Guatemala 7/1/2022 - 7/17/2022 |
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Saturday, 7/2/2022 - Panajachel, Santa Catarina PalopoThe upstairs room is warmer than downstairs, and the early morning sunlight streams in through glass block windows. We woke up early but went downstairs shortly before 9 o'clock. We had breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans, and fried plantains. A girl came over with a baby, and Paulina explained that it was her niece Odilia's baby Bernardo. He is a year old and was very scared of us. The girl resembled Paulina's niece Alison Margarita, but we didn't realize it was actually her until the afternoon when they came back and I asked her name. She is 12 now, and we barely recognized her. The last time we had seen her, she was only 9 and looked quite different. Alison Margarita and Bernardo Paola introduced us to her brand new dog Octavio, who is 2 months old. He has only been here at the house for 3 days. They also have Moua, formerly Humberto's sister Juana's dog. He is not impressed by the new puppy. Paola also has 2 red-eared slider turtles who have lasted for 2 years. Ivan used chalk to draw Pac Man on the cement patio. Paola took Paulina on her moto to the market. Ivan read to me from his school books. He is on vacation this week, but will resume classes a week from Monday. For lunch we had garlic chicken and veggies with cantaloupe juice. Paola washed Octavio in the sink. She tried to blow him dry afterwards, but he was afraid of the hairdryer. Then Paola dressed him up in a Minion costume. It was quite amusing as he ran around the house. Vanesa has a pitaya plant on the roof (she took a cutting from a plant at Danny's parents' house). They have problems with squirrels eating the fruit, but they managed to save a couple of fruits and we enjoyed them this afternoon. Aracely turned 15 two years ago. Because of the pandemic, she was not able to have a quinceañra party. We felt very badly about this, as we had attended all of the other sisters' parties. We had bought presents for her, and we gave them to her today: a pop-up greeting card, a photo book, playing cards with her photo on the back, and a gold and pearl mermaid necklace. She was very appreciative. Humberto's office next to the house is under construction. He is renting an office on Santander Street, and Aracely and Yasmin work their along with family friend Luis. Humberto got the van and we went for a sunset ride to the neighboring village of Santa Catarina Palopo with Humberto, Paulina, and the boys. As we were leaving the alley we saw Rosa, Dulce, Nelly, Julisse, and her toddler and brand new infant. Santa Catarina buildings are all painted with blue and teal weaving motifs. We passed an adorable granizada (snow cone) stand shaped like a chicken bus. We walked down the main street as the sky turned pinkish orange. Back in Panajachel, we stopped at Dispensa Familiar (a grocery store owned by WalMart). Craig and I had forgotten our masks at home, so we waited in the car while the family bought groceries. Dinner was pesto pasta, garlic bread, and wine. Afterwards, we played rummy with Aracely's new deck of cards. We went to bed at around 11 o'clock. |
 Ivan and Octavio  Paola and her moto  Craig eating pitaya with Ivan  Steph, Craig, and Aracely See all photos from this day |
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