Six of us to share one bathroom and two of them were teenage girls. Murray and I looked at each other and wondered how this was going to work out. It certainly was a lot different than the experience we’d had with our host family in Costa Rica just a few days before, where we had our own private bath. OK, we thought, let’s give it a try. However, after a very sparse dinner and hardly a breakfast the next morning, when Murray was asked by his Spanish school about our host family, he had no hesitation in asking if we could be switched, as he didn’t think it would work out. By the end of the morning class session, during which time I was enjoying painting in the school garden, the school administrator had arranged new housing for us. Soon we were settling into a totally different situation with our lovely hostess, Lucretia, who had several bedrooms that opened to a beautiful atrium. There was already another student there and while we didn’t have a private bathroom in our room there was one nearby which no one else was sharing at the time. Dinner that evening was very lovely. This was an excellent situation and we were so glad we had said something after just the first night in the other situation.
On one side of the atrium was a very large bird cage and quite a collection of tropical birds, and nearby was another large cage with several rabbits. Occasionally I would stay at the house and just paint in the atrium. I loved painting the birds and rabbits.
Antigua was a very different environment than the experience in Costa Rica had been. While Antigua wasn’t very large it had a city feeling and we enjoyed walking in the streets and eating lunch out in the restaurants. A large volcano was behind this colonial city and I love this picture Murray caught of a famous landmark with the volcano behind.
We were there during the month of Easter and learned a lot about how the holiday was celebrated. Antigua is actually known for the beautiful floral carpets that adorn the street prior to Easter, and while I know Murray took pictures of them I haven’t been able to find them. This article gives some pictures and explains how they are made! https://www.viaventure.com/easter-antigua-alfombra-carpet/
Among other highlights of our time in Guatemala was visiting one of our daughter’s friends, who was stationed there in the Peace Corps. We visited her village and learned about the projects she was doing with the local community.
After Murray was finished with school we journeyed to Lake Atitlan and spent five relaxing days at a resort. Sometimes we just hung out by the lake’s edge to watch local residents with their fishing boats or toured some of the towns surrounding the lake. The best way to get around was by boat and one highlight was visiting the “hippie” town of San Marcos since many expats from the 60’s lived there. There were a lot of yoga and meditation classes offered, although we didn’t take any. Shopping in another village filled with local crafts was a lot of fun and we bought a large bed covering made up of woven ponchos sewn together.
Our first winter adventure of 2005, spending over two months in two Central America countries, was great fun and motivated us to begin planning for the next year. Altogether we spent four winters in different places. Murray attended Spanish school for some of the time and I loved working in pastels. Today quite a few of those paintings are on the walls in my home in Costa Rica.
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