'Nother Adventure

Hi There,

We went on another adventure today. Don had a bee in his bonnet about seeing the big yellow church in San Andres just up the road a piece. So we hiked out to the park where we catch the bus to the Terminal, grabbed a quick bite to eat, then hunted down the bus that would take us to San Andres. The church is in a small village built into the side of a mountain so main street goes straight up. It is similar to a 'painted lady' house but with extremely bright colors. Don went on up the street to a bright yellow chapel but I decided not to do the hike. We took the scenic route back.

Mail service does work in Guatemala

Today is Don's Birthday - send him a birthday greeting  --  at >>     dongua2010@gmail.com

This week we had proof that the mail service does work inside of Guatemala. The crutch tips we bought and spent forever getting ready to mail actually reached it's destination. Joan sent a message back saying they had arrived and she was thrilled. Now she will be able to get around much more easily.

We have been walking everyday and learning to get around Xela even if the streets are not clearly marked. Each trip is an adventure all to itself. You see all kinds of people out and about and you see the homeless sleeping where they drop. One day a may was curled up on the street in a parking space. I hope no one parked on top of him. There are a lot of young people in town with no place to go and nothing to do. It is sad to see such a waste of good minds. Jobs are scarce here also.

Today we had one of my prescriptions refilled. We had to go to 3 pharmacies to get it done including taking a bus to the third one but I have enough pills to last till I get back to Iowa. Between my doctor and Medco I allowed myself to miss count the number of pills I ended up with so it is partly my fault. The pharmacy  did not even ask for any kind of ID, just the money, which was strange to me but I left with my pills.

We were also successful getting back by bus to the spot we left from this morning! We often just walk home because it is easier and down hill. Today we rode a chicken bus and nobody was standing. That is very different from Antigua. After getting back this morning we stopped at the market on our street and bought some more fresh veggies. It is so nice to have fresh produce so very close.

Have You Noticed? --No Daily Blog

Hi Everyone,

 I suppose by now you have noticed that we are not doing daily blogs. There is a reason for that -- we are living in Xela and not doing much exploring outside of the city. We figured that you all know that we get up fairly early in the morning and that Don cooks breakfast -- that is standard. We  fix beds, sweep floors, and wash dishes as part of our daily routine. Actually, one of the young ladies made what we called in Girl Scouts - a Kaper Chart - so that in the common areas we rotate through the chores (scrubbing the toilet is not high on their list of things they like to do ). The chart is working as well as it did in scouting -- someone sneaks by without doing their part now and then.

The work Don is doing right now -- grant writing-- he can do from our own space. That means we have less interaction with the Chicken Bus! Okay, here is another chicken bus story. Here in Xela instead of the tuc-tuc they use 15 passenger vans as well as the school buses. They can over stuff the buses but it does not happen as often as it does in Antigua. Now that is not the same as the 15 passenger vans which they do stuff to over full so that 2 or maybe 3 people have their backsides hanging out of the open side panel door! Don and I do not get on a bus if we cannot get a seat! Now our biggest problem is getting on a bus from Parque Calverio which is close to us and THEN finding one that will bring us back to the same location!!!  Most days we head out around 11 or 11:30 am to get lunch - our big meal for the day-- and our return usually happens at the same time that school lets out near the big mall. Then we have to compete with high school age kids for space on the buses. One day we got on a 15 passenger van and the two seats available were at opposite ends of the van. After the first stop a very old Mayan gentleman got Don's attention to let him know that he could join me in the middle of the van because I had moved up so that we could sit together.  Being at the back of the bus was fun when I was a kid going to school but here you can miss your stop if you can't get to the front of the bus fast enough.

We are enjoying the days of beautiful, cool weather in the common area of our guest house. It works out that we all manage to be gone for a time during the day so each of us has quiet time at home. Our roommates introduce us to their friends when they come up as the 'young folks' living at the guest house.  Don does his writing and research and I play on the computer and read books on the computer. We are both feeling well and that is wonderful. Each day we get in a good long walk which is plenty of exercise because Xela is not flat. It is surrounded by mountains and volcanos and the city has plenty of ups and downs but terrible sidewalks.

Good Friday in Parque Central

Today was spent in Parque Central for the Lenten Church services and Processions with at least half of the population of Xela. We left the house close to lunch time and ate shrimp at Pollo Campero then walked around the park taking in the sights and sounds of 'Santa Semana'. We had an hour and a half or so to fill in before the start of the Good Friday Church service in the cathedral scheduled to start at 3 pm. The cathedral is a very, very large church and the pews on one side of the church were folded up to make room for several of the large barge type 'floats' with depictions of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, angels and assorted saints. The archbishop held the service and I am really beginning to like the way he does things. He does not sit around and let all of the peons do the work but jumps right in to get things accomplished. After the service we went outside where the people were lined up waiting for the next procession to begin. We joined in the waiting, standing on concrete, while they moved the largest barge we have seen yet out of the church and lined up on the street. This barge takes about 90 men to carry and the men are stacked as close together as they can get. Spaced out among the carriers are metal poles that can be placed under the barge to rest it on when it becomes necessary to change the carry crew out with some of the men who walk beside the barge. It took the better part three hours to allow the archbishop to say a few prayers and sing a song then start moving  and  circle half way around the park! I don't know how far they were going but it will take the forever to complete the route. We watched them exit the church and line up, then walked to the other side of the park and watched them pass by before we had our dinner and walked our aching feet back home. This puts a whole new meaning of Lent and Easter. They get into the celebration in a big way.

Don took some pictures but we have to find a way to reduce them and then try to get them uploaded for you to see.  We may have to carry the computer to Wendy's where they have a second floor with an area dedicated to Skype so their Internet speed may be better than ours.

Happy Easter!

Three Hours to Mail a Box

We started out to mail the crutch tips to Joan on Lake Atitlan today. Can I just tell you that the postal service here is just past the pony express stage? The young lady behind the counter (yes only one person) did not even bother to stand up to assist us. She wanted to know if we wanted stamps. Our Spanish was not good enough to get her to understand that we wanted a package, envelope, something, that we could use to mail the small box in. So we left the post office on the hunt for packaging materials. The first paper store only had brown envelopes which busted the minute we put the box inside.  We left to find another paper store that might have a different inventory, no luck. We ended up at Mont Blanc, having walked there, where we bought a gift bag that was made of brown craft paper. We cut it up, taped it up, and addressed the box and started back to the post office.  It took us about three hours to get this small package ready and then mailed! We can only hope that it reaches Joan. It cost as much to mail the crutch tips as it did to buy them. Don sent Joan a note about the tips and she responded with delight. It will make her life much easier.  All together we walked for about 3 1/2 hours, I will say we SAT to eat for maybe 30 minutes. I was tired by the time we arrived back at the house.

Don and I had a quiet evening at home. We spoke to Susan and Donna and of course Nic and the twins by computer. Donna is sick and Nic is home chattering away as it is spring break. The twins are coping with our slow Internet and wait for us to dial back in so that can 'see' us. The system works better if we do not do the video part but that is not good enough for the twins. It is fun to seem them even if it is hard to stay connected.