunch with a bit of fries to go with it and a bottle of water. It turned out to be too much food for me, I was over stuffed. I guess if I learn to pay attention to my tummy I won't put on any weight. Then we entered the mall which is two story. It has the usual stores and this time we even found a bookstore. The bookstore was a little 'out there' like a throw back to our hippie era.We had a couple of needs for our 'kitchen' like a knife that would cut hot butter! We found us a Crocodile Dundee knife! It will cut anything but there is little finesse in using it. We hunted down a couple of mugs for tea instead of the dinky cups we have been using and need to make a second cup to complete any meal. When I ran out of juice (energy) we headed back to catch a small bus back across town.
Tonight I cooked. It was not fancy. I have dubbed it a scrambled omelet. I thinly slice onion and any vegetables we have on hand and top it with a little tomato and then pour in the egg. It is filling and not fancy but provides a bit of protein along with some vegetables. Don did the manly thing and helped me do the dishes. We have some issues with the cleanliness of most things in the kitchen so we do our own thing and use our own stuff and feel better about the whole thing. I got sick but it was not because we have been careless. We have not eaten street food (and now it may be sometime before I take that step).
Earlier in the day Don had taken in the laundry so when we returned from the mall we set an alarm to remind us that it would be ready at 4 pm. It was clean and not wadded up but their folding skills need some work.
At the mall we got more clothes hangers and hung up most of our shirts so we don't look like a wrinkled mess when we head out into the wild blue yonder.
My energy level is all used up but we are still alive and we will continue to blog as we can.
Discovery March 23, 2010
Discovery -- I will survive Montezuma’s revenge
We left the Lake Atitlan area in a pick-up truck. I rode in the cab with Joan and Don rode with ALL the luggage in the back. Francisco, the young man Joan sometimes calls for trips into Pana, was due to pick us up by 7:30 am at the gate so that we could arrive at the travel agency by the designated 8:15 am He was late. That would have been no big deal because it would have just meant no breakfast. Joan only allowed him to pick up a couple of women going our way because we would miss our bus if he did more than that. He and Joan dropped us off and then went to run another errand. We went into the hotel dinning room next door and ordered breakfast. The trip to Xela is about 2 hours from Pana. Joan and her driver returned in time to have a cup of coffee with us then the doors opened to the travel agency. Joan cried when she hugged us good-bye and left before our 15 passenger van arrived. I wish her well on her Bed and Breakfast and that her son finds the courage to come out and visit her.
As we left Pana we discovered that we were the only passengers making the trip! Can I tell you that tourism is more that 50% down this year! I put on my sea bands than Van gave me and enjoyed the view all the way to our door. These shuttles will drop you and your luggage at your destination, hotel or guest house. When we were here studying Spanish the last time our home stay was directly across the street from our current location. We watched this place go up and wondered about would it would grow up to be. When we arrived we discovered that it is both a guest house and a Spanish School. The guest here do not necessarily study Spanish here but work on other projects.
Our room is a rather large closet. NOT KIDDING! We have a double bed slam up against the hot water heater which is boxed in, a very poorly made chest of drawers that make a horrible noise when we open the drawers, a table that does the duty of night stand and catch all and a plastic chair. The room has windows on both ends which is great during the day for light and ventilation (only one end opens) The ceiling light had 2 yellow/orange 25 watt bulbs in it. I know that utilities here are expensive but that is not enough light to keep you from running into the bed!!! We washed the light fixture and put in a incandesant bulb with 60 watts. We don’t spend much of the day in here and do not read very long at night but we like to see when we are in here. The common area is open to all with a kitchen with two burner stove top, bigger fridge, a bin for food for each room, a shelf in fridge for each room, space in cupboards for each room. a sofa with TV, and a dining room table, plus two outdoor patios available for all of us. We have more freedom here than at Hortensia’s and like it just fine. About ½ block down the street is a market with farm fresh produce and plenty of fruit. The grocery store is a bit more of a walk but the music there makes it a pain in the ears to shop there (I know they say if it is too loud you are too old) but this is grocery shopping and not a dance hall or disco where the DJ wants to see if he can make your ears bleed!!!! Not much fun!
Discovery!
I will survive Montezuma’s Revenge! Yep! when we got here on Friday I was feeling a little bit ‘punk’. Bye night fall I thought I had fallen off of the truck and that something rolled over me and drug me down the mountain. I was really, truly and terribly sick. I was up most of the night. I think Don missed some of the trips but I have not asked him (payback can be hard). I laid low and by Saturday afternoon was beginning to feel like survival was possible, maybe. I was hungry but stayed with bland stuff, which is not so hard to do here and drank plenty of water which stayed down. Success! (the staying down part). On Sunday I got up and drug some outdoor clothes on a trudged behind Don to church (I figured it could possibly help) and trudged back to bed. Don did the cooking, scrambled eggs, oat meal, boiled potatoes, and plenty of water. I can’t remember what day I made a soup--a very bland soup-- but it was tasty enough for me. I have been doing the disinfecting of the bathroom and any surface I touch in the kitchen so as to keep this thing all to myself -- nobody deserves this. The worst part of this is that Coke Light, Seven Up, etc. taste absolutely terrible!! I am not able to drink any of them but water taste just fabulous! I am happy to report Judy that ALL systems are working. I tire easily and breath like a steam shovel if we go up hill too long -- Don does an ERIK -- he just waits. I am having to watch my blood sugar more closely. This mornings reading was 97 which is a new low for me in the past couple of years. My afternoon reading was 127.
Our readings/research say that getting use to the altitude takes a good week and I plan to use the whole week. Sometimes the beginning of both are very much the same yuckiness! I was sick at the apartment the weekend before we left so this may well be round two of the same thing. This time it may be overkill but I am taking my dose of Cipro. I have had enough of this for now (or ever).
We left the Lake Atitlan area in a pick-up truck. I rode in the cab with Joan and Don rode with ALL the luggage in the back. Francisco, the young man Joan sometimes calls for trips into Pana, was due to pick us up by 7:30 am at the gate so that we could arrive at the travel agency by the designated 8:15 am He was late. That would have been no big deal because it would have just meant no breakfast. Joan only allowed him to pick up a couple of women going our way because we would miss our bus if he did more than that. He and Joan dropped us off and then went to run another errand. We went into the hotel dinning room next door and ordered breakfast. The trip to Xela is about 2 hours from Pana. Joan and her driver returned in time to have a cup of coffee with us then the doors opened to the travel agency. Joan cried when she hugged us good-bye and left before our 15 passenger van arrived. I wish her well on her Bed and Breakfast and that her son finds the courage to come out and visit her.
As we left Pana we discovered that we were the only passengers making the trip! Can I tell you that tourism is more that 50% down this year! I put on my sea bands than Van gave me and enjoyed the view all the way to our door. These shuttles will drop you and your luggage at your destination, hotel or guest house. When we were here studying Spanish the last time our home stay was directly across the street from our current location. We watched this place go up and wondered about would it would grow up to be. When we arrived we discovered that it is both a guest house and a Spanish School. The guest here do not necessarily study Spanish here but work on other projects.
Our room is a rather large closet. NOT KIDDING! We have a double bed slam up against the hot water heater which is boxed in, a very poorly made chest of drawers that make a horrible noise when we open the drawers, a table that does the duty of night stand and catch all and a plastic chair. The room has windows on both ends which is great during the day for light and ventilation (only one end opens) The ceiling light had 2 yellow/orange 25 watt bulbs in it. I know that utilities here are expensive but that is not enough light to keep you from running into the bed!!! We washed the light fixture and put in a incandesant bulb with 60 watts. We don’t spend much of the day in here and do not read very long at night but we like to see when we are in here. The common area is open to all with a kitchen with two burner stove top, bigger fridge, a bin for food for each room, a shelf in fridge for each room, space in cupboards for each room. a sofa with TV, and a dining room table, plus two outdoor patios available for all of us. We have more freedom here than at Hortensia’s and like it just fine. About ½ block down the street is a market with farm fresh produce and plenty of fruit. The grocery store is a bit more of a walk but the music there makes it a pain in the ears to shop there (I know they say if it is too loud you are too old) but this is grocery shopping and not a dance hall or disco where the DJ wants to see if he can make your ears bleed!!!! Not much fun!
Discovery!
I will survive Montezuma’s Revenge! Yep! when we got here on Friday I was feeling a little bit ‘punk’. Bye night fall I thought I had fallen off of the truck and that something rolled over me and drug me down the mountain. I was really, truly and terribly sick. I was up most of the night. I think Don missed some of the trips but I have not asked him (payback can be hard). I laid low and by Saturday afternoon was beginning to feel like survival was possible, maybe. I was hungry but stayed with bland stuff, which is not so hard to do here and drank plenty of water which stayed down. Success! (the staying down part). On Sunday I got up and drug some outdoor clothes on a trudged behind Don to church (I figured it could possibly help) and trudged back to bed. Don did the cooking, scrambled eggs, oat meal, boiled potatoes, and plenty of water. I can’t remember what day I made a soup--a very bland soup-- but it was tasty enough for me. I have been doing the disinfecting of the bathroom and any surface I touch in the kitchen so as to keep this thing all to myself -- nobody deserves this. The worst part of this is that Coke Light, Seven Up, etc. taste absolutely terrible!! I am not able to drink any of them but water taste just fabulous! I am happy to report Judy that ALL systems are working. I tire easily and breath like a steam shovel if we go up hill too long -- Don does an ERIK -- he just waits. I am having to watch my blood sugar more closely. This mornings reading was 97 which is a new low for me in the past couple of years. My afternoon reading was 127.
Our readings/research say that getting use to the altitude takes a good week and I plan to use the whole week. Sometimes the beginning of both are very much the same yuckiness! I was sick at the apartment the weekend before we left so this may well be round two of the same thing. This time it may be overkill but I am taking my dose of Cipro. I have had enough of this for now (or ever).
Escape to Pana
Wednesday March 17
Escape to Pana
Today we decided we would take a walking tour of our neighborhood then slip off to Pana without taking Joan with us. We hiked the 2,000 feet (I’m exaggerating but not much!!!) straight up the mountain to the church we can see from here which is next to the market. This is also the place where you can catch a ride in the back of a pickup truck for Q10 into Pana. These pick ups have a frame constructed over the bed that leans itself to supporting a tarp if the weather turns to rain. They build a seat on each side of the truck bed so you can set and hold on for dear life as you travel through the mountains.
Once in Pana we headed out to find lunch, a chicken, black bean, rice, and cheese burrito with guacamole and Coke Light. We stopped first at the bookstore in the same complex and bought each a book to read (we have no TV in our room). Then the hiking began up and down the open craft stores and shops. How can they think to make a living when as far as the eye can see down the street there are vendors selling the same stuff?? It is very colorful and very beautiful but every store has the same merchandise. Today we had to fight off all of the street vendors but there are so few tourist that no one is selling much. The question “What part of No, Thank You” are you not understanding comes to mind often. We walked along the ’beach front’ enjoying ourselves till I heard thunder then decided we needed to get back before the heavens opened up. We managed to get back to the Casa just before all of the heavens opened up. It was some rain! It was over in a couple of hours but we also lost power for 45 minutes. We ate early so we could see what we were doing then found the candles and lit them so we could move around safely. The lights were back on in a timely manner so our shower will not be an adventure.
My only purchase was a small purse/cell phone holder. I wanted to be able to have my phone with me but not stuck in my pocket which is not deep enough to keep anything from falling out.
Tomorrow we plan to take Joan with us for breakfast in Pana which she loves to do but has not done much lately. It is very hard for her on her own to get out much. The search for the crutch tip and/or another set of crutches is still on. It is the very least we can do to help Joan improve her quality of life.
Escape to Pana
Today we decided we would take a walking tour of our neighborhood then slip off to Pana without taking Joan with us. We hiked the 2,000 feet (I’m exaggerating but not much!!!) straight up the mountain to the church we can see from here which is next to the market. This is also the place where you can catch a ride in the back of a pickup truck for Q10 into Pana. These pick ups have a frame constructed over the bed that leans itself to supporting a tarp if the weather turns to rain. They build a seat on each side of the truck bed so you can set and hold on for dear life as you travel through the mountains.
Once in Pana we headed out to find lunch, a chicken, black bean, rice, and cheese burrito with guacamole and Coke Light. We stopped first at the bookstore in the same complex and bought each a book to read (we have no TV in our room). Then the hiking began up and down the open craft stores and shops. How can they think to make a living when as far as the eye can see down the street there are vendors selling the same stuff?? It is very colorful and very beautiful but every store has the same merchandise. Today we had to fight off all of the street vendors but there are so few tourist that no one is selling much. The question “What part of No, Thank You” are you not understanding comes to mind often. We walked along the ’beach front’ enjoying ourselves till I heard thunder then decided we needed to get back before the heavens opened up. We managed to get back to the Casa just before all of the heavens opened up. It was some rain! It was over in a couple of hours but we also lost power for 45 minutes. We ate early so we could see what we were doing then found the candles and lit them so we could move around safely. The lights were back on in a timely manner so our shower will not be an adventure.
My only purchase was a small purse/cell phone holder. I wanted to be able to have my phone with me but not stuck in my pocket which is not deep enough to keep anything from falling out.
Tomorrow we plan to take Joan with us for breakfast in Pana which she loves to do but has not done much lately. It is very hard for her on her own to get out much. The search for the crutch tip and/or another set of crutches is still on. It is the very least we can do to help Joan improve her quality of life.
The Move to Lake Atitlan
March 17, 2010 Lake Atitlan
We spent Sunday evening packing our stuff in preparation for our four day vacation on Lake Atitlan. It didn’t surprise me that getting all of our stuff back was not easy. It never seems to fit the second time you pack it up. We had not bought anything other than kitchen stuff which we ended up packing into a laundry bag. We may or may not need our few small pots and pans in Xela. Does it surprise you that we do not want to buy that kind of stuff twice?
Don had contacted Mark, our downstairs neighbor and father of 10, to arrange for a taxi to pick us up at the apartment by 6:15 am so we could make the 7 am bus to Pana. This is the same bus we took to Chimal and whose transmission gave it up one day on the way to Chimal. Ready for a surprise? The bus was not running on Monday! There we were with all of our unbelievable amount of luggage, including a “kitchen” in a bag, with no place to be and no way to get where we need to be! Cute! Don’t you think? This is Guatemala -- there is no way to disseminate this kind of information to the general public until the last minute. So onto plan B which is very important here. There must always be a plan B. Don took off on a short hike to locate a ‘shuttle’ bus from one of the travel agencies (of which there are dozens here). He found a shuttle departing at 8 am for Pana. They picked him up at the agency and drove out to get me and The Stuff. We picked up other passengers who were mostly other tourist. Once full we took off on out trip over the mountain.
Our driver was very cautious which explains why there bus is in good shape. He crawled over that mountain and because he did I didn’t have a problem with motion sickness. We even had a ‘bathroom’ break half way through the trip. Once we arrived in Pana the driver proceeded to Back down the street where he was to drop everyone off for either tours by launch, travel by a shorter bus to hotels, or in our case, met by Joan, the owner of the Bed and Breakfast we are currently staying Casa Sonrisa a.ka. A House of Smiles. Joan met us with two Took-tooks! We had to split the cost of the trip from Pana to San Antonio Polopo on Lake Atitlan.
Now please meet Joan. She is an older woman, living alone here in Guatemala at San Antonio Polopo. I think that early last year she had a stroke which left her a bit damaged. She says she use to be able to speak Spanish very well but that it seems her Spanish stayed at the hospital. Her left side is weak and she must get around on crutches, one of them needs a new rubber foot which we have so far been unsuccessful finding nor can we find another pair of crutches. During her recovery her 27 year old son came to help her, which was a blessing even if part of the time he was with her she did not really know him, because when he went home he was in a skateboarding accident which caused his death before the end of the year. Joan is a bit needy now but is trying to hold it together. Her brain is recovering but she still has lapses like her telling me she married late when she was 99! Little things get away from her and words or sometimes elusive. She has included herself in our activities and she is extremely slow in getting around. She is game though, and will climb into the back of a pick up truck like everyone else. The bed and breakfast has turned out to be all meals with her and the “guest” pitch in to help. She was going to charge us $12 a night which we felt was not enough so Don gave her more than she was asking for and we get all meals when we can’t escape without her. She decided she trusted us so much that she gave me her bank card and asked that I get Q2,000.00 (about $250).
Our room is most adequate. It contains bed with two side tables that have the BEST light we have had in Guatemala for reading at night. There is a wooden love seat, wooden chair, side table, and a chest with extra sheets and candles. The bathroom is large with good light and the shower stinks. Actually we have had worst showers but it is still one of those where the water is heated in the shower head (also called a ‘widow-maker’) as electricity is flowing over water! It is not as cold here as in Xela which makes the shower just adequate and the room isn’t cold enough to make one shiver while dressing. All of our meals are eaten out of doors facing the rising or setting sun over the lake. We have an excellent view of the lake and it is for the most part not very noisy. There is a great deal of building going on here. It is a very poor village but the people seem content and they work very hard. Housing here is a mish-mash of beautiful concrete block construction or shabby tin and perhaps bamboo. We have a hard time walking down the street because they all want to sell their wares and tourism is not good due to the bad economy every where. We are relaxing and doing the tourist bit here and actually enjoying ourselves.
We spent Sunday evening packing our stuff in preparation for our four day vacation on Lake Atitlan. It didn’t surprise me that getting all of our stuff back was not easy. It never seems to fit the second time you pack it up. We had not bought anything other than kitchen stuff which we ended up packing into a laundry bag. We may or may not need our few small pots and pans in Xela. Does it surprise you that we do not want to buy that kind of stuff twice?
Don had contacted Mark, our downstairs neighbor and father of 10, to arrange for a taxi to pick us up at the apartment by 6:15 am so we could make the 7 am bus to Pana. This is the same bus we took to Chimal and whose transmission gave it up one day on the way to Chimal. Ready for a surprise? The bus was not running on Monday! There we were with all of our unbelievable amount of luggage, including a “kitchen” in a bag, with no place to be and no way to get where we need to be! Cute! Don’t you think? This is Guatemala -- there is no way to disseminate this kind of information to the general public until the last minute. So onto plan B which is very important here. There must always be a plan B. Don took off on a short hike to locate a ‘shuttle’ bus from one of the travel agencies (of which there are dozens here). He found a shuttle departing at 8 am for Pana. They picked him up at the agency and drove out to get me and The Stuff. We picked up other passengers who were mostly other tourist. Once full we took off on out trip over the mountain.
Our driver was very cautious which explains why there bus is in good shape. He crawled over that mountain and because he did I didn’t have a problem with motion sickness. We even had a ‘bathroom’ break half way through the trip. Once we arrived in Pana the driver proceeded to Back down the street where he was to drop everyone off for either tours by launch, travel by a shorter bus to hotels, or in our case, met by Joan, the owner of the Bed and Breakfast we are currently staying Casa Sonrisa a.ka. A House of Smiles. Joan met us with two Took-tooks! We had to split the cost of the trip from Pana to San Antonio Polopo on Lake Atitlan.
Now please meet Joan. She is an older woman, living alone here in Guatemala at San Antonio Polopo. I think that early last year she had a stroke which left her a bit damaged. She says she use to be able to speak Spanish very well but that it seems her Spanish stayed at the hospital. Her left side is weak and she must get around on crutches, one of them needs a new rubber foot which we have so far been unsuccessful finding nor can we find another pair of crutches. During her recovery her 27 year old son came to help her, which was a blessing even if part of the time he was with her she did not really know him, because when he went home he was in a skateboarding accident which caused his death before the end of the year. Joan is a bit needy now but is trying to hold it together. Her brain is recovering but she still has lapses like her telling me she married late when she was 99! Little things get away from her and words or sometimes elusive. She has included herself in our activities and she is extremely slow in getting around. She is game though, and will climb into the back of a pick up truck like everyone else. The bed and breakfast has turned out to be all meals with her and the “guest” pitch in to help. She was going to charge us $12 a night which we felt was not enough so Don gave her more than she was asking for and we get all meals when we can’t escape without her. She decided she trusted us so much that she gave me her bank card and asked that I get Q2,000.00 (about $250).
Our room is most adequate. It contains bed with two side tables that have the BEST light we have had in Guatemala for reading at night. There is a wooden love seat, wooden chair, side table, and a chest with extra sheets and candles. The bathroom is large with good light and the shower stinks. Actually we have had worst showers but it is still one of those where the water is heated in the shower head (also called a ‘widow-maker’) as electricity is flowing over water! It is not as cold here as in Xela which makes the shower just adequate and the room isn’t cold enough to make one shiver while dressing. All of our meals are eaten out of doors facing the rising or setting sun over the lake. We have an excellent view of the lake and it is for the most part not very noisy. There is a great deal of building going on here. It is a very poor village but the people seem content and they work very hard. Housing here is a mish-mash of beautiful concrete block construction or shabby tin and perhaps bamboo. We have a hard time walking down the street because they all want to sell their wares and tourism is not good due to the bad economy every where. We are relaxing and doing the tourist bit here and actually enjoying ourselves.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Tummy trouble so check Don's blog
For the past several days I have not felt like writing much since my tummy has not been happy. Fortunately I have not have a fever or other sad conditions but generally just felt awful. Top this with an Internet system that has been ultra sluggish we are both behind in our blogging. Don is way ahead of me at this point and he has pictures so if you want the latest on our adventure check his blog http://dongua2010.blogspot.com/
Tomorrow we leave Antigua and will spend 4 days in a Bed and Breakfast on Lake Atitlan before we head to Xela for the final six weeks or our adventure in Guatemala. We will be home in May to pack up the house and get it ready to sell. After that.....well I can't tell you because we have not figured that out yet. The job market is still not good so we will probably come back to Guatemala because the cost of living here will allow us to live well and not on or below poverty level in the USA. That is a very sad state if affairs if you ask me.
Time to get to the packing so I can be in bed early enough to make that 7 am bus to Pana headed for Lake Atitlan. Take Care All.
Tomorrow we leave Antigua and will spend 4 days in a Bed and Breakfast on Lake Atitlan before we head to Xela for the final six weeks or our adventure in Guatemala. We will be home in May to pack up the house and get it ready to sell. After that.....well I can't tell you because we have not figured that out yet. The job market is still not good so we will probably come back to Guatemala because the cost of living here will allow us to live well and not on or below poverty level in the USA. That is a very sad state if affairs if you ask me.
Time to get to the packing so I can be in bed early enough to make that 7 am bus to Pana headed for Lake Atitlan. Take Care All.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Breakfast with the Ex-Pats
Thursday mornings the Ex-Pats get together for breakfast and share stories. There are perhaps a dozen people that are there on any given Thursday. They are all older people (even older than we are) who have decided to make their homes here. Most of them because it is a cheaper place to live. A little social security goes a much longer distance here.
Today we were invited to travel with Carl and his wife, Clare and friend Patsy to Chimal to shop at the Max Bodegona and a small mall. We did just a bit of shopping because we also had our laundry in Antigua. We all ate lunch together and Carl dropped us and our laundry at our door. We had a very good time and now also have our laundry done to boot! Tomorrow and Saturday we will pack our stuff up for the move to the Lake Atitlan area and beyond.
The meeting with John from Child Aid was canceled as we pulled up to our door. He is too far out to get back at this point but will drop by to pick up the computer Don worked on for him. The computer in John's home office will not be optimized this trip. Don prefers not to work on Saturday.
Sunday we will go to church then we will have lunch with the two priests which will probably be followed by another procession. This time we will not be available as a pick pocket victim. We shall go prepared and not carry anything we don't want to loose. Monday we will be on a pullman bus bright and early.
Today we were invited to travel with Carl and his wife, Clare and friend Patsy to Chimal to shop at the Max Bodegona and a small mall. We did just a bit of shopping because we also had our laundry in Antigua. We all ate lunch together and Carl dropped us and our laundry at our door. We had a very good time and now also have our laundry done to boot! Tomorrow and Saturday we will pack our stuff up for the move to the Lake Atitlan area and beyond.
The meeting with John from Child Aid was canceled as we pulled up to our door. He is too far out to get back at this point but will drop by to pick up the computer Don worked on for him. The computer in John's home office will not be optimized this trip. Don prefers not to work on Saturday.
Sunday we will go to church then we will have lunch with the two priests which will probably be followed by another procession. This time we will not be available as a pick pocket victim. We shall go prepared and not carry anything we don't want to loose. Monday we will be on a pullman bus bright and early.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Apartment Hunting
Today we had a appointment to view an apartment in Jocotenango (say ho-co-ten-ango). We told the man we were just looking right now to see what apartments look like here and to get some idea of the cost for renting. His apartment is in a gated community and was most impressive. It was a one bedroom, with shower, closet, and a good size kitchen (full stove with oven, and fridge) with a Dining room / living room. I could be very content living in this community. It is outside of Antigua but close enough for shopping purposes and it is quiet.
They also had a house that we looked at. It is a four bedroom house in Antigua. The man is in construction and built both of the places and I must say he did a fabulous job. He used beautiful wood and made beautiful homes. We told him our story and that we are testing the waters in Guatemala as a country we could live in and be happy in with the income we will have, but that this will all take place in the near future. We are not ready to commit to anything just now. Of course, we could miss out on this property because we have so much to do before we can resettle anywhere. There are other places to rent in Guatemala if we really have to make such a move to make our income take care of us.
After apartment hunting we spent the afternoon at the Rainbow Cafe and Book Store because they have Wifi Internet. Don updated our virus program and then like a genius started it scanning the computer. Which took about 3 hours to finish! I was ready to be up and out of there long before the scan was done (which could have been done at home overnight if it needed to run that long grrrrrr.) We ate lunch in the cafe and drank lemonade and finally left in time to eat supper out as well since we left about 4 pm. We had to go to the market to get bananas as the Bodegona had none for our breakfast then we caught to bus for home. This bus decided to drop everyone off in Ciudad Viaja and head back into Antigua which meant about a 20 minute walk (not power walking) for us back to the apartment. We finished the day with some TV watching and blogging, and Don worked on a lap top for Kristin. Day is done.
They also had a house that we looked at. It is a four bedroom house in Antigua. The man is in construction and built both of the places and I must say he did a fabulous job. He used beautiful wood and made beautiful homes. We told him our story and that we are testing the waters in Guatemala as a country we could live in and be happy in with the income we will have, but that this will all take place in the near future. We are not ready to commit to anything just now. Of course, we could miss out on this property because we have so much to do before we can resettle anywhere. There are other places to rent in Guatemala if we really have to make such a move to make our income take care of us.
After apartment hunting we spent the afternoon at the Rainbow Cafe and Book Store because they have Wifi Internet. Don updated our virus program and then like a genius started it scanning the computer. Which took about 3 hours to finish! I was ready to be up and out of there long before the scan was done (which could have been done at home overnight if it needed to run that long grrrrrr.) We ate lunch in the cafe and drank lemonade and finally left in time to eat supper out as well since we left about 4 pm. We had to go to the market to get bananas as the Bodegona had none for our breakfast then we caught to bus for home. This bus decided to drop everyone off in Ciudad Viaja and head back into Antigua which meant about a 20 minute walk (not power walking) for us back to the apartment. We finished the day with some TV watching and blogging, and Don worked on a lap top for Kristin. Day is done.
Hard Lesson
Sunday March 7
We were up with the sun this Sunday morning which is not all that hard to do since we have a window up high that catches the early sun and lets it shine in our space. Don fixed our breakfast of oatmeal with banana and hot tea. Then we dressed for church and collected the books we needed to be able to follow the Mass and understand the readings. That is one book in English and one in Spanish. We caught the bus and got out on the street near the church in Ciudad Viaja for the 11 am service. Since we were just a wee bit early Don took some pictures which at this point we can’t post since our Internet service is a bit on the flaky side.
We went into the church a bit early so we could read the English version of the readings before Mass began. Soon we received a visit from the priest as he made his way up the side isle. His name is Bernard Lee from Toronto by way of Korea and is Don‘s age. He spoke to us for several minutes and before he moved on we had plans to have lunch with him in Antigua. He got our names and welcomed us to their church at the front of the congregation.
After the service we met with him and he said we would be taking another priest with us. The other priest Father Andre another Korean who has been here for two years and speaks Spanish with the Korean sing-song quality when he gets going. We had a great lunch of Shish-ka-bobs, with salad, rice and mushroom gravy and fries served rather dramatically with the skewers hanging from a loop with saucers with the rest of the meal attached to the center pole -- rather like a Christmas tree or condiment server. Other people in the restaurant asked permission to take pictures of our table. Don had gotten cash the day before so he picked up the tab for the meal which turned out to be a good thing because this was the day the pick pocket snatched Don’s wallet. Lucky for us he only carried one debit card and about $50. The wallet was stolen while we were involved in the Lenten Procession in a crowd of people. We know it was a tiny little woman, not a Mayan, who probably was the pick pocket. At any rate we were reminded to be more vigilant and not let ourselves be sidetracked so easily.
After the meal we went with the priest to a plant nursery/coffee shop and enjoyed walking among the plants. We were able to put names to a couple of plants we see a lot around town. Don had hot chocolate since he is not a coffee drinker. It was very pleasant sitting amongst the plants and various flowers and greenery while we chatted and drank our coffee. We drove to a spot near where the procession would pass and parked the car, walking the rest of the way. This float took over 50 people to carry it. It really is an awesome sight. Except for the lost wallet it was a very nice day. The two priest drove us right to our door and they have invited us to be their guest next week for lunch after Church. We leave Antigua on Monday for Lake Atitlan for about 4 days before going on to Xela (shay-la).
We were up with the sun this Sunday morning which is not all that hard to do since we have a window up high that catches the early sun and lets it shine in our space. Don fixed our breakfast of oatmeal with banana and hot tea. Then we dressed for church and collected the books we needed to be able to follow the Mass and understand the readings. That is one book in English and one in Spanish. We caught the bus and got out on the street near the church in Ciudad Viaja for the 11 am service. Since we were just a wee bit early Don took some pictures which at this point we can’t post since our Internet service is a bit on the flaky side.
We went into the church a bit early so we could read the English version of the readings before Mass began. Soon we received a visit from the priest as he made his way up the side isle. His name is Bernard Lee from Toronto by way of Korea and is Don‘s age. He spoke to us for several minutes and before he moved on we had plans to have lunch with him in Antigua. He got our names and welcomed us to their church at the front of the congregation.
After the service we met with him and he said we would be taking another priest with us. The other priest Father Andre another Korean who has been here for two years and speaks Spanish with the Korean sing-song quality when he gets going. We had a great lunch of Shish-ka-bobs, with salad, rice and mushroom gravy and fries served rather dramatically with the skewers hanging from a loop with saucers with the rest of the meal attached to the center pole -- rather like a Christmas tree or condiment server. Other people in the restaurant asked permission to take pictures of our table. Don had gotten cash the day before so he picked up the tab for the meal which turned out to be a good thing because this was the day the pick pocket snatched Don’s wallet. Lucky for us he only carried one debit card and about $50. The wallet was stolen while we were involved in the Lenten Procession in a crowd of people. We know it was a tiny little woman, not a Mayan, who probably was the pick pocket. At any rate we were reminded to be more vigilant and not let ourselves be sidetracked so easily.
After the meal we went with the priest to a plant nursery/coffee shop and enjoyed walking among the plants. We were able to put names to a couple of plants we see a lot around town. Don had hot chocolate since he is not a coffee drinker. It was very pleasant sitting amongst the plants and various flowers and greenery while we chatted and drank our coffee. We drove to a spot near where the procession would pass and parked the car, walking the rest of the way. This float took over 50 people to carry it. It really is an awesome sight. Except for the lost wallet it was a very nice day. The two priest drove us right to our door and they have invited us to be their guest next week for lunch after Church. We leave Antigua on Monday for Lake Atitlan for about 4 days before going on to Xela (shay-la).
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Internet Connection is flaky
Hello there, we are still in Antigua and still having adventures but our Internet has been a bit on the flaky side this week. We shall attempt to update our blogs next week in town. All is well with us.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Local Security Guards
Today was an easy day for us and we started out at 9 am. We had plans to work on Child Aid computers today to optimize them before we move on from Antigua. Each day as we walk to the bus stop we pass a 'nest' of armed security guards. These guys have automatic weapons and sawed off shotguns. Each day we tell them Buenas Dias (or Good Day) and wave. They have been responding to us as we go back and forth. This morning as we stood at the bottom of the drive to our apartment a truck full of security guards drove past and honked. We responded with a wave and a Buenas Dias. They then responded to us with a fan fare from their sirens as they drove on down the street. We have not tried to take a picture of them because they generally frown on photos. I think may have caught them once when taking a photo of the mountains but I don't plan on hunting for the picture. At any rate it was a great way to start the morning.
During the night (Thursday) starting at 4:30 pm Don had some tummy trouble. It lasted until 4:20 am. We guess that on Wednesday when Socorro school was without water he picked up a virus. Lack of sleep made him slow down just a bit today and we were back in the apartment by 2 pm ready for a nap. There is no sleeping for anyone when you live in a very small space. There is no place to go if you can't sleep. Everybody is awake. We took a siesta this afternoon and will probably call an early night tonight.
Saturday is another laundry day.Yipee! I hope to convince the girl that she doesn't need 6 hours to do our laundry so we can head for home early. We could do our laundry here but the Mom of 10 kids wants 24 hour notice and that somehow does not work well for anyone. She does one or two loads every day. It is funny but she has not once asked us why we have not done our laundry here. It is just simpler to take it in and not get too involved with the workings of a family of 10 kids.
During the night (Thursday) starting at 4:30 pm Don had some tummy trouble. It lasted until 4:20 am. We guess that on Wednesday when Socorro school was without water he picked up a virus. Lack of sleep made him slow down just a bit today and we were back in the apartment by 2 pm ready for a nap. There is no sleeping for anyone when you live in a very small space. There is no place to go if you can't sleep. Everybody is awake. We took a siesta this afternoon and will probably call an early night tonight.
Saturday is another laundry day.Yipee! I hope to convince the girl that she doesn't need 6 hours to do our laundry so we can head for home early. We could do our laundry here but the Mom of 10 kids wants 24 hour notice and that somehow does not work well for anyone. She does one or two loads every day. It is funny but she has not once asked us why we have not done our laundry here. It is just simpler to take it in and not get too involved with the workings of a family of 10 kids.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Walk a Mile or Two in My Shoes
If you walk that mile in my shoes then you too will feel like you have been pulled through a key hole backwards! The lack of signage in Antigua is a real stinker. We picked up a magazine that has a nifty listing of places to eat, see or visit and we ran across a listing for a book store. Today I had the wild hare idea that we could go check it out during our free afternoon. So after lunch we started out to find it. We walked all around the place but it was like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Today the day was a rather warm one so walking just added to the heat. Don and I don't have much sense when it comes to finding a book store or fulfilling a plan. We walked and walked and walked and....well, I think you get the picture. By the time we found the book store I already didn't like the fool place. Viola! we located the store in the middle of the block and went in to see what we could see. It was a disappointment. The store did not live up to it's hype. Someone over bought a bunch of travel books. Somehow I just can't see anyone buying a book on travel to Italy from Guatemala, but I could be wrong.
This morning we left at 9 am for our final trip to the Socorro School where Don wanted to put some of the CD's from several of the books on the computer as Virtual CD's. That way they would be easy to access and not as likely to 'walk' out of the library. The solution to the problem had to be researched which is why we were there today. It was very nice to see the kids from the school come into the library and either read or do research for their homework. Books are not cherished here as they are in the USA. In The USA young children are read to long before they start school. They learn early that books can take them places, make them laugh, and give them information. Guatemalan's have been in a revolution for a very long time and they are very poor so books are not among the first things parents think of to provide for their children. Most of the time the children have to work along side of their parents so that the family can eat and buy the essentials of life.
Tomorrow we plan to have breakfast with the other Ex-Pats and perhaps have another computer to checkout for one of them. After that I want to return here to rest and read. Don wants to 'take and adventure' and pick a bus and travel to one of the near-by cities. My vote is to do that on Saturday.
On Friday we are meeting at Kristin's to put some more memory into her computer. She may also have a couple of other computers from Child Aid that they would like to have optimized. They seem anxious to have these computers cleaned up before we leave Antigua. Friday should be easy enough because Don will have to stay close to the computers which means we will not be walking for more hours than makes any sense.
This morning we left at 9 am for our final trip to the Socorro School where Don wanted to put some of the CD's from several of the books on the computer as Virtual CD's. That way they would be easy to access and not as likely to 'walk' out of the library. The solution to the problem had to be researched which is why we were there today. It was very nice to see the kids from the school come into the library and either read or do research for their homework. Books are not cherished here as they are in the USA. In The USA young children are read to long before they start school. They learn early that books can take them places, make them laugh, and give them information. Guatemalan's have been in a revolution for a very long time and they are very poor so books are not among the first things parents think of to provide for their children. Most of the time the children have to work along side of their parents so that the family can eat and buy the essentials of life.
Tomorrow we plan to have breakfast with the other Ex-Pats and perhaps have another computer to checkout for one of them. After that I want to return here to rest and read. Don wants to 'take and adventure' and pick a bus and travel to one of the near-by cities. My vote is to do that on Saturday.
On Friday we are meeting at Kristin's to put some more memory into her computer. She may also have a couple of other computers from Child Aid that they would like to have optimized. They seem anxious to have these computers cleaned up before we leave Antigua. Friday should be easy enough because Don will have to stay close to the computers which means we will not be walking for more hours than makes any sense.
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