Fourth morning in country, the day before Independence Day and the worst day of traffic in the country. Sixteen years away do change a lot! I never remembered it being THIS BAD! I had told people to come visit me at the house, and my school classmates were supposed to come for brunch so I stayed home in case anyone made it, and Ben took the kids to hike “El Cerro de la Cruz”.
The bottom of this hike was very close to our house.
You can see all of Antigua from there.
After it was settled that no one would be able to beat the traffic and come visit, we went out on a walk through town and to the artisans market to do some shopping.
We walked all the way to the market and spent quite a while helping kids find souvenirs. They got lessons on bargaining from my Mom. Once we had depleted our shopping funds for the day and we had armfuls of little Guatemalan trinkets, we headed back towards home. Karin really wanted us to have lunch out and we found a pizza restaurant she knew about (Quesos y Vinos).
In the midst of pizza, conversation, busy children, and life, my gallant husband found a moment to ask me to dance.
Finding a table in this place was like exploring a secret garden! Each corner you turned opened up to yet another peaceful and secluded little private spot. We enjoyed an appetizer of cheese, bread dipped in olive oil, hams, pickled eggplant and olives. Pizzas were dripping with fresh melty cheeses and we had a wonderful time talking about life and memories. We cried a little too, as Karin related to us how this was one of the places they would visit with Rogelio. He was such a magnanimous man. Our reverie was interrupted by the sound of drums and we rushed to the front of the building where we watched a short school band parade go by.
The remainder of the day was spent quietly at the house, enjoying the kids playing and each other’s company. The older kids wrapped up the evening with a game of Monopoly, and our good night gift was a spectacular thunderstorm. Of course, pictures will never even remotely give it credit, but this picture at least reminds us of what we saw.
