Before we begin, I´d like to make a special request. A number of you have been emailing me to say you´re reading the blog and so on, but you know, there´s a comments button at the bottom! Not that I mind the emails at all, but if you leave a comment on the blog I look more popular. Mum, please don´t say anything embarrassing (and that includes the assertion that you wouldn´t say anything embarrassing).
And so, to business. I am still sick, though my illness is constantly changing. Friday was pretty bad, and Saturday wasn´t great either. And what does one do when they´re feverish and unable to sleep? Why, they climb a volcano of course!
After a journey lasting over an hour through a tropical storm, and an elevation of altitude that made me of the opinion that to sever my ears would probably be the least painful option, we reached Pacaya. Fortunately it had stopped raining, though we still had an hour long trek up a very, very steep hill. I can assure you all though that it´s actually not that difficult, and entirely worth it. And let me reiterate the fact that this is an ACTIVE volcano; there was lava, we toasted marshmallows over it. Unfortunately due to technical difficulties, I am unable to upload my pictures, but you can see some, including one featuring yours truly, on my housemate Debra´s blog. If you ever come to Guatemala, and you really should, then I recommend two things: Firstly, climb Pacaya; and secondly, when the locals at the foot of the mountain offer you a walking stick for 5Q, ignore the voice in your head that says it´s probably just a gimmick, and just buy the damn stick. Trust me, you´ll be thankful later.
Sunday brought with it a couple of firsts for yours truly in Antigua. It was my first opportunity to go up to the community in Santa Maria, where I have been building stoves this week (more on that in a later edition). We went up there in the morning to celebrate the birthday of Santiago´s daughter (Santiago being one of the project directors up in Santa Maria). The act of going there brings me to the other first: the chicken bus. If you haven´t clicked on that link yet, do so now. Done? Yes, you read that right: live animals, often chickens. Now, I´ve not shared one of these buses with a chicken yet, but the experience is frankly enough as it is. These vehicles are like bottomless bags; there is always room for more people, animals, ice cream salesmen. The salesmen are a particularly interesting sight, for it takes a lot of skill to sell anything, particularly ice cream, on a bus that is overcrowded; old and rickety; and then rickety some more due to Antigua´s policy of having exclusively cobbled streets.
Riding the chicken bus is an experience I´m glad to have had, but I´m very happy that when commuting this week I am blessed with the luxury of a minivan. One gets hurled around all the same, but the likelihood of that culminating in a face-off with live poultry is less.
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