Guatemala
I realized when I sent my package of stuff to my kiddo, that I forgot to post about Guatemala here. I also couldn’t find the key chain that I bought him from Puerto Rico, so I will have to find it after I thoroughly empty out my bags after I get to China. I hadn’t expected to go to Guatemala as a destination, but it was an option on my Frontier Go Wild pass, so I went. I stayed in Guatemala City and went to the Mercato. It was really fun and one of the best Mercatos I have ever visited. The first time I went, I missed it, because you have to go downstairs under the street to find it and I just didn’t know. There were rows of food vendors, a food court, bridal areas and pottery and textiles and decor and just sections. I first went to a tortilla vendor where they were making fresh tortillas on a big skillety thing, but I had exchanged my $70 US at the airport, and I had about $500 Guatemalan dollar in $100s and that was just too much for the vendors to manage. So I saw another patron exchanging money at one vendor, so I held up my $100, and he gave me change. Then I could buy things in smaller bills. I bought one collection of treats that I came home and shared with Grandma and Alice. Another day I went to Antigua, on a tour and we went to the market and hiked up to a cross on a hill and I ate lunch. It was fun. The next day I went on a tour with 2 other older guys, one from Argentina and one from India. The guy from India was actually a white guy — unexpected for all. The Argentinia guy, Daniel and I became friends even though he only spoke Spanish and we could only communicate with my lousy Spanish, he watched out for me and waited for me and made sure I didn’t get lost in the Spanish. I bought an amazing hand embroidered quilt. It’s so beautiful. Here is a video of my quilt from my YouTube channel. We also went to the cemetery, which was bright and colorful. I enjoyed the jaunt there as well. I want to return to Guatemala and ride the chicken buses and visit the ruins. Auntie Barbara, who I am back in touch with, has a whole website about the ruins in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, so I will have to plan another visit back to visit them. Maybe you will be able to come along or do a similar jaunt yourself. Love you always and miss you every day. Love, Mom
