Today I woke up and had eggs and fruit for breakfast 🍳. I got dressed and then we walked to our second to last day of school 🏫. At break, we went to the ping pong 🏓 place and I ate a croissant 🥐. Then, we walked back to school and we finished our day. Then, we walked home 🏡 and I ate lunch and I had spaghetti 🍝 and meatballs. Then, we chilled for a bit and then, me and Mommy went out to walk to the rock climbing 🧗‍♀️ place!!!!! But there was a little problem that we could solve, it was raining 🌧️ so we had to wear our rain jackets 🧥. Once we got there, I had to change my shoes 👟 and then I was ready to climb. I made it to the 6th wall and surpassed my record in Guatemala 🇬🇹! I had the best time trying different walls and doing pretty good on them. 1 and a half hours later……. It was time for dinner 🍽️ and we walked to a place called Como Como, and I had a 10 out of 10 pasta 🍝 with meat sauce! It was so delicious 🤤. Then, we walked home 🏠 and took a shower 🚿 and then hanged out for a bit and then I went to bed 🛌.

Summers in Guatemala have been amazing for so many reasons, and one is seeing the many ways in which Luca has grown and matured. He loves school. He no longer complains about walking. He tries new things. He navigates his way through the city with minimal assistance and crosses the streets expertly. He doesn’t need to be told to not brush his teeth with the tap water or not to flush his toilet paper 😆. He has become a card shark playing gin rummy. He is praised by the teachers at school for being well behaved and he all around has become a great traveler. I couldn’t be more proud.

While reading the guest book in the house we rented at Lake Atitlan, I came across a quote that I believe I have seen before but that has never resonated with me until this moment.

Travel does change you. It exposes you to that which you didn’t grow up around. That which while uncommon in your world is daily happenstance in others.  It humbles you. It makes you patient. It makes you curious. It gives you perspective. It gives you understanding. It gives you appreciation, awareness, grace. 

I am so wholeheartedly grateful for the opportunity I have had to return to this beautiful country for the fourth time, and to be able to share it with my son, my family and my friends. Until next time Cuauhtēmallān.

Today I woke up and got dressed and then went to breakfast in this really pretty view and I got eggs bacon and toast. Maggie got pancakes that I wanted to try with no milk or butter and I loved them! It was so good. We took pictures, we played cards, and then we didn’t walk home because we went straight to swimming in the lake. But first we had to take a boat ride that was a little long to get there. Once we got there we had to climb up rocks and stones to get up to get to thermal waters which is basically in the lake but hot water comes out from the inside of the earth 🌍. We couldn’t really swim but we sat in it and we had a really good time. Then Maggie got in the real lake where it was cold and I decided I was brave enough to do the same. It was so cold when I got in but once I dipped my head in the water I got used to it. I looked for rocks, I even found obsidian and a rock with yellow stuff on it. I thought it was gold but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t

Today I woke up and ate scrambled eggs and fruit for breakfast 🍳. Then, the weekend was over and I got ready for school 🏫. At break time today was special for me because I got to reunite with Mrs. Lucia (my old teacher 👩‍🏫) and I was so excited 😆. I tried to understand the words Mommy and Mrs. Lucia were both saying and I understand the easy words. I had a croissant 🥐 with no butter 🧈 and it was delicious 😋. I was so sad 😞 when we left, because now I thought about how fun 🤩 and nice 😊 and happy 😃 she was. It was sad 😔. But when I returned to the school 🏫 and with my teacher 👩‍🏫 now, I started to feel a little bit better.

A little bit off topic but Tia has a week off because she wants to do stuff that she wants to do and me and Mrs. Christine are stuck and studying 📖 at school 🏫. She is so lucky 🍀. Anyway, when we were done with school. Mommy picked both of us up to go to the grocery store to get stuff to eat for the family. Once we were done ✅, we walked home while Tia was cooking lunch 🥙. We ate and then we chilled and I practiced baseball ⚾️ with a pipe and a ball 🏈 to hit it. Then here was the adventurous part of the day, we went and took pictures on a mountain ⛰️! But first we had to get up the mountain 🏔️ so we took a tuk tuk 🛺 there and the tuk tuk 🛺 barely made us up 🆙 on the mountain 🏔️ 😬. Then we went on the mountain and took pictures of me climbing and taking regular pictures and everyone doing the same thing except the climbing 🧗‍♂️. We had the best time, including me and then we hiked down the mountain ⛰️ and then we walked to have dinner 🍽️ at a fancy restaurant. I had a hamburger 🍔 and fries 🍟. But a hamburger 🍔 with red bread 🥖! After we ate, we walked home 🏠 and took a shower 🚿 and then I went to bed 🛌.

I woke up for an amazing day and ate cereal and fruit for breakfast. Then I picked the right shirt and not the right shorts and was ready to go to school. We had to leave early today because we were going to Lago de Atitlan which means lake Atitlan in English in case you don’t know. The presentation started at 11 but we went first at 1045 because our driver was picking us up from school at 11 so we went early and I went first. Mommy said I did really good and I thought I did too! Then it was Tia and Ms. Christine’s turn because they went in a group with their teachers. They were asking me to go in a group with everyone but I didn’t want to cooperate that because it’s too hard to cooperate. Then our driver named Sergio came to pick us up and we drove 2.5 hours to Lago de Atitlan!!!! Two hours and a half later,… we finally made it. When we got out of the car we went to lunch and Maggie was sleeping over with us for a night with just us so that was exciting. I had a Spanishy hamburger and French fries for lunch but I really didn’t like the hamburger for lunch because it was too Spanishy. Then we walked to the dock and took a boat to our house. While we were in the boat crossing the lake it started raining and it was a bumpy ride. Once we got there we had to walk through a river of mud because the sidewalk there is supposed to be dry but since it was raining it flowed down and we got our shoes and socks wet. Our house was so big, it had four stories and me and mommy slept on the first floor. Once we got settled in and then we went to dinner to a place called La iguana but first we had to walk there and it was taco night but I just had the pork. It’s basically like chipotle and I kinda liked it. We played cards with Maggie and then we walked home in the dark. It was super dark. We had to use our phones as flashlights. Once we got home I took a shower and went to bed.

Today I woke up and ate some scrambled eggs and fruit 🍌 for breakfast 🍳. Then, we walked to school 🏫 and then learned Spanish. Then, we had break time and I ate a snack before we got back to school 🏫. Tia and Ms. Christine (our new guest) made a Guatemalan dish called pupusa and I tried it and I didn’t really like it. Then, we walked home and I ate spaghetti 🍝 and meatballs for lunch 🥗. Then, chillaxed (relaxed and chilled in one word 😊) and then it was time for the title of the blog, PICKLEBALL!!! But first we had to take a tuk tuk 🛺 because it was a too far walk. Then when we got there, we had to wait like 30 minutes because the open play where everyone can play started at 6pm. Then it was our turn and I was on mommy’s team at first and she was learning how to hit a shot over the net. Ms. Christine and Tia were on a team and Ms. Christine got the hang of it quickly. Since me and Mommy play ping pong she didn’t hold the pickle ball racket the right way and then she held it like a ping pong racket and she was better at hitting the ball 🏀. After our practice round I switched teams and it was Ms. Christine and me versus Mommy and Tia. We didn’t keep score because Ms. Christine and Mommy were learning but if it was me and Tia playing we would have played with points. There were some pros right beside us and they were hitting it super hard. I tried to do that but it didn’t work out well. 30 mins later….we finished and were basically also exhausted and we didn’t even have dinner. So we walked to dinner and I had a burger with French fries 🍟. My belly was super happy after I ate that hamburger and French fries so then we walked home. I took a shower and went to bed.

The End.

Here are some pictures.

Today, I woke up and had scrambled eggs and apples for breakfast 🍳. Then, I got dressed and was ready to walk to school 🏫. At break time, the workers had set up a table for their traditional meal 🍽️. I handmade the tortillas by flattening the dough until it was a circular shape and then I put the tortillas on the pan above the fire 🔥. Once, they were done ☑️, I tried them with beans and guacamole 🥑 and I didn’t like it that much but with only the guacamole 🥑, I liked it a little bit better. The assistant manager told us history about this meal 🥘 and I couldn’t really understand it well because he said it in Spanish but I understood a few words. Then, I had to wash my hands and then it was time to make the tortillas with guacamole 🥑 and beans 🫘. Then, when we were done eating 🍽️, we continued school 🏫. Then, we went to our field trip at our school. We went to the market to look 👀 and buy some things. I asked to buy a toy car 🚘 in Spanish and Tia got me it. It was Corvette Stingray. Then, we had to get our stuff and go home 🏠 because it was already time to leave school 🏫. Tia wanted to get lunch at a place where the woman 🧍‍♀️ did her cooking while we waited. I didn’t get anything there so we walked home 🏠 and I ate spaghetti 🍝 and meatballs for lunch 🥪. Then, we chilled and I played a baseball ⚾️ game with myself. Then, we had dinner and I had a hamburger 🍔 with French fries 🍟. Then, we went home and I took a shower and then I went to bed 🛌.

The End.

Here are some pictures.

Today I woke up and ate eggs and cereal for breakfast. Then, I got dressed and ready to go to school. Today was just a me and mommy day so for break, we went to a coffee shop and had fun playing cards. Once, I returned to school, and I had a blast with my teacher. Then we went home to eat lunch. Then, a little later me and mommy got our shoes on and walked to the best part of the day, ROCK CLIMBING! When, we got there the door literally opened when we had just got to the place 😱. I had the best time of climbing on rocks. The best part was Mommy had scheduled 4 hours of rock climbing! I got so lucky 🍀. The craziest part of rock climbing that there was a literal monkey in the building. Not actually but there was a guy who was basically acting like a monkey climbing up the wall and hanging from his feet and doing poses because he had 2 photographers taking pictures of him. I was in shock.

Today, I woke up at 6:30 and ate cereal for breakfast. Then, we got ready for the day at school. We walked to school and once again, we had the best time ever. At break time, we went to the coffee place that had a ping pong table in the place. After that we finished school and then we went lunch and then we went to the ruins in a tuk tuk (a motorcycle with a carriage over it with 3 wheels) and we all had to cramp ourselves in the tuk tuk. Once we got there, I was ready to climb 🧗‍♂️. The girls were trying to go where I had climbed and their mom stopped them. The scariest thing about the adventure was that I almost got lost but luckily I found them and I wanted to stay with mommy so much that I even went to the market with her and the girls and Tia went home. We got stuff for Chipotle bowls and they were delicious 😋. Then, I took a shower and then played with the girls. Then, I went to bed 🛏️.

The End.

Here are some pictures.