Aeeshah

Christmas in Bermuda

 PHOTO LINK below—>>

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZsYxJcr9TvVGKn486

For the first time in 7 years, since the time we first started cruising, John and I went home to Bermuda for Christmas. 

We stopped in Guatemala City for one day to do some gift shopping. Visiting the central market we found it in full seasonal swing!

There was even a skating/ice ring set up! Decorations galore and festivities abounding, we enjoyed our day just strolling around.

The next stop was Miami for some Airbnb purchases for Langata Lower and a few Christmas gifts. This was more of a chore than fun, but a necessary stop. 

Finally we arrived in Bermuda on December 9th a few weeks before Christmas. We were staying in our Airbnb – aka our home. 

The first week was mighty busy.

There was family to visit, Gavin, Katie and the girls, in their new home. Plus Kate and May to catch up with and Fabio to meet. Jessie and Jossie the horse and pony to feed for Kate, a few days and odd hours of babysitting to do, house maintenance, plus the garden to try and check. 

There were repairs to start. This time around they mainly consisted of plumbing problems. A pipe had broken, so there was water damage in the storage room, one of the water heaters had died and the pressure pump needed replacing. 

I also spent time cooking for everyone and cleaning the upper house where our daughter Chrissie lives with her son Quest, plus our grandson Ethan. 

On the Sunday before Christmas we had a grand baking day, mince pies by the dozens and sausage rolls by the scores were produced by Kate, Chrissie and myself with Fabio helping in the background. They were delicious!!

There were trips into Hamilton, both business and shopping, a visit to my family’s grave site after which we were able to have a quick drive around Somerset and along the Southshore Road. 

Before we knew it, it was Christmas Day. 

The morning was spent first opening a few presents with Chrissie and Quest, then off we rushed to 1st visit Kate, May and Fabio followed by a stop at Gavin’s and Katie’s. 

At Kate’s we opened gifts and had minosas, May loved the bike we got her, she also had a new miniature pink car which she proudly drove around the garden.

Quest really wanted the car for himself and had a hard time parting from it. Kate gifted us with a lovely sailing print for our place. It really looks wonderful in Langata Lower.

At Gavin’s the girls Lily and Evie were thrilled with the new fishing gear. Living right on the shoreline plus having a boat they will have lots of opportunity to fish. Gavin and Katie liked the Guatemalan painting we had brought them. It will be a splash of colour in their new house.

Back at the house it was full ahead to get ready for the Christmas dinner which we hosted for the entire family, excluding May for a few hours. We had a full menu, a kale salad to start, followed by the turkey, ham, cassava pie and all the trimmings plus 3 vegetable dishes and 4 dessert choices to follow. 

Quest’s Daddy – Ivan visited, he had brought Quest a motor bike, just a toy one but still it runs. Quest of course loved it.

At the table it was a squeeze to fit us all in, John and I, Gavin and Katie, Kate and Fabio, Chrissie plus the 6 grands. And it took John and I a good 5 – 10 minutes to serve up and get the food to the table. The meal was – I think – a resounding success! Afterwards the younger grands played with the new toys, the older grands and the rest of us chatted. 

The next day – Boxing Day is traditionally one for visiting, Gavin and Katie were having a house warming party celebrating their new house.

We all gathered at their house in early afternoon and were able to catch up with old friends. There was a fun castle and many children who all had a blast playing.

With just a week to go before we were to leave with Chrissie and Quest John and I had to rush to try to finish off everything we had hoped to do. The time in Bermuda as usual just flew by……

 “In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.”
– Alex Haley

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.” – George Moore

 

PHOTO LINK –>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/N2AnPiUpRXWN6sTn9

Volunteering and helping: La Escuela de Amatillo

We became quite busy, John more so than I, with repairs to another local school. A fellow cruiser couple were approached and agreed to fund and manage the necessary workforce a small village school. 

The proposal for help was for a school in a nearby village called Amatillo. The village is situated on the property of a fruit farm. Some of the villagers work on the fruit farm and the farm supplies water for the villagers. However the is no electricity so in every way it is a typical village in Guatemala.

The villagers really wanted to fix up their school La Escuela de Amatillo (Amatillo School). The school is a three room building, government built years ago for the village children. 

But why would they need help? 

 An average wage for a Guatemalan is 25 Quetzales a day (~$4 / day). Therefore most families just get by day to day with just the basics, there is no extra money. Also in Guatemala, the school year starts in January, and continues to October. To attend school a child has to be a legally registered Guatemalan citizen, there is no official hospital or any kind of record keeping in these small villages, the majority of children are born at home and without any official documentation.  Then cost for a family to register a child as a citizen is approximately 150 Quetzales (~US$20), an absolute fortune for a Guatemalan family.

Another common problem is that in order to start school in January, the child must have a School Supply Starter Pack. The cost of the School Supply Starter Pack is 75 Quetzales (~US $10) per child. Again too much money for the family to afford and the government funded supplies do not arrive until April. This is disheartening as the children have already missed too much school and so most don’t bother attending.

Other needs that the villagers had was that the school needed fixing up, it was old, unsafe, ill equip and tired. Long story short: they needed help to get the school up and running for all the village children.

A Go Fund Me account was set up to raise the money needed to equip the school, ready for a January opening for all the village children. See here:- Escuela el Amatillo in Guatemala

 We were part of the volunteer group that visited to 1st start painting the building, inside and out. What a day that was, we started out early leaving Catamaran Marina at 7:00am with all that we needed. From the public dock we traveled to the village, down a rough road, past dozens of vultures and driving through a river as the bridge was partway collapsed finally arriving at the school. We were all set to paint the entire building inside and out. 

I painted with a hand brush cutting in. The building being made crudely of cement blocks meant that each block needed cutting in around with the paint. I painted so much that my right wrist ached for days after.

John used a roller and rolled all day. The villages were so keen that if you put your paint brush or pan of paint down or aside they would soon be claimed. There were mothers and children of all ages trying to help in anyway possible. Everyone was laughing and having fun.

Others were working on the toilets trying to fix them with new parts, while others were collecting more supplies, the villagers were either helping with the painting or with the fence being erected around the school. Busy, busy, busy, all morning and into the afternoon we painted and worked. 

When we stopped for the day we went to Rita’s house for a meal and a small Birthday celebration. 

John was back at the school for 2 more work days where he helped with desks, chairs, playground equipment, painting and other work. 

He also was a daily part of the team working at the marina to build the equipment.  In fact the first thing a few of the guys did was build a work area or rather extend the work area where the marina crew did their work. Thus giving everyone a work area.

 I helped with the painting of the play ground equipment and such. So that has kept us busy.

Birthdays and Thanksgiving

There were again several Birthday celebrations, one was for marina staff Mavi and Rosa. Much fun was had by all.

Thanksgiving was another celebration. At Catamaran the cruisers buy, cook, prepare, serve and clean up Thanksgiving dinner which is for the staff. The day of Thanksgiving everything was organized and everyone had their tasks.

The afternoon started at 2:00ish with “games” played between the marina staff and the cruisers, well some of them, as the rest were working on the food. 

The meal was served by us and then we sat all together for a large delicious Thanksgiving meal at 4:00pm. The desserts were next followed by clean up by us and the staff back to work. It all went very well.

Friends and boat work

We had several goodbyes with friends who have sailed for many different destinations. You sort of get used to good byes in our way of life. 

We did get a few boat chores sorted. The new name was put on Aeeshah and she’s been cleaned inside out in anticipation of Chrissie and Quest’s visit. 

Rocky: The Traveling Rock

Then our friends Derek and Carol presented us with “The Traveling Rock”. They had been given the “Rocky” when in Florida by a lady called Micheline. Derek and Carol are selling their boat and their journey is coming to an end and although they had not heard back from her they were reluctant to just leave Rocky behind. So, they asked us to continue the journey for Rocky. I agreed to include him in our travels and on our blog. Here for the first time is Rocky!

Chico

Chico has continued to enjoy his stay at Catamaran. Just the other day he came trotting down the dock with a snake in his jaws. Yes, a snake!! Thank goodness it was not a poisonous one, just a green snake. Gillian is watching him while we are away.

Guatemala City

It was soon time for us to leave the Rio and travel to Guatemala City then off to Miami and Bermuda. We decided to spend a day in the capitol and visit the central plaza and the market. 

In the Plaza de la Constitucion  we found they were all ready for Christmas, Feliz Naviadad, with an ice ring set up! We strolled around looking at the wonderful architecture of the Plaza de la Constitucion flanked by the National Palace to the north, the Cathedral of Guatemala City to the east, El Portal de Comercio to the south, and Parque Centenario and the National Library to the west. We wandered around the square and visited the Cathedral where a Communion service was taking place for a group of children. While in the plaza a memorial was being set up for all the young ladies lost in the Mayan struggles.

Off at the market we found again Christmas preparations were in full swing. Now this market is just massive, the prices amazingly low and the selection wonderful. We easily found everything we wanted and so were all set to travel home to Bermuda.

“Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope. If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future.”

— Elie Wiesel

 

PHOTO ALBUMS: –>>

A Wonderful Trip to Tikal: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rBdqMrgxeauiEjU28
A Few Days around Flores:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/C23eoZMZ211pzE8W6

John and I had previously visited Tikal, but we had 2 days where is just poured and so we had planned to return. Asking me what I wanted for my birthday, I responded to John, “to revisit Tikal”. And so the plan was formed to revisit along with our friends Pam and Don.

Traveling to Tikal can be arduous from Fronteras as the only bus usually arrives full, in fact over flowing and so there’s a 4hour journey of standing in in crowed bus – that was experienced last time. For this visit we were fortunate to be able to tag a ride on a private tour that was already headed there. So on November 11th at 7:00am  we boarded a tourist bus at Mar Marina and headed off towards Tikal. 

The journey was a pleasant one past lovely countryside and on relatively smooth roads. We stopped for a lunch break and then at the fork in the roads that lead to Tikal our driver let us off. Our driver had arranged with a taxi driver friend to meet us there to carry us onward to Tikal. Sure enough our driver was there, a big fellow called Sergio. 

Once we reached the park gates we had to purchase our park tickets for the days we were to spend there. While doing that we met a tour guide who convinced us to let him do our sunrise tour, so we also purchased a ticket for the sunrise tour and secured his services. Now from the park gates it is 17 kilometers to the park and the few small hotels, this is a very large park.  

Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park is said to be 575 square kilometers of jungle with thousands of ruined structures.The central part of the ancient city alone contains 3,000 buildings and covers about 16 square kilometers. There are many other temples and structures in the Tikal National Park area, it is estimated that only 30% of them are unearthed.

Tikal is also part of the one-million-hectare Maya Biosphere Reserve created in 1990 to protect the dense forests of the Peten, which started to disappear at an alarming rate due to population pressures, illegal logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices.

Our hotel was the lovely Tikal Inn. It had for us absolutely everything we needed, nice room, good food, quiet atmosphere and location being in Tikal. We dropped off our bags and set off to see some of Tikal for a few hours.

A Quick Look around the grand Plaza

We headed straight down the main walkway towards the Grand Plaza. We were all just so impressed by the beauty of the trees  towering above the sides of the lane. When wandering around Tikal you are surrounded by enormous trees which are home to toucans, parrots, wild turkeys, howler monkeys, raccoon-like coatimundis and countless other wild animals. 

After about a 20 minute walk we were in the Grand Plaza where some of most impressive temples are found, The Grand Jaguar and Temple II plus the Acropolis Central and Acropolis Norte.

There in one of the trees were some really interesting birds, Crested guans. These were eating the ripe berries and not at all concerned by the humans nearby. Scurrying along the remains of Acropolis Central were a troop of spider monkeys. We wandered around enjoying it all and then headed back to the Tikal Inn to relax poolside and have a lovely dinner.  

The first day in Tikal

The next morning we set out to cover as much of the Southside of the park as possible. Taking the left side pathway we walked for about 25 minutes till we reached Templo VI. 

Estimated to have 1st been populated by the Maya in about 900 BC. Tikal grew into an important ceremonial, cultural, and commercial centre over the centuries. Most of the city’s huge temples were constructed during the eighth century AD when Tikal became the greatest city in the Maya world with a population of perhaps 100,000.

Tikal started to decline at the end of the ninth century and was virtually abandoned. The causes of the Maya empire’s collapse remain a mystery, but wars, famine, overpopulation and resource depletion have all been blamed. Our guide, Almando, (that we had for the sunrise) believes that it was over population which depleted the water supply, deforested and killed off the wildlife thus the whole city system failed. And we tended to agree with him, just looking at the world today…..

Templo VI is know as Temple of the inscriptions due to its hieroglyphics that cover the whole back of the shrine. 

We then followed the Calzada Mendez pathway. Some scholars believe this is the original entrance roadway to the city. It led us to Palacio de las Acanaladuras – Grooved Palace otherwise known as G group. 

The palace has proved walls representing grandeur and luxury at the time. There were many different chambers which again are unique. The entrance is through a tunnel which represented a mouth of the “witz monster”.

Next was the Plaza de los Siete Templos/Plaza of the Seven Temples. This is renowned for its triple ball court built by Yikin Chan Kawil.

From there we followed the path to Temple V which is very impressive at a height of 184ft. It is the earliest of the temples it had been decorated with the rain and sun gods, but most of these hieroglyphs  have eroded with the ages.

 

Our stop for lunch was near Mundo Perdido, aka Lost World and Plaza de la Gran Piramide, the great Pyramid plaza as it is known.

As we ate lunch we had Coatimundis all around, some even tried to sneak up behind us to get some tip bits. 

We followed lunch by climbing the wooden stairs to the top of the Grand Pyramid. It is the oldest pyramid in Tikal and the Mundo Perdido, Lost World dates back to 400BC. 

The next stop for us was Templo Talud- Tadlero followed by Palacio De Los Murcielagos – Bat Palace or Palace of the Windows where we could see wonderful stone carvings that still survive. 

 

Our next stop was, Templo III the Great Priest Temple or Temple of the Jaguar Priest it remains unexcavated except for its “tower” which looms over the jungle at 180 feet. 

Meanwhile the monkeys both spider and howler monkeys were active above us. Pam spotted a pregnant spider monkey swigging through the tree tops.

We then climbed the stairway to the top of Temple II. This massive temple looks out over the Grand Plaza giving a superb view across to Temple I the Grand Jaguar Temple and out over the jungle. 

Our last exploration of the day was to the South Acropolis, it is gigantic. There is a central temple, platforms, terraces, and palaces all set up high looking down on the Central Plaza.

Here the highlight for me was getting a close up look at a Keel-Billed Toucan. I was exploring the rear of the complex and there it was searched beautifully in front of me.

Back at Tikal Inn we relaxed poolside, congratulated ourselves for walking just over 20,000 steps and enjoyed a lovely evening.

Day two around Tikal

In the early hours of the morning at the ungodly hour of 3:30 we had to arise to meet our guide Almado at 4:10am. He lead us through the jungle towards Temple IV for the sunrise. The problem was it was raining, which was quite disappointing, but nothing could be done about it….. While walking we chatted to our guide while he gave us more info about Tikal and the wildlife. 

At the temple we climbed the stairs to the top, using the light from our flashlights we found seating at the very top, turned them off and awaited the dawn.

Dawn came slowly, the rain eased somewhat and we could hear the jungle awaken. The noisiest were the Howler Monkeys, they were roaring as only howlers can do.

Around 7:00am we made our way down and followed our guide. He knew we were interested in the wildlife and found for us Keel-Billed Toucans and Montezuma Oropendolas to watch as they dried off from the rain in the trees above us. 

We all opted to return to Tikal Inn for breakfast and a nap.

After which we set off again this time to follow the pathways we had yet to explore.

Taking the right hand branch of the pathways we headed to Complex Q and R, known as the Twin Pyramid groups.

These again comprise of palaces, stelas, ball courts, altars and pyramids, but all distances from each other. 

The pathway we were following was called Calzada Maler/Mendez, the original city roadway. It led us next to Zona Norte, Complex O, and P plus Group H. Many of these are still to be excavated, but comprise of platforms, buildings, a temple shrines and more. These were apparently finished around 751AD. 

From there we had a 25 minute walk to reach Temple IV again. As it was now sunny I wanted to reclaim and see the view across the jungle in sunshine.

At the top it was a wonderful view across the jungle to all the other temples. Such a magical view!

Back down we had but one area to visit, Acropolis Norte, which dates back to 250BC.

It too is made up of many platforms, temples, rooms and altars. It faces the Central Plaza and is still under excavation and restoration. 

By that time we were all truly tired, that day we walked over 21,000 steps. Back at the Tikal Inn we relaxed poolside, ate a delicious dinner and crashed out.

Flores

The following morning we had arranged for a taxi to collect us and take us to Flores. Our taxi driver stopped along the way for us to get views of the lake, Lake Peten Itza, the 3rd large lake in Guatemala.

It is a beautiful lake and looks just like the ocean with its colors.

In Flores we had booked the Los Amigos Hostel and Secret Garden for 2 nights. This is a wonderful place to stay as long as you do not mind hostels.

We each had a private room and bathroom, John and I were in the annexed building nearby. The decor is to my eye wonderfully colourful and the food is International and we found it excellent. 

After a delicious lunch we set off to walk around Flores. Flores is an island which is joined by a causeway to the mainland.

It is jam packed with colourful buildings, tiny alleyways and loads of character so we were not disappointed. 

Our final day we chose to visit the market on the mainland, – San Benito. The market is quite large and caters to the locals with no other tourists around you know it is authentic.

There is absolutely everything there you could think of needing, I managed to buy an unpicker for sewing, Pam the local apron she had been wanting, Don and John local shirts.

I just love wandering around markets and seeing everything on offer.

Our last day was traveling back to Rio Dulce on the tourist shuttle. It was a bit cramped but leaving early we were back at the boat by early afternoon. Oh what a wonderful few days we had in Tikal. 

You have no control over how your story begins or ends. But now, you should know that all things have an ending. Every spark returns to darkness. Every sound returns to silence. Every flower returns to sleep with the earth. The journey of the sun and moon is predictable. But yours, is your ultimate art. – Suzy Kassem

 

Click HERE for Photo album–>>  https://photos.app.goo.gl/U3ZxpScqjAy6GZ6f6

After our our road trip it was back to life as usual. Boat work to be dealt with, activities at Catamaran, meeting up with friends, walks along the pipeline road, so forth and so on…..

Boat work:

John built a new “shelf” in the bow of the dinghy. Our old one had been plywood and had begun to rot so the new one he built is fiberglass. Now why do we need the shelf? Well, when we have shopping we can have it on the shelf and keep it dry. Plus we can fasten the cooler in the bow to again use it to transport supplies.

Plus he built us new sole – flooring for the galley. The old was soft and he feared it would collapse into the bilge.

Medical / Dental

We both had “medical” issues. John developed an infection in or above one of his molars. This caused him agony, so he had an emergency root canal, but the pain still continued for a few days. He was on antibiotics and his face swelled up and up. He really looked a sight! But all is good now.

Meanwhile I had a cyst that became infected on my back. When it got huge and angry I had to go to the local clinic. There is not a hospital and the only available doctor is at the clinic. Well he had me lay down on my tummy on a examining table in a back office. He then proceeded to numb the cyst area. He cut the cyst and the infection out. Apparently it was very deep, meanwhile he called in the others working at the clinic to watch, I guess to learn. He did a brilliant job! 2 weeks later after I followed his instructions and John attended to them, there was hardly a mark left! And not a stitch was sewn!

Chico meanwhile is very happy wandering around Catamaran Marina

El Bongo work:

John again was involved in the El Bongo work party. When we had last been at the school JoAnne and I had taken measurements for the desk/seats and tops. There were many worn out, broken desks and chairs even the ones in use were in a rough state. We found out that the “good” ones were for the children whose parents had made them specially for their little ones. So the new project was to repair all the damaged and broken desks and chairs.

A work party set up near the Bodagas and work area here at Catamaran, power tools were shared and from 4 large sheets of plywood they cut enough seats and desk tops for 40 to be repaired. The work party cut, sanded and then applied numourous coats of varnish. They then set off for a morning at the school to replace the broken and worn with new varnish seats and desk tops. I never went but everyone said all went brilliantly and everyone was very happy.

Now another team here at the marina is making enough tops and seats to repair and replace even more desks and seats!!

Birthday fun

Here at the marina we had a several Birthday celebrations, one was for our dock master Steve. It was a surprise and set up by the staff and cruisers combined. There was lots  of food and fun for everyone!

Shrimp and bread

We have also been fortunate to have had several weeks of shrimp and yummy bread deliveries. The shrimp were delivered by a local fisherman and were just huge and delicious. The breads were both lemon bread and carrot cake/bread which were delicious.

These were made by a group of cruisers who were raising money for their musical theatre where they teach the local children. Now the shrimp season is over and the bread folks have moved on.

Halloween on the Rio and Day of the Dead in Guatemala 

We had a Halloween for all the children living in the marinas around the Rio Dulce. Each marina offered something different and the dinghies loaded with the kiddies zoomed from one to the other to enjoy treats, fun and games of all types.

It was quite a turn out with some excellent costumes worn by adults too.

This time of year is celebrated here in Guatemala with the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead, (El Dia de los Muertos), is a celebration that takes place every year on the first and second day of November in Guatemala and throughout Latin America. It is a day when Guatemalans remember and honour their dead loved ones and celebrate that they were able to meet them or to be part of their family.

We heard the locals clearing and prepping the graveyard across the water from our marina. We went over in the later afternoon to have a look at all the lovely decorations. There were a few families seated around their family grave and sharing food – having a picnic.

Our wonderful walks

Our walks started up again with the arrival of cooler temperatures. Yes, finally the temperatures are in the 80s during the day and the 70s at night so we can comfortably go for our long walks.

There has been a group of us going along the pipeline trail, actually venturing further than ever. We came across the water buffalo and have seen they are replanting the fields and harvesting the oil palm trees and rubber. 

And after the walk on Tuesday and Saturday we purchase our veggies at the village vegetable stand. The vegetables are just wonderful! – even the pigs agree!!

Friends

Friends have returned from the summer ventures abroad, and we have been meeting them to catch up with news. Living this life style means we have friends form all over the globe.

In the end nothing we do or say in this lifetime will matter as much as the way we have loved one another. – Daphne Rose Kingma

Its not about perfection. Its about purpose. – Beyonce 

 

PHOTO ALBUM–>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/d9RppEUa41sQBGji6

Lake Atitlan

Also known as Lago de Atitlan, reputed to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, is about 1,500m above sea level. It is completely surrounded by soaring volcanic mountains and volcanos; is seven miles long and three miles wide with an average depth of 200m.

Panajachel

On our first day at the lake we decided to explore Panajachel in the  morning. As the largest town near Lake Atitlan, Panajachel (also known as Pana) is sort of the hub for the area. We started out by wandering along the water front with it’s lovely views across the lake.

It was then up one of the main tourist shopping lanes stopping to admire all the wonderful textiles, woodwork and crafts on offer.

Next stop was the market where every manor of spice, fruit and veg was for sale, plus clothing and bunches of plastic items.

Markets are just fascinating, I could wander around them for hours if able, John soon tires. 

So then we were off to a coffee shop where we all enjoyed refreshments and planned what we would do for the afternoon….

A launcha to a few of the neighboring villages

We decided to risk the weather and take a launcha to a few of the neighboring villages. The launcha ride took us along the lake shore passing some lovely looking homes, obviously homes of the wealthy.

Santa Catarina Palopo

Our 1st stop was Santa Catarina Palopo where all the buildings were decorated in blues, turquoises, yellow and green geometric designs. Why was this, well apparently Santa Catarina Palopo is currently being transformed by a community-based art project called the “Pintando Santa Catarina”. As the project grows, the village is being transformed into a colorful masterpiece, decked out in traditional Mayan patterns using vivid, eco-friendly limestone paint.

The patterns represent the town’s ancient textiles that are usually found woven into the garments/clothing of the indigenous people. This project is primarily designed to raise local pride and attract tourists in order to market the local textiles and crafts.

The effort has effectively raised money for the whole community and everyone has profited. I just loved the designs and the uplifting image they had on the town in general. We had an hour here to wander around,  and to enjoy refreshments, unfortunately it was drizzling, but no matter it was very enjoyable.

San Antonio Palopo

The next village we went to on our launcha was San Antonio Palopo. This village is inhabited by Maya cakchiquel people. It is known for its pottery and weaving of textiles. As we approached we could see that much of the agriculture was on shelving terraces depending the mountainside. We had seen this before in Peru where they too have to farm steep slopes.

At the dockside was a local Maya lady who was introduced as a guide. We walked with her along the lakeside lane until we can to a pottery. There we went in and had a look at the very colourful beautifully hand-painted wares.

We were then guided up a very steep lane until we came to a small weavers. There we had a look at the different materials, they were all so beautiful.

We ended up buying a large piece that was in purples which I now use to cover our bed. Then before I knew it the ladies had a beautiful poncho shaped shawl over my shoulders. It was woven in wonderful blues with the lightest of threads, of course I needed to purchase it too. John was not left out as he was shown a really smart shirt of local design which he purchased and loves.

Saying our adios to the ladies we then passed by the church, but as there was a service in session we did not enter.

The view from in front of the church was wonderful, but with the drizzly weather we didn’t linger.

Our guide led us down all the tiny back lanes to the launcha area where we had, more refreshments – a drink waiting for the heavier rain to abate.

Off to Huehuetenango

The next morning we set off for the next leg of our road trip following the Pan-American Highway – the CA1 148 odd kilometers to Huehuetenango.

The steep climb from Panajachel afforded us wonderful views of the lake. The weather was just perfect.

We stopped at the Mirador/viewpoint for photos. And really the photos do not do the view justice. It is just magnificent!

The CA1 road proved to be somewhat worn with areas of massive potholes where it looked like the land under the road had subsided.

The scenery was a mix of forested slopes and busy towns that we passed through. We skirted Quetzaltenango the second capitol of Guatemala, it was a very busy area.

After several hours we entered Huehuetenango.

Huehuetenango

Huehuetenango  is found  at the foot of the Cuchumatanes Mountains in Guatemala’s Western Highlands. Known affectionately as “Huehue” (pronounced: wayway), by locals, and foreigners that find Huehue easier to say, the town lies in a valley ringed by mountains.

Huehue is a busy town, but it has a relaxed atmosphere despite the fact that it’s a hub for trade and transport in northwest Guatemala. As it is a departmental, (area/zone), capital, making it busy with coffee farmers, traders, and travelers heading to or from the western border with Mexico. Its location make it a great place to base our visit to a few nearby attractions.

Once we arrived we drove around looking for somewhere to park, the “roads” in the town are incredibly narrow and with folks crossing, wandering and bargaining in them it was quite a squeeze. Once parked we walked to the town square to follow the directions as to where the Airbnb was located.

Our third Airbnb

As advertised it was close to the center of town, we entered the gate and followed the path, crossed a field with a cow grazing, past a pen of very excited dogs and found our home for the next few nights. The house-keeper and her husband met us, she showed us around and he showed John and Chris where to bring the car. All this was conducted with our limited Spanish and they having no English.

The Airbnb really was a piece of the country in the town, very, very rustic, but adequate. That evening we had wanted to eat out, but the rain was unrelenting so we rustled up some food we had, ate in and played a game of “Town and Country”. Oh and yes it was chilly….

And on to Todos Santos in the Western Highlands 

Come morning we headed into the Western Highlands towards Todos Santos. This drive was stunning! The views and scenery were just a visual feast, the road wound around and up.

We stopped at Mirador Juan Dieguez Olaveri which as its name implies is a lookout/viewpoint. This was a magnificent view, admittedly the clouds kept drifting across, but it was still stunning.

Found here was also a wonderful coffee shop, that looked like a Swiss chateau, so we all had a hot drink and pastry which was delicious. Yes, it is chilly enough for a hot drink!

Back on the road we continued to head up and up, all the way past the clouds it seemed to go. We were over 10,000 feet above sea level!

Finally we seemed to reach the “top” and eventually we emerged on  what is best described as high plateau.

There we saw many flocks of sheep with a shepherd or two attending them and farms with fields of what looked like cauliflower growing. Plus areas looked boggy almost reminiscent of southern Irish landscape. But then plants growing and the flowers that seemed out of place in this landscape.  

The roadway started to wind downward around sharp bends towards the valley where our destination was located.

Todos Santos Cuchumantan

We reached Todos Santos  our destination and followed tiny roadways till we found Parque – aka – carpark. Todos Santos  as mentioned is located in Guatemala’s Western Highlands in the department/zone of Huehuetenango. 

Why visit this town? Todos Santos’ isolation has helped keep its Mayan traditions alive, and rightfully so, the town’s residents are proud of their traditions.

These Mayans still speak the Mayan language of Mam, one of the oldest Mayan languages and it’s one of the few places in Guatemala where you can see locals wearing traditional attire. For the men, it’s a Tipicos that means red pants with white stripes and a shirt that has a large and colorful woven collar, plus colourful accents on both sides. Some men also wear half-length black chaps over their pants, and wide-brimmed hats with blue ribbons.

The women wear purple blouses called huipiles and dark blue skirts. Both men and women carry a specially woven handbag.

Not everyone dresses this way, but I had read that chances were good that we would see at least a few people in traditional costume. We were not disappointed as we strolled around, many of the men and women were in the traditional attire, some of the little boys too. It really is eye-catchingly elegant.

Our starting point was by the town center where we saw the church, Todos Santos Cuchumatan’s church.

Next we wandered the lanes and alleyways of the market. Once again the market was fascinating, especially the stalls/tiendas selling the fabrics. However like most markets there is just everything you need for sale, the choices are extreme from hunks of meat to all forms of spices, sweets, shoes or clothes, you can find it all.

We found from talking to the locals that it takes a few weeks to make the traditional clothes. You start by having to be specially measured and fitted. The cloth is woven, the fabric sown and the embroidery attached. I just loved the hats and bags and ended up buying one of the colourful bags.

We ended up at the main plaza where it was excellent to people watch the residents going about their daily lives, wearing the most lovely clothing that is so similar but also so individual too.

Our drive back unfortunately entailed driving for a ways through the thick clouds. The clouds had fallen in the higher elevations and formed a very misty cover making visibility less easy. Passing the areas in the mountains where there were “mementos” to persons killed some horrible accident it was easy to understand how this can happen.

In Guatemala there are few if any precautions taken to stop anyone driving off the roads. In fact passing on bends is quite a reality of driving here, you never know what might come tearing around the bend.

That evening was spent going out for an early dinner and quiet reading back at our Airbnb. We were heading back to Lake Atitlan the next day.

What stunning landscapes we had been fortunate enough to see. 

There are only moments. Live in this one. The happiness of these days. – Kate Millett 

I am sure there are other versions of happiness, but this one is mine. – Lynsey Addario

 

PHOTO ALBUM –>> Blue creek:-  https://photos.app.goo.gl/jwiAA5zhiB3cTPN76

How we came to visit to Blue Creek

John and I were invited to go on a Pass it On “visit” to Blue Creek. Pass it On is a charity that is run on behalf of the cruisers here in Rio Dulce. It aims to try to raise funds in order to purchase items that will help the locals.

A description of the charity from Facebook: “To pass on some of our privileged lifestyle to improve the lives of others. We are starting by putting together partially functioning ships batteries, solar panels and inverters to provide light and where possible a phone in villages with no electricity at all. This will cost us nothing and seriously improve the lives of others if only by giving a lit space for children’s homework and the ability to be able to call for emergency medical help. Also we will pass on clothes, bed linen and household items.”

The charity is run by a fellow cruiser Julia and it was to Julia we had volunteered our services some months earlier. 

Julia met with the group of us that were to go to Blue Creek and laid out the plan for the visit. She did emphasis that this particular visit had in the past had some issues, plus it was a darn hard hike, to expect mud, water, and challenging circumstances. 

Our group consisted of Dave and Ana – fellow cruisers; Dimitri and Jeremiah, Ellenie, Erick our driver and his son. We were to deliver school supplies: pencils, books, etc, tooth brushes, a medical kit and eye glasses.

The plan that Julia laid out was for us to trek there together. Dave who is a dentist was to teach the children about teeth brushing, Ellenie to dispense the school supplies to the teacher, for John and or Dimitri to check the solar panel and battery that was there to supply the village with some light. And for the rest of us to check out the village, see what the needs were, how they were faring and if we could see how well the school and children were doing. 

So we all met at Mar Marina dock for a 6:30am start. Our first stop was the fuel dock where we filled up with fuel. Then we popped over to the public dock where we picked up a few villagers, I guessed they were the porters for all the gear.

We zoomed down the river towards El Golfete and then swept over to the northern side to a river bank where we entered a river mouth the Rio Chocon Machacas. 

Rio Chocon Machacas

The river journey took 1 & 1/2 hours, most of it full out, speeding up river. The scenery was absolutely beautiful.

There were flocks and flocks of birds, soaring and calling from the skies and in the trees.

Humming birds could be seen buzzing about, the greens of the foliage with the bright colour of flowers all reflected in the waters of the river were stunning.

Past an occasional farm, cows on the river bank grazing and gazing out at us, the few local homes with their rustic docks and kayucos tied up riverside. I just loved the early morning river journey!

The last few miles we went slowly up a tributary, passing sunken trees and other obstacles until we were signaled to stop.

There we were met by what I assumed was the landowner of a farm and the military standing in the back ground. It was a bit intimidating seeing the militia there, especially with the “siege/seize” ongoing. However, we just unloaded and before I knew it we were underway towards the village of Blue Creek. 

The trek to Blue Creek

I do not think anything could have prepared John and I for the hike. We had been hiking the pipeline track every other morning and so felt fairly good about the distance, but the circumstances were very different.

There was mud, deep deep mud from the red clay which is slippery and it sticks to your foot wear. It makes for very challenging walking, especially for cautious old me. Off we trekked, the pathway was for the majority of the time muddy and slippery especially when it was steep downhill. 

We were under the cover of tall trees, very much in to typical riverside foliage we had seen traveling up river.

The few male villagers that were with us carried the sacks they filled with the supplies we had brought plus the supplies they had with them. Huge sacks of gear on straps which wound around their foreheads, goodness knows how they do it. They would stop regularly to sit and rest and drink some water. 

After about 45 minutes when we were on a path that was on a narrow ridge above the river, upon hearing a yell I glanced up to see John tumbling down through the rocks and roots to land on his head on a large root at the bottom. OMG! What if he was seriously hurt! Being stuck behind in the mud I just couldn’t get to him, the local Mayans with us dropped their packs and slid down to him. Then Dave managed to get down too. They got him up, Dave being a dentist/doctor examined him. He checked him over and then got out his 1st aid kit. Dave cleaned up the gash in John’s forehead and tried to stop the bleeding. Dave was then able to apply some external stitches – sterile strips which held the gash shut. John was determined to go on, and we sort of had to as 2 of our group had disappeared ahead up the trail. 

So off we went, me fretting about John and even more worried about the terrain. After the first hour we did start to ascend slopes, but the mud continued, and one had to be extra careful on the slopes as they were quite steep at times. We also had to wade through half a dozen rivers, the water varied in depth, and then clamber up the steep banks on the other side. 

I started feeling dreadful, most of my 2 bottles of water was gone and I had sweated and sweated my clothes were just soaking, plus being covered in mud, I had a dull headache, felt dizzy and I sort of felt like just giving up, which is something I never feel.

Anyway, Dave and Ana offered me some Pringles and a few cookies, this little snack did wonders for me, I even felt like talking. 

Finally after 3 hours we arrived, (even the entrance to the village was through mud – pigs were wallowing in it).

The villagers were all outside what was the school building, women to one side, men on the other and children lining up for toothbrushes. A few men remained on the hillside opposite just watching what was going on, in fact they stayed there for our entire visit.

Dave being a dentist did his toothbrush demo, showing the children in front of him how to brush and the toothbrushes were given out.

I sat next to Ana while she demonstrated threading a needle to test the women’s eyes for eye glasses. There was a slight problem as most of the women were more interested in the needles.

Meanwhile the men started digging into the eye glass boxes, seemingly looking for a pair they liked, I felt claustrophobic as we were completely engulfed by villagers.

Dimitri was trying to explain the medical kit and sort out the school supplies with the help of the village men. 

So I went and sat by John who was recuperating out under a tree by the goal posts. A few of the children came with me and were enchanted by seeing how my camera worked. They held their new toothbrushes and were obviously very proud of their new item.

There under the shade of some trees were a few of the men, they were just observing what was going on and chatting amongst themselves. A few boys started kicking a football around and the children with the toothbrushes wandered back to the women or off to sit at the side of the school.

We were desperately thirsty so we approached the school, made our way through the men and into the single school room. It was in quite a state, and seemed obvious that it was not being used as a room for teaching, however Dimitri was taping a world map to a board.

We found that a few containers of drink had been delivered, one was a corn based drink and the other a fruitas/fruit flavored drink. John and I didn’t care about the source of the water in the drink – river water – no problem – deal with the consequences later – we just drank cup after cup!

Then it seemed it was time to eat…. We sat in front of the school and were given a delicious meal of stewed palm-heart. 

The ladies of the village wandered off and the men including those from the hillside, gathered near the goal posts and seemed to be having a meeting.

It had been decided that in order for us to make it back to the lake and marina before dark we needed to make the walk in as close to 2 hours as possible, as we then still had a one and a half hour journey down river. There was no way I could cut an hour off my time, John thought he could, so I was asked to ride a pack horse with the gear back.

I have no problem riding horses so was quite happy with the suggestion. However it took a while to secure the horse as the men were just very involved with the meeting under the tree. Finally one of the men that had led us to the village came over and I followed him up the hill to the homes above the school building. 

The homes were very tidy wooden thatched structures with women and children gazing out at me, the stranger.

I think they found the whole production of saddling the lovely gray horse with the pack saddle, then hoisting me into the “saddle” with ropes for my feet very amusing. I know the men that tied the packs to the saddle behind my bum were highly amused, giggling away….

And then we were off walking down the steep hill, passed the “school” to the river, across and up the other side. We stopped at a home for the fellow leading my horse to pick up some plantains from another fellow. His wife burst out laughing when she saw me atop the horse with the packs – I completely understood her amusement! I too was given plantains for the journey, off we went again. 

The chap leading my horse was a tiny man, he scurried up hill, my horse trotting behind.

He chose easier crossings for the horse by walking down river and through the river. He urged the horse on around obstacles, rocks and huge roots. We went straight through all the deep mud, the horse sinking way down deep, it’s hooves making a slurping sound in the mud.

My guide would stop every so often to empty his boots and then carry on. I was concerned that the horse would stumble and down we both would go flying down the ledges, but then reassured myself that the animal was a pro at that trail and the simple fact that it was more concerned with grabbing mouthfuls of grass whenever possible showed it was relaxed.

My main challenge was ducking to avoid the branches that hung across the trail. Only once did I miss a branch and paid for it with an abrasion across the face, luckily it was just superficial.

Three times my guide stopped, stood in the shade took off his shirt, then wrung it out, squeezing all the sweat from it, yes sweat just dripped out his shirt. We both laughed at this and he managed to communicate how he needed a sombrero like mine. The 4th time we stopped he immersed himself in the river to cool off. I sat on the horse while it grabbed whatever grass it could. 

We reached to starting point and then came the challenge of getting me off the horse….well he put the horse alongside a tree and I grabbed a branch, swung my leg over the saddle back and pack and fell into the poor man. It was quite amusing and we both had a good laugh.

Then it was under the barbed wire, past the military of which some were bathing in the river and then down the path to our launcha and driver. The driver was stressed as the military had been questioning him, checking his ID and such, plus we had been gone for so long and there were just hours till dark time, not only that but he and his son had not had any food all day and he didn’t think there was enough fuel to get back. Oh my, there was nothing we could do but wait and hope the others arrived soon. Meanwhile, I made my way to the river bank where a ramp was and started to wash off all the mud – yes, I had mud all up my legs, on my arms everywhere despite being on the horse. 

Finally about 15/20 minutes later the others appeared, they were shattered from their walk. John was too exhausted to even attempt to wash off any mud. He had lost his hiking shoes in the mud. They had been sucked right off. So he was caked in mud! Ellenie had walked bare foot too, she had misplaced her boots somehow. Before they had left the village John had secured some small bottles of coke and cans of soda, they had been drinking them for the energy. They found their way by following the horses hoof steps which had become a bit difficult as the afternoon light faded. However, the good news – they made it!

We all tumbled into the launcha, everyone agreed it was a hike akin to an army training course, a very grueling, difficult, hike with many challenges. Also we all had realized at some point during the day that we were in the middle of nowhere with the only communication with the outside world 1 1/2 hours away down river, we had been in a very vulnerable position where we could have easily ……… 

Anyway downriver we went, next problem, getting fuel, we hoped to find some. The driver stopped where we had seen a barge and asked, no fuel, off we went hoping to at least get into the lake. We made the lake, the sun was sinking, but we had communication!

So Jeremiah call Julia and explained our need. She apparently set out with Jeremiah’s Mom. They met us just 10 minutes after we ran out of fuel and began drifting.

We were back around 7:00pm and so throughly exhausted! Off to the shower where we each spent ages trying to remove the mud, off our skin, from under nails, in hair, just all over.

John has a nice scar on his forehead, some of his nails on his feet turned black and will probably come off. My facial abrasion was gone in a week, no big deal. We’ve both agreed no more hikes like that, it’s just plain not worth it and actually dangerous. However we don’t regret doing it, it was beautiful, an education and for a worthy cause….

We treated ourselves to a few days off, just doing menial tasks, enjoying relaxing, going to Mexican Train Dominoes

and we were invited to Jane and Jim’s place for barbecued spare ribs.

The evening was a real treat enjoying the company of Robyn and Tony and Jane and Jim. The food was wonderful and their place is just lovely!

Like all explorers, we are drawn to discover what’s  waiting  out there without knowing yet if we have the courage to face it. – Pema Chodron

There are only moments. Live in this one. The happiness of these days. – Kate Millett 

 

PHOTO LINK –>> Bike tour and El Bongo tour  https://photos.app.goo.gl/P1YCKdhs3MmZyj188

A Sunday Bike tour 

Our friends Caroline and Chris were interested in buying bikes as they are planning on being in the Rio for a few years. John, loves to ride and was tempted by the idea too. The plan was for Caroline and Chris to test out a bike and for us to all hire and ride bikes for the day. There were 4 couples, Caroline and Chris, Pete and Gail and Anna and Dave. We met at 7:30 at the bike place Rick’s Moto Tours and arranged our hire bikes.

 Now I had been very dubious about the whole venture as I am not a happy pillion passenger, but this bike was actually quite comfortable with a near bucket seat. 

So we all saddled up and headed down the road, first stop the gas station to fuel up. Then it was off through Fronteras over the bridge and roaring towards Quirigua Archaeological Park. 

Being a Sunday the traffic was much less, there were still the huge trucks, but fewer than usual and the traffic was far less. The idea was to keep the speed up so as not to have any trucks looming on our tails. We did overtake traffic, we did average a good speed around 85 km and I relaxed enough to take photos of us and the scenery. 

Quirigua Archaeological Park

We arrived at Quirigua Archaeological park, our first destination. This is a World Cultural Heritage site, originally founded in 426 AD. Quirigua was vassal city to the greater city of Copan, (now in Honduras).

John and I had previously visited this site a few years ago, however it was still interesting to revisit. Once you walk down the path you find there is the remains of the grand plaza and the Acropolis. The plaza was where there was probably a market and public place for the residents to meet. 

Stelas are found there, in the old grand plaza. These are monuments of carved sandstone that tell about the government and rulers of the time. The largest/tallest stela of the Mayan world, stela E is found here. The Acropolis was the main administrative and residential area. 

Then there is the Ball Court, which too is surrounded by monuments and remains of buildings dating back to the 790AD years. These too depict the tales of the great rulers. 

We spent a good hour or more wandering around Quirigua looking at the various Stelas and remains of the old city, then in the museum. The site is surrounded by forest with huge trees and so is quiet and peaceful, but quite hot with little breeze.

Lago de Izabal and finding the Playa Dorada

Upon leaving our plan was find the road marked as the IZ-04 Road at kilometer 221 on the Morales Road. To turn down and follow it to the lake side of Lago de Izabal and find the Playa Dorada. So off we sped, back the way we had come from Km 204 to Km 221 where we turned and started to follow the road. As it went the road was nicely paved with few potholes. It wound its way uphill and then down through farm land, with lovely views.

We arrived at the lakeside and finding a restaurant we ordered lunch. Lunch was a mixed affair, some of were served adequate servings that were properly cooked and some of us were served very tiny portions or food that was just under cooked. I guess they were not prepared for so many guests. However it was pleasant being lakeside with a breeze and a view across the lake.

We were off to find the “beach” Playa Dorada following the only road to its end point. There was a crowded beach with white pebbly grit. Many locals were enjoying their Sunday relaxing waterside, swimming and riding a toy being pulled by a launcha.

We had a quick look around and then were off, stopping on the road for a view of the lake below. 

Our next destination was back through Fronteras and along the El Estor Road to the Castillia.

Once there we enjoyed an ice-cream. It was time to return the bikes and head home. We covered 120 miles and had a wonderful time enjoying the bikes for the day. 

The El Bongo school

Our next expedition was one of volunteering. Our dock-master Steve, along with Rita a local who is very influential in many areas here in the Rio Dulce and out-lying areas had both become involved trying to help a school in the El Estor area.

The school had asked for desks, but it was found to have no running water for toilets or washing. So Steve had initially gone with a group here, at the marina to deliver and set up a water system, John too was one of the helpers. They erected 2 water towers and installed a pump, plus fixed some play ground equipment. When there they were told and shown how the school was eroding away, please could they fix it and the desks needed fixing or replacing too. 

This time I went along with the group. Their objectives were to finish the playground, using cement, gravel and rocks to shore up the school on one side, to deliver a few play ground toys and to measure desks and chairs for fixing. 

We loaded up at the concrete mall, I sat in the front of the truck with the driver, some of the men including John were in the back with the gear and the rest of the helpers were in Steve’s car. 

Our drive to the turning for the village was along paved roads, yes, some potholes, but easy going. The road to the village was rough, narrow, with large rocks and holes plus receding in places. The scenery was very pretty with fields and farms.

At the school we parked by the play-ground and went to work.  John and Bill started on the playground equipment, repairs and building more. The other men, started on the school foundations, this included digging away to form a retention wall, mixing the cement and gravel and erecting framework. JoAnne and I went and sorted chairs and desks for repairs. The room they were in was small and hot, they were piled on the side and so we set to work. We put those beyond help aside then counted and measured the small, medium and large. 

With that task completed we gave out the play ground toys after showing how to use them. The children had a blast playing with the hole hoops, jump ropes and ring toss toys. 

By this time it was lunch time, the children are given a portion of food, enough for 1, but they carry it home to share. Most of them walked off up the hill, a few boarded a collectivo and some stayed. 

We were served lunch. It was a chicken type stew and tortillas, the chicken had just been killed. After lunchtime the playground was just tidied up and the remaining children played on the equipment.

The remaining work was the retention wall. The local men from the village would mix the concrete with the gravel, load it into buckets and carry it on a shoulder to heave into the construction.

Now I believe there were 12 bags of concrete mixed with the huge pile of gravel, it was all done by hand, mixer no wheel barrel, just sheer hard labour by the men, some of which were just teens. It took hours but they finished what to me had looked nearly impossible. 

Other exploits…..

Back at the marina we have had many more fun events, one of which was a baby shower for Sayda one of the staff. She seemed thrilled with the little gifts and attention bestowed upon her.

John has finished more projects, his main accomplishment being the new instrument panel. It looks excellent and means all the switches are organized. 

I went with Steve, Gillian and Claudette to cross the Honduras border, visit a good grocery store and pick up Steve’s friend at the San Paulo Sula airport. At the border I was stopped and told my visa had expired and I could not proceed. Thankfully Gillian chose to return to Rio Dulce with me so I wasn’t alone. 

We were “convinced” by collectivo drivers to pay Q200 ($25) each and we would be delivered to Rio Dulce. Well, we did make it back, but the driving was just crazy fast, we had to change vehicles and they tried to squeeze more money out of us. Now while this trip was futile it did warn John and I that our visas were expired. 

Off to Cayo Camado, aka Texas Bay and Livingston

So we decided to travel on Aeeshah, down river to Cayo Camado, aka Texas Bay to drop our sails off to Tom the rigger. The sails had some small areas of chaff plus some stitching needed to be restitched.

There we left Aeeshah with Chico in charge and off we went in the dinghy all 8 miles down river to Livingston. In Livingston our fixer – agent Raul sorted our new visa for 90 days.

Within an hour that we had our lunch our visa extension was sorted. Then it was back up river to Aeeshah. We stayed over night, had a lovely evening at anchor and then traveled back to Catamaran.

 And it was great timing as just after we extended the siege/seize was put in place. The whole area is under a curfew, passports etc have to be carried and the military is here. Why? Due to a few ongoing troubles between the military, the drug cartel people in El Estor, some troops were killed and a mayor assassinated down river. So being legal is very necessary at present.    

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”—  Anaïs Nin

“There are times when we stop. We sit still…We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper.”—  James Carroll