I had thought that having a minor cold for the last four days would be my only worry. I thought wrong. While sniffling away my Thursday morning shift at the bookstore a patron shared a rather disturbing newspaper. He himself had come to buy something to read while waiting for the airport in Guatemala City to re-open. I had learned that one of Guatemala's several active volcanoes, Pacaya, had just erupted. This is a volcano Aña and I climbed up three years ago to see flowing lava. It is located 30 kilometers (19 mi) from Guatemala City. Its eruption was extremely powerful. It was reported that there were two spurts of lava launched almost 1.5 kilometers (0.93 mi) in the air. Tons of rock, dust, and ash fell on nearby villages, Guatemala City, and its international airport. This was the initial cause of the airport being closed. Almost a thousand people have been evacuated from the volcano's proximity. Luckily we are currently residing quite far from that volcano.
The Thursday edition of the Guatemalan newspaper, Prensa Libre, also contained a sideline about the weather on the coast. It casually noted there were 4.8 meter (almost 16 foot) waves and heavy rains on the coast. The coastal weather slowly grew into a tropical storm that covered most of the country. It rained for almost three days straight where we're living; here in Xela. Many streets turned into muddy rivers. Most stores didn't even open. News slowly drifted in announcing several landslides, flooded rivers and cities, and further evacuations and deaths around the country. It also mentioned that a nearby hot spring site we've enjoyed, Fuentes Georginas, was completely destroyed. It was inundated by mudslides and a dozen or so tourists were trapped there as the road was also inaccessible. Even certain areas of Xela were evacuated as water levels rose and flooded houses. Luckily, again, the house we're living in is located at a relatively high point. Until today, many of the normal food sources have been unavailable. The landslides had cut off most major highways into Xela. Many people went into a buying panic stocking up on food preparing for the storm.
The international Airport in Guatemala City will be closed for another four to five days. The heavy rains have hampered the cleanup of the volcanic ash. The rain mixing with the the ash is creating a cement-like mud clogging drainage systems. Too bad the man I met in the bookstore only bought three books to wait for the reopening.
Today marked a lull in the tropical storm. After three days of rain, Aña and I over enjoyed the sun while reading and watching jugglers in Central Park. We're a little sunburned. This evening the storm is supposed to rage on continuing until Wednesday. We can only wait and see what further destruction awaits this tiny natural disaster havocked country. To the best of my knowledge we are in a safe location and we are fortunate. Last night we piggishly enjoyed a pizza potluck party cranking out devouring five pizzas. The 100% whole-wheat sourdough crusts were a huge success! Perhaps given the frustration of the weather, most people instinctively brought wine to share as well. A fabulous night and a comforting reassuring sense of community.
Stay tuned for an update on the second half of the storm getting underway soon!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Busy Times!
Last week and weekend were extremely busy! It started Sunday night with us making dinner for the house. Continuing with our food fetishes, Aña and I jarred up four of our five gallons of kimchi for eating and selling. I made a big batch of 100% whole wheat sourdough to sell and hand cranked out eight pounds of peanut butter. Aña made some chocolate truffles; some with Chai spices, and some mixed with a blackberry reduction.
In the middle of the week we hiked up nearby Volcano Santa Maria. The peak is at an elevation of 3772 meters (12,375 feet). That means the climb to the top was a nearly 1200 meter (4000 foot) somewhat grueling adventure. We did the hike with our friends Elly (who we have the pleasure of living with), and Katie who has, sadly, just returned to the States. We left at seven in the morning, but it was not early enough. During our two and a half to three hour ascent we had spectacular views. The views were taken in frequently as we had to keep stopping to catch our breath. About two thirds of the way up we could see some clouds rolling in from a nearby valley. I rushed ahead to the top to chance a clear view. Unfortunately the clouds had already rolled in on the South flank obscuring a view of an extremely active smaller volcano. On the bright side, another friend and former house-mate was already at the top. He is a Mexican and was celebrating the birth of a son in Germany. So, naturally, he had a bottle of fine tequila with him and a fat cigar. A slight indulgence of celebrating with him helped me to warm up in the cold high altitude air. Mysteriously, there were also four to five cows up top who practically surrounded us while we ate lunch. Luckily, as we learned, they're afraid of bananas.
We made it back down from the volcano just in time to attend the 5:15 yoga class. It was great to stretch out after such an intense hike. Yoga has become very fundamental to our daily life. I've even started teaching two morning classes a week. It is a great experience and very rewarding. It also pays a little. On the downside, it's hard to sleep in past 6am.
Then to culminate events, we had to cross the border to renew our Guatemalan visas. We put out an open invitation to others and ended up going with our friends Katie and Cody. We decided it would be fun to go to one of the coastal crossings and spend a night on a Mexican beach. After four hours of crazy driving we arrived in the border city of Tecún Umán. We were harassed by half a dozen guys trying to "help" us in hopes being tipped. They were not helpful at all and very sketchy. We were distraught to learn that we could not renew the permit to have our truck in Guatemala. Apparently, we would have to keep our truck outside of Guatemala for 90 days before it could re-enter. This would have really screwed up our plans. One of the sketchy guys, who became my shadow, suggested transferring the vehicle tittle to Aña or bribing the customs official. I sneaked back in loosing my sketchy shadow and pleaded with the customs official some more. After making a phone call he told me we would have to bring the truck to the border crossing we entered at. That crossing, at La Mesilla, was a long ways from where we were.
We ended up making the most of our trip and finding a beautiful beach in Mexico near the border. At Playa Linda, we found a small family owned restaurant with a small pool, trampoline, and palapas to pitch our tents under. After playing in the waves and riding a strong side town down the beach we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. I cracked open some good "Sol" Mexican beers I had stopped to buy for the occasion. Then, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at the little outdoor beach restaurant. We dined on fresh ocean fish and the most amazing shrimp Ceviche I've ever had. The owner brought out three parrots to keep us company while we ate. It was hard to sleep in the tent as the sultry humid air had us sweating while laying down. We awoke to play in the ocean once more before heading back to our homes in Xela.
The next day Aña and I drove to the other border crossing another four hour drive away. It still took some pleading, but we were able to gain permission to keep our truck here for another three months. Suprisingly, at La Mesilla, there were not any sketchy guys and the customs worker was very genial and sympathetic. Another day with too much crazy driving. Whoever said passing school buses on blind curves was a bad idea?
This week, I've continued enjoying teaching morning Yoga classes. I've also been going to a couple other Yoga classes each day and the feared boxing class. I plan to go back up Santa Maria this Sunday in hopes of getting a better view. This time I'll be leaving with a small party at around 5am. Hopefully we'll beat the clouds.
In the middle of the week we hiked up nearby Volcano Santa Maria. The peak is at an elevation of 3772 meters (12,375 feet). That means the climb to the top was a nearly 1200 meter (4000 foot) somewhat grueling adventure. We did the hike with our friends Elly (who we have the pleasure of living with), and Katie who has, sadly, just returned to the States. We left at seven in the morning, but it was not early enough. During our two and a half to three hour ascent we had spectacular views. The views were taken in frequently as we had to keep stopping to catch our breath. About two thirds of the way up we could see some clouds rolling in from a nearby valley. I rushed ahead to the top to chance a clear view. Unfortunately the clouds had already rolled in on the South flank obscuring a view of an extremely active smaller volcano. On the bright side, another friend and former house-mate was already at the top. He is a Mexican and was celebrating the birth of a son in Germany. So, naturally, he had a bottle of fine tequila with him and a fat cigar. A slight indulgence of celebrating with him helped me to warm up in the cold high altitude air. Mysteriously, there were also four to five cows up top who practically surrounded us while we ate lunch. Luckily, as we learned, they're afraid of bananas.
We made it back down from the volcano just in time to attend the 5:15 yoga class. It was great to stretch out after such an intense hike. Yoga has become very fundamental to our daily life. I've even started teaching two morning classes a week. It is a great experience and very rewarding. It also pays a little. On the downside, it's hard to sleep in past 6am.
Then to culminate events, we had to cross the border to renew our Guatemalan visas. We put out an open invitation to others and ended up going with our friends Katie and Cody. We decided it would be fun to go to one of the coastal crossings and spend a night on a Mexican beach. After four hours of crazy driving we arrived in the border city of Tecún Umán. We were harassed by half a dozen guys trying to "help" us in hopes being tipped. They were not helpful at all and very sketchy. We were distraught to learn that we could not renew the permit to have our truck in Guatemala. Apparently, we would have to keep our truck outside of Guatemala for 90 days before it could re-enter. This would have really screwed up our plans. One of the sketchy guys, who became my shadow, suggested transferring the vehicle tittle to Aña or bribing the customs official. I sneaked back in loosing my sketchy shadow and pleaded with the customs official some more. After making a phone call he told me we would have to bring the truck to the border crossing we entered at. That crossing, at La Mesilla, was a long ways from where we were.
We ended up making the most of our trip and finding a beautiful beach in Mexico near the border. At Playa Linda, we found a small family owned restaurant with a small pool, trampoline, and palapas to pitch our tents under. After playing in the waves and riding a strong side town down the beach we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. I cracked open some good "Sol" Mexican beers I had stopped to buy for the occasion. Then, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at the little outdoor beach restaurant. We dined on fresh ocean fish and the most amazing shrimp Ceviche I've ever had. The owner brought out three parrots to keep us company while we ate. It was hard to sleep in the tent as the sultry humid air had us sweating while laying down. We awoke to play in the ocean once more before heading back to our homes in Xela.
The next day Aña and I drove to the other border crossing another four hour drive away. It still took some pleading, but we were able to gain permission to keep our truck here for another three months. Suprisingly, at La Mesilla, there were not any sketchy guys and the customs worker was very genial and sympathetic. Another day with too much crazy driving. Whoever said passing school buses on blind curves was a bad idea?
This week, I've continued enjoying teaching morning Yoga classes. I've also been going to a couple other Yoga classes each day and the feared boxing class. I plan to go back up Santa Maria this Sunday in hopes of getting a better view. This time I'll be leaving with a small party at around 5am. Hopefully we'll beat the clouds.
Kimchi on the market!
We're finally advertising to sell Kimchi and other cottage industry goodies. Using 12 heads of cabbage and other veggies we were able to make 5 gallons of Kimchi. This will finally be enough to meet demands greater than those of our house-mates.
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