Guatemala 6/25/2025 |
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Wednesday, June 25, 2025 - A Cookout, Rocio Visits, Vanesa and Danny's House, A Walk to the LakeToday I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to work. Breakfast was eggs, cheese that the family had bought at the Parma dairy on Monday, beans, plantains, orange juice, and coffee.Ian completed his Lego dinosaur skeletons with only a little help from Craig, and then cut up the box and made a museum out of it. He put the little dinosaur egg on a pedestal to display it next to the dinosaur skeletons. He is very creative. Vanesa came over with baby Emiliano. They broke out the charcoal grill to make lunch, which consisted of chorizo, steak, green onions, garlic, zucchini, very spicy jalapeños, fresh home-made guacamole, salsa, and tortillas. Vane, Paola, Yasmin, Ian, Paulina, Craig, and I enjoyed lunch together. It was very hot today, and I had a busy day at work. The kids' cousin Rocio stopped by to say hello before returning to Guatemala City. Her son Mael was with her, and we got to meet her 8-month-old daughter Gisele Adara Estrella. Rocio's mother (and Humberto's sister) Juana was with them as well. I held Gisele for a minute, but she wanted her mom. It was great that they all stopped by; we hadn't seen them in a few years. Rocio and Juana used to live right next door, and Rocio was always around when the kids were all younger, so we've known her as long as we've known the kids. Paola said goodbye and left for Guatemala City. She needed to return to work as a surgical nurse. We would miss her, but we were glad that she had been able to spend the past week with us. We are very proud of her career success. Of course her dog Octavio was upset that she left, and took it out on Rocio by growling at her. When I was done with work for the day, and Rocio, Juana, Mael, and Gisele had left, we walked with Vanesa and Paulina to see the progress on the house that Vanesa and Danny are building on his family property. It is a short walk away. We had seen the house last year, and they have made quite a lot of progress since then. Danny was there to meet us, and they gave us a tour. Their bedroom on the second floor is totally done, with a nice door and mirrored windows. They have an interim kitchen in what will ultimately be another bedroom. They have electricity and a bathroom. Soon they will move in (up until now, they have been staying in Danny's parents' house in the same family compound). After admiring the house and saying goodbye to Vanesa and Danny, Paulina asked if we wanted to walk down to Lake Atitlan. We had not yet seen the lake on this visit, and the weather had turned rather overcast and not too hot, so we said sure. It is always nice to walk around on the shore of the lake, gazing at the surrounding volcanoes and just taking in the atmosphere. We sat people-watching for a while near the oversized floral heart where people can take Instagram-worthy photos. It started to sprinkle rain a little bit, so we walked home. When we got there, Aracely, Joel, and baby Elsa were waiting for us. Aracely put Elsa into a set of pink bunny footie pajamas. She looked like she belonged in "A Christmas Story." Absolutely adorable! Aracely realized that she had left the baby's bottle at home, and she asked if we wouldn't mind babysitting for a few minutes while she and Joel ran home to get it. Of course I was thrilled to watch Elsa. She was in her walker and just toddled around the dining room, perfectly happy. We played with her and she babbled a bit. Craig and I had some nachos and fresh guacamole as a snack. When Aracely and Joel came back, they were pleasantly surprised to hear that she hadn't cried at all, despite being hungry. Craig and I weren't too surprised; she is such a good-natured baby who loves everyone! Joel fed her while she was in her walker and she was vocalizing and smiling. For dinner, we had spaghetti with cheese sauce, ham, and onions. Soon after dinner, it started to rain again, so Aracely, Joel, and baby Elsa went home before it got too bad. Some of the downpours in this rainy season are absolutely torrential. Ian drank 3 glasses of orange juice from the fridge, and the whole family started giving him a hard time in Spanish. What we didn't realize at first was that the bottle of orange juice in the fridge belonged to tourists who were staying in the guest rooms. It was for their breakfast tomorrow morning. So Paulina had to replace it. There was a lot of laughter and good-natured ribbing of Ian for what he had done. I was absolutely exhausted after a very chaotic day at work, so we went to bed at 9:30. |
 Mael, Rocio, Gisele, and Juana  Ian and Emiliano  Danny and Vanesa at their property  Elsa Photo Gallery June 25 |
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 Lake Atitlan |
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