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Sunday July 18
i just found out the floppy disk doesn't work in this computer. i will send photos later.
I
am using a Spanish keyboard so please do not look at the mistakes. It is also a very slow computer but I will do what
I can.
Sunday morning Kyle got up very early and left at 5. He wanted to climb one of the volcanoes so Domingo
got him a guide. He rode in a kayak (not sure of the spelling) like a small dug out canoe across the lake. The
rest of us were all up and moving by 7. We were going to go to a Mayan Hands group that my friend Clemente works with
right outside of Santiago. Clement spent 3 weeks this summer in the states. 1 week in Ill and 2 weeks in South
Dakota with us. Anyhow, he called and his car had broken down on Sat. and he was taking the bus and the bus was running
late. So..we decided to go see Chonita´s garden which was outside of town. Again we hopped a pick up and went
to the garden. Her land is land her father gave her and she has created a beautiful garden on it. The first part
is all flowers and some crops and the second part is all coffee trees. She is also doing it organically. She really
enjoys her garden and it was all neat and tidy. She has a family that lives there in a one room house that oversees
the security of it. When she was with me last year she worked with me in my garden so it is fun to exchange garden stories.
After
we saw the garden we looked at several pieces of land that are for sale. Chonita would like to have a senior citizen
center somewhere near. Again she got that idea from visiting the US. We looked at 4 or 5 different pieces of land.
Don't worry Lana, Mike and Brian, I didn't buy any. I do have some good photos of some to show you though. We
got back to Chonita´s and Clemente had called again and said he was still on the bus. Aren't cell phones wonderful?
I don't know how they would survive in Guatemala without them. Because Clemente was running late we went to the group
without him. Ruth knew the group so she took us. Again we hopped in the back of a pick up. We were mostly
going back and forth on the same road and we were sure the people were wondering why those crazy gringos were riding back
and forth. When the pick up stopped a little girl was waiting by the road to take us to the house. The women
were all waiting for us. We did our introductions and visited about the products and new ideas. The children were
all surrounding us and were singing a lot of songs. They sang it in Spanish and Tzuhil. Clemente showed up after
we had started. The women had brought things for us to buy which we did, but the group decided afterwards that this was a
very uncomfortable situation. So we decided to discuss before each group what we should do..
When we were finished
at the group we got a pick up and went back to Chonita´s to gather our stuff. Chonita had made her famous tortillas
and salsa that we devoured. This was my family's favorite when she was at our house. We then piled into
the back of the pick up and went down to the lake to rent a boat to cross. Just before getting the boat Marta noticed she
had left her bag there so Clemente and her grabbed one of the motorcycle taxis to go get it. When they got to the top
of the hill they saw Arcely and Ana running down with it. Arcely is Chonita´s granddaughter and Ana is the young girl
that lives with Chonita and helps out. They were really out of breath by the time they found them. We rented a boat
and crossed the lake. It was a really nice ride. We arrived in Panajachel in about 30 minutes. We still had one very
heavy suitcase because it had gifts for the next day's celebration so Kyle was very good and carried it on his head.
We found a nice restaurant and had a late lunch. About half way through the lunch it started pouring rain. We
were going to go to another Mayan Hands group outside of Pana. Clemente and Ruth went to find a van that would take
us. As we were sitting there all nice and cozy and saw the pouring rain we all decided we hoped they would not find
a van. We knew there was going to be a muddy climb to see the group. After about 30 minutes they returned in a
pick up with a canvas cover. We were all in a bit of a panic for a few minutes thinking that was going to be our transportation.
When Clemente and Ruth said they couldn't find a van we were all relieved. We then decided to take one of the motor
scooter taxis to our hotel. I had been wanting to ride in one the whole trip so the group said I was finally getting
my opportunity. We had the same driver and it took him 3 trips. Good thing the hotel wasn't too far.
It was still raining but there were plastic windows in the taxi. Clemente and I were the last ones to go and on the way we
passed a funeral procession. We had to pull over and we were about 2 feet away. The mourners were walking with arm loads
of flowers. Followed by someone with incense and then the casket. It was quite a long procession.
The hotel is
a nice quiet little place within walking distance of downtown, except when it is pouring rain. There are flower gardens
and each room was clean with a shower. Nothing fancy but nice for us. We rested a little and the rain stopped.
Several of the group decided to walk back down town and do some shopping. Clemente wanted to take me to a friend's house.
I had heard about Jane from lots of people. She is a North American who started the group Maya Traditions. Clemente
knew that Ed and I were bringing our family down to Pana for Christmas and said that Jane had a couple of bungalows that she
would rent to us. She doesn't rent them out except to friends but she had heard of me through Clemente and she really
likes Clemente. Clemente just knew the bungalows would be perfect for my family. So..Carisa, Clemente and I went
for about a 20 minute walk. Jane lives on the hillside overlooking the lake in a pretty secluded spot. It is absolutely
breathtaking. Anyhow we went to Jane's house and had a great visit. She showed me the bungalows and said she would
be glad to have my family stay there at Christmas. My family is really going to be impressed that I could find such
a nice place.
Carisa, Clemente and I started back, found a pick up and rode the rest of the way. We were meeting
the group at a restaurant downtown. We had a nice dinner and then we had to get back and meet Robin the young man who
works with our paper group. We had placed an order and he was bringing part of it to the hotel. The paper
products were beautiful and we all like them a lot. It was good to see him again. I hadn't seen him in a couple
of years.
After that we all headed to our rooms and went to bed. We were going to have a long day the next day.
Diane
---ps
Forgot to tell you Kyle made it half way up the volcano and got a bit sick so he came back and joined us old folks for the
rest of the day.
Quote by Carisa ..... Rain, Rain go away, come again some other day. She says not real profound
but it will do.
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