El jueves part 1

    Bombas went off in a loud string of explosions at 4 am. Then they added a string of black cats in. It was either somebody’s early morning birthday celebration or else someone had a mischief in them that needed to come out. Or perhaps they were trying to break up the dog fight that went crazy a bit before that.

    There are dogs all over here. They are not the kind you feel like bending over and petting as Jordan Peterson recommends. They have a hungry look that makes me feel like if I pet them they will attach to me like a tick, I saw a large painted wall that says, “If you feel like owning a dog, adopt one off the street. Sterilize it and then keep it at home in your own yard.” At supper, street dogs would come into the table area where we ate wood-fired pizza. They understood when the boys growled “Scram” at them. As soon as we stood up they came closer as if they were going to eat off the table. Surely the owner wouldn’t allow it tho.

   The place we ate pizza had a high ventilated roof of hanging ferns and various types of plants. I’d love a room like that in my house.

   The songbirds started soon after the bombas along with the roosters and a few vehicles. Hannah slipped off to her parents room. Elsie wondered why someone would choose 4 am to light fireworks. I did too. Usually if it’s to wake a birthday person they wait till at least 6.m

   More gunpowder explosions at 5:30. These were like a string of black cats or whatever they’re called.

   There is a view I need to paint out of our bedroom window here at casa muller. There’s the wooden window framing a clothesline post and then the fuschia and red bougainvilleas on the fence and far up there’s the mountains. In the mist we can’t see all the range of peaks but the one right behind the house has gorgeous warm greens and cool greens mixed with brown earth tones.

   One little note: The plumbing here is bad and we’re supposed to throw our toilet paper in the trash but I’m having a hard time getting back into the custom. I always remember just as the paper hits the water and seems like it’s working. They were already telling us this tradition in bathrooms at the airport.

   We’re headed down to the lake and will catch a boat across lake Atitlan to two different town. We’ll see a coffee farm, weaving looms (hopefully like the big ones the Mayas built rooms for where I lived years in Paxtoca.) I also hope to see how they dye the strings they use to make designs in their weaving. They tie off the spots and create different colours in one lump of string.

   We’re also gonna visit a cacao factory and Eddie says the choco bananos with 70 percent are crazy good. Choco bananos are frozen bananas dipped in melted chocolate. You can get them almost anywhere but I believe the fresh chocolate would be really delicious.

  So I’ll think of you girls all day and I can’t bring you chocolate but I’ll describe it to you later.