Posts Tagged ‘Guatemala’
Mule Tour
It was Sunday morning, Palm Sunday, and we awoke from an excellent night of sleep —if I disregard the one moment of waking before dawn in total disorientation about where I was.
It was a gorgeous looking day outside and we marveled over the minute-by-minute changes in cloud formations that appeared around the cone of the volcano visible from the balcony of our room at the Filadelphia Coffee Resort. The accommodations were exceptional. I was glad we had taken a swim in that pool the night before, because it was looking irresistible in the morning, but there was no time for it at that point.
The view out the door of our rooms looked over the coffee production facility, with drying beans spread in decorative patterns on the ground.
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Our plan was to pack up the car and check out of our rooms after breakfast, then walk to a mule tour of the coffee plantation. When Jose came out of his room, he persuaded me to join him in a little ping-pong until everyone else was ready to go. That was a good way to get the blood flowing. At breakfast, since I’m not a coffee drinker, I went for the next best thing: hot chocolate. It looked so good, I took a picture. It was good.
The mule tour turned out to be more horses than mules, because most of their mules were being given a day off after being worked too much. That was okay with me, especially as my horse was very cooperative. The horse that Dunia was on was a little more feisty and when it took to kicking to claim some space, Jose’s foot was in the way of the kick. Things settled down after that and we plodded along, taking in the sights of the short coffee bushes growing among the taller shade trees that protect them.
After 8 or 9 years, I think it was, they replace the plants with new ones, so they have a very extensive nursery of new starters ready to go. I tended to lose focus of details when the guide described the different flavors and bitter vs. sweetness of the coffee beans from different regions, since I’m not a coffee fan, but overall it was a fascinating and rewarding thing to see.
The “tour” was not very formal, and it seemed the best way to get information from our guide was to get close enough to ask questions. Toward the end, after learning some fascinating things about the business of growing coffee, I had a nice one-on-one visit with the guide as he inquired about details of our Wintervale Ranch and I learned of his broad ranging work experience and current plan to become a barista, maybe someday opening a coffee shop of his own.
I was a little wobbly when I got out of the saddle and landed on the ground again, but was no worse for the wear in the long run.
Visiting a coffee plantation was almost enough to entice me to want to start liking coffee, but only almost. I think I’ll stay with my preference for hot chocolate or chai.
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Poetic Interlude
Much as I am enjoying the chance to relive the days of our fabulous visit with the Morales family in Guatemala, the realities of my present day responsibilities are squeezing me right out of chances to write more at this time, so I am going to compose a few non-sentence poetic word lines that come to mind to compliment this abstract closeup image of a palm tree. It is a quicker exercise for me, because I can just make it up as I go along, don’t you know.
flying
from snow
to see friends
in Guatemala
excited
anticipation
is met
with smiles
and miles
and miles
of unbelievable things
more appropriately measured
in kilometers
but no matter
it’s all the same
with fun stacked upon fun
and every day more
beauty and wonder
intrinsically magical things
friends become family
making it hard when it comes
that point of departure
when hearts tend to break
the time for goodbyes
when we have to fly
back home
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We are missing you so much, Marco, Dunia, Marco, & Jose!
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To Antigua
On our third day in Guatemala City we woke up to instructions to pack for a road trip. It immediately reminded me of the old stand up routine of George Carlin’s about “Stuff.” We needed to pack a smaller version of things we brought with us for an overnight in Antigua and then a few days in Santiago Atitlán
Due to limitations of space in the vehicle, our larger luggage would be trucked directly to the beach house where we would eventually arrive. We packed a smaller version of our travel bags. That still turned out to be a lot of stuff, especially compared to the bag Jose packed. He put on shorts and a tank top shirt and told me “This is how you dress for Antigua!” The small duffel bag he carried looked like it didn’t even have anything else in it.
“You told us to pack light!” he said to his parents when they remarked about his almost empty bag.
We dealt with a moderate amount of traffic on the relatively short trip to Antigua, where Marco strategically chose parking in a hotel that wasn’t the one we would be staying at, for reasons of convenience. That decision led to an unlikely coincidence of Cyndie surprisingly coming upon a Minnesota friend and colleague on the sidewalk of the hotel. What are the odds of that?
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We walked and browsed the bustling streets of historic Antigua. It was a superb experience. Cyndie was an excellent shopper, finding many potential items that captured her fancy. We enjoyed a lunch outdoor at an Italian restaurant that served delicious wood-fired pizza. We splurged on tiramisu cake for dessert.
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In trying to navigate the winding narrow streets from our daytime parking spot, to the exclusive Filadelfia hotel at a coffee plantation nearby where we had reservations, we came to a few roads already closed in preparation for Palm Sunday events the following day. Of course, that spectacle happened to be our objective for tomorrow. Having been naively and blissfully oblivious to many of the details of our itinerary, it was at this point that I began to grasp the enormity of what lie ahead for us in Antigua. Seriously, I had totally missed that it was actually going to be Palm Sunday.
I will never be able to adequately convey my full appreciation for the excellent and inspired planning that Marco and Dunia did to give us the absolute BEST experience imaginable while we were with them. There just aren’t enough superlatives to do them justice.
When we arrived at the hotel we were floored by the greatness of everything. It is exquisite. Our rooms provided an amazing view of volcano Agua that is entirely captivating. We dipped in the pool for a swim after dark, soaked in the hot tub, and then went to dinner in the hotel/plantation restaurant.
It was another day that ended with us feeling as though the events were the equivalent of several days worth. Truly a magnificent experience for us.
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Trip Images
Here are some additional images that represent our journey thus far…
A view of the outside and inside of the front door to the Morales’ gorgeous home in Guatemala City.
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A view of the back of their house and the beautiful hanging blossoms over the deck.
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Their variety of dogs. The pack was never stationary long enough to get them all at once.
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And more from the stable, Dunia riding, and their horses. I loved the look of the two-story housing.
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.Fandango and Sarnac
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Twice Locked
After a fantastic full night of sleep, we enjoyed breakfast out on their deck. It was Friday and Marco needed to work, but that was no problem because we would be going with Dunia to the stable where they keep their horses. Dunia had scheduled someone to record video for promotion of her C’Ubuntu equine assisted learning workshops. We would be participating in real exercises with the horses to provide the videographer genuine scenes to capture.
Cyndie had been to this stable the day before, but for me it was a thrill to meet their horses and get to know the space where they ride and host workshops. I was able to do exercises in the round pen with each of their horses under Dunia’s guidance. We finished with a group meditation on chairs in the pen with two horses free to move about and interact with us. That was a particularly amazing experience for me.
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After the round pen, we moved to beautiful pastures in a ravine and were able to spend idle time mingling with the horses in their space. The videographer used a drone, which buzzed like a horde of ferocious mosquitos, to get aerial shots. It seemed to unnerve the horses a tiny bit.
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Luckily, they all tolerated it as a necessary, temporary annoyance for us. Hopefully, Dunia will be able to report that she got some good photos and video from the day.
For lunch we made our way to a stylish contemporary restaurant in a mall, Café Saul, which is a favorite of Jose’s for their crepes. Then a stroll through the shopping mall to pick up a swim suit for Jose and makeup for Cyndie. While shopping, we heard a loud crack of thunder and then rain pounded on the roof far overhead. Power went off in the mall for a brief moment, but shopping was not disrupted.
When Dunia, Jose, and Cyndie & I got back to the house, all the doors were locked and we couldn’t get inside. Dunia phoned son Marco to come let us in and we walked around to the back deck to sit and visit. When Marco arrived and opened the door, we were in the middle of a story. Marco said something to Jose, who then jumped to his feet and they took off together in haste. Jose closed the door to the house as he stepped in and we kept on visiting until later. When we finally got up to go in, we found the door had locked again behind Jose. This time Dunia called Marco, Sr., and he suggested we drive to a nearby coffee shop to wait until he was able to join us. So we drove off again and were treated to a wonderful vista from the balcony of the cafe.
After coffee (and/or hot chocolate) and a treat there, the 4 of us headed back to the house where they prepared a chicken dinner. The boys arrived home in time to eat with us and we hung out around the table, Cyndie tracing horse images from their books while I played guitar with each of the guys. Stayed up till about midnight. It was delightful.
It was another day that felt like several. By the end, as we laughed and laughed about getting locked out twice in a row, the morning sessions with the horses seemed like it must have been a different day. That makes for a glorious vacation, if you ask me.
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Separate Adventures
For those of you who may not know the story of how we came to know the Morales family, I would like to provide some reference. Cyndie met Dunia in 2012 when they were both participants in an Epona apprenticeship program. I think they both sensed right away that they were meant for each other. I met Marco and Dunia when we husbands joined our wives in Arizona for the weekend of their final session and graduation celebration in May of 2013.
We met their teenage sons, Marco and Jose, when the 4 of them came to spend 2 weeks with us at Wintervale in December 2013, during the most dramatic winter we had experienced in a long time. We thought it an interesting coincidence that both boys had previously spent time as exchange students with a family that lives about a half-hour west of us across the border in Minnesota.
Those two weeks solidified a natural bond, and our visit to Guatemala became a goal that basically hinged on our ability to find animal sitters for the period necessary to allow for the trip. The timing that ultimately fit for everyone worked out ideally as it coincided with their week off, prior to Easter. Dunia and Marco came up with a fantastic fun-filled itinerary that allowed Cyndie and me to relax and enjoy every minute of what they had planned.
We had arrived on a Wednesday night, and the next morning both boys needed to attend a final day of school before their break. With them occupied, the plan sent Cyndie and me in different directions. I would be going with Marco to a prestigious golf course with great views of volcanoes, to have breakfast, then on a long drive to their beach house to check on the construction of a spiraling wood staircase Marco designed. Cyndie would join Dunia for her riding lesson and spend some time with the horses, before moving on to a spa for a hot stone massage.
The view from the clubhouse was magnificent, despite the hazy cloud cover obscuring any sight of the volcano. Marco offered a picture from his phone showing what it looked like on a clear day. With the intent of diving right in to local cuisine, I ordered the Guatemalan breakfast: 2 eggs, a soft cheese, refried beans and fried plantains, all considered safe for my unfamiliar stomach.
I am very happy to report that, due to the very kind diligence of our hosts throughout our entire visit, we were guided exclusively to ‘safe-for-foreign-stomach’ food choices and bottled water. We didn’t experience any digestive discomforts whatsoever.
After breakfast, we set off on a beautiful and interesting drive on winding mountain roads to the Pacific coast and their beach house. Marco stopped to pick up some fresh vegetables right before reaching their place, and used them to prepare a spectacular lunch of fresh sea bass. I was in heaven.
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In addition to that fabulous lunch, we swam in the pool, and rode their 4-wheeler out on the ocean beach. Marco offered tastes of a variety of fruits, some picked right off the tree. He also served slices of the ‘apple’ fruit that hangs below the cashew nut, which has a very distinct astringent flavor. He showed off their young cinnamon tree, cutting some bark for me to smell and taste. It was richly intense.
As fascinated as I was with the scenery along the roads, the drive back to their house had me nodding in and out, despite my desire to see everything possible. Our late arrival the night before left me far short of my normal amount of sleep.
Back at the house in Guatemala City, we found Cyndie and Dunia out on the deck after their “double massage” day. Dunia had ordered hot stone massages, but their massages ended without any stones having been used. When she inquired, they discovered their mistake and simply started all over again with another massage using stones.
Even though I had already seen a sneak preview that Dunia had sent to Marco’s phone while we were at the beach house, Cyndie described having been able to sit and ride on Dunia’s horse (first time on a horse since her hip surgery!).
We each had exceptional experiences that day. To top it off, Marco and Dunia prepared a wonderful duck breast evening meal. It was a day that felt like several, and on its own would have made a more than satisfying vacation, but it was just the first day of ten!
They set the bar high, but every subsequent day would get better and better.
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Trip Happens
It’s been just a few days that we have been home and the demanding daily routines are threatening to eclipse the glow within us that remains from our brilliant time with the Morales family in Guatemala. Although we have returned to Wintervale, my mind continues to be pleasantly distracted with the memory of the voices and faces of our friends. The blessing of our connection with them is something larger than I am able to grasp.
On the morning that we drove down our driveway to depart for the airport, our 4 horses broke into a run toward our direction, as if aware of the significance of our plans. We took the energy of their uncharacteristic behavior as a sign they understood what we were up to. We hadn’t even gotten down the driveway and our trip was feeling like something special.
Just a few weeks earlier, I had suggested to Cyndie that she should consider making the trip without me, since we hadn’t found anyone to take care of our animals. When Cyndie offered up this possibility, Dunia confidently responded, “No, John will be coming.”
A few days later, a combination of people materialized who could miraculously cover the exact dates we needed, and our trip was on. Elysa dropped us off at the airport. We flew to Houston, and after a short layover, had an easy flight to Guatemala City.
Our passports stamped, we walked toward the exit and immediately spotted the smiling faces of our greeting party ready to whisk us off to over a week of exceptional hospitality. The drive to their home didn’t take long, but I was definitely feeling like I had been traveling all day. Every sight was a new adventure for me, taking in the views as we drove and talked.
To their credit, Guatemala doesn’t move their clocks to daylight saving time, but I was totally disoriented to the hour, so it didn’t really matter. We arrived at their beautiful home, met their pack of dogs, exchanged some gifts, talked around their table, ate an amazing dinner they prepared, and stayed up way past everybody’s bed time.
I hardly thought to pull my camera out that first evening, but here is a shot that Cyndie took the following morning of me playing Jose’s guitar. The fabulous view out the expanse of their windows and the beautiful colors inside the room provide an excellent sample of the glorious treat our senses were to enjoy for the days to come.
Keep in mind that there was a wet covering of snow on the ground at our place when we started out in the morning. How lucky we were that this trip was able to happen for us. Even better, Marco and Dunia had prepared a spectacular plan for the duration of our visit.
Tomorrow, they split us up for two distinctly different adventures…
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Coming Soon
I was hoping to be able to start composing my tales of our adventures soon after we got home, but I am entirely swamped with the responsibility of crunching data for our tax accountant. I was supposed to deliver our numbers on Monday! The days I had intended to prepare our tax information got redirected when I agreed to return to the old day-job for the three weeks that led up to our trip. Any free moment I wasn’t at the day-job, I was scrapping to prepare things for our house/animal-sitters, and get myself packed and ready to go. That was followed by the 12-days of travel and now the pressure’s on.
I will buy some time by distracting you today with some images I captured on the day after we arrived. Here are some views of things that are definitely not found at Wintervale. A little enticement of what lies ahead…
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We’re Home
Yesterday was our first full day back from visiting our friends in Guatemala. We had a perfectly marvelous time, and yet, it’s good to be home. We are experiencing all the obvious feelings of loneliness for our friends and their warm climate, as well as happiness to see our animals again and to not be living out of a suitcase anymore.
We received a wonderful reception from Delilah when she spotted us. Pequenita was particularly audacious about seeking our hands-on attention. The horses… they were more subtle about acknowledging us. They calmly looked up and then continued to graze as we approached them.
Julian picked us up at the airport and drove us home where Elysa served up baked treats and a fabulous Easter brunch she prepared. In a blink, Sunday was over and Monday morning meant Cyndie had to dash off to work while I faced the gory details of an appointment with our tax accountant and a mountain of laundry to be done.
Welcome home.
Ah well, we have a wealth of sweet recent memories to help sooth our return to the realities of our immediate responsibilities. I plan to write about our experiences in the coming days. It was a truly beautiful time with friends we love who have become like family to us.
We are richly blessed.
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Count Down
It’s beginning to feel like minutes, not days, until we depart on our travels to visit friends in Guatemala. Cyndie has done a heroic job of rallying to tend to details both necessary and convenient. I was a bit surprised to see her organizing kitchen utensil drawers before we go, but it was a gesture of thinking about making things convenient for those who will be house-sitting for us while we are away.
Our friend and soon-to-be hostess in Guatemala, Dunia, has been calling and sending photos to prepare us, to inspire our glee, and to share their excitement over having us visit. I need to practice staying in the moment so I will be able to fully absorb every minute we have with them, as I am already sensing how quickly our stay of limited days will pass.
Of course, both Cyndie and I have been heard to tease with our family that we will be gone for only a week and a half, …if we come back.
I am noticing mixed feelings about our preparedness to leave the care of our property and animals to a variety of people, some who have had nothing more than one brief visit to inform their managing of our place. I have no doubts about their abilities to take good care of Delilah, Pequenita, and our horses, but I fret over the complications thrown in by weather events that spring is known to unleash here.
After working frantically yesterday to take advantage of the dryness of the upper levels of the paddocks, raking out the divots created when it was soft and wet, the moisture is due to return today with more than an inch of fresh snow. In the days ahead, our animal sitters will need to think about bringing horses in from the cold and wet. That means creating additional amounts of soiled bedding in the barn stalls that will need to be disposed of in the compost pile.
Yikes! There isn’t much room left in the compost space. On Friday I worked to create space at the front of the compost pile so it would be easier to dump manure while we are gone. There is only one small section that is actively breaking down right now, visible on my new thermometer. I will work to ‘restart’ the other zones of the pile after we return from Guatemala, but until then, the pile is just going to grow.
We have some temporary piles established inside the paddocks to reduce the need to haul manure out while we are gone. If the weather doesn’t get too wet and messy, the cleanup should be manageable. I can hope!
Today, while it snows, I will be trying to figure out where my summer clothes are so I can pack for our trip, while simultaneously struggling to compile the last of the necessary tax information to drop at our preparers office before we go.
The minutes are dwindling, and we couldn’t be more thrilled!
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Relative Something 