Calvin Y Las Cabras

Went for our customary walk on the river road and made some new acquaintances!

It's actually kinda common to see animals tethered in areas where they can get some grass.
While taking chicken buses too and fro, I've seen cows, goats, sheep, and sometimes even horses tied to sign posts on the sides of the highway.

At first, Calvin wasn't haven't nothin' to do with these "crazy big weird dogs". Then he came back with Vaquita and they started barking at them! The goats were not impressed.

P.S. Yep, that's Calvin. He's back. He tried to bite the guy who adopted him, so the guy kicked him out on the street in Sololá. Calvin found his way back down the mountain to my house by the next day. *sigh*

Budget Groceries in Panajachel

I believe I've blogged about this before but it continues to surprise and delight me. The grocery stores and tiendas here in Panajachel, Guatemala, sell items in teeny tiny packages! This is in stark contrast to Canada where everything is family size, super size, party size, MEGA SIZE!!

Here are a few of my purchases today. I'm short of funds, so trying to make things stretch for a few days until my paycheck comes in. These tiny sizes are beneficial to me!

Beans, oil, pasta, and margarine.

On the left are refried black beans. So yummy! This is a 10 oz (283 g) package for Q3.80. That's about $0.67 Canadian or $0.50 U.S. (I use xe.com for my currency conversions.)

Next is vegetable oil. Such a teeny container! It's 180 mL for Q3.50, Can$0.62, US0.46$.

Pasta, 200 g for Q2.85, Can$0.50, US$0.38.

Up top is two sticks of margarine. 160 g from Q2.60, Can$0.46, US$0.35. This is new! Usually they come in larger packages of five.

Total for these four things: Q12.75 or Can$2.25 or US$1.69. What a bargoon!  :)

Now I just have to go to the tortilleria and by 5 fresh hot corn tortillas for Q1 and a couple eggs for Q1 each and maybe an onion for Q1 and I've got food galore!  :)

An Etsy Store to Buy Crafts From Lake Atitlan

I'm excited to announce that Mayan Families has opened an Etsy store that sells handmade crafts from the artisans around Lake Atitlan! These are the same type of items that are sold by the vendors along Calle Santander in Panajachel. So if you can't visit, you can still buy a trinket for yourself! (Perhaps to motivate you to save up and come to Guatemala?)

So cute! I wish they sold bigger ones, like the ones I collect from Juan. Perhaps in the future.

I will put this picture of the hummingbird keychain on my right sidebar for people to click through. Proceeds from sales go to the artisans and to Mayan Families. I also get a smidgen of commission if you buy from them but I'm not even worried about that. I'll probably donate it right back to them!

EDIT: Bummer. I just found out they only ship to the States, not Canada. Awww. :(