For the most part I’ve tried to steer clear of political content on my blog site.  Mostly because I’ve tried to re-dedicate my life to not giving energy to those things that do nothing but divide us.  There are actually people who are supposed to be doing that job. That said, it has been frustrating, and at times a little painful, to be down here and reading about and hearing about our president wanting to take his foreign aid ball and go home.

I’m going to speak to Guatemala because that’s what I know.  To punish a Central American country because they are not doing enough to help us solve our “immigration problem”, is like going to a guy on a corner, holding a sign asking for help, and telling him you’re taking his sign and his money because he has not done enough about the traffic situation at that corner.  His life is focused on a very small set of priorities.  On survival.  He would be baffled by our attitude and actions.

Guatemala is struggling to convert roads from dirt to pavement.  To improve the movement of it’s citizens.  I’m not talking about roads that are out in the countryside.  I’m talking about roads that many people have to travel in their everyday lives.  They are roads that are choked with dust from traffic in the dry season, and full of runoff gulleys in the rainy season.  Sometimes there are near impassible slide areas because there is no erosion control.  And did I mention the numerous single lane bridges?  The few people in cars, the more numerous people in busses, might wait in line for a half hour for their turn to cross.  if you are on a bicycle, a scooter, or walking, you can sometimes slip through a little easier.  Our commutes in America, while frustrating, are easy.

Guatemala struggles in many areas to bring water to it’s people.  One of my sponsor kids, Edgar, lives in a village called San Miguel Milpas Altas.  The water system in San Miguel is turned on two days a week.  On those days, people collect water in any vessel they have to get them through three or four days.  It probably wouldn’t shock you to hear that sometimes it doesn’t come on.  In many of those cases that doesn’t mean it will come on the next day.  It will come on the next scheduled day.  Again, I’m not talking about a village that’s out in the boonies.  San Miguel is only a handful of kilometers off the main highway between Antigua and Guatemala City.

Even in population centers, Guatemala struggles to provide consistently functioning water and electrical systems.  Right here in Antigua, in the house I’ve been living in for the past several weeks, we have been without water all or parts of four different days.  We have been without electricity for one entire day.  For all you math majors out there, that’s an average of more than once a week that people are without these services.

I can only hope my point is becoming clear.  The Texas border is surreal to Guatemalans.  For them to think that their government  could do anything about the situation there, or for their government to think that, wouldn’t even be laughable because they have way to even conceive the notion.  The good government officials are singularly focused on infrastructure.  NGOs are focused on education and healthcare.  Some them indirectly dependent on foreign aid by the way.  Agriculture is a lot of big American companies.  Some of them enjoy foreign aid “incentives”.  Few of them deserve any kudos.  But they do employ a lot of people.  Some rural ag cooperatives, formed by native people, are becoming very effective.  All of it requires huge amounts of what I think of as cultural energy.  And there is no energy left over for McAllen, Texas.  And there shouldn’t be.

Our immigration system is screwed up.  But to lay even a part of the fault at the feet of countries like Guatemala is baffling.  I can tell you it certainly is to Guatemalans.  There is an unfortunate shift going on in the way the people of Guatemala perceive America and Americans.  Some Americans couldn’t care less about that.  Getting back to the metaphor of the guy on the corner; If we don’t care that his lack of knowledge, resources, or energy, prevents him from any willingness, and all we can think of is to punish him for it, now we are back to my frustration and pain for a country that I love.  I don’t love it more than my own.  But how did we get to, it’s got to be either/or?  That’s a rhetorical question.  I believe that people actually do know the answer.

I know there are many, many people who don’t think like me.  Some of them are reading this post.  But for me, what has always been the thing that makes America great, is we have cared.  How have we forgotten that after pummeling the Axis Powers, we made them whole again.  This is who we were, and still should be.  And we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that while we were doing all of that, we were advancing our own social programs at home.  Programs that are not perfect.  But honestly, without them, this 70 year old retired person would be hurtin’.  This is why I’m proud of my parent’s generation.  Are our kids going to be proud of how we are doing things?

The opposite side of that coin is, if you don’t think like me, the hell with ya.  We all have to acknowledge our piece of that.

Point made or no, I’m going to stop.  I have a very early shuttle to the airport tomorrow.  And writing this was emotionally exhausting.  Some posts my fingers touch the keyboard and I just write it.  This was not one of those.  I’ve been working it for two days, and It took me probably one hundred  times longer to write it than it takes to read it.

If the airline gods are smiling, I will be back in the twin towns as evening begins.  Weatherbug is promising me 64 degrees.  I’m liking that.

I love you all.  (Even if you don’t think like me). 🙂

My time in Guatemala is once again coming to an end.  As I’ve written before, leaving here and returning home always is a mix of emotions for me.

The next time I post something will be in June when I will be on a two and half day adventure with friends riding my bike from Duluth to the Twin Cities.  Actually our team (SRF) will be amongst thousands of other riders all raising money for MS.  I’m doing it for my good friend Cherie who has adult onset of MS, and for thousands of others like her.  The ride is the MS 150 which is part of a nationwide effort to raise money for research.

Because I’ve been out of the country since February, my fund raising efforts have been pathetically weak.  So shameless plug number one, if you’re so inclined, is to make a donation in my name to MS Research.  This link will take you to our team page where you can find the team roster.  There is a “Donate” link next to my name.  In June, I promise some pictures and probably a few mildly graphic descriptions of sore butt.  🙂  Thank you.

Click here to view the team page for Team SRF

Another organization I’m involved with is Mary’s Meals.  Our Minnesota group is having a garage sale May 9th and 10th and we’re taking donations of gently used clothing and smaller household items and furniture.  As I haven’t quite figured out how to add an attachment to my post, (if there is one), you can request a flyer with more details by emailing marysmealsmn@gmail.com

You can find all kinds of information about Mary’s Meals by searching it.  The story of this organization and it’s founder is a fascinating one.  It was started by a young Scotsman in a quonset hut behind his parents house, and now feeds well over a million kids, at school, every day, principally in Africa.  It literally has a “teach a person to fish” philosophy.  It’s aim is helping people to organize local volunteers, farmers, and food producers to feed school children one meal a day in a place of education.  The result not only feeds kids but benefits local commerce as well.  It is an organization worth checking out and your search can take you to some touching videos.  So shameless plug number two is; if you have items, send a request for the flyer, oh, and did I mention, my little Ridgeline and I will come get your stuff if you need that kind of help.

Lastly of course is my beloved Common Hope. https://www.commonhope.org

My near twenty year involvement with this organization has returned to me blessings far beyond what I could ever express.  There are so many great NGOs working around the world.  I’m a little prejudiced, but this is a great one, and it has a strong non-profit rating.  In my opinion, education is the greatest catalyst of need in developing countries.  Common Hope links people to families in Guatemala who need help sending their kids to school.  A sponsored child gives that child an opportunity otherwise out of reach, and it benefits the entire family with access to other services.  Why Guatemala?  Why Common Hope?  Why anywhere?  There is need everywhere.  My involvement started with an invitation from a friend.

Once again I thank you so much for being out there.  What started as a way to share my retirement camping adventures with my kids, has morphed into something I would not have imagined.  Whether it’s from comments on this site, or personal conversations, or texts, or emails, the affirmation I have gotten from you for my sharing is also a blessing I could never adequately describe. ♥

My friend Len is down for a visit during the last week or so of my time here.  He’s been to Guatemala a number of times, but not recently, and has been a sponsor of children down here for many years.  The first young woman he sponsored is now married with a young daughter and another on the way.

Years ago on a visit he had toured this monastery site and wanted to see what it was like today.

As you can see, it was established in 1736 after a five year construction period.  Like many buildings in Guatemala it sustained creeping instability from earthquakes, two in particular in 1753 and then again in the 1770s.  After less than forty years of operation the local authorities declared it too unsafe for habitation.  And, like other sites around Antigua, the restoration efforts devoted to this site were done with and eye on making it a museum and tourist site.

This is looking across the area of sleeping cells for the community.  Each of those individual rooms only contained a bed, a kneeler, and a camode of sorts that sent their “relievings” down to some unholy place. 🙂

The “nicer” cells had a view of the garden area.  Others just looked out onto a stone wall.  I’m guessing there was some sort of seniority at work with cell assignments.

Below, this video clip of the church was taken from the balcony of the sanctuary.  The public attended masses here, but the sisters being cloistered, would attend mass sitting up here apart from everyone else.

A belated Happy Easter to you all!!

And to top it all off, here’s a pic I took of the fam on an outing to what may be Guatemala’s first and only tap room.  This place is brewing five beers, has an amphitheater for music with an excellent view of the volcano as a backdrop, a bean bag toss court that we made good use of, and it’s dog friendly.  We went a bit crazy and sampled a lot of food offerings, including the homemade ice cream, and left here doing a very good beached whale imitation.

I arrived at the Cathedral almost a half hour early with hopes of some good reflection time.  Like I don’t get enough time to think. 🙂  But sitting in church always frames it in a different way.  I knew the Cathedral would be bustling but I wasn’t worried about that.  As I was sitting there an incredible slide show of my trip to the Holy Land began to play in my head.  The images were vivid and varied.  Some went by quickly and some lingered.  It was not a slide show I was presenting.

Even though there were numerous spiritual moments on that trip, I have to admit, that at the time, it did not feel like a seminal event.  But as time grows between then and each day now, it is carving it’s own place, and I might add a big place, of special context to all of the spiritual parts of me.  I so wish I could play it for you all.

But all I have is this video. 🙂

I took these three video clips in the morning on the Sunday before Palm Sunday.  The Procession on this Sunday is one of the longest, best measured by time as opposed to distance.  It starts at 5:30 AM at the Church of St. Bartolomew, and returns to the church at about 1 AM the next morning.  Bartolo, as it’s mostly called, is a small village outside of Antigua to the southwest, and the full name of the church is Templo de la Aldea San Bartolomé Becerra.

As for the videos, I’m already starting to feel a bit frustrated by the fact that I can only post videos that are somewhere between 30 and 34 seconds.  But, that’s my reality.

On one of the clips I wanted to just give you a sense of the Sunday crowds in Antigua during Lent.  And I took this hours and hours before the Procession would actually get to this part of town.  The other two are just of work on the “carpets”, the Spanish word is Alfombras.  I briefly caught a dad teaching his two little kids how to work on them.

I’m within a couple of weeks now of returning home.  As much as I love it down here, it seems like most of us get to the point when we travel, where being back in our own bed and our own environment starts to tug at us.  I enjoy being out of winter and I’ve gotten very close to a lot of good people down here over the years, but the pull of face time with my kids, and Minnesota friends, begins to get very strong.  So, ………, soon. 🙂

In the meantime, ………………., everybody should have my life.  I appreciated you all being “out there”, and I hope you and yours are healthy and happy. ♥

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get to this post.  Actually, it’s because of a new learning curve.  You can surmise from the title that these photos and clips are from back at Equinox,…..

…….., which is an important prayer day for Mayan People.  They pray for  for safety and security, for good crops and prosperity, and for family. If you know anything about indigenous history in Guatemala, then you know that first one is a big one.  This ceremony was in the park and some of the prayers were in Spanish and some Kachiquel, a common Mayan dialect.

As for the videos, Blaine pointed me towards the Videoshop app, and with a few tips from him, I’ve been practicing.  As my own toughest critic I’m underwhelmed by my results so far.  But it’s been fun to learn and add videos to my posts.  I think back on all my travels since starting my blog, and of course wish I would have pushed myself out of this box a long time ago.  It’s almost embarrassing.  Like learning that shopping at Goodwill makes the most sense. 🙂

For uploading media, I have a file size limit on my blog site.  So part of my curve has been learning how long my videos can be, and how to trim them so I can “get them through the gate”.  My first videos back at Tikal were short enough purely by accident.

If you don’t count eating too many eggs and drinking too much coffee, I am well and hope you all are too. 🙂  Peace to your day.

I’ve seen this graffiti artist’s work around, but haven’t actually spotted him working anywhere.  My sense is his style does not involve a brush, but that from a guy whose art knowledge is limited to, I like it/it doesn’t do anything for me.  So there ya go.

I’ve seriously limited my procession stuff as promised, but Saturdays during Lent are kids processions.  Smaller peeps, smaller floats, smaller distances.  Here’s a crew preparing to take over carrying duties.  I regretted not making a video of the switchover, ’cause it was the cutest chaos ever.  Maybe another opportunity will arise.

I never cease to be fascinated by the resourcefulness of Guatemalan people for ways to make money or extra money.  This man had probably reversed engineered a DIY tracing device and was demonstrating to some potential customers how he could turn a photo into a sketch.  His work was quite good I thought.  There I go with the art critiquing again.

And here’s a bit of cultural history.  Still in small rural villages there is often only one or two access points to water.  Invariably where the water is are pilas.  Pilas are wash basins, usually made of poured concrete, and usually grouped together in anywhere from two to five or six.  These then become community gathering spots for women to visit and do laundry.  I know what you’re thinking, and most Guatemalan men wouldn’t be caught dead doing laundry. 〈Insert digressive tirade about perpetuating stereotypes here〉      It really was a good one, but I took it out.  Everyday I pray to walk gently on the earth, and some days I think I actually do.  Let’s get back to the pilas shall we?

These are a fancier version of pilas.  They are at the end of a small park that everyone just calls Tanque.  It’s actual name is Union Square but the name is rarely used.   These pilas have been somewhat in disrepair for a long time.  As many times as I’ve walked past this place, I don’t think I’ve ever seen women actually washing clothes here.  Until this trip.  But the Tanque has been spruced up and fixed up, and my take is that the community has been encouraged to return to this age old cultural practice at this particular site.  Good photo ops for tourists, ya know?

This is looking down the length of Tanque.  You can see the pilas and basin at the far end.  Behind it, and across the street are the ruins of the Convent of Santa Clara.  It’s now a museum and event center.

There are lots of church ruins in Antigua.  Many of the oldest ones  were destroyed by massive earthquakes and landslides in the 1500s.  As I walk around Antigua there are a couple of sites that seem to have restoration work being done everyday.  This is a peek inside St. Augustine Church from a side opening.  The work here, as with most, probably has an eye on making it safe so that tourists can go inside the ruins.

Back to Tanque briefly before I go.  I was walking over to San Francisco for noon mass and caught a chance to film these kids practicing for something.

There are two new businesses in Santa Ana since I was here a year ago.  Pictured here is an auto parts store, and below, and infinitely more important if you’re me, an ice cream shop.

Sometimes when I’m observing life, there are pictures that are just their own story.  Like this one.

But there are also those times when I’ll sit and watch a family and just get completely drawn in to all the little things that are going on.  And with a little luck, and a bit of sneakiness on my part, they never give me so much as a glance.

This family is on their lunch break.  They are on the streets of Antigua making their living.  Not in the picture, next to the dad, is a cart full of assorted nuts, which he sells in small bag fulls.  Mostly he sells little snack bags, but his cart is equipped with a small scale so he can sell by the pound if called for.  The young boy in the solid red shirt contributes to the family’s well being by shining shoes.  All of his fingers were completely black.  His tools are the little bench he’s perched on, and the shoe shine kit that’s just to left of where the little boy in the stripe shirt is kneeling.

The mom, as well as looking after the two littlest ones, has her own basket of goods for sale.  In it are things like candy, cigarettes and bics, little tissue packs, gum, small bottles of hand cleaner, anything that makes her and her basket a walking impulse item rack. While I watched them, and snuck the occasional picture, the older boy went off to buy some tortillas for their lunch.  During his absence the littlest boy was walking in circles, with the shoe shine kit in one hand and the little stool in the other, yelling a word that I can only guess was, “SHOESHINE”.  It was cute, but then again not. He was already in training for the family business.  In the second picture, the little girl is giving the stink eye to the little boy who has the fancy push toy.  This is him,

And his sister.

And lest you think this was just an idyllic day in the park, I also watched two drug deals go down.  More street stuff to follow.  No not pictures of the drug deals.