Woke up a lot last night. Rooster started crowing at about 4 AM. I eventually went ahead and put on my headphones and blasted White Noise to cover up the sounds of trucks, dogs and roosters. Slept pretty well after that. I woke up, feeling really lightheaded and kind of nauseated. 

Took a shower, got cleaned up, packed my bags. I talked with Licho who is the main maintenance guy there at the chalet I’m staying at. I gave him about three dollars just to make sure he watched my bags because I didn’t wanna have to try to take those anywhere. 

I got a omelette with mushrooms and cheese and onions. They had a kind of a tomato salsa that was good. It wasn’t spicy at all. And they had a lovely plate of fruit. they had  banana sliced kind of laterally around the edges of the plate, and then pieces of papaya in the middle part and in the inner part were pieces of cantaloupe. It was really pretty and good coffee, of course Guatemalan coffee, which is just some of the best. 

That made me feel a little better. I went back to my house and got everything situated to leave. I decided I didn’t want to take any backpacks and all my really important documents. I just left those in my bag. I figured it’s gonna be safe enough there better than me hauling them around probably. 

I got a tuk tuk which is a three wheel motorcycle thing with a cabin on it from my Airbnb towards the reserve. People told me that the roads were blocked  because of protests against the government. 

The people are so poor here gasoline like $5.50 a gallon and they are lots of problems, but everything seemed very peaceful. They wouldn’t let the cars go through but if you were walking, they didn’t care. It was funny to me because here I am the tourist and we were walking up the steep roads towards this preserve and they were huffing and puffing. I was like you guys are used to this walking are you? It really made me laugh. They never walk like that. 

I got onto the little road that led to the nature preserve and I was astonished to see these three Tree guys working on trying to take down this branch. The guy that was the cutter they had throwing a rope way over a top branch and they had tied this rope to the guy’s waist and the two guys the at bottom we’re trying to pull him up the tree.  It looked like it was at least  50 foot maybe 100 foot tall.  They were really struggling so I took a picture and video and then went over there to help them pull.  I said these guys never going to get guy up that tree.  I started pulling on that thing and then he just just started going up.  Shoop Shoop Shoop Shoop Shoop. They keeps saying, “Gracias Papa, Gracias.” So anyway they were very thankful and I told him they needed to put another rope on this big branch they were getting ready to cut because that was just gonna demolish the roof. They said they didn’t have another rope. I saw one rope that was busted I’m like oh my God this guy like cutting it with a machete at the top this tree and then they had a big chainsaw tube but it looked super sketch. 

I got to the nature preserve about 15 minutes later than that. Absolutely gorgeous out here. It’s just lush and green. Reminds me of the Abaderes in Kenya. Lots of butterflies and just absolutely lovely. 

There is a group of school kids here too. I would say they’re probably first or second graders. Super loud kids. It’s exactly like being back in Azalea, squealing and yelling, and, anyway it was OK. It didn’t bother me. 

I’m at the very top of the trail now. There’s this extreme cable trail and another thing that looks crazy.  dangerous. There is no way I would go down on these things and this kind of place. It just looks like catastrophe waiting to happen. Nothing like what I went down on in Costa Rica. But it’s an absolutely beautiful view from up here. You can see several volcanoes I can also see the clouds moving in. I’m gonna go do the rest of the trails here and then go back and get my bags and then head for the lake to go onto San Marcos Le Laguna, which is going to be my base camp while I’m on Lake Atitlan.

I really enjoyed the nature preserve. The Coatimundis were my favorite. They went crazy over this one’s kids bananas. It was pretty funny. I went also went down to the beach area and that was beautiful. The butterfly gardens are enclosed in this big geodesic dome. I saw my favorite the Blue Morphos. I used to see them in the Amazon and they’re fantastic with a metallic blue color. I am headed back to Pacajashel now. I just passed over 100 orthodox Jews. All ages that seem like mainly young families pushing strollers on not the greatest road. They looked like they were having some issues with the road but they kept on going. I did a lot of shalom to them. They said they’re from New York City in particular Brooklyn and Manhattan. It’s interesting because the chalet Paraiso, which is where I’m staying just up the street from it is Shofar house so there must be some Jewish presence here for sure.

I also said hi to the guys that were cutting the tree. Look like they got it all down on the ground and it didn’t look like it hit the house below it so good job lads.

One thing is for sure all that walking up my hill out in front of my house sure has paid off. I’m walking up these hills with no problem and it’s still at altitude. It may have been the altitude that was giving me problems this morning and having a hard time sleeping I don’t know. It was very noisy that’s for sure but I am not nauseated anymore so that’s good news and I’m looking forward to getting something else to eat.

It was a pretty rough boat ride over to San Marcos Laguna. I got my bag off the boat and started going up the hill. I researched where this hotel is supposed to be on the map. But where the maps said it was and where actually was was very different. I had a young man who said he knew where the place was came to show me where it was and help me with the bag and it was pretty much impossible to find without help. And he just put that big old 50 pound bag on his bag and just walked up big part of the hill. Most of it we could push using the wheels. So I was glad to get moved in and everything worked out. I gave him a nice tip.

I ate at Buho this evening. I had pad Thai. It was so good! Came back home and torrential rain. I’m glad I had that poncho. Having that kept my backpack dry too because it’s so big.

Spent over an hour studying Spanish.

Uploaded all the pictures to my server. It takes a while because I have to do 20 at a time rather than just upload the whole batch so I kinda have to babysit the process.

I’m ready to put my earphones on. I’ve been listening to dog bark the whole time I’ve been uploading stuff. I had the window open to cool off the room. But I’m gonna leave it open while I’m sleeping

Really fun day.

Had a fun evening at Maia Papaya with Coon from Holland. He told me the story of how on December 5 they would have Santa Claus but with him are Santa’s elves. They all dressed in black face with red lipstick and gold earrings. And they would bring presents to the kids in the neighborhood. it was hilarious to hear him talk about this. They did techno dances down the street together. But there was some pushback against it obviously because of the black face. In fact, the Santa Claus with with the “black”kids would take a boat and there would be actual Africans waiting for them, and would like beat them up after they got out of the boat. 

At about 2 o’clock in the morning, I heard a tremendous bang on the roof. It sounded like somebody had crashed into it. I was convinced some kind of catastrophe just happened. Had seen that the room next to mine, which is where the sound came from had been empty all day long. So after about 10 minutes of thinking about it I decided I should get up just in case it was leaking something or somebody was hurt. So I went next door  and tried the door and it was unlocked. And I opened it up about 4 inches and then heard some girl Kinda go Oh! something like that. So I decided that maybe Everything was OK. The next day I found out that it was an avocado that had hit the roof that had made such a racket. And all during the night you would hear these big booms from these avocados clobbering the roof. I also found out that it was a special Weekend for the local Catholic church. That was just about a block for Maya Papaya. And they would shoot off lots of fireworks during the day.  It  sounded like a dead gum, gun battle.

I worked on Spanish in the morning and then waited for my minibus to pick me up at Maya Papaya around 1230. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive through the mountains to make it to Ponajachel. Our driver was named Barcelo. I talked with him in Spanish for the whole time. Excellent practice. He is tribe of Maya Indians that are from this area and he lived in Ponanjachel. 

I got to my Airbnb which was this room on the second floor of this little house. My bag weighs nearly 50 pounds and trying to get it up this rickety stairway that was about a foot and half wide was quite a challenge. I’m not sure exactly how I’m gonna get back down with that thing. I got my key and talked with the lady who was in charge of the house. Everything was in Spanish. 

I was walking around a little bit. Got some extra local money so I could pay for things. And saw a place that made like quesadillas, which has been my favorite food items since I’ve been here. Made friends with the staff and got a Hawaiian quesadilla which had lots of different kinds of vegetables, as well as pineapple. It was delicious. I was walking around also saw there was a band playing at a soccer game so I watched them for a while and then when I got over here to this place, which is called El parzo. Watched the band play. As well as the soccer match. I’ll probably go home pretty soon take a shower and rest. I’m looking forward to going to the nature reserve Atitlan tomorrow morning. The lady who runs the place, said it was no problem for me to leave my bag there.

Woke up early at 5:15 AM. Left by 6 AM. Was over at Doraville by around 6:30. Was on the next train in just a few minutes. Got to the airport around 7:15.

Got through checking my bag and to the E gates in around 45 minutes.

Easy flight to Guatemala. A little over three hours. Tried to sleep, but couldn’t. Too much noise and turbulence.

Met some cool people from Winder, Georgia. Byron was the man’s name. He helped me get around the airport when we got inbound. Got through customs and Immigration. No problem.

Found my bag. Harder than I thought. Lots of blue bags. One of my jobs when I get home will be to paint a gold stripe on my blue bag to make it easier to see.

Got a Coke and some delicious poundcake at Barretto at the airport, while I was waiting for my transport to Antigua. I was about an hour early for that.

Finally, a guy showed up to come and get me and Ann two girls from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Turn out when there’s just a few people rather than the whole bus, they just take a taxi basically. That was great because it was easier to get out of town.

Traffic was bad but not horrible. But the fumes from all the cars were really bad. By the time we got out of Guatemala city, my head was hurting.

My taxi driver was named Orlando. He made three trips a day from the airport to Antigua. Super nice guy. Had had throat cancer. He seem to be OK now.  I spoke to him for over two hours in Spanish.

By the time we got Antigua, he was telling me how good my Spanish was, I appreciate that.

Got into Maya Papaya which is my hostel in Antigua. Tiny little room. At least it had a little fan. Unfortunately, the electrical outlet did not work. I had to modify my grounded zip strip. I had to break off the grounded plug. I hate to do stuff like that but you gotta do what you gotta do. I had two of those and so I was able to plug-in all the rest of my stuff.

The manager of Maia Papaya tonight was a guy named Dennis super super nice guy. He helped me find a wrench so I could break off the grounded plug on the zip strip. Managed to get all my stuff charging.

Dennis said I should try Copa de la Sopa. I got a veggie quesadilla there. Super good.

I’m looking forward to taking a shower and resting soon.

Guatemala is two hours behind the ATL. That should make me easier to get up in the morning and harder to stay up at night which is fine by me.

I tried to get WordPress to work but could not. No big deal. I’ll just write everything on the notes app. 

I can still upload different pictures every day which will be easy to insert.

A great start to the trip!

Winter weather!

Español!

Fun chat with my buddy Anthony.

Did my laundry.

Fall!

Walked .78 miles this morning while studying. Short because I needed to take Jessi to her doctor’s appointment.

J’s doctor.

I liked this sign.

Walked 1.49 miles in this neighborhood.

Beauty along the way.

Kathy got a big screw in her tire. Called New Peachtree Tire in Chamblee to get it fixed. Worth the drive since it’s always so fast there.

Went by my office to check the mail.

Got K’s truck parked back at Young World. I talked to Mr. Wilson. He’s helping me set up an account for her so I can check her pay stubs.

Not working yet.

Beautiful day.

BIG JOB! I got onto Blue Host and they helped me log back into my blog! So that’s why I’m able to write this here! Amen!

I will now try to update the Guatemala material. Amen and Amen again.

Final Bag packing.

Flight info.

Worked on adding offline maps to my phone and practiced using the info. I did not know that GPS worked without internet access. Cool.

Research on the Guatemala Airport. Needed to recognize where I’m supposed to catch my bus to Antigua. I’m going to be cutting it pretty close. Hopefully the flight will be on time or early.

OYB!

Cooler.

Español!

Walked 3.66 miles. Twenty one hills.

Left all my sticks in my mailbox till I get home.

Got good news from Andrew, the youth director at Roopville Road BC. Bringing a team!

Went by the Varsity Playhouse to drop off some gifts for Rick Beato a friend of mine.

Helped the kids at the mission.

Got an invitation to speak at the missions conference at Peachtree Corners BC.

Checked the mail at my office and watered my ficus.

Gassed up my car in preparation for my trip tomorrow morning. I’ll be leaving my car in the FBC Doraville parking lot. I already talked to the church secretary about it. She said she’d let the cops know it was mine.

Checked into my flight Delta 1840. Also filled out the Guatemala customs form on line. Should help expedite things.

Here’s my flight path.

That’s a DAY!

Such a scam artist.

I practiced using the WordPress mobile app for my blog last night. Never could get the photos to work right, but I can upload the photos to Smugmug and do the text to WordPress no problem.

I contacted Smugmug. They said they didn’t think the mobile app for the pictures could generate the same image location as my Mac Air. There’s a big difference between the first URL and the second.

I also set up my Mint Mobile roaming account if I need cell access in Guatemala. I’m going to do research about using an Esim with a Guatemalan Esim number this evening. Doubt I’ll really need that much data. I can stick to using wifi.

OYB!

Español!

Walk! Kind of chilly this morning. 2.73 miles.

Fifteen hills.

K went with me today to the mission. Always great to have her along.

We ate lunch at Waffle House. Yum.

I had two of my original youth group come and visit me today! Always great to see Jouvens and Tabias. They are like sons to me. They jumped straight in and helped the kids just like the old days.

Went to my office to check the mail.

Doing final prep work on the packing. Weighed in at right at 40 lbs. I have up to 50 lbs.

I sure do appreciate these guys.

If she lets me get much further ahead I’ll be hard to catch.

OYB!

Español!

A big limb fell and crashed some of my plants. Sad face. I worked on getting them into fresh pots.

Also added some potting soil so my banana plants could hold more water.

Cleaned my Gorilla Cart. On Friday morning I’ll haul my suitcase and backpack up to the car in it rather than carrying it up the stairs. Might was well be clean when I do that!

Walked 3.55 miles.

Twenty hills.

Beautiful weather.

Ordered some new insoles. I decided this evening to take my new shoes to Guatemala. I had resisted that idea, but reconsidered. I mean why not take the best shoes I have? I’ll replace the insoles that new New Balance shoes come with with the Dr. Scholls. They’re just better.

I cleaned and got new laces for my older shoes which were the ones I was planning to take. I decided it’s better to have more tread rather than the shoes that were smooth.

Exciting to start seeing notices! Delta wants me at the airport three hours early.

More review of departure times on MARTA. My departure time is 10:30 AM. Should leave the Doraville MARTA station between 6:42 AM and 7:06 AM. Take 41 minutes to get to the airport from Doraville.

Picked the girls up at the bus and took them to Taco Veloz.

We got an Oreo blizzard ice cream cake from DQ. So good.

They had a big time playing with the sticker set that Ash & Miles got her.

Helped the kids at the mission with their homework. Pretty light load today. Not complaining. It lets me help the individuals more.

It’s been great to see Everly making new friends and really fitting in. Fills me with happiness.

Listened to Don Cheto on the way home.

Always trying to figure things out. Especially in regards to subjunctive tenses.

Deposited checks. Thank you, Father! I’m trying to new locations to deposit.

I uploaded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Counter Offensive.” Excellent.

It’s weird how I’ve lost interest in recording. I guess once I hit 1,000 episodes I kind of lost my motivation. When I get back from Guatemala I may be more into it. I’ve been exercising and studying Spanish instead of focusing on recording.

Honestly, I’ve pretty much lost interest in social media period. Just doesn’t interest me much any more.

I’m setting up media for my trip. This evening I put together a new Trip gallery called Guatemala. I’m testing out how it works using my iPhone rather than my Mac Air. Still haven’t got the blog to view images properly, but I know I can do text on the blog and upload photos to Smugmug.

Set up Uber.

Added some roaming credit to my Mint mobile line. I should be using wifi almost the whole time.

We’ll see how bad Rosa want to study.

I am not planning on taking my MacBook Air to Guatemala. Therefore, I am checking to see how difficult it is to use the Mobile app.

Came in #2 this week.

Ordered some white paint to make my tennis shoes look better.

OYB!

Español!

Walked 1.63 miles. Short because I went to help K get her truck jumped off and because I met up with Rob Martin at 11:00 AM.

Nine hills.

Beauty weather.

Rob and I have worked together for nearly twenty years. We enjoyed Mexican food and good conversation.

Went to the Post Office to get stamps for the newsletters. Renee did the copies for me before Rob got to the church. Amen.

Deposited checks. Thank you, Jesus.

Went to the mission to stuff the envelopes and put stamps on.

Watered and put more fungicide on my little pink magnolia. She’s had a tough beginning. Hope she hangs in there.

The apartments across the street are called “Lumen at Chamblee.” They just put the name up recently. I think most, if not all, of the exterior work is complete.

I picked the girls up at the bus. They helped me “feed” the mail boxes.

One more job marked complete before my trip.

Took them to the Buford Highway Farmers Market to eat.

I told Everly I was leaving for Guatemala on Friday. She just cried and cried. It’s not a surprise to her, she just doesn’t want me to leave.

Helped the kids at the mission. Pretty light crowd with easy homework. Let me help one of the girls more intently with her math. Lots of Spanish practice.

Listened to Don Cheto. Working with this podcast can be incredibly humbling. Some days I feel I’m really making progress. Others I’m just like, huh?

I take pictures of my One Year Bible when I’m on trips where weight is an issue. No use taking that heavy book when I can just refer to the images.

Usually by the end of the second day I can tell how everything is going to turn out. People normally do about the same amount of work every week. I’ll probably come in #2, but depends how much work I do during my trip.

I thought her comments on writing were interesting.

I’ve been curious about this.

Never good to hear.

I have a lunch appointment tomorrow. I don’t like meeting so early.

OYB!

Español! I focus on the Conversation exercises, particularly Speak.

Beautiful weather.

Walked 3.46 miles.

Twenty hills.

Everly had her party at Sky Zone. She had a lot of fun! Penelope had her best friend Paula there too.

Everyone enjoyed the food and fun.

She had a great time opening her presents!

Watered my plants.

Watered my banana plants.

And roses.

And my other tropicals.

Cleaned and refilled my hummingbird feeders.

Serviced my birdbaths.

Refilled my water bottles. I got more distilled water. Jessi will be taking care of my plants while I’m in Guatemala. She’ll just use distilled water on all the plants. That’ll be easier.

It usually takes me about twenty to thirty minutes to do the job.

I showed J how to feed the raccoons and opossums if she wants to. Not totally necessary to do that.

I left pictures and notes on how to take care of my plants.

As you can tell, I’m very detail oriented.

Got a jury summons in the mail. Filled that out this evening. Not till October 30th. I’ve had to show up to court, but I’ve never been chosen for a jury.

I’ll come in 2nd place this week. Vincent clobbered everybody. Normally, 20,000 plus is WAY out of reach. Just depends on who I’m playing against.