Waiting for Water in Antigua Was Futile

The water never came back and I realized that if I didn’t just buck up and go on, I was going to spend my whole day in a hotel room (a very small room at that). Gratefully I had followed my own advice and had packed body wipes. A bird bath is better than no bath (you know, under the wings and under the tail). Later, when I checked out, the young man at the desk said I owed $20.00 for one night. I smiled and asked him to remember that I had been without water for most of my stay. His response, “Fifteen dollars is fine.”

I took myself to Doña Luisa’s for lunch. It is a small restaurant in a colonial home. The stairs are massive and about 500 years old. It has a center court yard but I prefer to eat in a room that was a living room. It fronts the street and has amazing views through the windows. Doña Luisa was a native of a Mexican tribe and was give to Pedro Alvarado, the conqueror of Guatemala, by the tribal leaders as a “companion.” I don’t know much more than that about her but the restaurant that bears her name is a favorite spot in Antigua for me. I like the food too.

I managed to walk several blocks and see several ruins before the rain started. Not particularly wanting my shower of the day to be a downpour from the sky, I went back to my room and promptly fell asleep. I guess I needed a nap. My ride came for me about 6:00 and I spent Friday night in Guatemala City. I finally got a shower on Saturday morning. I am sure the world did not rejoice but I did. Small pleasures are the spice of life.

Being alone these days has given me time to think and reflect. Being in Guatemala tends to focus my reflection. Struggling to speak a little bit of the language that I have been trying to learn for 9 years creates frustration in my reflection. For better or for worse, Guatemala has dominated this decade for me. I made my first two trips in 2001. At the end of this decade, I am now on my sixteenth trip. I can’t help but wonder what, if any, role Guatemala will play in my future. I know what I have hoped for, but at times the overwhelming flood of hope delayed seems to crush me. All in all, I am not really sure what to hope for right now.

We traveled from Guatemala City to Huehue yesterday afternoon. The rains were heavy and the fog intermittent. Agatha’s fury, along with an extra wet rainy season, has wrecked havoc on the Pan American Highway. It was almost four laned all the way from Guatemala City to Huehuetenango but the heavy rains have brought the earth down. In many places there are only two lanes because the other two are covered in tons of mud and rock. It will take work crews months to clear the roads.

There is a team from Michigan here now. Tomorrow Edwin and crew and the team will go to Agua Dulce for several days. I will stay in Huehue. I still have some work to do preparing for the team to arrive. I also hope to spend time walking and praying. I need clarity as I ponder my future.