Well, the Blogger folks say that they have streamlined the process of writing and editing one's blog. So far I have not found that to be the case, but as I am writing now, I must have done something right!
Since last I wrote some things have changed a bit. I'm writing on the fully-functional sleek titanium MacBook Pro that I bought from a friend in Beirut. He bought it in Cairo, so it has an English/Arabic keyboard, which was very amusing for Nery, the repairman hero here, who got it running again.
I have also been out and about with my new Sony camera with a super zoom, and discovered that the school print shop has a terrific Epson ink jet plotter. There are several 20x30 prints waiting to be framed, some of which you will see here shortly.
In the last post (ages ago) I mentioned that I had been booking a trip; for a long weekend, we went to Antigua, Guatemala. It is the former colonial capitol which was destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt several times. They finally gave up and moved the capitol to Guatemala City (we spent a little time there too). Fortunately, Antigua reinvented itself as a tourist destination, became a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is now a very popular place to visit by Guatemalans and gringos alike.
We traveled there on the biggest bus I have ever been on. A double-decker, with luxury seating below and economy above, we headed out for Guatemala City after school on Thursday (in the economy section). As we approached the border, I was thinking that it had been a long time since we crossed and international border on land (probably on the road to Damascus (It might have been The Road to Damascus, not sure). As it turned out, we had to cross the bridge on foot! I think it was probably the Central American version of the Allenby Bridge into Israel. The bridge was under repair, and open only for cars, carefully one at a time. So we crossed over the river and boarded a mirror-image bus on the Guatemalan side. They even managed to have the movie playing at about the same spot!
A van from the Hotel Soleil met us in Guatemala City and zipped us off to Antigua; we got in about 10:00PM. We finished up the snacks that we didn't eat on the bus, had a small nightcap, and dropped off to sleep.
Friday was a walkabout day and I will let the photos do the talking for now.
On Friday, this street was clogged with cars. I joked with a watercolor painter that at least he could leave the cars out. Happily, Saturday was a no-car day!
Clearly, Antiguans like their colors! Some walls have acquired a natural patina of age, but others have had it applied. Either way, the result is a very carefully protected ambience of color and age. Even the fast food restaurants (McD's Domino BK) are patina-ed outside, and are limited to very small outside signs. No golden arches. In fact, it was easier to spot them by the legions of delivery motorbikes outside.
And, yes, I was with Carol, and I do have some photos of her. Next post.
Since last I wrote some things have changed a bit. I'm writing on the fully-functional sleek titanium MacBook Pro that I bought from a friend in Beirut. He bought it in Cairo, so it has an English/Arabic keyboard, which was very amusing for Nery, the repairman hero here, who got it running again.
I have also been out and about with my new Sony camera with a super zoom, and discovered that the school print shop has a terrific Epson ink jet plotter. There are several 20x30 prints waiting to be framed, some of which you will see here shortly.
In the last post (ages ago) I mentioned that I had been booking a trip; for a long weekend, we went to Antigua, Guatemala. It is the former colonial capitol which was destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt several times. They finally gave up and moved the capitol to Guatemala City (we spent a little time there too). Fortunately, Antigua reinvented itself as a tourist destination, became a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is now a very popular place to visit by Guatemalans and gringos alike.
We traveled there on the biggest bus I have ever been on. A double-decker, with luxury seating below and economy above, we headed out for Guatemala City after school on Thursday (in the economy section). As we approached the border, I was thinking that it had been a long time since we crossed and international border on land (probably on the road to Damascus (It might have been The Road to Damascus, not sure). As it turned out, we had to cross the bridge on foot! I think it was probably the Central American version of the Allenby Bridge into Israel. The bridge was under repair, and open only for cars, carefully one at a time. So we crossed over the river and boarded a mirror-image bus on the Guatemalan side. They even managed to have the movie playing at about the same spot!
A van from the Hotel Soleil met us in Guatemala City and zipped us off to Antigua; we got in about 10:00PM. We finished up the snacks that we didn't eat on the bus, had a small nightcap, and dropped off to sleep.
Friday was a walkabout day and I will let the photos do the talking for now.
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