Someone referenced old wooden doors yesterday and brought this old post to mind. It’s not great poetry, but I love the photo I took of this door in La Antigua de Guatemala.
https://nananoyz5forme.com/2015/04/27/door/
Tag: Antigua
Snapshot #142
I took this photo after Easter last year while visiting La Antigua de Guatemala. I believe this was a view of one of the staging areas for Holy Week displays, so a good title might be “Santa Semana 2016.”
New It Again
Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: When was the last time you did something new? How did it feel? Would you do it again?
Arriving in
Antigua in April to
Cobblestoned streets and
Cacophonous markets.
Bargaining for woven
Goods using
Three years’ worth of
High school
Español and a few
Quetzals.
Jouncing along with
Family and
Friends in three-wheeled
Conveyances called
Tuk-Tuks.
Drinking Picosas at a
Roadside stand.
Reveling in the sight of
Volcanoes exhaling into the
Sunset.
Rising early to the melody of
Guatemalan songbirds.
Rejoicing in the marriage of
Two beautiful souls in a
Place called
Hobbitenango.
Would I visit Antigua again?
¡Sí! ¡Sí! ¡Sí!
Motion: Bride A-go-go
In response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Motion
My favorite photo from my time in Antigua, Guatemala, shows my beautiful niece Hanna embracing her official transition from Miss to Mrs.
Hot! Hot! Hot!
The Daily Prompt asked, “Do you like hot and spicy foods, or do you avoid them for fear of what tomorrow might bring?”
I like my food hot.
Spicy.
Gratuitous heat;
The kind of heat that
Makes me wipe the
Sweat from my
Brow as I eat.
Any residual suffering
For the sake of spiciness
Should be borne with
Stoicism and great
Quantities of
Pepto-Bismol.
The Men of Hobbitenango
Enjoy this video of my nephew, Beto and his business partner, Dan. Then start thinking about a trip to Hobbitenango!
Worrywart
Worrywart, worrywart
When will you learn?
Worry does nothing
But lead to heartburn.
Worrywart, worrywart
Will you stop, I wonder?
Perhaps someday when
I’m six feet under.
I spent quite a chunk of the past 48 hours worried that my son and daughter-in-law hadn’t made it safely home from Guatemala. They’d stayed to hike one of the volcanoes, and instead of flying home to the U.S. on Sunday with the rest of the family, they had plans to fly out on Wednesday.
The last message received was a Facebook post saying they were enjoying a final meal in Antigua on Tuesday night. Then nothing. So last night I began texting. Nothing. This morning I began calling. Nothing.
I have a vivid imagination. Women with vivid imaginations should never be left alone for too long. Here’s one of the many scenarios I imagined:
Following that final Facebook post my son was knocked senseless in trying to thwart a kidnapping attempt on his wife. The kidnappers had my daughter-in-law and had taken my son’s phone, identification, passport, and all of his money. When he awakened he had amnesia and was wandering around Antigua begging for spare change.
I called the airline and learned that the couple had boarded their flight. Of course then I wondered if perhaps someone had stolen their passports and flown home in their stead.
There was no rest for me until my daughter-in-law’s sister sent a message saying the couple had returned and were thoroughly buried under piles of makeup work.
Now my imagination is working on ways to torture my son for not getting in contact with me. Let’s see, thumb screws ought to do the trick.
Peace, People
Hobbitenango Video
Check out this short video about Hobbitenango. (Gosh, I hope this works–I’m never sure until I publish.)
Peace, people!
Adios Antigua
My time in La Antigua de Guatemala was much too brief, but returning home to Studly and the Estados Unidas de Norte America was sweet.
Just a few images of the people and places that made my visit to Guatemala muy especial:
One of the many skilled weavers plying her craft.
At Hobbitenango–my new nephew looking very much like a hobbit silhouetted in the doorway of the tavern.
Next time your children complain about doing chores, show them this.
Beto and Hanna.😍
Iglesia de Catedral.
Cerrito San Cristobal patio dining with a beautiful view of one of the four volcanoes.
Leo, stealer of hearts.
Ruins in Antigua.
One of these three is my son posing at theCasa Santo Domingo.
Sunday brunch with the family at the Casa Santo Domingo. This hotel/conference center is a must-see, having been built to beautifully incorporate the ruins of a monastery.
Wedding guests enjoying the view from the upper deck at Hobbitenango.
Hobbitenango
My son, daughter-in-law, and me awaiting our shuttle to the wedding.
Antigua is an ancient city. Many of the streets are narrow and teeth jarringly cobble-stoned, yet the entire city has free wi-fi.
Motorcycles and scooters almost outnumbered cars.
There are only two things about travel to Guatemala that I won’t miss. The first is having to use purified water for brushing one’s teeth. Bottled water (agua pura) was readily available, but I accidentally brushed with tap water a couple of times. I haven’t died yet, but the day is still young.
The second thing I won’t miss is the method used to dispose of toilet tissue. In most places one cannot flush the tissue; it must be placed in a trash receptacle beside the toilet. For most of us it is an automatic reflex to simply drop used t.p. in the toilet bowl. I’m going to admit right now that I did not fish out the tissues I accidentally dropped into the bowl.
Those were mere inconveniences, though. I would gladly be inconvenienced again.
Peace, people!
Birds of Antigua Haiku
Is it possible
That the birds of Antigua
Speak fluent Spanish?
Their songs hold a hint:
Trilling softly rolling rrr’s
And calling !aqui¡
One, I swear sings out
¡Buenos dias, mi hija!
Upon meeting me. 
Peace, People!
Praying for Eyebrowz 