I. Third World you might say,
Or developing country
Depends on viewpoint.
II. Looking at my world
With fresh eyes and open heart
What might our guests see?
III. Our ruins are fresh
Compared with Antigua’s own;
Centuries apart.
IV. Yet ruins abound
And for many life is hard.
Poverty lays claim.
V. Third World existence
Among First World convenience
Which is most honest?
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
Check out this short video about Hobbitenango. (Gosh, I hope this works–I’m never sure until I publish.)
Peace, people!
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!
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!
Those who read my blog posts on a regular basis (God bless you faithful few) know that I’ve been in Antigua, Guatemala, these past few days to celebrate the marriage of my beautiful niece Hanna and her handsome beau, Beto.
On Friday, April 11, family, friends, and a handful of complete strangers joined Beto and Hanna on a mountain far above Antigua for one of the most joyous occasions I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness.
The bride. 😊 Her dad is the proud-looking man just behind Hanna.
Cutting the wedding cake never looked quite so romantic before.
Mother of the bride, Hanna, Father of the bride and lovely niece Lauren. 
My gorgeous niece, Claire, sister of the bride.
This is me standing in the doorway of Hobbitenango.
Hobbitenango is a tavern and hostel owned by my new nephew and his business partners. The buildings that make up Hobbitenango are all Eco-friendly, made from reclaimed lumber, plastic bottles, and egg cartons.
Still in its early phases of development, Hobbitenango will one day have individual hobbit style houses for guests to rent, and once the shire is complete they’ve planned to create an Ewok village.
I urged them to hurry–I’m not getting any younger.
Niece Lauren and my sister-in-law, Susan.
Delightful Andrea, (one of Beto’s cousins) with her mother. I’ve never met more loving, welcoming people.
The rest I didn’t caption. I’ve run out of superlatives.
Hobbitenango is ringed by four volcanoes. Just at sunset, Fuego, put on a small show for those of us remaining. Of course, my battery was dead, so I had to borrow a photo from my brother’s camera.
Needless to say it was a sight I will not soon, if ever, forget.
Peace, People!
Pictures do not completely capture the excitement and color of market day. A thousand words are inadequate. I needed much more than five senses to take in all of the sights, scents, and sounds of the Market. 
One of the first images was of fresh vegetables and fruits of every hue.
The grains, dried peppers, and spices put on their own colorful show as if in competition with the veggies. I’m not sure there was a clear cut winner.
Try this technique next time you go shopping.
I loved the pottery angels and the shiny buckets. See, I notice some things that aren’t edible.
My favorite photo of the day. I asked permission to take this woman’s picture, and when she said yes, I told her in Spanish that I thought she was beautiful. She covered her mouth with her hand and smiled like a teenaged girl.
Just a woman and her rooster.
We didn’t even make it to the textiles area. Hopefully we can stop by on Sunday for more of this wonderland.
Peace, People!
Sleeping with wide open windows
In La Antigua de Guatemala
Night murmurs offer lullabies.
Alarm clocks are unnecessary.
Songbirds, first one, then a
Chorus begin telling the
Stories of their lives.
The shrill one is my avian
Doppelgänger, repeating
Her story ad nauseum.
Occasionally, though, she
Touches my heart, punctuating
Her song with, “please see me?”
I have had mixed results speaking Spanish on my trip to Antigua, Guatemala.
Last night at dinner I was trying to tell the waiter we needed more time with our menus. I patted our table and said, “Por favor, leave them right here.” His puzzled look was my first indication of how lame that sounded. The laughter from my group was the second. He did leave the menus, though–he was probably afraid to be too near this crazy gringa.
Just a few minutes ago a few of us returned to our accommodations and after calling Studly to beg for money I retreated to my room for a nap.
It didn’t take me long to peel out of my sweaty clothes to bask au naturale on my bed. I’d just closed my eyes when I realized the gardener was standing just outside the very open window. I’m pretty sure my “oops!” translated into Spanish flawlessly.
Places I’ve never been
Are my favorite destinations
I cannot wait to place my
Feet on new-to-me land.
Don’t get me wrong;
I’d have been a terrible
Pioneer.
Scared of snakes,
Petrified of the unknown,
Reluctant to venture
Outside the camp’s
Boundaries.
Still, there is a large
Part of me that needs the
Thrill of driving on
New-to-me roads, of
Treading on new-to-me
Sidewalks, of eating
New-to-me foods.
Like an overgrown
Child on a raucous
Rollercoaster,
For the very first time:
Hands in the air
Stomach in my throat
Wheeeee! 
Antigua, here I come.
Peace, People!
Praying for Eyebrowz 