Christmas in Guatemala 2019

This Christmas in Panajachel was unfortunately soured by many little troubles. But I am focusing on the good things that happened and not the bad, and I am especially thankful for all my good friends here in Pana who made my Xmas very special.

I had a wonderful trip across the lake to San Pedro to visit a friend.
I had a delicious potluck Xmas dinner.
I enjoyed the midnight fireworks on Christmas Eve.
I received thoughtful, generous, and unexpected gifts.
I am blessed with a house full of adorable cats and dogs.
I got to video chat with my family in Canada on Christmas Day.

One of the most special moments was small and simple. I was walking home from the potluck and feeling a little down. I saw three young girls playing with some firecrackers, just little ones that spit and sparkle. I walked over to them and gave them each a huge two-foot-long sparkler that I had in my bag. Their faces lit up with excitement! They ran quickly to a nearby tienda to tell their mother. They said (in Spanish), "Look what the gringa gave us!!!" 😄 There was one more child in the store that got the last of my sparklers and I wished them a Feliz Navidad and walked away with a smile on my face.

Below are some photos and videos from the last few days. Christmas here is very special, full of family and traditions, and it's just like home in that way.

Bert got a Christmas basket from one of his dogwalking clients.

This is Coco. She is staying with us for Xmas while her mom is in the States.

The J sound in Spanish sounds like H.

A family selling moss, lichens, pine boughs by the road.
Guatemalans use them to make nativity scenes.

I bought a stick & moss deer for only Q10. The pets love it!

Leo has killed the deer!

There are a lot of parades at Christmastime. Random Santas on motorcycles one night.

A beautiful mural painted on the wall on the way to the docks.

The docks in Panajachel. We went to visit a friend across the lake in San Pedro.

The old Mikaso hotel.

The church in San Pedro.

Some lovely gifts from my friends.

A cute card from my friend.

The "tree" and church in Panajachel

Olafs at the bakery.

My friend built this beer tree for the bar!

The giant sparklers. Only Q10 a pack and 4 sparklers per pack.
That's about $1.71 Canadian or $1.30 American.

Bert and his sparkler at the potluck dinner on Xmas Eve.

Bert's creative Christmas wrapping of my gifts!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas or other holiday celebration! 🎄🎅🎉