Guatemala 6/30/2025 |
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Monday, June 30, 2025 - Humberto's 54th Birthday Party at Isabela's RestaurantToday was my last day working from Guatemala. Tomorrow we would be heading home. I woke up at 6:30. Humberto had left in the middle of the night for a sunrise hike. I had coffee and a cookie while working.Craig woke up and we had breakfast of pancakes and fruit. Humberto came home and took a well-deserved nap, since he had had to wake up so early on his birthday! For lunch we had tilapia, steak, and veggies. Humberto took Ian to the lake to play football (soccer). Paola arrived home from Guatemala City, to surprise Humberto for his birthday. It was a surprise to us, too, and we all appreciated that she made the 3+ hour journey yet again to come home and spend time with the family. The little cat that we first saw as a kitten last year was hanging out on the roof of the house. Every once in a while, over the course of the trip, we would hear her on the roof. It would always catch the dogs' attention as well, and they would sit staring up at the roof. Humberto and Ian came back. When I was done with work, we had coffee and cookies as an afternoon pick-me-up. Tonight we would be going to Paulina's sister Isabela's restaurant to celebrate Humberto's 54th birthday. It would be one last hurrah before we head home tomorrow. A while after 7 o'clock, we walked to the restaurant with Humberto, Ian, and Paulina. When we arrived, Vanesa, Danny, Yoselin, and Paola were there decorating, putting up balloons. Isabela and her daughters Heidi, Soleyba, and Roxana were ready to cook for us. I held baby Emiliano for a little while. He was fussy and Vanesa and Danny had briefly left to run an errand. Since I couldn't get him to stop crying, I promptly handed him off to Vanesa when she returned. He was in a lot of discomfort, which we later learned was caused by some coarse, thorn-like hairs on his back that poked him. This is something that some of the kids had when they were babies as well. Soon after our visit, Danny's mother realized the problem, removed the offending hairs, and Emiliano was in general much more comfortable and less fussy. People started to trickle in, including Olga, Pamela, and Chilo. We would never have recognized Chilo if we had run into him on the street. We haven't seen him in several years, and he is a young man now. Eddy arrived after work, followed by Yasmin. Then Aracely and Joel came in with baby Elsa. Humberto asked Isabela for some tequila shots, and she presented him with a whole bottle of Jose Cuervo for his birthday. He poured us shots over the course of the night until the bottle was empty. Wow, that was two bottles of tequila down since we had arrived in Guatemala; we polished one off on my birthday as well! Paola's friend Julio arrived, and gave Humberto a bottle of red wine. I ordered a strawberry licuado (milkshake), and Craig had a Gallo beer. Isabela brought fries and chicken livers (garnished with tomatoes and lime) as appetizers. Craig and I each got a plate of her delicious chicken tacos, and I ordered a plate of fries. Everyone ate to bursting, and more orders of tacos, burgers, drinks, and fries kept coming from the kitchen. Aracely asked what time we would be leaving for the airport tomorrow, and was dismayed when we said that we'd be leaving at 6:30 a.m. She had hoped that she would have been able to see us tomorrow with Elsa one more time. We were disappointed by that as well, so we made sure to enjoy some time with Elsa, Aracely, and Joel tonight and give them a proper goodbye. We were so thankful that Aracely had made such an effort to visit us nearly every day of our trip. We had really gotten quality time with her and Elsa. The kids lit candles and presented a cake to Humberto. We sang to him and everyone there posed with him for a group photo. Craig pushed Humberto's face into the cake. There was much laughter. After the tequila was gone, Humberto cracked open the bottle of red wine. Craig and I drank a lot for two people who would have to be up bright and early tomorrow to go to the airport. I was looking at the photos on my phone, and realized something unfortunate (but very funny!) Isabela has a digital jukebox on the wall that is shaped like a smartphone. It has a video screen that plays videos along with the music. For some reason, much of the video that it plays consists of strippers and exotic dancers. When I looked at the photos of the whole group of 21 people, everyone looked great...but in the background on the jukebox there was a woman pole dancing. Craig, Paola, Julio, and I started cracking up, and I covered the video screen with a birthday cake emoji before posting the picture on social media. When I got home, I had better tools to edit the image so that the stripper wasn't visible. But we all got a real laugh out of it! We said goodbye and thanks to Isabela and her family, who had prepared such a lovely meal. We were glad that we were able to uphold the tradition of enjoying a big family meal at her establishment. We walked home, and when we arrived, we stood outside for a while saying goodbye to everyone, since we would be leaving so early in the morning for the airport. It had been a tremendous visit, and I will never forget the memorable 50th birthday celebration that they provided for me, and the fact that we were able to meet the next generation of children: Elsa and Emiliano. Coray the dog tried to eat us one final time, just for good measure (and to make sure that we know that even after two weeks, he still hates us). Then we went to bed. |
 Humberto and Isabela with the birthday tequila  Yoselin, Paola, Emiliano, and Craig  Humberto, Paulina, and Ian  Happy 54th birthday, Humberto!  Craig, Steph, and Elsa Photo Gallery June 30 |
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 Roxana, Steph, Pamela, Craig, Yasmin, Humberto, Yoselin, Paulina, Eddy, Vanesa, Ian, Aracely, Paola, Joel, Elsa, Chilo, Olga, Isabela, Danny, Soleyba, Heidi |
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