FEBRUARY 1-
Sat. Feb 1 - up at 4:30 AM to have breakfast and be ready to leave Quaker House at 5:30. Ed and Barbara are driving their friends Bill (dentist who did free work in Managua this week) and his wife Brenda (who brought me out of dehydration) and me to the airport. My flight on COPA Airlines leaves at 9:15 and is punctual and pleasant. Good food for breakfast, which is a distinct difference from US airlines that don't give you anything for breakfast even if you leave at 7AM.
Staying for 2 nights at B&B San Nicolas. Lovely one story Spanish Colonial with a beautiful center garden all in bloom. (yes, I think about how miserable everyone back home must feel with a never-ending winter of snowstorms.) Staff are wonderfully friendly and helpful. Rossana, the day clerk, spent 13 years in the US because her father was Guatemala military and was assigned to US units in Kansas City and Arlington, VA. We have an hour and a half conversation about Guatemala, the problems, potential solutions etc.
Sun. Feb. 2 - Through determined research I find the Episcopal Sunday service in Antigua at what's called St. Alban's. Starts at noon because the priest is also responsible for a congregation in Guatemala City and does that service before driving to Antigua. The service is held in Convento del Concepcion'. After being a convent it was owned by a big-time Antigua real estate mogul who left various parts of the property to each of his three wives and their respective children as he divorced them. The last wife outlived him and is now 102 years old. The building now houses a variety of offices.
The church service space is one room and morphs from yoga to karate classes, to other community offerings before becoming a pop-up church space on Sundays. The priest, Rev. Ricardo Frohmader, hangs out in a cafe' every Wednesday from 10AM until 11:30 in case anyone wants to stop by to chat or seek guidance. The only guy in the place wearing a clerical collar. I arrange to meet him there.
Mon. Feb. 3 - I leave San Nicolas and move to a B&B in a private home. Wish I hadn't. Got great reviews on TripAdvisor, nice house, lousy room that was not shown in TA photos. A frosty air settles in between the husband-wife operators (who are not Guatemalan) and me. I stay gone most of the day. Later I decide to leave Antigua on Wednesday after meeting with Rev. Riccardo and go to San Lucas Toliman', where I'll start at the mission on Sunday.
Tues. Feb. 4 - What a day! Once again boldness pays off. As I was standing at the bank counter to change money I noticed that the woman next to me was surely an expat and a resident also because she had a bank account transaction booklet with her. So of course I introduced myslef and asked if I could buy her a coffee so I could pick her brain for a while.
Two and a half hours later(!!!) British Sylvia, who has lived in Antigua for 36 years, and I have become fast friends. And here's the magic that you can't make up - Her daughter lives in Center CIty Philadelphia and teaches at a charter school just nine blocks from my house. I tell her that I live close to that school and have been going there monthly for Democratic ward meetings for years. We both almost fall off our chairs. Add to that the fact that she is a graduate in English Theater and I have a degree in Speech, specializing in Theater, her husband, who was successful in other businesses, got them into the restaurant business, and my former husband owned restaurants. It's becoming very Twilight Zone-ish. And she will be in Philly next week visiting her daughter. (More about Sylvia in a future Perspectives posting.)
About 20 minutes after leaving Sylvia I stop into a teeny (12 seats) restaurant for lunch. I can tell that the woman at the next table (also a lady "of a certain age") is American. (Yes, we are easily identifiable.) When she finishes her meal, she turns to me and asks if my food was good, I say yes, and the conversation is off and running. Here it comes - Thea is from Harrisburg and has lived in Philadelphia. Retired, hates snow, and is trying to decide between Granada, Nicaragua, and Antigua for relocation. So I mention I'd been in Granada, and the people I'd met there, and my time with Donna Tabor. She has a friend there who is a friend of Donna's so she knew all about her. Then it comes out that her ex-husband owned a restaurant also, like Sylvia's and mine. What are the odds of all these connections in triplicate from three people?!
For dinner I go to a small Thai restaurant. Fellow sitting at the next table obviously American. I explained to the Guatemalan waiter that I'm headed for a mission assignment. As the fellow at the table gets into his dessert he turns to me and asks what kind of mission work. Which leads to a back-and-forth and it turns out that he too had lived in Philly. I had to call an end to the day because I just couldn't take one more encounter of the woo-woo spooky-Philly kind.
Wed. Feb 5 - I'm walking through the park on my way to meet Rev. Ricardo when I see a group of American men "of a certain age" who are clearly expat residents. When I told Rev. Ricardo about my encounter with the American Legion fellows in Granada (see previous Granada blogpost) RIcardo told me there is an AL group in Antigua also. Of course I go right up to them and ask if that's who they are? Yup. I recount the Granada story, the chapter president knows all the fellows in Granada whose names I mention, and says he's going there next week. So I tell him to tell Carl there that Marianne from Philly says "hi" and thanks for the connection to Donna Tabor. Which is when he tells me that he's from Philly too. Seems that wherever I go I take Philly with me.
I have arranged van transport to San Lucas that is scheduled to pick me up at 12:30. At 12:40 he calls to say there is a labor demonstration that has closed the road to Panajachel, which is the drop-off point for San Lucas, and he'll be 45 minutes late. At 1:45 I call him and learn that the trip is off for today because it takes 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours to Pana depending on traffic, and then there's a 20 minute boat ride to San Lucas, but the boats don't leave after 5PM because the water gets too rough.
So now I have checked out of the unfriendly BnB, it's almost 2PM, I have nowhere to stay for the night, and have to make some telephone calls quickly to find a place. Keeping up their bad attitude, the owners tell me they have to leave the house now, so I will have to leave also. I quickly call back the transport driver and tell him to come get me immediately, I'm going back to San Nicolas, even though I know they don't have a room. Two minutes later I'm on the street, under a blazing sun with my bags as the owners walk away. Ugo, the driver, shows up 20 minutes later.
Back at San Nicolas my friendly day clerk, Rossana, is off for the day. So I ask the young man at the desk to call her at home. No problem. (Imagine that happening at a place in the US.) She's a sweetheart and gives me the name of another place, then tells the current clerk to tell the new place to give me the same rate as at San Nicolas, even though the new place is usually more expensive. He calls, they agree, and finally, around 3:30 I'm at Casa Capuchinas. Ugo tells me to be ready at 8AM tomorrow for the Panajachel ride.
Dinner time. After the stress of the day and wondering if I'd have to sleep on a bench in the park, I'm looking for a nice relaxing place that I've not yet been to, and am walking the streets around the Parque Central. Up and down, but nothing catches my attention. I spot a place that has sort of a dim, cozy vibe. Stop to read the menu at the doorway, which is open like all the doors in Central America. I'm halfway down the soups when a female voice calls my name. I look up and there at the bar is Thea from Harrisburg. What are the chances? So in I go and we continue our conversation from lunch right through dinner.
Got only slightly lost on the way back to Capuchinas, but a helpful young woman walked me right to the corner of the street and pointed the way. Antigua is supposedly the safest city in Guatemala, but even at that, the advice from locals and expats is not to walk around alone after 9PM. So because I hadn't left the restaurant until 9:15 and my BnB was a fifteen minute walk, I was glad to be back at Capuchinas without too much of a detour.
Tomorrow to Pana then San Lucas Toliman' - I hope.
***
Sat. Feb 1 - up at 4:30 AM to have breakfast and be ready to leave Quaker House at 5:30. Ed and Barbara are driving their friends Bill (dentist who did free work in Managua this week) and his wife Brenda (who brought me out of dehydration) and me to the airport. My flight on COPA Airlines leaves at 9:15 and is punctual and pleasant. Good food for breakfast, which is a distinct difference from US airlines that don't give you anything for breakfast even if you leave at 7AM.
Staying for 2 nights at B&B San Nicolas. Lovely one story Spanish Colonial with a beautiful center garden all in bloom. (yes, I think about how miserable everyone back home must feel with a never-ending winter of snowstorms.) Staff are wonderfully friendly and helpful. Rossana, the day clerk, spent 13 years in the US because her father was Guatemala military and was assigned to US units in Kansas City and Arlington, VA. We have an hour and a half conversation about Guatemala, the problems, potential solutions etc.
Sun. Feb. 2 - Through determined research I find the Episcopal Sunday service in Antigua at what's called St. Alban's. Starts at noon because the priest is also responsible for a congregation in Guatemala City and does that service before driving to Antigua. The service is held in Convento del Concepcion'. After being a convent it was owned by a big-time Antigua real estate mogul who left various parts of the property to each of his three wives and their respective children as he divorced them. The last wife outlived him and is now 102 years old. The building now houses a variety of offices.
The church service space is one room and morphs from yoga to karate classes, to other community offerings before becoming a pop-up church space on Sundays. The priest, Rev. Ricardo Frohmader, hangs out in a cafe' every Wednesday from 10AM until 11:30 in case anyone wants to stop by to chat or seek guidance. The only guy in the place wearing a clerical collar. I arrange to meet him there.
Mon. Feb. 3 - I leave San Nicolas and move to a B&B in a private home. Wish I hadn't. Got great reviews on TripAdvisor, nice house, lousy room that was not shown in TA photos. A frosty air settles in between the husband-wife operators (who are not Guatemalan) and me. I stay gone most of the day. Later I decide to leave Antigua on Wednesday after meeting with Rev. Riccardo and go to San Lucas Toliman', where I'll start at the mission on Sunday.
Tues. Feb. 4 - What a day! Once again boldness pays off. As I was standing at the bank counter to change money I noticed that the woman next to me was surely an expat and a resident also because she had a bank account transaction booklet with her. So of course I introduced myslef and asked if I could buy her a coffee so I could pick her brain for a while.
Two and a half hours later(!!!) British Sylvia, who has lived in Antigua for 36 years, and I have become fast friends. And here's the magic that you can't make up - Her daughter lives in Center CIty Philadelphia and teaches at a charter school just nine blocks from my house. I tell her that I live close to that school and have been going there monthly for Democratic ward meetings for years. We both almost fall off our chairs. Add to that the fact that she is a graduate in English Theater and I have a degree in Speech, specializing in Theater, her husband, who was successful in other businesses, got them into the restaurant business, and my former husband owned restaurants. It's becoming very Twilight Zone-ish. And she will be in Philly next week visiting her daughter. (More about Sylvia in a future Perspectives posting.)
About 20 minutes after leaving Sylvia I stop into a teeny (12 seats) restaurant for lunch. I can tell that the woman at the next table (also a lady "of a certain age") is American. (Yes, we are easily identifiable.) When she finishes her meal, she turns to me and asks if my food was good, I say yes, and the conversation is off and running. Here it comes - Thea is from Harrisburg and has lived in Philadelphia. Retired, hates snow, and is trying to decide between Granada, Nicaragua, and Antigua for relocation. So I mention I'd been in Granada, and the people I'd met there, and my time with Donna Tabor. She has a friend there who is a friend of Donna's so she knew all about her. Then it comes out that her ex-husband owned a restaurant also, like Sylvia's and mine. What are the odds of all these connections in triplicate from three people?!
For dinner I go to a small Thai restaurant. Fellow sitting at the next table obviously American. I explained to the Guatemalan waiter that I'm headed for a mission assignment. As the fellow at the table gets into his dessert he turns to me and asks what kind of mission work. Which leads to a back-and-forth and it turns out that he too had lived in Philly. I had to call an end to the day because I just couldn't take one more encounter of the woo-woo spooky-Philly kind.
Wed. Feb 5 - I'm walking through the park on my way to meet Rev. Ricardo when I see a group of American men "of a certain age" who are clearly expat residents. When I told Rev. Ricardo about my encounter with the American Legion fellows in Granada (see previous Granada blogpost) RIcardo told me there is an AL group in Antigua also. Of course I go right up to them and ask if that's who they are? Yup. I recount the Granada story, the chapter president knows all the fellows in Granada whose names I mention, and says he's going there next week. So I tell him to tell Carl there that Marianne from Philly says "hi" and thanks for the connection to Donna Tabor. Which is when he tells me that he's from Philly too. Seems that wherever I go I take Philly with me.
I have arranged van transport to San Lucas that is scheduled to pick me up at 12:30. At 12:40 he calls to say there is a labor demonstration that has closed the road to Panajachel, which is the drop-off point for San Lucas, and he'll be 45 minutes late. At 1:45 I call him and learn that the trip is off for today because it takes 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours to Pana depending on traffic, and then there's a 20 minute boat ride to San Lucas, but the boats don't leave after 5PM because the water gets too rough.
So now I have checked out of the unfriendly BnB, it's almost 2PM, I have nowhere to stay for the night, and have to make some telephone calls quickly to find a place. Keeping up their bad attitude, the owners tell me they have to leave the house now, so I will have to leave also. I quickly call back the transport driver and tell him to come get me immediately, I'm going back to San Nicolas, even though I know they don't have a room. Two minutes later I'm on the street, under a blazing sun with my bags as the owners walk away. Ugo, the driver, shows up 20 minutes later.
Back at San Nicolas my friendly day clerk, Rossana, is off for the day. So I ask the young man at the desk to call her at home. No problem. (Imagine that happening at a place in the US.) She's a sweetheart and gives me the name of another place, then tells the current clerk to tell the new place to give me the same rate as at San Nicolas, even though the new place is usually more expensive. He calls, they agree, and finally, around 3:30 I'm at Casa Capuchinas. Ugo tells me to be ready at 8AM tomorrow for the Panajachel ride.
Dinner time. After the stress of the day and wondering if I'd have to sleep on a bench in the park, I'm looking for a nice relaxing place that I've not yet been to, and am walking the streets around the Parque Central. Up and down, but nothing catches my attention. I spot a place that has sort of a dim, cozy vibe. Stop to read the menu at the doorway, which is open like all the doors in Central America. I'm halfway down the soups when a female voice calls my name. I look up and there at the bar is Thea from Harrisburg. What are the chances? So in I go and we continue our conversation from lunch right through dinner.
Got only slightly lost on the way back to Capuchinas, but a helpful young woman walked me right to the corner of the street and pointed the way. Antigua is supposedly the safest city in Guatemala, but even at that, the advice from locals and expats is not to walk around alone after 9PM. So because I hadn't left the restaurant until 9:15 and my BnB was a fifteen minute walk, I was glad to be back at Capuchinas without too much of a detour.
Tomorrow to Pana then San Lucas Toliman' - I hope.
***
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