As the Ball Rolls

Photos: Last days

cubannomad — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 11:12:00 GMT

Rio Dulce and Good-by to Guate

cubannomad — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 22:30:00 GMT

For the first time ever i cut a vacation short due to the Heat and humidity and came back to my home away from home in Antigua. Having been Antigua so long it does feel like home. I know where everything is, I have friends to meet for coffee and dinner, and wine. The temperature is in 70s. The wifi garden at Olga's felt like heaven. I use to think it was hot during the day. Amazing how our experiences change our perceptions.

Eventhough the heat in Rio Dulce was awful, I had a wonderful time at the Kangaroo hotel in the mangroves in the middle of the River. The hotel is on stilts with water all around us. The best part was the cool ride on the lancha to get there. There I met two really nice canadian travelers, Walt and Troy and we went swimming at Finca Paraiso and Boqueron. Check out the pictures. First time I have ever been at a hot water waterfall. I mean really hot water. I really appreciated their company and patience as I navigated the rocks.

Unfortunately to get there we had to ride on few collectivos. We had a few great laughs before we melted inside the moving tin box. And even when you get off the collectivo there is no AC anywhere. You are wet and sticky all the time. Your only relief is a Gallo Beer!

i have been spending the last few days enjoying Antigua with Cathi (from Australia) who came back to Antigua to cool off. This amazing young woman has been volunteering in a home for kids for the past six weeks in the hot jungle. When she got there she barely spoke Spanish. Her stories of sweltering heat, bugs bites, scorpions, no power and rice and beans every day had me laughing for days. But after every story she tells you how much she loves the kids and how the other volunteers are truly special. I met a few of her friends who are here cooling off in Antigua too and they are truly lovely young women. We had so much fun going out in Antigua..great food, music, the rum bar, the hooka bar, el Cerro , the circus and then we took a road trip on the Chicken Bus to visit Vilma and her kids so I could say goodby. They were so happy to meet one of my friends.

Saying goodbye is never easy. I will return here. I am so sorry this trip is over. Everyday has been so special , so full of love and with so many opportunities to expand my mind and free my spirit. So many new great people in my life!

For all you travelers, I only hope we meet again soon and remember you have a home in Cocoa Beach, Florida. I am so excited that my first foreign visitors will arrive on May 1st.

I am leaving for my mom's house in Miami tomorrow and to Cocoa Beach on April 29. For my Boston friends I will be in Boston from May 28 thru June 10.

So glad you came along.

Photos: Rio Dulce

cubannomad — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 10:23:00 GMT

Photos: Finca Ixobel

cubannomad — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 10:23:00 GMT

Photos: Flores..lake Peten Itza

cubannomad — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 10:58:00 GMT

Small town on the lake. Beautiful sunsets over the lake

Photos: Tikal

cubannomad — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 10:22:00 GMT

El Peten

cubannomad — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 10:34:00 GMT

I spent this past week roaming thru the area of Guatemala called El Peten. This is the sparsely populated jungle covering northernmost area of Guatemala.

Tuesday April 14 I got on a Maya de Oro overnight bus to Tikal National park. (14 hours from Antigua to The Tikal Jungle Lodge.) You immediately notice the symphony of sounds from the jungle and the temperature is 20 to 25 degrees hotter.

The jungle lodge( the best hotel in the area) only has electricity for a few hours a day therefore the fans only work sometime. The entrance to the park is only a few meters away so I started to walk in the jungle like I knew what I was doing. ( there were signs)

After a 25 minute walk, I found a tree full of monkeys. Took many pictures and only got one picture of a monkey. Then as I moved down the trail I found the Gran Plaza. Amazing...you have to be there! I walked around and climbed the temples..the hot weather taking its toll after a 14 hour drive.

The next morning I got up at 4 am to go see the sunrise over Tikal. This time I had a guide. At 4am, it is pitch dark. Only can see the stars. Even the hotel has no electricity. The howler monkeys are howling and the sounds of the jungle are all around you as you walk to the temple with the best view of Tikal at sunrise.

Unfortunately, it was fogged in an we could barely see the structures or the sunrise. The once in a lifetime view was not to happen.

I spent 3 to hours with the guide who was very proud of this Maya treasure that was rediscovered in 1848. What I found most exciting about Tikal was to see the power of jungle.

A quick story of Tikal. The Mayas begin the building of Tikal around the time of Christ. To create this structures over 700 years the Mayans cleared the jungle. Tikal becomes an important religious, cultural, and commercial center from 250 AD to around 700 AD. The estimates are that the population reached around 100,000. Tikal's greatness wanes and is abandoned by the Mayas around 900 AD. No one knows the reason why. Over the next 1000 years, the jungle reclaims the land and the city of Tikal lies dormant till 1848. Many of the structures are still covered by plant formations. In fact on my first walk I thought they were hills only to find out they are temples or other structures covered by vegetation, root systems and big trees. Check out picture under Tikal gallery. Btw very hard to get the essence of the place with my camera.

At first they cleared the structures of vegetation. Then they realized that the limestone structures were being protected by the vegetation. Now they only restore parts of the temples. There are years of archeological work to be done at this site.

That afternoon I got on a collectivo going southwest to the city of Flores on lake Peten Itza. Let me tell you about collectivos...they are non air conditioned minivans that take Guatemalans short distances. (less than two hours). These collectivos get so packed that you can not believe they can fit more people. People hang out the windows and go on the roof. I had a seat but I carried a little girl. Hot hot hot. Hard to believe this is the way the Guatemalan's travel to work etc.

I Found a hotel with AC (not many available)since it was 101 degrees and humid. I have never appreciated AC like I did that night! Flores is a quant little town that is an island on the lake. 20 minute walk to tour the whole town. See pictures

Next day another collectivo to Finca Ixobel. I am slowly moving south thru the Peten jungle. Finca Ixobel is an ecological bohemian hideaway. Travelers used this place to relax on their way to somewhere else. Great food and homemade bread! Here I met three american spelunkers. They go around the world looking for caves that have not been explored. gutsy... I went out on a 3 hour hike to a cave with a guide. Don't think I am taking up spelunking. Seeing one bat was enough for me.

There was also another couple in their 30s who were driving from San Francisco. They have another year or so in the journey. So cool. On a walk a met up with a Guatemalan woman who was cutting and carrying firewood for the kitchen with her son in the heat. She let me take her picture and said " la Vida hay que cojerla con paciencia". Transláted " life has to be taken with patience" Nice advice from a wise Mayan woman.

A Widowmaker for a hot water heater

cubannomad — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 07:53:00 GMT

Took some time off from picture taking. It feels too much like being a tourist.

Had my last class with the kids in San Antonio de Aguas Calientes last week. Always bitter sweet. Got my share of hugs to last me a while. Hopefully I will be back in the fall to give my friend Vicki a break.

Been going around saying goodby to a bunch of locals who have made my visit so special. When you are somehere for six weeks you start making some nice connections.

The ladies who sell in the park have figured out it is time to sell me hard. For weeks when they approached me, I would tell I was not buying anything till I was ready to go. It is amazing how much over the weeks they know about me and my plans. They don't forget anything you say. If only they had the opportunity to sell more than the basic Guatemalan weaving and home made jewelry. They are very competent sales ladies. It is just their limited product offerings that is a problem.

It is too bad that all these many women sell very much the same thing. I recognize the weaves from the last time I was here. Nothing new. Just the same stuff they have been making in the villages for years. Probably centuries. I keep looking for new things with very little luck.

For a little laugh, I want to introduce you to a Guatemalan water heater. Every shower here has one of these. Only way to get hot water in your shower. They are called widowmakers. You can see how close the water and the electricity run together. At Every shower you take a risk of being electrocuted. Most times you barely get hot water.

Tomorrow evening I am taking 12 hour bus to Flores, Guatemala to visit Tikal National Park. I promise tons of pictures.

Photos: Virgin Mary

cubannomad — Sun, 5 Apr 2015 12:19:00 GMT

Visible Faith.....

cubannomad — Sun, 5 Apr 2015 09:54:00 GMT

I was trying to find the right words to explain Lent and Holy Week in Antigua and my high school friend, Maria Cristina, gave me the words "visible faith" in a comment on Facebook. (Maria Cristina used to help me with my homework 45 years ago and I can still count on her for the right words. How sweet!)

Day after day and week after week during Lent, Guatemalans show their Faith. Their is a fervor and passion for their religion that is difficult to describe and or for me to understand. You see it everywhere; in their strained faces as they carry the andas thru the city, in their sweat as the wear the dark purple and black cucurucho robe in the sun, in the hours of meticulous carpet making as a minute offering to their Savior and the long tiring hours of processions. It is not about fun or excitement but an opportunity to do penance and share in Christ's suffering and the Virgin's grief. The Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday is not the Focal point. Easter Sunday, there is no celebration. Only the church bells ring, people go to Sunday mass and their was a tiny procession.

Sometimes whole families including babies participate in this rituals. I saw dads who were carrying the andas with a baby on their back. I saw mothers's breastfeeding their babies as they walk. The crowds of families work hours on carpets, wait for hours to catch the glimpse of Christ carrying the cross, Christ buried or the Virgin Mary grieving the death of her son. Some groups travel in trucks for hours to just get a glimpse. They eat food from street Vendors...many can't afford a restaurant or a hotel. At the same time in this occasions Guatemalans from all economic levels participate in these Lenten rituals.

The processions are solemn and amazingly quiet. You hear the music. The gong of the drums tells you they are nearby. As it gets closer, you smell the incense but the crowd is quiet and respectful. Some people are just finishing their carpets as the procession aproaches. These procession can be 8 to 15 hours long. Some originate from nearby towns and the whole towns comes to walk with the anda. ( I was watching one procession nearby a bar full of foreigners. As the anda approached the folks in the bar got very noisy. The crowd and the cucuruchos in the procession shusssssshed them quiet.)

On Holy Thursday I had the opportunity to get together with a group of Americans that create carpets from recycle materials. Before the procession approached, a group of men came by to recreate on the street the history of the proclamation of Christ crucifixion. They do this dramatizations across the city.

In the evenings the processions appear more dramatic as the andas are lighted up and they pass in front of the Catherdral of San Jose in front of the Parque Central. There is usually music that can be heard through the park. It is such a pleasure to sit in Central Park (if you can find a bench) and just watch the pageantry and the passion for Christ and his mother. The moon was so nice to shine right over the cathedral.

On Thursday evening the population begins the preparation of the streets of Antigua with magnificent carpets for Good Friday. They work all night and all day to cover most of the streets. (not easy to travel by car). I got up and out by 6 am so I could see as many of the most creative carpets before they are trampled by the cucuruchos carrying the andas. There are so many you can not see them all!

There are three procession on Good Friday. One procession with Christ carrying the cross and still alive starts at 4am and ends at 3pm the time that Christ dies. The other two carry the dead body of Christ. Two churches are designated to dramatize the crucifixion at noon and the death of Christ 3pm. I was lucky to get a little spot inside the church for the crucifixion and death. You are surrounded with grieving Guatemala's with cell phone cameras. The church service as the body is brought down from the cross and placed on the anda is dramatic and solemn. The funeral music inside the church is overpowering and the crowds waiting outside for the anda with Christ's body is immense and grieving. You can see people crying and the sorrow and seriousness in their faces. They really believe. Their faith is so visible!

On holy Saturday the whole city mourns and there are two processions of the grieving Virgin Mary. You see thousands of women dressed in black with black veils.

See pictures in the photo gallery...Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Virgin Mary

I will never forget this Holy Week. I have to specially thank my friends Edgar(Guatemalan) and Carolina (American) who guided me thru the schedules and told me where to go and made me stay up for every ritual even when I was dead tired. They are both amazing and so into it. They both carried the anda that left from the church I was at.....making it even more special. Carolina even carried my black purse so part of me was part of the procession. Another special thanks to my Belgian friend who accompanied me on Saturday. His perspective as a writer and photographer added to my experience.

I had so many wonderful converstions with so many Gustemalans in the crowds. I am so blessed to speak Spanish and to not be shy. Truthfully, I think guatemalns are so happy to talk to a Gringa who speaks fluent Spanish so I get tons of attention.

Some of the pictures I already posted on facebook. There are many more in the photo gallery. Unfortunately, I don't know how to upload videos to the blog. They are on Facebook. I apologize for the pictures not rotated correctly.

Again...thanks for coming along. This next week should be quiet. Next week we go to TikaL. Read up and get ready

Photos: Good Friday...Crucifxion and procession

cubannomad — Fri, 3 Apr 2015 12:17:00 GMT

Photos: Good Friday...Carpets

cubannomad — Fri, 3 Apr 2015 02:59:00 GMT

Antigua's streets are covered with beautiful carpets.

Photos: Holy Thursday

cubannomad — Thu, 2 Apr 2015 02:57:00 GMT

Enjoying Holy Week in Guate

cubannomad — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 23:01:00 GMT

Holy Week is a great time to be in Antigua. There are all the religious celebrations plus activities to entertain the tourists. I listened to a cuban musician at La Cueva, had lunch on El Cerro overlooking Antigua, found the rum bar where you drink the best rum ever, met a bunch of expats at a classical concert, ate too much food, visited churches for velaciones and watched processions. And it is only Thursday morning.

One of my highlight was joining a Guatemalan family to make carpets....... I also went to a Canadian carpet making party. Only Canadians and Americans drink at these events. The Guatemalans take their religious obligations quite seriously.

i am off this week from my volunteer work. Kids are off for Holy Week. There are velaciones, carpetbmaking and procession every day. Antigua is very crowded many Guatemalans that come to Antigua for Holy week. There are also tons of backpackers and other tourists. The traffic is terrible but I only walk. It is fascinating to watch and participate in all the cultural and religious activities of Holy Week. The pick pockets are out in droves, a friend of mines purse was slashed with a blade but they got nothing. So you carry little with you and hold on tight to your purse.

On Monday my friend Nora came into town to have lunch with me. Nora is a single mom with two little girls. She works very hard at two jobs and goes to the university on Weekends. Educating herself and her two girls are a priority. I met her three years ago at the orphanage where she is a teacher. She is a lovely woman who shares with me the trials of trying to raise two daughters on her own on $300 a month. I am always amazed at how upbeat and hopeful she is. Such an inspiration.

On Tuesday I visited with Saida and Her family in Sumpango. See pictures in photo gallery "Saida's famiily." I was her special lunch guest. They killed a gallina ( hen). Her husband Rolando, her mother in law and her sister were there for lunch. The whole family specially the little girls made feel very welcomed. I met SaIda 3 years ago at the orphanage. She was in charge of the babies. Saida now stays at home with her two little girls. Her husband works in Guatemala city at the university. Saida and Rolando after many years of trying adopted Dulce from the orphanage. On weekends and holidays they pick up Lucy at the orphanage. They have tried to adopt Lucy but eventhough her mom never visits her she does not release her for adoption. The whole family is very proud of their Mayan and Catholic heritage.

Here Holy Thursday ano Good Friday are more important than Easter. For example my gym closes holy Thursday and Good Friday but it opens on Easter Sunday. Christ pain and crucifixion is more important than his Resurrection.

More in a few days...leaving now for Holy Thursday carpet making etc

There are new pictures in Holy Week in Antigua and Saida's family

Happy Easter

Photos: Holy Week in Antigua

cubannomad — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 23:00:00 GMT

All week there are velaciones at all churches as well as procession with Christ carrying the cross. On Good Friday all procession will have Christ crucified on the Cross.

Photos: Saida's Family

cubannomad — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 05:22:00 GMT

Meet Gaspar...a special young man

cubannomad — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 15:06:00 GMT

Gaspar is a special young man. He is a very self-motívated 14 year old. He is very smart, handsome, charming and always helpful. He sits in my class of younger kids so he can practice his English.

Gaspar stays late at the after school program every day to get his homework done, use the Internet (his family does not have electricity) and to learn English. His English is so good I use him in class to show the other kids how to pronounce words.

His family has very limited resources and his mom does not get home till very late each night. It is not easy for Gaspar to get school supplies, new cloths and shoes. The basics stuff we take for granted are not easy for Gaspar to obtain.

He is now in 6th grade and studies very hard to get good grades. Through donors, Vicki's and William's organization "Creating opportunities for Guatemalans" help Gaspar with school supplies, homework support and with a place to hang out till his mom gets home. They are committed to working on his English so hopefully he can get a scholarship to Guatemalan secondary education. Gaspar is too smart and too talented not to continue his education.

One of the highlights of this journey is getting to know Gaspar! Like me, if you met him, you would love him.

Lenten procession Sunday March 22

cubannomad — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 23:44:00 GMT

On Sunday I got up early and walked two blocks from home to watch the Antigueños make their carpets for this weekend's procession. These carpets are beautiful, detailed and a labor of love for families in Antigua.

Some folks had been up all night making their carpets. One man shared that his family works all year on the design of their carpet. Some carpets are decorated with flowers, fruits, vegetables, baked bread and colorful sawdust.

They are absolutely beautiful and the people are so proud of them. I took many pictures so you can se the variety of designs. The colors are amazing!

The carpets are made on the streets that the procession will be passing by. They get trampled and destroyed by the men and women carrying the anda (float) depicting Christ crucifixion. At the end of the procesión, the garbage truck comes and guys sweep up all the hard work. (There is no competition regarding the carpets..it is just a way to honor Jesus. If this was the USA we would have prizes for the biggest, the most colorful etc. Not here

The procession goes around Antigua for around 12 -15 hours. Every block a new set of cucuruchos (Guys in purple) take over the carrying of the anda with Jesus. The Woman dressed in black and white carry the anda with Mary the mother of Jesus. The anda is very heavy; you can see the strain on their faces of those carrying it.

It is considered a privilege and an honor to be a cucurucho. You can see whole families involved in the processions. Men and women come to Antigua from all over Guatemala to participate.

The crowds are enormous at every step of the way. Every weekend there has been a procession since Lent started. Each week it gets bigger culminating in Holy Friday. It is not a big drinking party. This procession are very solemn and serious occasions.

On Holy Thursday there will be people all over the city making carpets for the Holy Friday processions. The Population of Antigua increase by 100,000 people.

Supposedly all the pick pockets from Central America are also here. More to come.

Enjoy the pictures from this weekend's processions!

Photos: Lenten procession from San Bartolomeo

cubannomad — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 07:43:00 GMT

This processing starts in San Bartolomeo, a town outside Antigua. The procession goes around Antigua taking all day! The streets are covered with carpets made of sawdust, flowers, fruits and vegetables.

Gracias a La Vida Que Me Ha Dado Tanto

cubannomad — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 13:10:00 GMT

Gracia a La Vida.....Thanks to life

I went to a concert last night in a very beautiful building, the old Iglesias de San Jose

The music group "Canto Bohemio" is a Guatemalan band celebrating it's second anniversary.

One of the old songs they sang goes Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.

For my English speaking friends it mean thanks to life that has given me so much. It is a beautiful song...sounds much better in Spanish.

Every day as I walk this country, I am so grateful for my life and everything in it. For the many privileges that I have. As a woman and a mother I have been so blessed. When I am here i can feel it deep in my spirit.

I try to take pictures of the beautiful but I pay attention to the abject poverty that surrounds me. I don't take too many pictures of the not so beautiful as a sign of respect. I will sneak a picture here and there but always making sure I am in no way insulting these humble people. But have no doubt, many Guatemalans have living conditions that we in the USA, Europe and Australia would find absolutely intolerable. Yesterday, a Guatemalan man asked me: have you been to the rural areas of Guatemala? There you see even worse ponerte. In other words he was trying to tell me you have seen nothing yet. I can't even imagine.

Every child here has a story. And there are many children. 40% of the Guatemalan population is 0 to 14 years old. I have personally met kids who are sick and the parents can't afford the treatment. Families who have to chose what child goes to school because they can't afford to send all 3. Children (10 years old) who have to work to help pay the family expenses and are missing class. Three kids whose single mom was missing for a few days and then they found her murdered. Kids getting crappy old looking shoes as their new pair of shoes. But they have shoes. Kids who get bad grades because they don't have the resources to do their homework. The stories are endless and I am not even working at an orphanage or in a rural area.

For me these kids are real with their gorgeous dark eyes looking back at me. They are no longer a picture on a World Vision brochure or a TV commercial. They know my name. In fact I was walking around town before class and I could here Ani Ani Ani as my students ran by.

Today I spent the day in the city of Chimaltenango with my friend Vilma. We went shopping in poor Guatemalan style. We took the chicken bus back and forth with all our bultos. (Bags). We walked in busy sidewalks with holes that are bigger than my whole body. It scares me that imam going to brake a leg! We skirted busses, Tuc Tucs, ladies with all kinds of stuff in their heads, motorcycles and bicycles. The horns were tutting, people were yelling...just commotion every where. I wish I could have captured in a picture but my arms were busy with bags. We bought a printer, a modem, tortillas etc.

Enough of the dark side for today. But please don't forget it as I tell you how special Guatemala is thru pictures and stories.

There are a bunch of new pictures with descriptions under Lenten celebrations. Holy Week starts in 8 days.