I just wanted to post a little thing here about experiencing a Guatemalan moment in its entirety.
Here is a 29-second video of riding on a chicken bus. That doesn't sound like much, but watch it real quick before you read what I've written below.
When you watch the video, you can experience only a portion of what it's like to be on a chicken bus in Guatemala. You can hear what I heard and see some of what I saw.
But what is so great about actually BEING on that chicken bus is all the sensations that I got to experience.
I could smell the lady's jalapeño chips next to me, and feel her leg pressed against mine.
I felt the movement of my body as we zoomed along, barreling around the hairpin turns, jerking forward and back with every gear change.
The pressure building in my ears as we went up up up up up the hill.
The smell of vinyl and rubber and dust.
The breeze coming in the windows cooling a bit of the heat.
The music blasting, the bus engine roaring, the gears grinding, the people talking.
And outside the window, dry jungle cliffs and an amazing vista of Lake Atitlan.
So, my faithful readers, my advice to you is... go out and experience your life!
You may not be in some exotic foreign country, but you can still be fully in the moment in your own life. To those Guatemalans on the bus, it was a completely normal day. To me, it was an mini-adventure on a Monday afternoon.
It's rainy season in Guatemala so a rare sunny day means you lay out ALL your clothes to dry on the rooftop. This is a picture out my back window at my neighbour's house. There are clothes hanging on all the lines, plus laid out all over all the rooftops, including more to the left that I couldn't get in the picture. I have been hand-washing my clothes for years now. It's annoying but just part of life for me. It's frustrating when you wash your fave clothes, hang them to dry... then it rains for 3 days straight so they never get dry. 😖 I took a big risk washing my duvet last week. It got a nice rain rinse one night but then managed to get dry with a full day of sun. I could take my clothes to a washing service, which is actually pretty cheap, but sometimes they keep your clothes for a couple days, and I'm worried that some of my best clothes will mysteriously disappear. I wish there was a coin laundromat here in Panajachel -- that would be a great business to start!
Another post to brighten the day of my northern friends who are dealing with cold and snow. 🥶 Winter can't last forever, my friends!
Went for a walk today to take pictures of flowers for my Mom. She was the one who got me interested in gardening when I was a little kid and I used to love going to the greenhouses with her in the spring and summer. I remember especially loving marigolds and lilacs.
Here in Guatemala, it's basically summer year-round so there are always flowers in bloom. It's dry season right now, so things are a bit dusty but still warm and lovely weather for a walk around town. I visited the three viveros (plant stores) that I know of here in Panajachel. I wish I could have bought some plants for my garden, but I just don't have the energy right now to nurture them -- and to fight off the dogs from digging them up. Whenever I dig in the soil, they think it's an open invitation to tear up all the dirt they can get their grubby paws on. 😣
Vivero #1 on the road up that goes to Godinez
Vivero #2 on Arboles across from Deli Pan
The flower lady inside the market building. (#3 on the map)
Of course, there are lots more ladies selling flowers at the market but this is one of the places that's always there, not just seasonal.
The Vivero across from Despensa Familiar (#4 on the map)
Map of Panajachel showing the three plant stores and the market.
Now a few pictures of some lovely flowers around town, on the roadsides and in people's gardens.
A rare pink & yellow butterfly weed. There are lots of orange & yellow ones around but this tiny guy was different and beautiful.
Literally growing between the rocks on the hot river road.
I love these pretty pink flowers. I'd rather have these than bougainvillea.
The hated bougainvillea in brilliant fuchsia.
These are what I consider the "fall" flowers around here. They start blooming in October. They're at the end of their time now and most have gone to seed. You can see all the DUST on their leaves!
Tiny little yellow flowers, only about the size of my pinky fingernail.
That's a poinsettia twice as tall as me!
I believe this is a kroton.
These flowers are pale blue though they look white in this picture.
These orange "finger flowers" always remind me of undersea coral.
A local business that sells gravel and sand has brightened up their yard with geraniums.
No pictures from my own garden as it's a dust bowl! My basil is doing well in the heat, plus a nice spider plant and a jade plant and a pink geranium. The bougainvillea is the bane of my existence. I hate that plant! I would cut it all down if it was up to me. But I guess it does cover the ugly fence quite well and the birds love it.
I'm heading to Tapachula, Mexico, next weekend for my first visa run since Covid-19 started so look for that blog post when I get back. 👍
Panajachel is a total mess right now. They started construction on a few different roads before Christmas and it's ongoing with no end in sight. Not sure why they decided to rip up the main streets now. I mean, why didn't they do it when we were in lockdown and there was no traffic?
The past two weekends for Xmas and New Year's was a total disaster. City tourists have started coming back to the lake in their fancy new cars with tinted windows. They all drove in circles around town trying to figure out how to get anywhere. There were a few traffic cops standing at intersections directing people and every second car would stop and ask either "Where's the beach?" or, "How do I get to the highway?"
It's also been a disaster to try to walk anywhere in town. The picture above is the main corner by Chalo's near Despensa. The road is like this from Batres pharmacy almost all the way up to the market. Los Arboles is now two-way street for part of it to try to redirect traffic around, and it's not wide enough for that, so all the drivers are always freaking out. Chicken buses turn around in the middle of the street because there's no way through.
Interesting note for my first-world friends: construction is done primarily by hand. There are literally guys in the trenches digging with shovels and pickaxes. It's insane. Just get a freaking machine to do it for you!! Geez.
In better news, they repaired the tuc-tuc bridge near my house a bit more, so now there's not a gaping hole in the metal. The municipality was so proud of fixing it, they posted it on their Facebook page. (Slow news day?) It's kinda funny to remember the bridge the way it used to be, all cobbled together with wood and scrap. You can go back and look at my post from 2016 here.
Pana sure changed in 2020. So many businesses closed or moved. The Riconcita pupusa placed moved a few streets over, I think into someone's back yard, and then a new pupusa place opened in the same location. The El Dorado plaza is basically all new stores. One of my favourite tiendas is now a BBQ restaurant. We have a new gas Texaco gas station less than a block from the old Texaco gas station. They also tore down a whole block of buildings not far from Despensa and there was a rumour on Facebook that a McDonald's was going to be built there, but so far it's just an empty lot. There were lots of stores with closed shutters on Santander, but now that tourism is picking back up and restrictions are being lifted, new businesses are opening.
Happily, most of my fave places are still in business -- La Palapa, Mister Jon's, Hana Japanese restaurant (now also serving Chinese!), the 3Q store, Intermedio, and the little Pepsi tienda near my house that never gringo-prices me. A new pet food store opened up on the main street so we don't have to go up to the market anymore to get dog food.
The weather is great, as usual. Dry season has started, although it did rain yesterday, surprisingly. Here's a picture of some nice mini roses growing over someone's fence. I hope it cheers up anyone who is dealing with cold and snow right now.
Sorry I haven't been blogging. I was surprised to see how long it had been seen I last posted! I guess the coronavirus lockdown kinda makes time weird. I often don't know what day it is. 😁
To be quite honest, I haven't been all that happy for a while. I'm not sure if it's COVID-19 or culture fatigue or just the blues. Bert and I were seriously talking about going back to Canada. Of course, that's impossible right now -- and not just because the airport is closed. We have far too many pets to go anywhere. Plus I think we've forgotten how expensive it is to live in Canada. I mean, we'd have to get, like, real jobs or something! 😝
So instead of allowing myself to feel bummed out, I'm focusing on what I love about living in Panajachel. Here are my top 5 things about Guatemala that make me happy.
1. The weather. I've said it before -- the weather at Lake Atitlan is perfect every freaking day. Even the rains are nice. It's sunny and warm almost every day, but not too hot. The hottest part is obviously the middle of the day, so you just hang out in the shade until after 3pm and then you go out in the cool evening air. When it gets chilly at night, you put on some fuzzy socks to go to bed. When the rains come, you just hunker down inside. It's almost like when it snows back home in Canada. If you have nowhere to go, it's lovely to look at from inside your cozy home. It's a weird little thing but I love being able to have a hot coffee in the morning, an iced coffee in the afternoon, and a hot chocolate at night.
It looks like the volcano is erupting but it's just clouds. 😄
2. The scenery. Guatemala is gorgeous. The volcanoes at Lake Atitlan are stunning. My eyes are always drawn to them. I've always loved nature and Panajachel is small enough that it's easy to get off the cobbled streets and find green spaces. There are beautiful flowers and interesting plants and the big green hills all around and the rushing river and lizards sunning on the rocks. And of course, there is Lake Atitlan, El Lago Mas Bello del Mundo, the Most Beautiful Lake in the World. Its blue waters in the distance always lift my spirits.
I am anxiously awaiting the travel restrictions to be removed so I can go on more trips around this beautiful country. I want to go back to the Pacific Ocean, up to Huehue, and over to the east coast to see that side and hopefully fit in another trip to Tikal while I'm there!
3. My quirky house. I love my house. It's a total wreck and has a lot of problems but it's two stories, which means I can look out into the trees and watch the birds. I have a totally awesome big yard that the dogs love. They sunbathe and dig up the plants and chase each other in circles. I can sit outside in the sun and the big fence means I have almost total privacy. (The only exception is sometimes my neighbours go up on their third floor roof to have a look around.) Bonus points -- I have an awesome landlord who isn't upset that my dogs have trashed the place! I could not afford to have such a nice big house if I lived in Canada. When I left Canada in 2015, I was living in a crappy, cold, tiny one-bedroom apartment in a sketchy neighbourhood. Total upgrade here!
This is not a great photo in any way but I had to include it because it's a snapshot of my life. Tarzan is sitting on top of my Ecofiltro (water filter) while Reina & Sebastian are having a spat, and in the background is my messy home with all my windows WIDE OPEN. 😁
4. Low cost of living. When Bert and I got all homesick and started googling rental houses in Canada, we were instantly reminded at how expensive stuff is back home. Here in Guatemala, I work online part-time and have a pretty easy life. I'm not running on a hamster wheel to keep up with my bills. Rent is cheap. Utilities are cheap. (Internet is expensive and slow but this post isn't about complaining!) If I eat locally, I can stuff my face for hardly any money at all. If I want to splurge on imported foods or American style dinner, I can do that too. I don't have a car here so no more gas or repairs or insurance bills. If I don't feel like walking, I can get in a tuc-tuc for Q5 (less than a dollar) and go anywhere in town. This easygoing lifestyle is something that I appreciate every single day when I sleep in until noon and wake up without an alarm because I'm no longer part of the rat race. 😊
5. The novelty. I've been an expat in Guatemala for more than five years now and I am still being surprised. The culture here is wonderful and strange. When a stupid virus isn't messing things up, there are always elaborate parades and fascinating events going on. Even just walking to the store, I'll notice a new flower or stop to watch a bird or say hola to a cute street dog. I've found myself pausing to watch Guatemalans doing bizarre things.
The other day a big truck tried to go down a small callejon and got caught up in the electrical wires, stopping all traffic and seriously endangering everyone involved. People came out of their houses to watch. It's like TV has no interest for them. They'd rather see if some poor guy is gonna get electrocuted as he climbs on top of a truck to move cables. #JustGuatemalanThings 🤦
I think if you stay in one place your whole life, you end up walking through it like a zombie. Being in a foreign country forces you to open your eyes and really notice what's going on around you. It's not always a good feeling but it certainly isn't boring.
Um, what the heck is this plant?? LOL
My five best things about Panajachel may not be the same as my expat friends' lists. Some have told me that they love different things than I do, like the cheerful locals, the freedom from rules, or the anonymity. I think if you maintain a positive attitude and grateful mindset, any visitor to Guatemala will find something to love. When travel restrictions lift, I hope all my readers will consider a trip to Guatemala to experience just a little bit of what makes it such a wonderful place.
Sorry I haven't been blogging much. This past week was full of drama and stress! Nothing to do with COVID-19, thank goodness. It had to do with my pets!
First crazy thing that happened was last Friday, my cat Queso fall off my neighbour's roof into their yard. When I first picked him up, it appeared his back was broken. His back legs weren't working at all and he was in a lot of pain. But by the time we got to see a vet (that's a whole other story), he was fine. It was so weird! He came out of the cat carrier at the vet's and ran to hide under a table. I was shocked! The vet examined him and said that maybe he had dislocated his hip but it had popped back in. She gave him so pain killers and sent us home. We scheduled a follow-up appointment for Monday morning.
Queso relaxing at home after his ordeal. He is a big boy. He weighs 12.4 pounds!
Which leads to the second bit of drama. On Monday as I was taking Queso to the vet, three of my dogs escaped! Gus, Honey-Bear, and Moo-Moo got out of the gate and raced off down the road. I knew that I couldn't catch them because they always think it's such a fun game to have me come after them, so I just got in a tuc-tuc and took Queso to the vet.
When I got back from the vet's office, Gus and Honey-Bear were waiting at the gate to be let back inside. But Moo-Moo was not with them!! I figured maybe she got distracted by something or someone and she would come home soon. But she never did!
For the next FOUR days, Bert and I searched the town over and over. Bert biked up and down all the streets, up to the bridge and down to the Lake. I walked until my thighs chafed, calling out and whistling while people stared at the crazy gringa. I posted Moo-Moo's picture in all the Facebook groups for Panajachel and tagged all my friends to share. But no one had seen my Moo. 😟
I was a freaking MESS. I cried all day every day. I was so mad at myself for not catching her when she first escaped. But at the time, I was more worried about Queso and his weird disappearing paralysis, so I just figured the dogs would come back and it would all be fine.
By Thursday night, I was losing hope. A friend suggested that I make paper posters and offer a reward. Another friend graciously allowed me to use her phone number so she could answer the calls in Spanish. I prepared the posters but it was after curfew so I was waiting until the next day to find a shop to print them out. I shared the virtual poster on all the Facebook groups again.
Friday morning my friend called me. Someone had seen the poster online and said that there was a white & black dog hiding in their workshop. It had been there for days but it was too scared to come out. I got directions and rushed out with my leash in my hand.
I arrived at the shop, a metalworking place I was familiar with, and the guy led me to the back. Under a weird piece of machinery, a dirty Moo-Moo peeked out with fearful eyes. OMG it's her!! She was so terrified, she was shaking, but when she realized it was me and we were going home, she started jumping all over with her happy smile. The guy laughed and took our picture. I gave him a reward of Q300 -- basically all that I had in my purse -- because I was so happy!! (Q300 is about $55 Canadian or $40 American. WORTH IT!)
The picture of Moo-Moo that I used in my missing posters. She is just the best dog! She is the only dog that I consider "mine". All the others are available for adoption, but not my Moo!
Which brings me to the title of my post -- a relaxing weekend at home. It's not only relaxing because all of my fur babies are safe and healthy but because we really have no choice about staying home. Ha ha!
The cases of COVID-19 in Guatemala have been ramping up quickly, which is actually the normal course of this disease, but our President kinda panicked. He is actually a doctor so he's taking the pandemic very seriously.
Anyway, on late Thursday night, he decided to lock down the country. We already have very strict rules here but he ramped it up by saying that NO stores could be open this weekend, except local tiendas. People could only go out from 8 am to 11 am. And also people couldn't use any sort of vehicles to go anyway; they had to walk.
So basically, we had 3 hours in the morning to walk to our local cornerstore, buy anything we needed, then we had to get home. CRAZY!
Someone posted this on Twitter! The lockdown rule said "no transportation with neither two nor four wheels." Well, horses don't have wheels!!
The prez also said that next week would be more restrictions and then the weekend after that would be full lockdown 24 hours. The schedule was so confusing that people were making charts to help understand when we could go and where.
"New Presidential Decrees"
Of course, the new lockdown measures created a storm of controversy ... online. People ranted all over Facebook. Conspiracy theories and insults at the President and ridiculous "what if" scenarios. Armchair fanatics typed their fingers raw with their doomsday predictions and negativity.
But in reality, people just dealt with it. There was some food buying panic in the city, but here in Panajachel, people just put on their masks, walked to the tienda, bought their beans and rice, stopped for tortillas from the ladies who will never ever never cease making them, no matter what happens, and then everyone went home to spend time with their families, listen to music, do some gardening, play with their dogs, and wait for the President's weekly address tonight at 7pm.
So that's my update for this week. I'm lucky that my online work has started up again and I have money coming in. I am grateful that I even have some extra to donate to the local people who aren't as lucky. More on that in a future post!
Take care, faithful readers. As we say in Guatemala, Juntos Saldremos Adelante! Together we will get ahead. 😊
Yesterday was a tough day. I ended up crying in the back of a tuc-tuc on the way home from running errands.
Was it because I was feeling sorry for myself? NO. One hundred freaking percent NO.
It was because there are people in my town who have no food. They go to bed hungry. Their children go to bed hungry.
There was a 60-year-old man who walked 4 kilometers from another town to beg for something to eat.
Every day, I see grandmothers gathering sticks at the side of the river so they can make a fire to cook beans.
People line the roads with white flags to signal that they don't have anything to eat today.
And I come to freaking Facebook & Twitter & the news and stupid first-worlders are rioting cuz they can't get a haircut.
PEOPLE HERE ARE STARVING. Do you understand that?
They can't order pizza to be delivered. There is no stimulus money. They can't work from home...cuz they don't have work at all. Their kids aren't online doing school on their freaking iPads -- they're begging in the street.
"Wah wah wah, I have to wear a mask! Wah wah wah, I can't go to the mall. Wah wah wah, I wanna go to the beach."
BONUS FACT: Guatemala "only" had 617 homicides in the month of March, down from 800 last year. To put this in perspective, Canada had 651 in a whole YEAR.
A few pics of daily life in Panajachel during the pandemic. Mostly normal, with the addition of masks and the subtraction of some needed items.
Guatemalan women wearing traditional clothing (tipico) plus masks to ward against COVID-19. They are also selling masks that they sew themselves. (Not my photo.)
Masks are mandatory for everyone now. If you get caught without a mask, they take you to the health center and give you a COVID-19 test. If it's negative, you are fined Q7,000 ($1,300). If it's positive, you are fined Q150,000 ($27,500). 😲
Lots of colourful flowers in bloom right now.
That's pink!
This plant is serious about social distancing.
There are signs around town about how to wash your hands and also the symptoms of coronavirus.
First stop, visiting my kitty friends that I'm taking care of while their mom is stuck in the U.S.
Walking up Santander street. It's so empty. :(
I went to the bank and had to stand in line outside the building with a bunch of other people. Then they let us in as a group. We had to be several feet apart at all times and the guards would come tell you if you got too close.
Kind people have been putting food out for the street dogs.
No flour at Despensa.
A tuc-tuc ride home! I've been taking them a lot more often to support the drivers.
Crossing the yellow bridge. The river workers are still working (with masks on).
Lots of haze this time of year. You can't see the lake at all!
A quick video of the street corner near the grocery store. I would love to take more videos but I always feel embarrassed when I have my camera out.
Because I am petsitting, I have to go out every two days, but often I just go there and back home right away. I don't like going ot Despensa because it's crowded (and far) so I'm going to my local tiendas more often. I haven't been to the market in a long time. It's too crazy. But the local tiendas are now selling more fresh fruit and vegetables, so that's helpful.
I bought two more masks today just because. They only cost Q5 -- less than a dollar. There are lots of entrepreneurial people selling them on the street all over town. I still haven't found a purple one though!
A corte is a traditional woven skirt. This video shows modern Guatemalan women and girls changing from their "regular" clothes into their traditional outfits. They are beautiful!
Yes, today is our 5th Guateversary! On April 1st, 2015, Bert and I packed up our lives and got on a plane from Toronto to Guatemala. How crazy is that? 😊
I think this is the most interesting, adventurous, life-changing thing I have ever done. Not saying I won't do something MORE life-changing in the future, but so far, this tops the list.
The beautiful Lake Atitlan
I'm struggling to figure out what to say about living for five years in Guatemala as an expatriate, expat, foreigner, immigrant, or extranjera. It's hard because everything right now is about COVID-19, the coronavirus pandemic. Guatemala has taken drastic measures to flatten the curve, which is awesome. So far, there have been only 38 cases in the whole country, I believe. There are zero cases in Panajachel, the town where I live. I am grateful for that, although I worry that if I do get sick, the healthcare system here is not nearly as good as in Canada. But no sense fretting over something I can't control.
So back to the topic of five years as a Canadian expat in Guatemala....it's great! I've written about the pros and cons before but I will sum up.
Biggest downsides -- culture differences, which includes language problems, morality, safety, and racism.
Biggest bright sides -- lovely climate and low cost of living, plus I'm meeting a wide array of fascinating people from all over the world.
What I would say to anyone thinking about leaving Canada to move to Guatemala? Go for it! Honestly, the scariest part was leaving. Now that I'm out of my home country, I feel so free. Like I can go anywhere and do anything. It's not as hard as I thought it would be to live in a foreign country. Daily life becomes fairly routine after a while, even though I still stop and stare at Guatemalan things that would never happen at home. For instance, a family of five riding on one motorcycle, people banging pots in the middle of the night to wake up the moon, a barefoot five-year-old running to the store to buy eggs, and soooooooo many stray dogs everywhere. Life is certainly different here but it is also most definitely GOOD.
Take care of yourselves, dear readers, and keep your eyes looking forward to a better time when you can follow those dreams you've been putting on the back burner. 😀
Nothing is higher in everyone's minds right now than COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, that is infecting people all over the world.
As of today, Guatemala has 16 people infected with coronavirus and 1 person who has died from it. So on the timeline of the infection spread, we are very early.
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The president of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, has acted swiftly and decisively to put measures in place to protect the people. However, not all his decisions have been happily accepted by Guatemalans and expats.
All borders are closed to foreigners. Guatemalans and legal residents can enter, but no one else.
The airport is closed to commercial flights.
Markets are only open from 7am to noon, and now closed completely on Sunday.
Non-essential stores, factories, and other workplaces are all closed.
As of yesterday, there is a nation-wide curfew. Everyone must be off the streets by 4pm.
Yeah, kinda crazy, right?
These restrictions were announced on a televised broadcast, as well as on the radio. But as many people here are poor and don't have TVs, internet, or radio, trucks with loudspeakers were sent out to all towns to announce it. I filmed a bit of the one that passed our house.
So how are we dealing with this coronavirus madness?
CLOSED BORDERS
Many tourists and even some expats took advantage of the very short window of opportunity to get out of the country before the borders closed. Some people who were a bit slow to understand the seriousness of the lockdown scrambled at the last minute to find a way to get to the border by land and cross into Mexico. They were allowed out of Guate but will not be allowed back in. Many then flew home from Tapachula airport. (Mexico has not enacted any restrictions.)
The Canadian Embassy arranged for a bus from the city to the Mexican border. The American Embassy, I believe, hired a charter plane to take citizens out. (I think they had to pay quite a hefty sum though!)
As for Bert and I, we never had any plans to leave Guatemala. Our home is here. Our pets are here. Our lives are here. So closing the borders hasn't really affected us personally, although if they are still closed in a few more weeks, I may have some trouble getting my tourist visa renewed.
The only minor way this has affected us is that I was supposed to pet sit for my friend until the 29th of March while she was traveling. Well, now she can't get back! So I am continuing to pet sit for her indefinitely. No big deal. I enjoy visiting her cats every two days, and her dog is staying at our house and having a load of fun.
CLOSED MARKETS AND STORES
This is really just an inconvenience for us as we have to get out and do our shopping earlier in the day now. It's annoying that the 3Q store is closed (dollar store) because we love to buy cheap stuff there. The grocery stores haven't really run out of many things but I've been doing more of my shopping at our local tiendas (corner stores) because I want to support my neighbours.
And that's the big problem with this decision to close all non-essential workplaces. The people are suffering. The town is shut down. Santander, a street normally packed end to end with vendors, is EMPTY. Clothing stores, stationery stores, shoe stores, everything is closed. Restaurants can only do takeout or delivery.
And all of those people are not getting paid. They have no money coming in at all. How will they buy food for themselves? Buy gas or firewood to cook? Pay their electric bill? Even buy water to drink? (We can't drink from the tap.)
The decision to close all business was a bad one. I think the politicians in the city don't truly understand the level of poverty that exists in most of Guatemala. Many indigenous families are already living hand to mouth, eking out a living on meager wages and inconsistent income. Which brings us to...
CURFEW
Yes, there is now a nation-wide curfew for all people, with the minor exception of anyone delivering food and medicine. Why enforce a curfew? Crime, that's why. I can't think of any other reason to make people stay in their homes at night. And not even really night...at 4pm there is still 2 hours of daylight left.
Yesterday was the first day this went into effect and police and firetrucks went around with sirens on to remind people. I even got a text message on my phone to remind me. Weird.
I'm irritated by how early the curfew is as my favorite time to go out is 5pm so I can run errands and see the sunset on my way home. I am NOT a morning person! I imagine the curfew is probably really bothering extroverts who enjoy going out to socialize, but I'm pretty much a hermit so I feel happier (and safer) inside my home. Besides that, we have a big enclosed yard that I can relax in, so it's not like I'm trapped indoors.
Speaking of the yard, we're starting a vegetable garden! Bert worked really hard to prepare a nice section of earth for planting. He even went out with a wheelbarrow to get sawdust and straw for mulching and big green leaves to add to our compost pile.
Working in the yard to create a place to plant veggies.
All of this coronavirus panic has reminded us that we are not all that self-sufficient. We always intend to stockpile dry goods and water in case of an earthquake, and we always talk about growing veggies cuz the climate is so great here, but we've never really been motivated until now. It's a good way to keep busy and feel productive, plus we will get food in the end -- yum! 😋
Anyway, the coronavirus pandemic is a scary thing and will probably get scarier here in Guatemala over the next few weeks as the number of infected people increases, but I think it's important for all of us to stay calm, positive, and hopeful. Lots of folks are panicking but I am trying to channel any nervousness I have into productive pursuits, like gardening, cleaning, organizing, learning new things on the Internet, or designing tshirts. I am lucky that I make money online and we have a source of income, even if things are tight right now.
I want to share one last picture. A resourceful person in Panajachel is making masks out of the local patterned cloth and selling them on the street for Q5. Smart!
Cloth masks in Panajachel, Guatemala.
Stay healthy and safe, everyone! And wash your hands!! 😁
My life is so thrilling. My Friday night is staying home playing video games and overdosing on sugar!!
Amongst the junk food I bought at La Torre grocery store today, on a whim I bought this ginormous bottle of POP. Can you guess what the flavor is? Soda Shampan...champagne! Champagne cola is kind of a unique flavor in the Carribean and Latin America. It tastes sort of like cream soda. This one is not bad but a little weak. I realized belatedly that it has aspartame which gives it a yucky aftertaste. Oh well.
That's a lotta pop.
Another strange find in the store today, Fruit of the Forest Oreos. I can't really say they taste like much at all. I mostly taste the chocolate cookie part but I guess the purple filling tastes like...tangy sugar. Not raspberry or blackberry or anything.
Fruit of the Forest Oreos
Just in case you need more sugar for breakfast, Guatemala is obsessed with horrible sugary cereals. It was fun at first, but it's getting kind of tiresome now. I mean do you really need marshmallows in your chocolate rice krispies? I would love to have some nice lightly sweetened LIFE cereal or some brown sugar Mini-Wheats.
Chocolate Rice Krispies with Marshmallows
Poor Bert is subsisting on Cream of Wheat, yogurt, bananas, and pudding. He's getting his teeth fixed, which basically means he's getting most of them pulled out. He's had four done already. After they're all done being pulled, he will get fitted for partial dentures. Ack, that sounds like such an old man thing, doesn't it? Ha ha!
For reference, getting a tooth pulled (extraction) costs Q150 each. That's roughly $26 Canadian or $20 U.S. dollars. Pretty cheap!
Heart of Wheat -- the closest to Cream of Wheat we've found here.
Look at that face! 😍
Bert is being comforted in his dental pain by a new puppy. Yes, we know. Not another dog! Well, he wasn't supposed to stay but he's just so darn cute! His name is Chunk! He's about three-and-a-half months old and he already weighs almost 20 pounds. He is a big boy. His coat is super shiny and black with brown undertones. He is very handsome and laid back and adorable.
So life is pretty normal. Nice and warm here, a bit cloudy in the evenings but no rain.
It's pretty quiet in town because we're in that peaceful time between Christmas and Easter. A few months of calm and then tourists will come pouring back in.
I hope you're all well and enjoying life wherever you are. Peace out from Guatemala!
It's January.
I'm wearing shorts and a tshirt, as I always do.
I'm walking home from the store, munching on fresh green coconut slices that I bought for less than a dollar.
I stop to admire this sunset...
And then a tuc-tuc rips by in a cloud of dust, playing TARZAN BOY at full blast. Ha ha ha!
Guatemala, you still make me laugh after all this time. 😄
For those who can't recall what Tarzan Boy sounds like, let me take you back to 1985...where Guatemala still happily lives!
