Differences

As I write this, I am listening to KNAU (NPR Flagstaff, Arizona) where there are reports of school closings and delays due to a massive storm which brought about ten inches of snow to the area. That included Prescott, our town that we just left on Sunday. What a strange contrast to what conditions that I awakened to this morning. My first notice of life was the beautiful singing of the morning chorus of the birds which were easily heard through the open windows. As I opened my door, both Sandie and Chico (the two resident dogs) were there to greet me. In her mouth was a partially eaten avocado which Sandie thought would be an ideal object to fetch. Chico is far more sedate and has long ago given up such frivolity. Oh, did I tell you that I was barefoot when I wandered out into the garden? There I met the gardener who was already at work.

I have two cups of tea on my work area: one with a wonderful taste and aroma of anise or licorice and the other is a fine chai. In just about an hour, we will join the maid and Ruth who are going to the market here in Antigua. The open-air and covered market operates in full force three days weekly with Thursday being the heaviest market day of all. One bargains for everything there and the prices are stunningly inexpensive. Growers of vegetables and fruits come into Antigua from great distances to display and vend their wares, many bearing the burdens of their goods in large woven baskets balanced on their heads. One can find many exotic fruits and vegetables as well as meats of all varieties. It is easy to find animals for sale as well. Herbs to accent cooking and flowers  to grace tables and shelves are abundant and can be purchased for little or nothing.

Measurements and weights are a mix of the English system, the Metric and the Spanish. One really has to learn what is used for different things. The vare, the gallon, the kilometer, the pound, the kilo are all used interchangeably but for different things which can make things a bit challenging. Oh, did I mention that the hand is used as well? I suspect the hand is used in the market area and usually refers to five a a particular item.

The gardener is going to cut the coffee cherries from the tree today. There are cherries on the tree with all hues and colors from green to dark maroon. Each cherry contains two coffee beans which will be processed by his family before it will be ready for roasting, grinding and a final application of brewing before the dark brown and strong brew will be sipped, often with sugar and heated milk by the final user. Our gardener harvests the cherries each year around this time and is given them by his boss. This year's crop is far less than it has been in the former couple of years but the surrounding coffee farms or fincas here in Guatemala mostly report a bumper crop. Coffee is one of the largest exports of this country.

Yesterday John and I were invited by our landlord to accompany him for a short trip to Guatemala City. He was going for a meeting and luncheon and we were going to use the time for shopping and looking around. Wal-Mart, instead of competing with a large similar-type operation in the capital city, purchased the company and has a gigantic store where it is easy to find just about anything that one might want or need. Thousands of familiar brands were available at very reasonable prices. Our agreement regarding return passage was to connect with Paul, our landlord, when he was ready to take the return trip to Antigua around two yesterday afternoon. We contacted him by phone and told him that we would catch a chicken bus home and see him later in the day. We crossed the street and flagged down such a bus and were soon on our way. These buses are ones which had been used until they were considered non-functional in the USA school systems and then were sold and driven through Mexico and into Guatemala.They are converted and given new and more powerful engines and reconfigured somewhat to accommodate passengers here. Most of the time, the buses are driven by very young operators and there is always a helper who collects fares and stands in the front door shouting the destination of the bus. As the buses begin to fill up, where kids used to sit two to a seat, we find that three or four sit on each side of the bus in the seats. It is very difficult to pass through the aisles when one needs to exit the bus but passengers jump up and then find their seats once again once one has passed by. We have often seen passengers who are nearer the rear emergency exit door open it and jump to the ground - a far easier passage and exit then maneuvering to the front. There are no cords to signal the driver or helper when one want to exit. Instead one hollers baja or la esquina and the driver stops and one can exit. The fare for each of us on our thirty mile journey was eight quetzales or just under one dollar. The buses are driven in most cases faster than private vehicles or vans so the journey is done with dispatch. Of course, it is often necessary to hang onto the handles on the backs of each of the seats in order to maintain ones seat and not zoom onto the floor.

I will dig out my camera before we leave for the market and before the cherries are harvested and try to give you some pictures of the coffee tree branches and some views at the market so that you too can share with us what we saw.

More later today (hopefully).