All Blog Posts (28)

Lindsey Nursing Overseas in Lome, Togo Africa

Claro

Its a nice name for the cell phone service in Guatemala if not the entire Central America's.   It is quite amazing how extensive the coverage is.   Even in some of the most remote places we travelled one could get service.   Seeing the tower was a sure sign of a some kind of settlement.   What is even more remarkable is how the population has adapted to this feature.   The poorest of the poor and indigenous people could be seen…

We got back to Colorado Tuesday night.  I got a ride to the bus station with the very generous help of David Sanchez who picked me up at 2:30 in the morning. The bus to Guatemala City left at about 2:45am. This was not the type of bus that I wrote about in my last post. There was only about 5 or 6 of us leaving the station that early in the morning. Plus this bus was no school bus, it was a big fancy bus with cushy reclining private seats. I felt very pampered.  David spoke to the driver's…

Calendar

When one thinks of the Maya one of the first things that comes to mind is their famous calendar.  Apparently it is truly a marvel of observation of the heavenly bodies and their movements and a reliable predictor of the seasons and the important things to an agricultural people like the Maya like when the rains will come and when to harvest.  To a primitive people it certainly was a daunting task to amass such information and it…

Maya

The Maya did not have cemeteries as we know them, at least to date none have been found.  It is one of many mysteries that surround this great civilization that flourished in Central America for approximately 400 years .  What archeologist have found is that in the courtyards of the living or family units were the remains of humans and curiously in each family unit were collections of human skulls.  Human Skulls are also a recurring carving in the many…

Thugs

San Martin does not have a police department.  A few years ago the local constable was trying to extort money.  The local vigilante committee (whom will never be known as they would suffer reprisal)  beat him to death and then publicly burned his body.  The entire department packed up and left town.  Their absence in the town has gone unnoticed.  Life goes on fine except that everyone pays 2 Q more than they did in the past when going on the bus to…

Yesterday I spend 6 hours traveling from San Martin to San Marcos. What an experience I had.  First of all I had a fever, headache and congestion that required that I carry a roll of toilet paper to hack into every few minutes. I really felt bad for the people around me.  But then of course I probably got this cold-flu from someone else on a crowded bus.  These buses are old Blue Jay school buses from America that have been put out of service and sold down here. Some are brightly painted,…

Goodbyes

Its market day in the square,  I love the smells and the sounds and the hum of activity.  I don´t think I have scratched the surface of life in Guatamala in the month we have worked our way thru the country.  I do know a lot of the feelings and what is the external aspects like what a typical town looks like,  the simple way the people walk unhurried along the street while cars and motorcycles operate without any seeming laws or order and there are no accidents. …

Incounters

The sky is almost always cloudless  in the mornings and as the day progresses it warms and to being hot and almost always the clouds form their welcome shade around noon.  The roads are dirt and when the local buses (which are old school buses from the states-- standard Blue bird) pass they kick up the dust and for a moment we hold our breath.  The wonderful thing about these buses is they are richly painted in numerous colors hiding the old Yellow and…

While Randy washing, I was sewing. I havent done that in years. I have never had the time. It felt very satisfying to repair and reuse instead of throwing away something that really is perfectly useful. I actually have been enjoying much simpler things. I think that haveing a simpler life really suits me. I would love to have more of this type of time in my…

There is a small bunch of white hair at the bottom of Genee's black mane.  I often play with it while i am riding and often tuck the reins behind it for what i call autopilot.  She knows and is aware of it and seems to like it.  She patiently plods on while I take in all the wonderful scenery around me.  I have come to call her the bitch.  She is without a doubt the strongest, smartest and I think prettiest of the horses and i think she knows it.  Her domineering and what i see as…

Slowly plodding by horse thru the countryside and habitations of this country I have pondered what it means to be Guatamalan.  The people are so diverse even in the way they dress,  and physical features.  Often more than not we encounter different tribs of indigenous people that speak their own language and not even spanish.  So how do they all come together to become Guatamalan hemmed in by invisible lines drawn by now forgotten and long dead persons of the past.  What is the…