The Eastern Cape Roadtrip

So, after getting the blog out on Friday, Magdel and Greg got out of work for the afternoon and we all set out for a 5 day 4 night road trip in Central and Eastern South Africa. With so many sights seen over the past 7 weeks, I have gotten a bit lazy about needing to know the specifics of where I am going and what I am doing, so I just asked them about what kind of clothes to pack, grabbed my ipod and book, and I was good to go.

We started off with another stop at the Badenhorst's to drop off the doggies and then set along the coast to Mossel Bay. It was about a 5 hour drive when we arrived at the house of another gracious host who went to school with Magdel.

Alex and Myrna live on the Indian Ocean in a little vacation town in between Mossel Bay and George. New Zealand has a good arraignment with South Africa for dual citizenship. They actually have a point system based on your education, profession and income that prioritizes your citizenship application. number. They allow 50,000 SAins in each year and give you a probability for gaining entry based on your points. Alex owns his own software company and Myrna is an MD, so they got in pretty easily and enjoyed it there. About 3 years ago they moved from New Zealand and built house on land that the family has had for a long time so they could be near Alex's parents. They have 2 boys and a newborn, so having granny access is nice.

After meeting them and having some drinks, I was set for my first official South African Braai (BBQ). The Braai the biggest social institution the Afrikaaners have. I could spend the next 2000 words describing all that I have learned about the Braai, but needless to say, there are some simple rules.

First, you have to drink, seriously, drink. You may think that just because I am happy to drink that I would point this out, but I am being subjective here. When Magdel and Greg moved here after their year long travels, they were trying to cut down on their alcohol intake. They would arrive at a Braai and, when asked what they would like to drink, were received with a harsh silence when they said they would like a water or juice. Since the beer kinda stinks here (they drink MGD as a good import), you generally are drinking SA wine. So, step one, rule one, grab a glass a wine.

The next thing is, make yourself comfortable. There are no charcoal briquettes and don't even think about gas, this is a wood only BBQ country. They use specific woods (see braai wood seller below) and discuss and debate which ones are best. After "Sundowners", the Braai wood goes up into a campfire where people chat. Then the process of cooking down to coals takes place. Then the meat is put on ONLY after the Braai cook says so. Then, while the meat rests, Braai Broodjies (grilled cheeses with fresh onions and tomatoes) are toasted over the coals. If you show up at a 7:00 Braai, don't expect to really eat until 10:00.

As you can tell, during this whole process, leadership is important. That (and I am sorry about this one ladies) is handled by the Man of the house. Now, as the (often hungry) woman wait for the ceremony to run it's course, there are some doubts that are cast in the kitchen. Usually they worry that the men will get too drunk telling stories around the braai and the meat will get over cooked. I ducked into the lady zone a couple of times to observe this rhetoric. But, back to the Braai leader. He (and only he) makes the decisions of when to put on the Fleis and Broodjies. No matter what you think justifies it, nobody touches the meat other than him, NOBODY. I learned pretty quick about the wine, wait and no touch rules.

Alex and Myrna went all out for us. Normally a Braai has some steaks and wors, but these guys got tenderloin fillets. They were the whole strip that normally makes up a Fillet Mignon. They were cooked to perfection, next to fresh made roles on the braai. Back in the kitchen, they had made up salad, oven veggies and a peppercorn mushroom sauce. I sat in ecstasy eating this great dinner as we watched the Rugby World Cup 3rd place match between Argentina and France.

After dinner I nearly passed out on the couch while everyone was talking. I made myself a gentle escape to one of the boys rooms that I had for the evening and crashed. The next morning we sat on the porch, watched the waves roll in and ate a breakfast of yogurt, fresh fruit and cereal. It was such a nice stay.

During the drive up to the Addo Elephant Park it was clear that Rugby Fever was in full bloom. South Africa was playing England for the World Cup that evening and everyone was wearing Springbok green and talking about the game. There was an added undertone of South Africa/England rivalry from the Boer Wars. The term Concentration Camp was coined during these wars where the English improsoned the Afrikaaners during the war and they haven't forgotten. We even got stick pins at the gas station for the fill up.

We were all keen on the Rugby, but we first had the drive to complete and Elephants to see. On the way up we stopped at a harbor vacation spot for a late coffee and then a couple hours later, stocked up at a gas station with groceries and pies.

Pies are a staple of South Africa and available just about everywhere you turn. They are generally beef or chicken, but there are some Indian influences with the lentil curry pies and traditional offerings such as the kidney pies. During my time here, I have tried everything and have yet to find one I didn't like. I think my favorite is the Sausage Roll, which reminds me of the Pig in a Blankets they serve at Russ' back in Holland Michigan. So, Pies are Good!

We rolled into the Addo Park at 4:00 or so, which gave us time to check into our hut and take a pre-sundowner nap. We were scheduled for a Game Drive (drinks included) at 6:00 and we wanted to be rested. We slept in a little to long and almost missed it, but alas with a little jog we made it before they drove off.

We climbed in the back of a Land Rover truck with 4 rows of seats and drove into the Game Park. We were all searching the brush for wildlife and not seeing much, then, as we rounded a corner, there were 2 bulls eating on the side of the path. One started walking toward us, veered around the truck and walked past us into the sunset. It was pretty awesome. He walked so softly as he passed by close enough that I could have reached out and touch him. I was too busy being a chicken and taking pictures to do so, but it was slick.

We drove on and saw Water Buffalo, Jackals, Monkeys, Baboons, Warthogs, Antelope and Dung Beetles. The viewing was a bit sparse since the winds were just howling at this point. We stopped for sundowners in this big field and enjoyed drinks and snacks. They make their own style of beef jerky here called Biltong. It is dried with salt and hung to cure and man o man is it good stuff.

After the game drive we go a table at the restaurant in view of the TV so we could have dinner and watch the Rugby. It was a bit of a boring game actually, but the Springboks won and everyone was ecstatic. Another great day.

The next morning we got up at 6 for our own game drive through the park. We didn't see any new animals, but we stumbles onto this large watering hole surrounded by elephants. The must have been close to 100, and among them was the teeniest tiniest little baby elephant. He was being protected by the adults, but if you looked between their legs you could see him.

Then, as they got close to the water, the little one ran off from the pack toward to water. His mom roared and he spun around, but in his clumsy baby way, he lost control of his rear legs and they went sliding down the bank and into the water. It wasn't long and he lost his struggle to stay on dry land. The pack erupted into roars and trumpets as the baby paddled to stay afloat.

After what seemed to be a long wait, the adults started going in to get him. Then, they didn't really whisk him out quick. The little guy struggled for quite a while before finally getting shoved out. We all interpreted this as a lesson for the little snot. The trumpets in the beginning were more of a reprimand than a panic.

From there we changed our original plan (can't quite remember what it was) and decided to do a 6 hour long 4X4 trek through the wilderness. It ran through a number of the sights of battles of the Boer Wars, and was a chance to see more nature. 6 hours of bumping around was a little hard on the well traveled body I have these days, but it was well worth it.
We popped out on the other side coming through a Rhino Park. We were still technically in the Addo Park and thought about finding a place to stay from the places listed in the guide. They seemed to all be closed up and we were looking at another 2 hours of driving to get to a town when we came upon a ranger changing his tire.

We popped out and helped him change it and inquired about places to stay. He had the paperwork to set us up at a place we didn't notice along the way, but was still open. We found it easy enough and settled in for another braai. This time it was Greg's turn, he has the patience. We had a good braai with lamb chops and boerwors and I keeled off to bed again.
I woke up a few hours later and couldn't fall asleep. This is actually something that happens to me pretty normally about once a month or so. I actually get too much sleep and then have a night of twiddling my thumbs. Fortunately I had about 12 hours of NPR podcasts on my ipod, so I just lay there and chilled out.

In the middle of the night it was really stuffy in the room. I decided to brave the mosquitoes and open the windows. There are no screens in South Africa for some reason and as I lay there swatting off mosquitoes, I got to worrying about monkeys and baboons crawling in and what I would do. There are tons of them in these parks and they like to raid you food and belonging.

So I lay there half paranoid the whole time looking at the window and thinking I was going to get a visitor. Then, I hear a crunch outside like someone walking around the hut. I sprung up to look out the window and there were 3 huge Kudu. There was a female and two males with these magnificent corkscrew like antlers. The sky was also one of these clear dark night skies with sheets of stars. The Kudu glowed in the moonlight and I had memory of beauty that I will never forget.

The next day was off to Oudtshoorn, which is another wine town, but more known for it's Ostrich Farms. We were staying with Morkel, who is another college friend of Magdel's. Morkel grew up on an Ostrich/Wine farm and has spent his career starting and selling Ostrich Farms around the world in places such as New Zeeland, Saudi Arabia and Hurricane Utah. He bought this beautiful old house and is in the process of making it into a B&B. Oh, and he is very very gay, hotpants and all.

I am not sure if I just give gay dudes more credit for interior decorating or weather there is a genuine advantage there, but Morkels house, although not super fancy, was so cool. All of his choices of where to put what were just perfect. After sundowners, it was then time for a braai (do you see a pattern developing here?).

Morkel got help from William and Sebastian (his platonic roommates) in preparing the braai. William took the lead on making the fire, which was all done in an antique metal wheel barrow. Sebastian made the veggies, salad and assembled the broodjies, which this time included heirloom tomatoes and english chutney.

We had beef, lamb and ostrich steaks and of course boerwors. Once William had the meat resting, Morkel declared the coals too hot for the broodjies, so there was an added wait, but in the end, everything was done to perfection. We ate too much food, drank too much wine and told too many stories.

The next day, after breakfast, we were off for the long ride back to Capetown. It started with a river canyon dirt road that led to a beautiful switchback mountain pass on dirt roads. We stopped and took many photos.

Eventually we were back onto normal paved highway roads. Half way back we stopped in a small English village for coffee and scones with decadent rich cream and jam. We swung through Strand to pick up the doggies and then it was back home. Such a great time.

I have another day or so here and then it is off to the big flight home. I am thinking of playing golf at one of the premier courses here tomorrow and then we are all going out for one last celebratory dinner. I must say it has been a great decision to come here. I couldn't have asked for a better time.

DMW

Howzit!

Travel Blog……I hardly knew ye L

It has been FAR too long since my last update and the gap has started to overtake the urge, so it is time to act, lest I never blog again!

There have been so many great times over the past 3 weeks, from the send off in Guate, to the beautiful wedding in Seattle, then to Portland, San Francisco and LA. Friends and family were great and Nuffy (“Peach” according to Uncle Jim) was the best road trip partner I have ever had. We closed out the trip with a night in Las Vegas including a Penn & Teller show. Totally killer time!

I would love to write reams of detail on the past two weeks, but here I sit in Cape Town, South Africa with a ton of new stories to tell. So, onto the latest chapter.

On October 10th, I left Albuquerque for a full day of sitting on planes. It promised to be quite a long day of travel, but the first leg of my travel went real smooth to Washington Dulles. Something very odd comes over me on a plane. I completely dig everything presented to me (with the exception of the seats). I eat every crumb of the in-flight meal, cry at the stupidest movies (in this case Evan Almighty) and cherish every trip to the little bathroom.

I am not sure why this is. I can be a picky little snot about food, entertainment and toilets, but for some reason that all melts away. I am serious about the movie thing. Action movies are more thrilling, comedies produce belly laughs and I cry to every romantic comedy. I have literally cried a half dozen in planes at movies I wouldn’t even rent. I have even been caught a couple of times and had to lie and say I had allergies.

Ah well, now that that’s off my chest. I finally got down to Cape Town in a semi zombie like state and my friend Greg greeted me with the standard “Howzit” greeting and escorted me off to the bukie (pickup truck) to drive me to their house. Magdel and Greg are close friends that used to live in Albuquerque. I met Magdel through work and we have been good friends since. About a year and a half ago, they quit their jobs in Albuquerque and went traveling through Asia and Australia for a year or so rock climbing. They are both lean and energetic types with endless fuel in the tank for adventure and laughs. They have been wonderful hosts.

When I got to their place, Magdel had a bottle of wine open and some lasagna in the oven. I didn’t think I was hungry, but I ended up having 3 rounds of food. I was really out of it and since I hadn’t seen them for so long, I wanted to talk about life and times, but words were not easy. Odd for me. I went off to bed and slept like a rock.

The next morning Magdel drove me to the Green Market area of downtown. Both her and Greg are now working, Magdel as a Chemical Engineer at Chevron and Greg as a Geosomethinorother Engineer at a large construction company. Magdel had a meeting in the Green Market area and so it was convenient to drop me off to explore.
I was still in zombie mode from the travels, so I wandered around in a confused state taking in the sights. I basically started my process of understanding the place. Cape Town, as we all know, has a recent history of conflict in race and culture. There are 4 main ethic groups here, English, Afrikaans, Coloured and Black. The Afrikaans are the Dutch dissent people who fought for control of South Africa against the English for many years. They have their own language, which Magdel spoke growing up here. The Coloureds are a lighter skinned people who are a mix of Asian and African decent. The Blacks are the indigenous people of the area, as we would say.

I will not attempt too much insight on race relations here since I am deeply under qualified. I will say though, that it is different. That thought kept coming into my head as Magdel and Greg explained the country to me. I tried to impose my US liberal white WASP guilt onto the society here and it just doesn’t compute. There is clearly a class struggle taking place, with DEEP feelings on all sides, but there is no direct comparison to the US. Maybe at the end of the trip I can put some thoughts together, but for now, let’s just leave it at “different”.

After my expiration of downtown, I hung out at their house for a while. Taking a nap or two. Then we set off for the wine country after work. It was a Friday and we were off to Stellenbosch for the weekend. Stellenbosch reminds me of Napa Valley and it is the home of the University that Magdel attended. She has some friends from school that live up there and they own a Guest House.

After checking in, we went out for to a gourmet pizza place and met up with some more of her friends. I got a pizza with anchovies and wild mushrooms that really hit the spot. After that feast, I took my first real deep sleep.

Waking up, I flipped on the TV in the room to check out what the programming was like, and let me say, it is just the worst TV. This was a nice hotel with “Satellite TV” in the rooms, and there were just 3 channels. I found it interesting that there seemed to be a Black station, Coloured station and White station. So, the TV falls into my first good/bad declaration of things South Africa. I declare TV is bad!, but hey, what the heck am I doing watching TV anyway.

When we all got sorted (one of my fav new SA words), we set off to The Strand, which is a beach town where Magdel parents live. We needed to drop off the doggies for the balance of the weekend. The Badenhorscht’s are in there 80’s and still living with a bunch of vitality. Dad was mowing the lawn when we arrived and he didn’t come talk until the job was done.

Mom was inside cooking us my first “Farmer’s Breakfast”, which contained my first exposure to Boerewors (farmer’s sausage), which is an icon of the Afrikaans people. You can’t go too far in Cape Town without being exposed to the Boerewors. Mom was delighted to pile our plates with food and asked me questions about the US’s perceptions of South Africa. In her sweet little voice she asked me if she thought there would be Elephants in her back yard.

After breakfast, we set out for wine tasting. I declare Wine is good! There are just TON’s of “Wine Farms” in all areas of Cape Town that make outstanding wines of all varieties. They are “Beating the French at their own game” with Bordeaux wines, which turned out to be my favorite. The other part of all of this is the affordability of wine. There was a big feather ruffling about 5 years ago where a vineyard started selling bottles of wine above the R100 barrier (R6.5 to $1). Now, the Wine Farms seem to straddle the R100 mark, but I tasted a bunch of blends in the R40-R50 range that were pretty darn good.

We went to about 6 places, where they make generous portions for tasting. Greg was dumping the balance of his tastes in the jug on the bar, until I let him know in no uncertain terms, to not waste the wine and I would give it a good home. After the third Wine Farm though, but clean up activities were leading to a mighty buzz and I backed out of our new policy, but I did keep draining mine to the bottom (as to not insult).

These wine farms were all beautiful, with old farm houses and thatched roof buildings. At the last place we met up with more of Magdel’s friends, where we had a snack of cheese plates to soak up some of the wine. Magdel was the DD for the event, and after the meetup, we were on our way back to the guest house for a much needed nap.

We went out for a nice dinner that evening at a big table of friends and the talk was around the semifinals of the World Cup Rugby, which was down to France, England, Argentina and South Africa. The Sprinkboks (SA nickname) are an international powerhouse in Rugby and they were all looking past Argentina for who they would play in the final. England beat France (host city) and that made for a good rivalry in the finals, if SA won the next night of course.

On Sunday we all mounted up on mountain bikes for a ride overlooking Stellenbosch from the neighboring mountains. I was told that there was a bike for me to borrow, and sure enough they were able to find a big bike for me. It was an “American Classic” Diamondback CroMo tank from the early 90’s. The gears worked and the brake pads were not rubbing on the rims, so it was a worthy steed.

We set out for a couple of hours of riding that was a real treat. I had a little bit of a hard time keeping up with everyone since I was on a heavy old bike (my excuse and I am sticking to it!), but everyone was patient and pleasant. I think the bike got me some macho points, especially through the single track, where the fully rigid machine was quite a handful. After the ride, we all went over the Greta and Org’s (Inn Owner/Friend) for brunch. A super nice time.

It was back to town after that, with another nap before the big Rugby match of the Puma’s (Argentina) vs. Sprinkboks (SA). We were invite over to Jannis (Johnny’s) for a Poikey and an audience for the game on his 55” flat screen TV. Poikey is a diminutive for Pot (Poika) in Afrikaans. It is a stew cooked over an open flame, like a traditional campfire. Both the game (36-6) and the Poikey (Poikey is Good!)were big victories for the Afrikaaners. A big day for sure and I was able to see to much that day.

Monday, I went for my first round of golf at a local course called Mowbray. I got paired up with 2 Cape Towners and a Korean student at a local Golf University. Like schools in the US such as Ferris State, they have college programs here that are focused on running golf clubs. The group was a good match for each other, with T.S. (Korean dude) leading the charge with shooting a 76. I came in at 84, which I was very happy with.

Golf is good! There are tons of courses here and behind Rugby and maybe soccer, golf is a national passion. Ernie Els and Retief Goosen are national heroes. The courses are affordable and very well ran. They have this weird thing of splitting the round 8-10 with a stop at a restaurant after the 8th hole where most people sit down at a table for a snack. The other new think for me is playing to meters instead of yards. That took a little adjustment, especially with the huge winds that day. Wind is Bad!

After golf, there was another nap and then dinner at a pan-asian restaurant. Quite Good. On Tuesday, I milled around the house, read my book and cooked up an Indian Byriani dinner from a kit at the store. They live 2 blocks from a shopping area and I found this kit on the shelf and took joy in putting it together. I got stumped on some of the ingredients, but seeked out the help of Indian ladies in the grocery store for guidance. In Durban, there is a very large Indian population, and some of that populations has spread to Cape Town. That, and the fact that M&G live in an English area of town, lends to having good Indian food and references in the Pick and Pay.

The Byriani turned out good. You basically parboil lentils, potates, rice and marinate some meat (chicken this time) and layer them all in a pot and it simmers for a couple of hours to cook through. That was the even of Tuesday. Then on Wednesday Magdel dropped me off at Waterfront to explore.

The Waterfront here is a lot like Navy Pier in Chicago with tons of shops, restaurants and attractions. I had a great Sashimi lunch with Agadashi Tofu and a glass of wine, all for about $25. Then I strolled, drank espressos and read my book. Another groovy day.

Yesterday, I played another round of golf at Rondebosh, which is a little nicer than Mowbray and I talked myself into a affiliated guest discount J. I am a good little Neute-Kakker as they say here of the Dutch. After the war, many bombed out and poor Dutch took to a diet of eating only nuts (Naute) off the tree’s (I will leave the Kakker translation up to you). Later, many found it later a good way to save money on food, even though they had the means.

The Rondebosch round came in at an 88, which also was pretty good, since the wind was fierce. It was easily a 3 club wind at times and the putting was even effected buy the wind. My playing partner was an English fellow on Holiday taken as a preliminary arrangement with Occidental (Chem Company) before having an 8 month assignment in Dubai. He said they are paying him 4X his annual salary to do the inspections for a new refinery there. There sure is some crazy stuff going on in Dubai.

Last night we went to a great little fish restaurant in that same local shopping center and today is all in preparation for our big adventure! We are heading to Addo Park on the Eastern Cape for a 5 night adventure. This is where I am going to see Baboons, Elephants and all! Whoohoo! We are staying with some friends in the beginning and end of the trip, but the heart of it will be staying in bungalows in the park. Cool!

Well. I have to pack now. Quite the long catch up blog here, so thanks for hanging on this far. Until next post……

DMW

Thursdays with Harry

The new Mitch Albom book? Well, not actually, but what a great day!

I did my best to apply sunscreen on my back during the snorkeling trip the previous day, but my "Give yourself a big hug." method still left many spots uncovered. My back was cooked and it was super hot when I got up on Thursday.

The Caye routine in the morning seems to be one of little activity accept for the locals setting up their businesses. Since most folks are working on their homebrew cup of Joe, it takes a little searching to find a coffee in the morning. Especially at 6:30, when my back had finally woken me up for good. I found some coffee at The Happy Lobster and preceded to walk the main strip. Coming upon one of the blue shack of EZ Boy tours I saw Harry milling about.

I had talked to him before about going fishing and the deal was that for about 200usd he would take out a boat with up to 4 people. I set out to market the idea to people I ran in to, but there were no takers. I am not sure why, but people were either into diving, or they were vegans. Harry and I chewed the fat for a while and eventually came up with the plan to go for 100usd after the morning snorkeling trip came back. We would use the left over gas and head out for 4 hours or so. The plan was to meet at 1:30.
After a morning of book reading and general chill time I showed up for the fishing trip. I hung out with Bunny while Harry got everything organized for fishing. Bunny runs the office of EZ Boy. I asked her how she got the name Bunny and she told me that she was born with 2 front teeth and her Dad used to call her his little bunny. It just stuck from there.

Harry and I loaded up and we set off for the reef area outside of the protected park. He had bought a bunch of hooks and sardines for bait and then picked me up a fishing pole.

I have to tell you a little more about Harry. Growing up in these Cayes, was a pretty impressive physical specimen. His body was packed with muscle, his hands were strong and calloused. He was a hyperactive guy with an accent that was difficult to understand from time to time, but I felt welcomed by him.

During the morning, the news got back to the Caye that one of the residents was killed in a car accident along with her 2 children. She was a single Mom. Bunny and Harry were talking about it in Creole back at the shack as I was waiting to go, but I didn't know what they were talking about. I knew they were discussing something intense, but I thought to mind my own business.

On the ride out to the fishing spot Harry started telling me about it and I was struggling to understand through the accent and context of what we were doing. Anyway, we finally got to the first fishing spot and Harry dropped anchor.

He pulled out the fishing pole and stared tying knots with hands that flew around like birds. In no time I was sitting there with a piece of sardine on a hook and Harry was pointing at a light spot in the water where I was to cast it. I opened the bail and let the line go and following his instructions, let it drift to the bottom. Reeling it in slowly I was soon caught on a rock. Harry grabbed the line, snapped it free and then pulled it back to the boat. With another flurry of his hands the line was given another hook and baited again. I cast it out, snagged it on a rock, and the cycle repeated itself again. On the third round I finally got the hang of it.

I had not caught a fish yet, but at least I was fishing. Harry then took a spool of line, tied on a hook and baited it. From there, he simply whipped it in circles with his hand and threw it out into the water. He threw it about twice as far as I could cast it and with far greater accuracy. As soon as his line hit the water he let out a little cheer and pulling the line in hand over hand we had our first fish! He loaded up the hook again and hucked it out there and got another one. He caught 6 fish in about 5 minutes, even swatting one out of the air into the cooler after it fell the hook coming into the boat. He had clearly done this before :)

After Harry's first half dozen fish, I finally got one. They were these yellow tail snapper fish that just glowed in the sun. It was a blast. On my third fish, I set my hook and instantly I knew something was different. The line started to sing and my whole body lurched toward the water. I screamed out a "Oh Shit!" and Harry laughed and echoed my words with a big smile. There was only about 60 feet of line, so the fight didn't take too long, but it was a bit of a battle as it lasted.

When the fish got in sight of the boat, Harry noticed it was a barracuda and he didn't have a gaff. Barracuda have sharp teeth and will bite you if you try to take them out of the water like a normal fish. He told me to keep tension on the line and give him a sec. I looked over and he was taking a broken piece of fishing pole and tying a large fish hook onto the end of it by wrapping (caning I think would be the technical term) it with fishing line. It was pretty impressive on the fly MacGyver type stuff.

He leaned over the edge of the boat and gaffed the fish! Soon I had the camera out and we were taking pictures. Later, Harry explained to me that it was rare for me to catch a barracuda without using a steel leader. Normally, if one takes your bait, their teeth will slice through the nylon fishing line. So it was a pretty good catch!

We moved onto some other spots, but as the tide shifted (Harry's observations) the fish stopped feeding. We parked out on one of the Coral Gardens and then we set out with snorkels for some lobster. Harry tool the gaff and I watched mostly from the surface as he looked in the nooks and crannies of the reef for lobsters. He finally reached into one hole and yanked one out. Back at the surface he held it up and said told me "This will go just right with your fish dinner!"

Back on the shore Harry cleaned everything up and handed over to the BBQ place next door for my dinner. After a good shower and another walk of the island I sat down for my fish feast. I had one of the snappers, 2 'cuda steaks and the whole lobster. After dinner I met up with some of my snorkel trip buddies for drinks and we waited for midnight.

At midnight they ring in Belize Independence Day with Fireworks and everyone from the island comes down to the beach. It was a pretty big show and I was so close that the crumbs kept falling in my beer. What a Day!!!

DMW

I guess I will go to Caye Caulker

With the decision to be made for my next destination, I went with the family to Xocomil. This big water park that was a 2 hour drive from the city. Victor's 2 brothers Eric and Jaime joined us along with his Mom (Sandra). We piled into 2 cars at 6:00am and set out for our day.

About half way there we stopped at a agriculture checkpoint, and I really needed to wiz, so I hopped out and found my way to the bathroom with the help of one of the agents working there. He was sporting a big smile and seemed happy to practice his English with me. It is a challenge to blend in when you are 6'5" with blond hair in Guatemala, so you get lots of attention. Petty crime also seems like a bad decision. Who would they get to stand in a lineup with me?

Anywho, I was walking back to the car and the same friendly guy pointed to where everyone was and said "Your friends are over there.". I responded with "Mis amigos, no, son mi familia!" (cause I was enjoying speaking Spanish). He looked surprised, but then he saw Sue holding Luna and it all clicked. My Guate Peeps.

The water park was a blast. Jaime, Eric and I did all the big kid slides and some were quite thrilling. Being at the tail of the distribution for the clientele I was concerned that the rides might be calibrated without regard for the Dutch Stallion, but I just seemed to get stuck more than other people, as opposed to flying off anything. In the afternoon I convinced Sue to go on my favorite slide with me. We both piled onto this double inner tube thing and slid down through some twists and turns, then, you go down a steep ramp that sends you back up a 1/4 pipe on the other side. You get pretty high on it, then fall backwards and slide into a pool. It really gives you a rush. It was a fun trip for all. Even Sandra went on the rides!

All along I was still chewing on the decision of where to go. In order to pull off the Cuba thing I would need to get so much set up and rush to the airport early. The other option was Costa Rica, but the flights weren't that cheap and I read through the guidebook and the activities that were appealing to me seemed like a lot of work to get to. I decided to travel with Rebecca (Sue's friend) up to Flores.

Flores is a small island town that is best know as a base for exploring Tikal. I was thinking of crashing at a hostel there, then heading south through the Peten to explore and make my way eventually to Rio Dulce. Rebecca splits her time in Flores and Guate, so she rents part of a house in Santa Elena, which is the town connected to Flores by a bridge. Rebecca offered up her extra bedroom and I accepted. I explored Flores for the afternoon and the she picked me up at 5:30. I took a much needed shower and we went out to dinner on a deck built out on the water. We talked about all kinds of stuff, but she told me about Caye Caulker.

She pretty much sold me on the place and we stopped at the bus station on the way home to secure my ticket. She also called her Taxi guy to pick me up early the next morning, which was super helpful. The next morning I was on the bus and on my way.

The bus ride was a good look at how most of Guatemala lives. The roads were falling apart or just plain dirt. I even saw 2 dead horses on the side of the road. I had my ipod to keep me company and listened to a great interview with Alan Alda about his new book about finding meaning in life. I think I am going to read it when I get home. The summary of it could be stated that the most meaning in life is found when you really listen to other people and live in the present.

We arrived in Belize City ahead of schedule, which was a surprise to me, since the bus had to navigate so many rough roads along the way and we needed to pass immigration. When I landed in Belize, I got on a water taxi for Caye Caulker (Key Caulker). I am actually typing this from the internet cafe called Cayeboard Connection, cute huh. I checked in to a really nice hotel here to spoil myself with a hot shower and AC.

I went out to explore the island and on the way back there was a basketball game starting up with some of the locals. The shouted out to me "Hey Luke Longley, come with us mon!" I thought about it for a sec and thought it sounded great. I told them that I needed to put on sneakers and the one guy said "Don't need them mon" and I looked down to see that half of them were barefoot. I still got my shoes. I waited for the first game to finish and then I was on the court! The game was definitely "Street Ball" with no fouls being called and many of the other finer rules not being called. I noticed that before entering the game, so I knew what I was in for.

I ran full court for three games! The locals were pretty good and I was especially impressed with the barefoot players. Their feet were smacking on the ground and that, combined with the court banter in Criole/Spanish/Garifuna/English (nearest I can tell) it was a spectacle. They played a zone defense and always took the ball out from the side, which made me think that there was a soccer influence at play. I didn't score too much, but did my best to play good D and grab rebounds. Scoring was a bit of a challenge since, well, I am more than twice their age, and, the hoops were at different heights and, well, they fouled my post up move everytime. Ok, no more excuses.

I was completely exhausted after the second game and pretty much moved like a zombie in the third. After that I was keen on a shower and a hammock. Which I smartly achieved at the hotel. After that, I set out for dinner. On the way I stopped off at a tour company that had an Adventure Trip planned for leaving the next day. It would be 3 days and 2 nights of snorkelling, fishing and camping. I put my name down and was told to show up the next morning at 8:00.

Unfortunately, that also got cancelled due to lack of people, but I signed up for the all day snorkelling trip. That turned out to be a BLAST. I saw Sharks, Tarpon, Turtles, all kinds of fish, and even the tail end of a Manatee! I free dove through a cave with the guide that was about 30 feet deep. It took me 3 tries to get down low enough, but I finally did it! After the third stop, we set sail back to Caye Caulker and started drinking. They made a Rum Punch with fruit juice that was "Weird Good" and by the time we reached the dock, the whole boat was schnocked.

I made some new friends on the trip and we all met up at Jolly Rogers World Famous BBQ for dinner. I was SOOOOOO hungry since all I had that day was a sandwitch on the boat. Then when we finally got everyone to sit down and placed orders and all, it took forever to get the food. All the ladies got their food first and I was the second to last dinner that was served. This place is basically a BBQ grill and 4 picnic tables on the beach. Roger is a native CC dude weighing in at about 400lbs. It had all the signs of being great food and when it finally came, it was rapture. He felt bad for making me wait so long, so I got 3 lobster tails, a snapper filet and coconut mashed potatoes (all for about $15). There was a convenience store across the road where you could by beers and bring them over. After dinner, which was about 10:30, I was done. It was off to bed for me.

Today I am going Fishing with one of the guides here. It is normally $200, but he is taking me out for $100 since it is so slow. I am hoping to catch my dinner! Tomorrow, I set off to a series of busses and boats to get back to Guate. It should be a full day of travel, but I think I can handle it as long as my sunburnt back cools off a little.

That's all from paradise for now.

I will add some picks when I get to a better computer.....

DMW

Livingston and the Antiboredom Mindset

After a nice weekend at Sue and Victor`s, it was time again to head out for another adventure. Before coming down here I had heard about Livingston Guatemala, which is the home of the Garifuna people. Those of you in Albuquerque might know of Laru Ni Hati, the hair salon. Well, Laru Ni Hati means clear blue sky in the Garifuna Language. On Tuesday morning I set out for the bus station and my First Class bus trip there.

Sue was kind enough to drive me and I got checked in easily. For about $10usd I was able to ride the luxury bus line for 6 hours to get to Puerto Barrios, which is the closest port city. Livingston is not an Island, but it is only accessible by boat. I made my way from the bus station to the Lanchas (taxi boats) quite easily. I am very very happy with the roller bag/backpack I bought before the trip. It works like a charm.

After a little lunch I got onto the Lancha to Livingston and it was about a 30 minute ride. Livingston sits on the estuary of the Caribbean and Rio Dulce. When the Lanchas arrive there is a mad dash of hustlers waiting for you. "Hey Big Mon. You from Colorado Mon?". If I forgot to mention before, the Garifuna are a West Indies like culture that is similar to Jamaica. Even though I had my plans for where to stay, it was a bit daunting, but nothing to horrible.

I was planning to stay at a certain hotel, but when I arrived they were full accept for double rooms that were about 150Q a night. That wasn`t too expensive really, but I thought I would search on. One of the hustlers, who had followed me to the hotel kept suggesting I check out Casa de la Iguana. So, I thought I would let "Anthony the Great" (his title) escort me there. When we arrived I was pretty taken with the place.

I was met by a hunky English dude named Daniel, who looked like one of the British Bulldogs (for those WWF fans out there). He was very welcoming and showed me around the place. They have a main communal area with hammocks, satellite TV and a bar. There are 2 Dorm like Hostel rooms and 3 private bungalows for sleeping. I chose to pay 120Q a night for a private room with connected bath. I was in the mood to pamper a little. The communal open air grass hut was fun. Since most travellers were staying in the dorms, there were people hanging around all the time.

I checked into my room and Daniel filled out the locations on a blank map for the points of interest in the town and described the tours that the coordinate for you. I really felt well taken care of, maybe just because the owner and workers were all from the UK and the accents lend themselves to congeniality. They run a tab system for breakfast, Dinner and Drinks, which is darn convenient. Happy hour was from 5-7, where "The Tele" is turned off and the drinks are about 1/3 less. Granted, this was not an "Authentic Garifuna" experience, but it sure was fun, if not a little too Frat House like.

The workers and tenants were all basically college age and I was having flash backs to keggers with the OKE boys back at Hope. It is a chapter in my history that I don`t talk about too much these days, but it fun to relive those feelings, if just for a couple of days. Lot`s of trash talking over games of dominoes, questioning of sexuality, and of course, tons of beer.


As much as I tried to sit in the hammock all day and watch Euro soccer qualifiers, I did want to get out and explore. I signed up for the Jungle Tour two days in a row, which is a day long cutural outing to learn about the Garifuna people, but it was cancelled both days due to low interest (only me). I also went out those two nights to see the Garifuna bands play in the bars, but, those were cancelled too. I was a little bummed about all that, but it was relaxing and fun to hang at the CdlI.

On the third day, I went on another tour which took me to the "7 Alters" waterfall park and Playa Blanca (both pictured). I went with a group of Israelis and Ed from the UK. I must say that it was a real blast. We set out at 9:30 and the CdlI folks packed us sandwiches and drinks. The short hike up the 7 water falls was fun and jumping off the last waterfall (behind me in the photo), was a blast. I really like watering holes for swimming.

We left Siete Alteras for Playa Blanca after an hour or so.
When we got to Playa Blanca were given 3 hours to chill on the beach. I crawled off under a palm tree for my lunch and a beer. Then I found a hammock and read my book for an hour or so.

After that, I joined the younin's under another palm tree. We went swimming and laid on the beach and had a nice time. I learned a couple of new things about Israel, such as the poorly translated saying "He/She is eating a movie", which is used to describe when someone is paranoid.

We returned to the hostel for all you can eat taco night and had one more night of fun before I set out back to Guate.

In the morning, I got everything paid up and set out for the Lancha back to Puerto Barrios. When I got half way to the dock, I realized that I left my passport back in the lock box at the hostel. I had 5 minutes to get to the dock with about a 10 minute walk from the hostel to the dock. I ran pack to get the passport, then ran to the dock, only to meet the Lancha with the motor running. I made it in the nick of time.

After the Lancha I caught the bus back to Guate and this is where the Antiboredom comes in. I am normally pretty goal driven and like my routines. When plans are executed well and logistics are efficient I tend to get happy and relaxed. On this trip, and I am not sure when, but all that melted away. I am not sure what time it is right now and I have to think about it a little to know what day of the week it is. I would need to count back to when I arrived here to give you an accurate date. On the bus ride back to Guate, there was this enormous traffic jam. We waited for close to 2 hours with virtually no movement. I can tell you with all honesty, that it didn't bother me in the least.

I have been putting myself into daydream states that last for hours on end. It is like the feeling when you are with a group of people and you zone out and someone needs to bring you back. Normally the guilt for ignoring people in that situation slightly overcomes the joy of not being there mentally, but in this case, there is nobody or thing or event to stop me. I can just sit and think.

Normally in life I am waging a constant battle of boredom. When I am with family/friends, playing a sport, watching a good movie, etc, I am not bored. Then there are other times when I am not interested in my work, flipping the channels, sitting in an airport, I am then bored and I do something to alleviate it. I have gotten rather good at it with all the information toys in my life, both mobile and stationary. I have great people in my life spend time with. Crap, I even have a pool table, but something different is happening during this trip. I have really let go and dialed down to a new frequency in my head and it is really different.

I do still have some realities of the world to deal with however, such as my making it to bus stations, boat docks and airports on time, but I have good long periods to prepare. Today, I am trying to think about how to handle my personal little Bay of Pigs situation with the Cuba trip. The issues is that I can't pay for my flight online with my credit card due to the whole embargo thang. I can pay with cash for everything, but there is a daily limit to the amount I can withdrawal per day and with the expenses in Cuba, plus the airfare, I might not have enough cash. When I get to Cuba, there are no ATM's and you can't use credit card anywhere, so I need the cash going in. Ah, the joy of whimsical travel to Cuba.

My plan is to work Sue and My back accounts for the max withdrawals to build up the funds and then, when I get to the airport, there is a chance that I can pay at the ticket counter with my Visa. If that doesn't work, then I think I am going to go to Costa Rica or Honduras to get my Carribean experience. Those are cheaper and shorter flights, so it may leave me with some money to go Sailfishing or something else exotic like a canopy tour. Either way, it should be a blast with more daydreaming, book reading and meeting new people.

I will post again next week from where ever. Cheers.

From Spanish School to the President of Guatemala

After Thursday`s post, there was one last night to take in with the Antigua gang. My head at this point had truely turned to mush and one more night of acting half my age couldn`t make it any worse. After another big dinner at Olga`s and a nap, I was ready for another "ladies night". They seem to be the marketing hit in Antigua with 2 hours of drinks for 3 Quetzales each (7.75Q=1USD). The cheap drinks gets the girls in, and the allure of drunken women brings the boys.

Being the elder statesman of the group, the final night was one last chance for everyone to play "Guess how old Eddie is", which has become a popular past time with Vala and Happy. Since most people come in about 10 years younger than 37, I must admit I like the game a little as well. I think we can toss up 3 years to context and another 3 to politeness, but that leaves me with a solid 4 year advantage over the Class of `88.

Even though the "Cloud of Gringo" looms deep in Antigua, you really meet some interesting people from all over the world (with the exception of Guatemalan`s that is). On the walk from La Sala to Reilleys, we adopted Adam into the group. He is a real live geniuine internationally practicing Beat Box musician. For all of my readers over the age of, well, 37, Beat Box is when you make precussive sounds in your mouth and combine them with singing-like sounds. Bobby McFarren would be the Beat Box that you may have caught on NPR or something. Well, Adam was amazing. Truely jaw dropping stuff. As we walked past the town center he showed me how he adds layers of sound up to 5 distinct tracks. That and he starts his performances with an imitiation of the General Lee`s (Dukes of Hazzard) horn that is spot on.

Well, it goes without saying that we closed Reilleys and then went to the after party until 3:30 or so. I decided to show some sense of control and switch to drinking mostly water, but the youngins pressed on. Ziggy (pictured above in school thje following day) didn`t make it past the first break. Vala required some additinal nursing from her teacher with some regional hang over remedies and Happy just showed up an hour late or so. I was the apple of Silvia`s eye for working so hard that day and not needing extra attention. I must say though that my comprehension of the Por/Para excercise was not at it`s best.

I broke for lunch, got my stuff packed up at Olga`s and returned to school for my final 2 hour session. We mostly chatted. She is now fully versed on such topics as; New Mexico Chile; Why Fab11 was shut down; Why anyone would like golf; Holland Mighigan and The Tulip Festival; All things Moses; Ex Wives & Girlfriend; NYC Bagels & Pizza Superiority and the "Water Hypothesis"; and many many more. I would highly recommend her and the school for learning Spanish.


Back in Guatemala City....

After school I took a 7:00 shuttle to Guate and hung out at La Casa de mi Hermana until sleep took over. The next day was another pleasant, but busy day. I got up a little late (remnants of the night before) and made a tortilla run down the street to get everyone`s breakfast going. The tortillas and fresh egg combo with a little black beans thrown in makes for a tasty little start of the day.

From there, we semi-rushed over to the travel agency to look into a flight to Havana. I am thinking of a spur of the moment run to hang with Elian and his buddies and ask if they can tell how old I am (jk). The flights are usually pretty cheap and I have always wanted to go. I am still trying to figure it all out, but the flights were more expensive than I thought, so I am thinking over how to spend these next few weeks. I have many wonderful options.

After the travel agency we went to a Piñata (birthday party). It was at a hostel with young traveller types from France and Spain, but the party was for Luis (hugging piñata below). We had a bunch of great food and then the kids preceeded to take down the piñata.

After the party we had mostly a chill time back at Sue`s place because the next day was going to be a long one. As you may recall from a previous post, I got trained as an international observer for election day in Guatemala. Victor needed to leave for work at 5 and I was leaving with Sue`s housemate/coworker Bridget at 7, so we watched a movie and turned in early.

The DVD burner has been a noticeable change to Guatemala since my last trip. The Movie rental place burned all there movies from online copies (illegal of course, but so is genocide) and they are also able to burn you a copy of any of their movies to keep. Kids in teh street sell major US movies that have yet to be released along with the classics, such as Glitter and Dude Where`s my Car.

We met up with the other International Observers and set of for San Pedro Sacatepéquez (pronounced as a Jersey accent modification of "Sack of Potatoes" i.e. ^Me and Vinny Sacapatadis are goin down to the bowlin alley") at 7. Other than Bridget and me, there were 2 EEUU guys from Boston and Tucson and a third from France. We all piles onto/into Paco`s truck and drove up these steep windy roads to get to the city.

Once in the city we were stationed at one of the voting centers and observed the process. We spent a bunch of time checking that all of the polling groups were working to the rules, but the whole operation was very impressive. There is little automation in the process, so it is highly manual. Each Mesa (polling table), has about 5 people working for 11 hours straight handing out the paper ballots and checking credentials. I wonder if some of the voter apathy in the US is based on how easy it is to vote, kind of a Freakenomics type deal where the harder it is to do, the higher it is valued. Anyway.

Election day was not only a test of the candidates, but also a test of my digestive system. I had a hamburger for breakfast, Street Taco`s and Campero Fried Chicken for lunch and More Tacos, Papusas and Hotdogs for dinner. Later in the evening I had Guatemala`s version of Doritos and some Marshmellow for a snack. I was in SPS until about 11pm waiting for the counting to be completed. On the ride home I had the pleasure of riding in the back of the pickup (which I deserved for riding in the cabin on the way up), but I was able to break out the Bose Headphones and listen to NPR podcasts on the way home. I was pretty comfortable with the exceptions of the speed bumps. Man, they sure have some EXTREME speed bumps here and they don`t waste any money on painting them. Luckily Paco was driving because there would have been major damage if I was.

Today is a bit of a rest day and tomorrow I head out for Livingston probably. If I can get on a sailboat wednesday and still get back here by Sunday night, I will probably spend 3 days in Cuba staying at a Casa Particular, which is basically a very nice host family. I am learning about travel to Cuba, but I will not waste anymore time on it since I would rather tell you extemporaneously in a future Blog.

Until Next Time.....

Update.... The decision has been made. I am going to Cuba!!!! Anyone that wants to meet me there, the first round of mojitos are ON ME!!!!!!!

Fun Facts about Iceland y más

Ok, other than using Vista for the fist time, I am also learning all about Iceland. As fate would have it there are 2 other students staying at Olga´s who are both 20 years old and both from Iceland. They didn´t meet until they arrived at Olga´s. There are 300,000 people in Iceland (first fun fact), so I suppose there are plenty of Icelanders out there, but it is a bit of an odd coinkydink.

Þorramatur (don´t bother trying to pronounce anything in Icelandic, even in your own head. It is simply a waist of time) are the traditional foods of Iceland and they are eaten during Nordic month, which is the main holiday. They eat rotten shark, ram testicles, a whipped cream like blood pudding and dried fish. Needless to say, the food at Olga´s is well received. But seriously, these foods are eaten in celebration of the survival of their ancestors. The settlers of Iceland faced great famine and developed many methods of preserving (rotten shark) and conserving (ram nuts) food.


World War II was a pretty sweet deal for Iceland. First the English occupied the country and then the Americans took over and built/paid for most of Iceland's infrastructure. It is expensive to travel to and live in Iceland. My 3 new Icelandic friends (Ziggy, Vala and Happy) explain to me that you can buy 6 mojito´s in Antigua for the cost of one in Reykjavík. When you are working out exchange rates with 3 types of currency, it is best to choose a beverage reference point.



Crime in Iceland is virtually nonexistent. Since the USA paid for much if Iceland´s infrastructure, the citizens are all pretty wealthy. The only real crime happens in relation to drug trafficking and abuse. The penalties for drug the most severe of all crime. In fact, the maximum sentence for murder in Iceland is 15 years and you need to kill about 1/3 of the population to get that sentence. Most sentences for murder are 3-5 years, so, if you really need to kill someone, take them on vacation to Reykjavík. Maybe for some ram nuts?


So, other than learning about Vista and Iceland I have been studying Spanish 6 hours a day. My brain turns to mush at about hour 5. My Maestra (Teacher) is named Silvia. She is truly fantastic. She is fun to talk to and laughs at my jokes and makes some pretty funny ones herself. She is also an energetic instructor who doesn´t let me get away with anything. I have homework some days and she grades it with her red pen. I have not had people mark up my writing with a red pen for many many many years. It is a strangely fun process. But seriously, 6 hours of Spanish drill a day is hard work. My mouth gets tired saying all the pronunciations and sometimes I just freeze and can´t think of the simplest words. It is very rewarding and I am having a great time learning. Silvia is kind enough to let me drink a couple of beers in the afternoon sessions to keep the tongue moving. Which works great, accept it doesn´t help me learn grammar.

Yesterday, after school, I took a taxi back to Guatemala City in order to take a training session needed to register as an International Observer for the elections that are being held on Sunday. I am going to San Pedro Sacatepéquez with a group of Sue´s friends to observe the elections in an official capacity on Sunday. It should be quite an adventure. This morning, Sue drove me back to Antigua and here I sit at the Funky Monkey.

The food and accommodations at Olga´s continue to impress. My room is comfortable and clean and we get three square meals a day. Lunch is usually the best, with meat and a soup to start. Breakfast has also been good with omelets and black beans. There is one small problem though. There is a leather tanning facility next door and the smell is unbelievably bad. It is so bad, that you question yourself when it first hits you nose as to whether it could really be that bad, and then you realize that it indeed is that bad. Fortunately, you can only smell it on the street as you pass by, and by some miraculous phenomena, you can´t smell it in Olga´s house.

After my time in Antigua is over, I am off to Livingston for a sailing trip. I am learning new skills in not planning so much, but aparantly, the best way to go is to get to a B&B in Livingston and then ask the purveors to use the ship to shore radios to get you onto a boat. If I need to spend a couple of extra days in the carribian paradise waiting for a good sail to Belize, that will have to do. I hear that in Belize, there are fisherman that drive up to the boats with fresh lobsters and fish for you to cook for dinner. That should be tasty. I have this image of myself sitting in a hammock, drinking beer, watching the sunset and eating lobster. It should be ver nice.

here is the link to all of my photos.

Until next post.....

The Journey Begins

After many sweet and supportive send offs from The Land of Enchantment I was finally ready (minus everything I forgot to pack) to head our on my sabbatical adventure. After putting in considerable thought, I chose to not take my laptop or any other toys on this trip. Well, with the exception of my iPod and headphones, which I have justified to myself as core necessities. And I also have my camera, and, well my cell phone so I can call people when I get back. But really that is it. No Laptop! I can feast of my laptop for countless hours of webcasting, IM´s and DVD collections galore, but this is a trip to try a new perspective. I am currently sitting in the ¨Funky Monkey¨ internet cafe. By the way, this is my first Vista experience. Odd.

Jen was kind enough to drive me to the airport and join me for one last Silver Coin before leaving. Flying to LA was pretty uneventful, but getting on the plane from LAX to Guatemala City was an interesting one. There appeared to be an ocean of confused elderly Guatemalan folk milling around. There was so much mass confusion at checkin that I went off to browse the magazine shop and when I got back the gate was empty. I guess I got distracted. Anywho, when I get on the plane I was seated next to a very large woman. She was unable to fit between the arm rests and had already chosen my seat as extra room. When I sat down she clearly felt uncomfortable, both physically and emotionally, but she (we) had no other option. The plane was completely full.

When we got airborne I walked up to the front of the plane to ask if there were any extra seats. I even offered up the possibility of taking a First Class seat just to make my travel companion more comfortable. The charm of the Dutch Stallion was really on it´s game if I do say so myself and in no time I was sitting in First Class drinking a scotch on the rocks. The man sitting next to me. one of the members of the octogenarian never flown before crowd, was very sweet. He kept refusing all the offers of food and drink. Since the flight attendant didn´t speak any English I decided to tell him that it was all free. His eyes lit up and asked me to order a beer for him. He even got a whiskey after dinner. He was beaming with joy and confusion at his circumstance. I got the feeling that when he got home, nobody would believe what happened to him.

I was able to catch a good little nap on the plane and arrived in GUA at about 4:30am. My sister and nephew were there to greet me. We plopped into her car and made it to her house with no traffic. Guatemala City is one chaotic place to drive. From the potholes, to the non-integer based lane structure, I am glad to have a driver. We got to her house, made coffee and waited for people to wake up. From there, the family got ready and we headed out to the Mercado. The central market in GC sells all kinds of fresh foods and flowers. We started with a stop at a taco stand for chincharone and chile rellenos tacos. Then threw down some tostadas and washed it all away with Gallos. Gallos are the most popular beer in Guatemala. It is a Lager style. We then got the fixin´s for a Churrasco (BBQ).

I crashed for a nap when I returned back at Sue´s house and woke up disoriented. I helped out prepare for the BBQ and got a good lesson in Guate-ness. I think I asked multiple times when everyone was showing up to the Churrasco and was met with a pause, and then the response of ¨they will get here when they are ready¨. Not a rude thing mind you, but just a distinction from the fixed and regulated norms of gringo socialization habits. People that arrive early help prepare, or entertain the cooks. Those that come late get to eat partially cool food, but have no guilt at cleaning out the serving or their last morsels. Two nice options in my book. The BBQ was attended by the POR group of interesting human rights workers, musicians and family members. Everyone is very sweet and patient with my crappy Spanish skills.

After the heavy intake of meat, beer and tortillas, I was ready for a nap. As soon as Akil was excused to go watch cartoons, I joined him. I got another hour or so of sleep and woke to the sound of a backfiring car. You don´t get a chance to hear backfires from cars anymore in the US. I can´t say it is enjoyable, but it is part of the charm. From there we went to see Sue and Vico´s land that they are building a house on. It is on the edge of a beautiful valley. The view is very dramatic. They should have a really nice place there one day.

We then set off for Antigua, where my language school is. Arriving in 30 minutes or so, we checked in and then had some time to kill before my host family came to pick me up. We went out to a Mediterranean place that was just amazing. We sat in the room with all the Hooka´s and ordered Michelada´s and mint lemonades. We even mustered up more hunger for Hummus, Salad and Kabobs. The food was outstanding and the drinks were great. After returning to the school, I was picked up by Olga (my host Mom) and Sue\Vico were off to GC.

Olga is about half as tall as I am and she hosts Spanish students all the time. It is about a 10 minute walk to her house that was made a little hard since my rolling bag and the cobble stone antient streets of Antigua didn´t get along with each other. I could have gone to ¨backpack mode¨with my fancy new Eagle Creek bag, but I never new how much further it was and I was afraid to ask for appearing to complain. We got to her house and I was beat. I took a shower and tried to read my book, but fell asleep instantly.

Today, I awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for my first day of Spanish School. Breakfast was pancakes and fruit. I get 5 days of lodging and 3 meals a day in this program. With 6 hours of 1:1 Spanish training, the cost is $160 for everything. The accomodations are not the Ritz, but it is clean and comfortable and with 3 squares a day, it is pretty sweet for the Dutchman.

Spanish School 1:1 is hard work, but rewarding. There is a framework of grammer, but I mostly go off on tangents in spanish and talk my teacher´s ears off. Being the ADHD random story telling addict works great. I don´t need to justify WHY I am moving from one topic to another unrelated topic, she is just glad I am talking. I guess they get people of few words in this school sometimes and it is a real cross to bear as an instructor. She says I know enough words to be fluent, it is just my grammar that is for crap, which I know. We are starting with grammar and skipping the noun stuff. That is a great thing about the 1:1 training. You can get tailered instruction. It is tiring though. I told her that I feel like a car with a tank of gas representing my ability to speak spanish. The tank gets pretty low from time to time and I just sit there agape, but she is patient and encouraging.

After my first half day I walked back to Olga´s for lunch, which was pretty darn good with chicken, rice, salad and soup. The cook Ireana, said she was glad to have a boy staying this week so she can cook some meat. All the ¨Spanish School Girls¨ are pretty vegetarian across the board. I came from lunch to the Funky Monkey and here I sit.

I am off to the bonus round this afternoon, so wish me luck in not completely running out of gas.