I titled this such because as I reread what I´ve written, it feels very much like an elementary school paper!¡Feliz cumpleaños a mi! What an incredible day it has been. I needed a break from the sun and so am in the internet cafe listening to the craziness on the street. My day began at 4 am when fireworks, aka small bombs, started going off in the square! Some of them sounded as if they were in the courtyard inside my hotel. I awakened again at 6 to the sounds of marimba outside my window. I decided to get up and was rewarded with a HOT shower!! What an unexpected treat. On my way out the door in search of coffee, I ran into the owner of my hotel. When he found out it was my birthday, he insisted that the festivities in the street would wait. I must accompany him upstairs for coffee. Ahh.....Guatemalan coffee. It´s the best! He buys the beans and roasts them himself (he´s promised that I can take a pound when I leave tomorrow). He also shared an anona fruit with me, which tastes much like passion fruit. We spent hours talking politics and religion (Guatemalan and American). He took me on the roof to show off his solar power system he built himself (because I raved about the hot water!) and i enjoyed an incredible view of Chichi. He gave me tea as a gift and sent me out into the morning sun.
The festival is nuts! There are fireworks and firecrackers everywhere. There is no such thing as being careful...explosions happen all around you. The sky rains ashes and smoke makes it difficult to see. Incense is burned everywhere. People crowd the streets and I always seem to be going against the flow, although turning around isn´t any easier. I´ve been trampled more than once. Everything happens at the bottom of the stairs to the church and today, there were bands and parades that escape description. You´ll have to wait for the pictures and movies.
I bought a strange fruit from a street vendor for Q5. It looked like an avocado on the outside and a cantaloupe on the inside with a large black seed. It tasted terrible! So, I gave it to a beautiful little girl on the street. She was hesitant, but accepted it with her mother´s encouragement. Her smile was the best birthday gift by far!
I visited my first ATM. It was inside a bank in a closed room with a door that you locked behind you. An armed guard stood watch outside and escorted me back into the street once I was finished. Crazy!! Even with these precautions, I have not felt unsafe since leaving Guatemala City. I stayed out after dark last night with a sweet couple from LA. Dottie and Alex are here celebrating his 70th birthday (which happens to be the same day as mine)!
One more story and then I will sign off for the day. I am clever, if I do say so myself. I had spent 30 minutes this morning trying to locate a Mayan idol, the Pascual Abuj. It is supposed to be an easy walk from the center of town. Due to my inability to follow the detailed instructions in Lonely Planet, I was unable to find it on my own and decided to give up. Here´s the clever part...I noticed 3 gringos pay a Mayan woman several quetzals and begin to walk in the direction of 9 Calle. On a hunch, I followed and, what luck! They led me straight to Pascual Abuj without paying even one centavo! I also didn´t risk going by myself, which is not advised. It was a beautiful walk on a pine tree lined path and provided a nice break to the heat. There was evidence of recent rituals, empty liquor bottles and chicken feathers. A dog hung around to clean up what was left.
Since arriving in Guate, my senses have been completely assaulted and my story telling abilities are not what they should be right now. Much of what I am experiencing will take years to fully process. It is amazing what happens here in 1 hour...every hour.
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