From coast to coast...."Pura Vida", baby!

Upon returning to Costa Rica after a brief stint back home with friends and family, I met our new travel companion Cora. She had traveled with Celeste throughout Southeast Asia and hails from Maine. We headed off to the coast, camping for a week in Montezuma. There, we hung out with fellow bohemian travelers, ate wonderfully fresh seafood and coconuts from the campsite, swam in the ocean everyday and frolicked (discreetly) naked under a waterfall. While at the campsite, we met the cutest non-homosexual partners (at least as far as we know), showing that man-love is a wonderful thing. The care and attention they had for each other and their slight couple-like bickering was a delight for us.

From there, we hitchhiked to another coastal town and stayed at a horrid surfer hostel, Tranquilo Backpackers. The hostel wasn't great, but it was also the company that lent the ill repute.....ever heard of the stereotypical "surfer dude"? Yep, it exists. We felt that it was odd to be surrounded by what would be considered beautiful men--tanned and buff, usually without shirts--but feel no attraction whatsoever. That would be because of the vacant looks or simplistic conversations, even though many seemed well-meaning and sweet. The general attitude of the surfer dude is purely physical attraction, and luckily there were plenty of women with fake boobs to fulfill that fantasy. The courting display of plumage was interesting to see, if also a little sickening. We were fascinated, but also very happy to leave ; )

Off to the cloud forests of Monteverde did we go, reminding me of alpine areas back home....it was the first time we had to wear our sweaters since leaving rainy Guatemala. There, we nestled into a cozy little hostel with friendly staff that were more than willing to set us up with an Extreme ziplining canopy tour. This was one of the highlights of our trip--zipping across valleys 150 meters up, free-falling on the Tarzan swing until being caught at the last moment and screaming up high into the trees, and lastly.......ziplining the longest and highest cable upside down and spread-eagled!!! Only the pictures can do it justice....

I was able to set up a full-day rafting trip on the Pacuare river and was joined by our friend Shayne who managed to squeeze it in right before he left to go back to Calgary. It was without a doubt one of the best rafting experiences I've had! The water was BIG and many times we had our guide freak us out with an "OMG!!!! GET DOWN!" which he enjoyed doing even when it WASN"T necessary.....except most times it was! Fabulous experience that I won't easily forget : )

From the river, I got a ride with one of the guides to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, to the reggae-filled town of Puerto Viejo. There, I rented a bike (which I named "Aquacita" because of her gorgeous color that matched the clear blue waters) and biked down the coast to Punta Uva. It was the quintessential Caribbean beach with fine white sand and leaning palms. I relished the sunshine and warm waters before returning to town to meet up with Celeste and Cora.

The very next day we began our journey across the border into Panama to Bocas del Toro to celebrate the holidays.....

A goat's tale on the Tits of Nica

Sooooo......it 's been much too long! I cannot go over everything all at once, but will rather try to stay chronological with small installments every so often to catch up.

So, last you heard I had just gone over my adventures in El Salvador and was making my way southward into Nicaragua.

Well I arrived in Leon, Nicaragua on November 15th. It is a dirty colonial town with a gigantic cathedral at its heart and political graffiti on its buildings. Actually, the second day there we saw truckloads of people with red and black flags passing by the hostel and it turns out that there was a protest going on in the main square over the argument of a recount in the recent elections. Mostly it was the leftist socialist party FSLN who took over the streets of Leon protesting that their candidate, Ortega (best buds with Venezuela's Chavez), had won fair and square.

Of course, I had to go investigate. I had to take my laundry to a lavanderia anyway. I was only a little concerned when I seemed to be one of the only gringos in the square and when I passed burning tires in intersections and people waving flags with bandanas over their faces. I felt safer after passing by anti-Bush graffiti (not anti-American) and talked with a few Nicas about the situation, which they were more than willing to do. They were a mish-mash of young men, old women, teenagers, transvestites, and very liberal middle-aged men. All wanted to share their side of the story and for once, I felt like I understood the situation better than I ever could have from any news source. I even spoke to one of the guys at the hostel who was on the other side of the issue. It wasn't until the young thugs showed up in their neo-revolutionary bandanas carry slingshots and big sticks did I get concerned about safety. As it was, only a small riot broke out with rocks being thrown at police, but my newfound Nica friends protected me and brought me further away from the action. The young guys were just full of bravado, with the itch to fight but not necessary caring about the actual politics behind the protest.

From Leon, I moved down to Granada--a beautiful brightly colored city that was cleaner, if a bit more touristy than Leon. I spent a few days there with two new friends from Quebec, Assia and Maxine, taking a day trip to Lago Apollo with them. It's set in crater formed from the ancient volcano imploding on itself after a major eruption thousands of years ago. After meeting up with Celeste and some of the friends from El Roble in Granada, we all went as a big group to explore Isla de Ometepe--a volcanic island set in the middle of Lago Nicaragua which is as big as a small inland sea in the middle of Nicaragua. Because of the island's shape, made of two volcanoes connected by a thin strip of land, I call it "The Tits of Nica".

And thus comes my Ometepe story....

Well, after already climbing up a volcano and seeing lava in Antigua, I decided that instead of climbing one of the volcanoes I'd bike around it. Firstly, Ometepe doesn't have very good roads. Some are hardly passable even with four-wheel drive. There are huge chunks missing, areas that are flooded and/or washed out and some pretty steep inclines. And on top of that, there were only rickety bikes to rent for the day and no helmets. Yikes. But, a friend of mine was up for the journey, so we headed out on the bumpy road and made it all the way past were gringos usually go up to tiny pueblos where chickens and cows wandered along the road with no fences or ropes to tie them down. Children giggled at us as we passed by, sweaty and dust-covered on our long trek uphill. The bumpy downhills turned out to be the bane of my existence as that caused my kickstand to fall and my brakes proved more and more unreliable..... I started to get exhausted and worried if we would make it back around by nightfall. After a particularly strenuous climb, wherein halfway up my gears joltingly shifted and knocked me off the bike, making it even more difficult to get going again.....as soon as I started down hill and felt the breeze run through my hair.............I ran into a goat.

Yes, it's true. Yours truly rammed her bike into a small white goat. We both played chicken with each other and finally decided on the same direction with the ultimate consequence. Luckily, even though my brakes failed to slow the momentum, I was able to fling myself to one side and go into a slide stopping the impact from hurting the goat too much or sending me sailing over the handlebars. So, even though both stunned (the goat promptly disappeared) and gouged up a bit, we ended up okay. The shock of it though, sent me into hysterical sobbing until my friend casually mentioned the ridiculousness of hitting a goat on an island in a small Central American country with a mountain bike. Enough said. I broke out into gasping laughter and broke through to the other side of the brick wall of frutstration and exhaustion to make it home safe and sound. Although, we didn't make it back by dark, we managed to use the light of fireflies to find our way to town and then a random local with a lit cigarette helped us walk up the rocky 1km path to the finca, or farm, we were staying at. One look at me, and our entire group of friends busted up laughing....only to do so again later after relating my tale of woe.

So, to finish up Nicaragua, we went to the touristy beach town of San Juan del Sur before both Celeste and I headed down to San Juan, Costa Rica. For me, to fly back home for a few days for Thanksgiving.....and for her, to meet up with her friend Cora, who is to join us on the rest of our travels....

Monkey stole my banana....

and my bag of chips too.

I´m currently in Montezuma, Costa Rica, camping right on the beach underneath almond and coconut trees which more often than not have monkeys playfully swinging through them. Just yesterday a mischievious cappachino monkey (black with a cute white face) scampered down the coconut palm my hammock was tied to and grabbed food out of the bag I had hanging halfway up to keep away from animals and insects.....of course, I failed. Anyway, it was enjoyable to watch the little rascal climb up the tree, eat my last banana and then return before I could grab my bag for an entire bag of chips which it looked like he thoroughly relished. Monkeys are putting me on a diet ;) It consists mostly of fresh coconut and pineapple anyway, the former being in excessive quantity here, only leaving the hazard of having my hammock under one of the trees dropping coconuts...it´s a risk I´m willing to take for free food...heh.

It has been a month since my last blog, but for good reason! So much has happened with very little down time (at least near internet) for writing it all down. I have since traveled in the last month from El Salvador, through Honduras, into Nicaragua and then Costa Rica with a very brief stint back in Portland for Thanksgiving.

So, since my last post I've been along the coastline in El Salvador, first at Playa El Tunco where my first night there was one of the most romantic ever: I found a cheap quiet hostel, then wandered into the small town where I had a fish feast and watched the sun set blazing red into the ocean, then I wandered along the beach in the growing dark to find a spot to stargaze undisturbed. Then, I came back into town to check internet only to discover that I was going to be whisked back for Thanksgiving! Wonderful news to end a wonderful day.

Later on, I met up with fellow travelers who had been up the coast surfing and together the five of us moved to a hostel just south of La Libertad in the nontourist town of Playa San Diego. The hostel, El Roble, had been closed for many months but the friendly woman who runs it usually with her British husband (now away back home after a brief deportation) decided to open it up for us, basically giving us the keys to the castle! She and her family came and cleaned, offered us coconuts to drink and free shuttle service into town to get groceries. That night we feasted on fresh fish bought straight from the pier and cooked up by Cashe, our Canadian cook. Actually the five of us, Cashe and Shayne from Calgary, Sara from Sweden, Ian from Ireland and myself from the States, celebrated the wonderful providence of having the run of a secluded hostel in a tropical setting by staying there for most of that week!

The owners were the sweetest people, offering us everything we could desire, letting us play our own music, filling up the two pools, cutting open fresh coconuts and giving us well-seasoned advice on our future travels through Central. The town was sweet too, as I walked to the beach from the hostel, two little girls came up to me and gave me a candy and a flower for my hair, their faces beaming and wanting nothing in return but a smile. My time their is filled with warm memories and perhaps someday I´ll return.

The itch to go south (due to the imminent departure from San Jose, Costa Rica, to go home for Thanksgiving) came before Celeste was able to make it there though, I missed her just by a few hours. She relished being there as well with our new friends, as I ventured down to Nicaragua....

Soon to be continued.....

Entonces, it has been a very long while since last posting, but my excuse for that is the hectic schedule we've had since traipsing away from Lake Atitlan:

Primero: before leaving the lake I kayaked with an Irish friend to San Marcos from San Pedro, took saunas and swam in the rain as well as played many many games of "shithead" at La Iguana Perdida hostel in Santa Cruz, saw the most beautiful views of Lake Atitlan from a high viewpoint on the way to Guatemala City where.....

Celeste, our new friend Emily (from McMinnville, por supuesto)and I caught a bus up to Coban and then a shuttle to Lanquin for a total of 10 nauseating hours. We stayed in a lovely hostel in Lanquin however, with friendly staff and a truly tropical jungle atmosphere that had not fully recovered from the rainy season (which is now over, thank goodness!)

Our friend from Panajachel, Matt, is the owner of the restaurant in the hostel and also has a house nearby that he allowed us to use for having more privacy and better swimming areas. The food was quite good, and on that Friday night they hosted a "Brahva party" which included a D.J. and two "Brahva girls" (Brahva being a brand of beer here in Guate). The girls danced in the usual provocative manner, but once everyone started joining in, they sometimes would break away to watch the crowds. At one such moment, during a techno track, I decided to get up and show off my "robot" skills which received applause from the girls and many giggles. They seemed to be both impressed and intimidated by my robust dancing which was decidedly "intriguing" if not exactly "sexy". Damn.

Later on I tried to dance again and spontaneously became the center of a dance circle. I don't know how long it lasted, but I couldn't tell if people were enjoying the freakish dance moves or more in shock. Actually, to me it doesn't really matter, for those of you who have seen my excellent dances skills on karaoke nights (shout out to you, Yolanda!) know what I'm talking about.

On our third day of chillin' in the jungle, whilst getting mobbed by adoring mosquitos, Celeste and I went to the pools of Semuc Champey. The pickup ride there was quite exciting, hanging onto the cattle cage and perched on the tailgate Celeste and I created a new sport--"tailgate vaulting". The bumpy hills proved quite the challenge (and quite the backdrop) for such a unique sport which was just the warm-up needed for cooling ourselves in the lovely pools of Semuc Champey. The first day of glorious sun since we arrived, we laid ourselves half in and out of the waters to soak up every beam we could (now I have the most interesting tan lines from doing such). Celeste and I explored each pool, discovered a rope ladder down a waterfall to see the river flowing underneath the pools, and I watched and laughed as she attempted to swing on the vines overhanging the edge of the water.

After Lanquin; Celeste, Emily and I headed up to Flores on yet another long shuttle ride. This one included an unexpected stint on a boat after coming to a town whose river had flooded so much that only roofs of houses were seen on its banks. It took 20 minutes to cover the span of what was then a lake to get to the other side. Once in Flores, we checked into a dorm room with fellow shuttle bus occupants--an Aussie and a Kiwi couple--only to be woken up at dawn by their resident turkey. I had to chase rescued bird at 6 am in order to use the restroom, and hoped that chasing it away from the room would lessen the noise. It did not.

Around this time, I was also becoming ansy and breaking away from the group more and more, as is common when I travel in groups for a period of time. So, by the time we got to Tikal, I became a lone wolf and stalked through the ruins there during the dusk hours to see all sorts of wildlife....at one point a small fox lead us through part of the ruins, actually showing the way down an overgrown pyramid. We crept through the jungle after dark, the noises so deafening I felt trasported to another world, as if at any time a dinosaur would come pounding out of the brush.

After spending the night in our new camping hammocks, trying to sleep despite the hoarse growling of howler monkeys (which make it seem as if Godzilla is breathing down your neck all night) and the cold, we woke up just before dawn to get to the gates as soon as they opened. Sadly, the possiblity of a sunrise tour at Temple IV is no more, nor is bribery of the guards (just to pay entry is highway robbery ahora) but I managed to sneak in a little earlier so as to enjoy being in the park sans tourists as the sun was just rising. Walking through the paths of the park and listening to the strange animal noises and watching birds reminded me of a Ray Bradbury story, Sound of Thunder, where hunters are transported back into prehistoric times and must stay on a path or else they can inrevocably change history.

I arrived at Temple IV with the sun a few fingers from the horizon, but then had one of the best picnic breakfasts ever. Very shortly the rest of the group joined me, and we spent about an hour relishing the view and the glorious sunshine. The rest of our time in Tikal mostly consists of climbing every temple I could and having a tuna wrap picnic with Celeste and Simon, a French Canadian from Montreal who reminded Celeste and I of the young chef Linguini in Ratatouille.

From Tikal, we took an overnight bus back to Antigua so that we could go up into the surrounding hills and stay at a hippie hostel called Earthlodge for El Dia de Los Muertos. It had the most exciting views of the volcanoes around Antigua and nice hikes too, as well as good people and organic food. My favorite part probably was the rope swing that silhouetted you against the backdrop of blue sky and volcanoes.

We took a shuttle from the hostel on November 1st to a neighboring pueblo, Sumpango, for their kite flying festival. I can't wait until I can post photos to show the intricate beautiful and the incredible size of these kites! We met our friend, Gabriel, who we had visited here the month before(Sumpango is his home village) and he showed us around the cemeteries and grand festivities. This will need to be illustrated with photos soon, descriptions cannot do it justice...

After that, we returned to Antigua and saw the ELECTION!!!! A group of us sprang for a room with cable TV so we could see it without the background noise of a bar, but had to go out at one point just to celebrate the glory of OBAMA'S VICTORY!!!!! The whole bar erupted with applause and shouting when CNN stated that Obama was the elected president (no one cared that it was just the projection at that point). Even Guatemalans seemed very pleased by this, especially our friends here who realize the worldwide impact of such a result. I couldn't believe how short of a night it was, going to sleep afterwards was nearly impossible...

Ok, more later, but ahora I'm in El Salvador enjoying their beautiful coastline near La Libertad. I'll meet up with Celeste later (she stayed a little longer in Antigua but is making her way south today) once I get inland to Santa Ana and the lake.

Besitos! If you want more detail on any of the above, just write to let me know and I can fill you in! (Internet is cheaper and more available in El Salvador it seems)

Apple pie & politics

Ahorita, Celeste and I are sitting in an internet cafe in San Pedro del Lago Atitlán. It´s off-season, so things are pretty dead except for locals, groups of Israelis and a few stoned Brits. It´s lovely though and the pace of life is at the other spectrum from our adventures in Antigua, especially since we have anonymity here and freedom to wander through the countryside here. Tomorrow we are planning (ha! as if we ever actually have ¨plans¨) on renting kayaks and heading either to a beach near Santiago or over to the reverred village of San Marcos. Everyone has had nothing but wonderful things to say about that village, so we must make it a priority to enjoy it´s splendor.

Having slowed our pace of life, yet still keeping an eye on our next destination, we have begun to set loose ideas of where we want to be around the holidays. I believe we will make it to Panama by December and will probably want to get work around that time too. We think it a good idea to make use of the busy season to make money and make friends than to try to travel with the hordes and end up with no connections during the holidays. But our short term goal is to finish up with Guate, traveling from here to Coban and Semuc Champey, then over to Livingston and into Belize (enjoying the beaches along the coast) and then back over into Guate to visit the Mayan ruins at Tikal. Then it´s a straight shot down through Antigua (have to say our goodbyes for real then! Alas.) and into the rest of Central America. We have one friend from Antigua who just moved to Nicaragua, so hopefully we´ll a connection there, but otherwise, it´s free-sailing from here!

Our last week in Antigua was great, but also made us realize how quickly the town became too small. Small dramas there trumped some of the ones we left behind in Portland, and knowing many of the main players in these dramas became exhausting. Our friends are lovely and fun, but imagining living in a town more incestious and gossip-ridden than Portland is just that....better left to the imagination. I hope to visit there often in my future travels, but have found relief in the peace and quiet of the lake.

We stayed for several days with a friend of a friend of Andres Alcalá (I would love to play Six Degrees of Seperation with him as the center, it´d be too easy!)--Jeroma, who lives in Panajachel. She has a beautiful three-bedroom house with a gorgeous yard and garden that overlooks the lake. Living with her and her partner, Matt for the weekend was one of the most rejuvenating experiences. Jeroma is 4 months pregnant and for me, indulging in cravings and baking her goodies was a true highlight. I made apple pie one night to go with her scrumptious homemade lasagna, which we ate while playing RISK--it reminded me of family game nights from my childhood. We swam in the lake with their labradors and sunbathed in the scant sun (the most we´ve seen in all our time in Guate probably, since it´s the rainy season right now). It is the first instance of us having any cable TV too, which was useful for us to finally get updated on the economic and politic climate back home. And to feel utterly grateful to not be bombarded by the negative campaigning, foul economic news, etc. by being so many miles and worlds away. Now if they will only send us our absentee ballots.....

Ok, I´ll fill in some other details later...such as the experience of being shot girls at Monoloco in Antigua and the adventures of riding the chicken bus to the Panajachel (which includes a run-in with an evangelical fanatic who made the entire bus pray for our souls...yes, really).

Always Christmas in Guatemala....

So, finishing up the third week of my stay in Antigua, Guatemala, I can say that much has happened. Celeste and I moved into a local family´s home last Sunday and have been enjoying taking classes to review our spanish language skills. So far, our "pescatarianism" has been adherred to and we´ve had many wonderful (albeit unusual) meals in our new home. But I think the best way to really update is to cover the main drama in my life....the hunt for a phone.

I have had the worst trouble figuring out my mobile phone situation! First adding credit was pretty simple, but only a particular chip would work in my phone--the one that the store had run out of. So, I returned later and got that chip, but then they didn´t have the right charger. I would have to go finagle in the market to get the right charger for my phone. I knew I needed to reserve a certain amount of time and energy for that, but by then I was sick (I went on Cipro for 5 days because I got strep, but luckily you can get antibiotics over the counter for cheap down here) and then we moved in with the family and the rain has been incessant, yadda, yadda, yadda...


Entonces...I finally got the right charger the other day....and then lost my phone that same night. Yep, that´s right. Needless to say, it´s getting pretty freakin´ hilarious at this point ; ) However, I just found out that a friend is willing to give me her phone since she leaves soon to return to the States. So all in all it will work out and soon I can finally call my mother.



The house we´re now in is a nice neighborhood just outside Antigua. We have absolutely no idea who actually lives in the house since half the neighborhood seems to pass through daily. It is a loud, boisterous family--this last Sunday I was awakened at 9am (not a decent hour to be awake on the weekend) by circus/carnival music that pulled me into a daydream about living in a Fellini film ala Dolce Vita. The music continued however for 3 more hours.... The children are quite lovely, especially our 6-year-old friend Adriana who we are plotting to kidnap so that Celeste and I can sneak into the nearby playground to play and who is our main form of entertainment during meals. Mostly, we spend a lot of time guessing who is actually part of the family--we´re pretty sure there are four generations present, since the 16-year-old granddaughter is quite obviously the mother of the youngest baby--and figuring out what we´re going to have in our next meal....it´s almost always a mystery. But the family is very friendly and the matriarch quite obviously has an unusual fondness for Christmas tunes and decor(even in September), as well as the most expansive cow figurine collection I´ve ever had the pleasure of viewing.


I´m also greatly enjoying reviewing my spanish with my wonderfully patient teacher Mimi (I think that name is a bit ironic, since that was my pre-natal nickname). She´s great at building my foundation of skills again and testing to see my weaknesses and then strengthening them, but also she´s just fun to chat with as well. I love speaking with a fiercely progressive Latina woman who is young and proudly single as well--I also learned today that even though she is culturally Catholic, she considers herself just spiritual or agnostic, much like myself. I feel much more confident speaking español all round, even though it´s still a struggle to get the words out correctly, but people here are used to language students and are very supportive and appreciative.

Ok, this was long awaited for and now has gotten too long.....but more adventures are in the near future so be prepared....

Abrazos!

Guate, Guate, Guate!!!

Here a few highlights from the last few days in and around Antigua....

Celeste and I climbed a volcano--Pacaya, which gave us a beautiful view of the volcanoes surrounding Antigua and also most of western Guatemala all the way to the Pacific coast. It was an arduous two-hour climb (just the uphill part)--in which many pueblo boys followed us on their caballos (horses) and offered us "taxi naturales" up to the top, I have to say, I was a little tempted--but once we reached the volcano's lava flows and beautiful vistas, it was worth it! Racing down (or rather, sliding down) a nearly vertical lava rock "sand dune" to get to the cooled lava rock and hiking up to the actual spot where the hot lava was flowing, we finally got to walk on the crusted over-layer to stand just above real live molten lava! With a river of heat and sulfur just below me, I could imagine what it might feel like to surf in hell. Luckily, before our shoes could melt, we headed back down with a lovely stroll through pastures and forest, stopping to pet horses set loose in orchards and dancing with mariposas (butterflies).

That night, we went to Takua, a bar Celeste's German friend Liza works at. However, we were there for her going-away party before she shipped off back to Germany. We had fun hanging out in a smaller group of people, where speaking spanish was almost a necessity and trying to explain things back and forth was always a fun interchange. However, when it was already late, Liza had her camera stolen by someone at the party she didn't know well, a friend of a friend. So, while we searched around she went to go look for her friend and the hour got later and later....finally, she got her camera back and we said our goodbyes in the wee hours of the morning.

Usually, it's advisable to take a taxi or "tuk-tuk" back to your hostel after dark, but since Celeste and I had no purses on us and were together, we thought we'd be safe to walk home. Wrong. Half-way to our hostel a bicyclist stop by us to ask "donde esta el after-party?" and before either of us could answer, he grabbed my groin! He tried to take off on his bike, but Celeste was too quick and took hold of his shirt and then the bike, leaving me to scream and slap him. "No molesta!" (and other non-quotables) were flung at him along with fists and feet by two very angry gringas....at last, when he was completely apologetic and scared out of his wits, we let him go. Tag team vengeance of the gringas. Overall, we feel safe walking together at night, especially since we've proved ourselves a force to be reckoned with, but we now also keep our pocketknifes at the ready just in case... Other than the small chance of crime at night, Antigua is pretty safe and feels much safer than many places I've been in Europe.

Saturday night, we went out to Cafe No Se--our local ex-pat tequila bar where we are becoming regulars--where many of our friends either work or hang out. Usually, if we can't find them there, we go to the Rainbow Cafe which has a veggie friendly menu and live music nightly (usually including local musicians who are in our circle of friends). I love that so many of our amigos nuevos (or at least for me, Celeste knew many of them from a year ago) are among the most talented artists and scholars in Antigua, but are also just cool people to hang out with. But going back to Cafe No Se....

So Saturday night we were visiting the artist/painters of the group at the bar and pretty soon into the night we heard loud singing coming from the small front bar. I went to investigate, especially since it seemed that a lot of the songs were American or British songs ala Beatles, etc. Well, mi amigo Alvaro was bartending there and promptly introduced me to the group of boisterous singers and solo guitar player, all of whom where prominent Guatemalan men or well-known ex-pats. One of the men just happened to be the Guatemalan ambassador to Portugal (and probably many other countries at some point) and was also very drunk, buying us all a round of shots before belting out his next song request. I offered up the next song, "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkel, but the Brit on the guitar said they had already sung it. Then, the ambassador suggested I say my name was Cecilia to get him to play it again. So I did, and danced with Alvaro behind the small bar (not an easy thing to do) and afterwards was solely referred to as Cecilia! Which then went to include every single woman present in the bar....muchas Cecilias...

The ambassador, Don Tono, is a local Bacchian fellow--if there is a place where deviousness and debauchery gravitate, it would be towards him. And yet, he is perfectly honorable and quite the caballerro, and by far the best dancer I've ever had the pleasure of dancing with (which is saying something since he's not only sixty-something but also usually drunk). He later referred to me as "Cecilia Emelia Dancer" and Celeste as "Devious Cecilia". This man is the most quotable character I've been around too--"Cecilia, what is your name?", "I have diplomatic impunity", "Young lady of the quicker shot"--he is a master at clever witticisms that are made even more memorable by the presence of a Havana cigar and Panama hat.

We saw him again at No Se on Monday night, the end of the weeklong festivities for the Dia de Independencia here in Guatemala. He remembered us right away, and thus started another fun night of dancing and memorable banter. And....we're pretty sure he had stayed drunk since Friday. But alas, this politically powerful man invited the entire group of us at the front bar to join him at his casa bonita to play billiards--a friggin' hard game to play, but I did score a point once! It turns out he is extremely rich (not surprising) and also breeds horses! Specifically Fresians and Andalusians....quite the coincidence since I used to say my dream horses where a Fresian stallion and an Andalusian mare! Celeste and I never fail to fall into luxury and fortunate incidents....but adopting a rich Latino grandpa was not what we expected!

So, I will backtrack a little now to Sunday. I had my first experience on one of the "chicken buses" here and loved it! You go to the open market and listen for men shouting, "Guate, Guate Guate!" (for Guatemala City) or "Chima, Chima, Chima!" (for the small town Chimaltanengo). For less than a dollar, you can get outside of the city and into the neighboring pueblos and a free amusement ride as well! The thrill of riding the chicken bus cannot be properly explained, but must needs be experienced for yourself. Imagine hurtling at high speeds up winding country roads with no barrier between you and the cliff next to it. Uh huh. That's what I'm talking about! So, we took the chicken bus with our German friend Andrea (whose Spanish is actually better than her English) and went to visit a friend I had not met yet.

Gabriel, a musician in Antigua, actually lives in a big pueblo outside town called Sumpango. He invited us to come to his house for the day so he could show us his pueblo and the "real" Guatemala (which is true, since Antigua is not really reminiscent of most of the country). Here, we saw his humble dwellings which he shared with his sister's family and met all of his adorable nephews and niece. These children are too precious to describe, but hopefully I can figure out how to post photos soon. Many of the photos were taken by the children themselves who are incredible photographers, especially since they had never used a camera before. The entire day was in espanol, since Gabriel speaks very little English and none of his family members did either. As gringas, we stuck out like sore thumbs, but only because it wasn't "the season" yet. It was nice being the only ones in the pueblo and getting lots of attention from small children and practicing our spanish with them. There was a traditional dance being demonstrated in one of the streets by a school, I think it was called "Conquistadores", since they wore beautiful colorful costumes and masks that vaguely looked like the Burger King head.

Wandering around a pueblo, speaking spanish, tasting local dishes and seeing how people actually live here--it was both enlightening and also humbling. I recently found out that the illiteracy rate here is 60% and that most families cannot send their children to school because they need them to help work to make enough to live on. The poverty here is immense, but the change will come slowly and many of our Guatemalan friends are hopeful that through there political and community work, they will be able to aid that effort to improve their country.

So far, this has been one of the best experiences of mi vida....and it's only been a week and a half! Ay, Dio mio!