DAY 4 (Antigua):
In the morning Elizabeth has her mid-service medical checkup at Peace Corps headquarters, which is in the nearby town of Santa Lucia Milpas Altas (St. Lucy of the high cornfields). While Elizabeth gets her checkup, I explore the courtyard. Bumpy green balls litter the ground under an avocado tree. Marimba music wafts from the open windows of the school next door. I'm happy to know that Elizabeth has health care.
By the time we get back to our hotel in Antigua, the hot water has all been used, which Elizabeth discovers during her shower.
Lunch is Middle Eastern: chicken for Elizabeth, kibbeh for me, shawarma for Brian. It's his first time eating this kind of food; he likes it.
Lunch is Middle Eastern: chicken for Elizabeth, kibbeh for me, shawarma for Brian. It's his first time eating this kind of food; he likes it.
Next stop, the tourist market: booth after booth of scrumptious textiles, jewelry, chocolates, souvenirs of all kinds. "You like?" say the vendors. "I have more colors! How much you give me for thees beautiful cloth? My mother embroider it. Take two weeks." I couldn't begin to speak their language as well as they do mine. I'm grateful to have Elizabeth next to me to do the expected negotiating. "Where are you from in America?" asks the woman from whom I've just bought some placemats and napkins. "Tell your friends, when they come to Antigua, come to the market. Stand number one." She points overhead to the number. (Friends, consider yourselves told.)
Mid-afternoon finds us asking for directions to the dentist's office. Elizabeth doesn't want to be late for her appointment. The address is elusive. Five times we stop to ask how to get there. Five times we get answers that turn out to be as wrong as they were confident. "Never ask Guatemalans," Elizabeth says. "They'll answer you even if they don't know."
Finally, we find the dentist. Tooth check, check!
The evening is relaxed. It's our last night in Antigua until the very end of our visit. Tomorrow we'll travel west to Champollap, Elizabeth's home. For now, good night.
Stand number one, got it. When I'm in Guatemala I'll give her my business. Are those plastic bags you're holding? I can't help thinking that part of your pleasure on this trip was seeing Brian and Elizabeth enjoying it all together.
ReplyDeleteYes, those are plastic bags. Elizabeth did have a plentiful supply of reusable bags, and we used them a lot. Sometimes, though, I got out of control.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, my greatest pleasure on this trip was seeing Brian and Elizabeth together and being together with them.