• Fireworks
• Balloon
• Lightbulb
• Jellyfish
• Basketball or soccer ball pump
• Bomb

To be continued…

Yesterday I woke up at 5:30am and I snuggled with mommy and couldn’t fall back asleep.  We took a tuk tuk up the hill to breakfast. I ate eggs and bacon and I tried everything that mommy gave me. I have a deal with mommy that if I try a taste of everything she gives me, I get to go to the trampoline park in Florida.  Did I like what I tried? Yes and no! I liked the eggs the most.  They were so good that I wanted more. Mommy and I talked about the roofs of the houses that are made of tin foil… no, no, tin metal or something.  They are not like regular houses because our houses are made of bricks and theirs are made of metal. We talked about the different ways people live. After breakfast we walked to the lake so we could take a boat ride.  But the boat took so long we couldn’t even go.  After that we walked on a secret path to the freezing cold lake and I jumped in. I felt like I was freezing and gonna freeze.  Then Tia and Mommy jumped in.  Then Chula (a dog) came in with us. She even stayed with us for awhile when the man that was with her left and she even walked to lunch with us! She loved for me to throw rocks and she would dive into the water to get them. She only liked big rocks. She would bark at me to come play and throw big rocks.  She only liked to catch rocks in the air. Her tail would wag when she dove under the water and her booty would float to the top.  Chula only understands Spanish. We walked and we saw a beautiful blue flower and I took lots of pictures.  Then we ate lunch late at 2pm. I had spaghetti and meatballs but it tasted Spanishy and I didn’t like it.  I tried hummus and guacamole on bread and I kinda liked it.  Then we walked 20 minutes to the massage place and Tia took a ten hour massage,  actually it was 2 hours.  We were so bored, we threw rocks and dug for rolly pollies. Rolly pollies are the best in Guatemala. And then Maggie and Michael- John arrived at the massage place and we showed them around.  Then we walked back to dinner.  For dinner you could wear costumes and I wore an orange big shirt with a giant hole in it.  I learned how to spin a quetezal and I spun it 100 times. I was on Mommy’s team when she played cards with the grown ups. Then I played pool with Maggie.  Then we came to our room and took a rinse off and went to sleep.  That’s our storrrrrryyyyyyy!!!!

Today didn’t quite go as planned as we were going to head over to San Juan, but we didn’t get along so well with the boat men, again. So we decided to deviate and stay in Santa Cruz for the day.  After breakfast we wandered around the lake, jumped off the dock,  swam in the volcanic lake created over 84,000 years ago, and ran into an old friend; Chula. Chula is a dog that lives at La Iguana and spent a bunch of time with us the last time we were here.  She’s this incredible golden retriever who does exactly what you with think a retriever would do… only she does it a little differently. I’ll let Luca share more about that.  After the dock I took Luca and Nicole to Isla Verde, the hotel the duo and I ended up at by my error last we came to the lake. We had an incredible lunch with a view that is priceless.  After lunch we headed back around the lake to meet a lady at her house (that totally doesn’t sound sketchy at all, I know). Nicole and I were both scheduled to have a massage, one after the other.  Welp, after Nicole saw my face as I walked out of the massage, she quickly changed her mind. My experience was, well, how do I say this…interesting…memorable, yes, memorable. It began with her 30 minute grounding session, aka she prepared her lunch; banana, avocado, and honey. She said she needed some healthy fats to prepare for the session. She then proceded to tell me about her life in the states and how she went from being a corporate executive to finding her true calling; a healer of the lake. There was much discussion about generational trauma, women’s suffrage, and how important it is to release the trauma of our ancestors (mind you, this all took place in the kitchen before the massage even began). Once she felt grounded, aka full, it was time to get naked (don’t worry, I’m Patti’s daughter, I kept my panties on). The massage started out seemingly normal as I listened to the waves crashing upon the shore. It quickly took a turn when I felt her hop on all fours on top of my back. Envision a human tree frog, and I was the tree. It was then, as she stood in frog pose, (or crouching tiger, whichever gives you a better visual) on top of my back,  that I knew this was not going to be any ordinary massage. She proceeded on to the right side of my body as she cleansed “my paternal grandmother’s spirits from the last 7 generations”. I would come to find out later that this was the exact moment that Nicole peered in because the hour massage was coming up on an hour and a half and she was checking for proof of life. My mothers spirits were still to come. As she crossed over to my left side she then addressed my maternal grandmother’s spirits as she told me to release my masculinity that has been carried and passed on for generations due to the womens need to be independent and self sufficient. She then told me to breathe in and embrace my feminitiy. At some point during this process, she took my arms and stretched them back towards the lake as she whispered into my ear “breathe in the spirit of the lady of the lake and release your trauma to her”. Numerous other things transpired; such as the massaging of my intestines, the swinging of my feet and the supposed healing of my left (dont forget, thats the maternal side) torn shoulder. I was finally released after 2 hours and was greeted by my brother and Maggie.  Card games, Cuba libres, and BBQ community dinner preceded and bedtime was a welcomed event, though it sounded much like a night club from the community gathering below.

i’m writing this while sitting in a hammock on our balcony, over looking the lake and two volcanoes. today is our first official day in guatemala. yesterday was crazy busy. dad and i woke up at 3am to catch our 5 o’clock flight to fort lauderdale. all i remember from the airport is the man attempting to bring a chainsaw on the plane. since it was so early, i slept through the entire flight. we arrived in florida around 9am and waited for our 10:30 flight. once on the second plane, dad opened his yogurt parfait and spilled all of his granola on the ground. safe to say we behaved extra well for the remainder of the flight. our plane landed in guatemala city around 11am (with the time change). once we got through customs, which was a breeze, we met up with sergio, our driver. the van ride was pretty long. since we were driving over many mountains, it was mostly made up of twists and turns. we made it to lago de atitlan at 2:30pm. from there, all that was left was a boat ride. the water was really choppy, so the hard, plastic benches, were not enough to comfort our behinds. dad and i arrived at the hotel at about 3:20. we got settled in our room before heading out to meet up with nicole, luca, and michele. we found them down the beach at a woman’s house where aunt michele was getting a massage. after that we hung around the hotel for a few hours while we waited for dinner. dinner was a delicious barbecue. we ate and ate until our stomachs were stuffed, and played cards well into the night. after that, luca and i played a game of pool before heading up to bed. i woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the waves splashing, which is an awesome way to wake up. now we are just hanging out before heading up to breakfast. i can’t wait to see what today holds.

Michele writes…I have returned to the mother land were I am once again amongst my people lol (all the women look just like me, 5ft tall and round 😆) My blog title best describes my day yesterday. “Let it flow.” All the planning in the world… and life still happened… and we went with the flow. Some of us better than others lol. You know that saying “the apple doesn’t fall from the tree”, well I have seen that play out in real life. Last night Luca said to me “I wanted a place with a fan”, to which I replied “there are no fans or air conditioning anywhere we are going ” (because the temperature is 65 at night and highs of 74 during the day), to which he replied “this was a bad idea I wanted a place with air conditioning”. Apple- tree theory in full effect here. Nicole and I have been traveling for years together so we do it pretty well… like I know she can’t have feaher pillows in her bed and she knows that she’s responsible for communicating and exchanging money. Throw Luca into this international travel mix and now we (Nicole and I both) are learning his traveling quirks. Like I mentioned, things didn’t necessarily go as planned but that is ok, we regrouped and adjusted our plans and ended last night on a high note with some tastey Flor de Cana, Zacapa and playing pool with my Luca in the hostel. This morning began with laying in the hammock and having Luca dictate his blog to me, which was my favorite part of the trip so far. Hearing the story through his eyes and helping him learn how to be descriptive enough to include you all in our journey. This followed by my cold shower, and me standing topless in front of the sink vigorously brushing my teeth in front of our open bathroom window (use your imagination here on what else was moving vigorously 😆) At which point I heard a rustle in the bushes… that I assumed was one of the many loud birds around us. But to my surprise I quickly learned it was a teenage boy as we locked eyes through the bushes. jury is still out on whether it was more traumatizing or exciting for him, I’m sure when I see him at tonight’s bbq things will become more clear lol. This trip it seems we shall be one with both nature and our neighbors. We took our first ride in a tuk tuk and headed up to Sabor de Cruceno for breakfast. It’s this incredible NGO for the culinary students in this village. The food and view and food are outstanding.

As we are in flight to Guatemala City, I just keep thinking how grateful I am for the chance to travel. This will be my longest trip and my longest time out of the country since 2008. It’s also a special gift to be able to do the trip with Maggie.

Travel is a chance to step outside my normal spaces. Be uncomfortable in different ways. Enjoy the people I am with – and get annoyed by them. It’s just a different space and gives me an opportunity to learn a little from that different space.

Doing that with my kids has always been special and this trip is doubly so. Maggie and I have had a lot of change recently – new apartment, new neighborhood, new rhythms and soon to be new school for her. I am excited for this trip to bond a bit, maybe jump off some stuff into some water, maybe climb some stuff, but also just enjoy being in a place that’s a bit (a lot) outside our normal routine.

We have quite the trip planned. We will be in Antigua, Guatemala for three weeks. Maggie will go to language school and I’ll work remotely in the mornings then I am taking the afternoons off for us to goof around and do stuff. We will travel a bit on the weekend too perhaps. But mainly we will just hang out.

We will be joined by quite the cast of characters. My sister Michele will be with us the whole time and her friend Nicole and Nicole’s son Luca will join for the first week. Our friends Andrea and Matthew will be there the second two weeks with their crew of five kids age 5-19. They’ve promised us they have a pool at the condo complex they’re staying in. Michele and the kids will all be in language school together – the rest of us adults speak Spanish so will be working or enjoying a quiet house in the morning. I am optimistic we will pick up some friends along the way as well.

Many adventures ahead I suspect, but mostly I hope for good time together, a few good card games and a chance to step into a new space and learn something new about ourselves and each other.

Nicole writes….I survived. But God knows I was tested. Note to self; don’t give up when trying to get money from an ATM before going to Lago. No, they do not accept American dollars or credit cards as one would think. No, 3 ATMs and one bank stop were not enough. Thank God for Mr. Sergio’s patience. Second note to self; before you order, and eat your food make sure that they will accept the form of payment you have on your person. Third note to self; ensure your American dollars are crisp, not wrinkled, and unblemished for they will be inspected with a careful eye and rejected at the slightest imperfection. My non homicidal critique is; the landscape is lush, the weather is perfection, and the backpackers are not as smelly as I thought they would be. The indigenous women in their traditional garb and their shoes without supportive arches, who while chunky and shaped like Michele, carry 100lbs potato sacks and 5 year old children on their backs have me in awe. I am pretty sure Michele descended from the Guatemalan people… we have seen her doppelganger around every corner.

Luca writes….. We got on a plane. I felt good on the plane even though it took 2 hours and 18 minutes. On the plane we saw a helicopter and volcanoes. We arrived at guatemala city and then we took a 3 hour drive ride with Mr. Sergio. We saw a lot of corn, cows, and horses. The cities don’t have regular cars they have tuk tuks. They are tiny cars with one wheel in front and two wheels in back. The houses look like cabins and are really close together. The woman here have African American clothes on. (Tia told me they are called Ropa Tipico, central American traditional clothing) Then we took a boat ride that we had to wait a long time for because there wasn’t enough people on the boat. Mommy almost threw up waiting on log to get on the boat. The boat was really fast and really bumpy because of the waves and mommy bumped her butt. Tía and I sat at the front of the boat. We saw all the volcanoes while we had the boat ride. We got to our hostel La Iguana. Our room was nice and clean like all hotels. It’s on the second floor with a balcony. I ate a hamburger and French fries for dinner but they tasted Spanishy. So I ate all Tias food. After dinner we took a long journey walk on a secret passage way. Then we played pool and I hit the ball in 3x in a row but Tia won everything. Then we went to bed. That our story. The end.

Today is our last day in the US! We’ve packed up our bags, found our passports, and get on the plane at 4:30 a.m.