Monday, January 12, 2009

from the "good morning, guatemala" dept

San Pedro la Laguna, Guatemala
January 12, 2008 (Morning)

I have finally moved into my little San Pedro home. This big milestone follows nearly two weeks of running back and forth between the Hotel Peneleu ($4 a night) and the house, slowly setting things up. And after the long delay, I finally stayed at the house overnight.

How did it go? Well, not great. Here's a chronological breakdown:

Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009, 6:00pm – The sun starts to go down, and, unlike the hotel, it is amazingly quiet. A good sign.

Feral Cat #1

6:01pm – Feral Cat #1 (the calico one) begins howling at the front door for some kibble. Luckily, the previous tenant left me with a small supply of KittySnax.

6:30pm – I am delighted to find that I am able to receive my wireless internet signal in the living room. It's "fat" enough to be able to listen to streaming radio from Vancouver.

7:00pm – I plug a little TV receiver card into my computer. It's a device that lets me receive a couple of local off-air signals on my laptop. Boring.

7:01pm – I remember that it's Water Day! San Pedro has poor water service and most people (me included) get water for about an hour, three times a week. When the water comes on, everyone fills their cisterns and assorted tanks. I have a big one beside the house (my shower and taps are gravity fed). One of my three hours occurs at 7pm on Sunday. I dash outside and turn on the tap.

7:45pm – I realize I have a bottle of Ron Zacapa Centenario – the world's best rum. I pour a shot to celebrate the new home. The cistern begins to spill over the top, so I run outside to turn the water off. I likely won't need to fill it again for some time.

8:00pm – I migrate upstairs with the laptop. The internet works in the bedroom too, but the signal comes and goes. I'm addicted to the Showtime series Dexter and decide to watch an episode from season two.

9:00pm – I'm knackered. Earlier in the day I had attended a big BBQ at a local watering hole and the feed of pork, beef, potato salad, and cole slaw is taking its toll. I decide to shut 'er down. I have a fitful sleep due to the thin foam pad that, along with a wooden platform that constitutes my bed. I make a mental note that I need to buy an additional pad to save my hips.

Monday, Jan. 12, 2009, 1:30am – I wake up to the sounds of street dogs howling at the moon. This is repeated several times throughout the night.

4:30am – The previous tenant warned me that a neighbour likes to play his radio early in the morning. And, indeed, he does. Bear in mind that volume levels in Guatemala usually start at the higher end of the scale. Like 11. And thus, at this pre-dawn hour I am treated to the latest news headlines (in Spanish) and all my favourite Rancheros hits.

4:45am – The volume of the radio increases as the neighbour begins to chop wood. Sigh.

(Un)fortunately, I don't have a window that faces Mr. Entertainment and his radio. This is probably good, as the sound is theoretically deadened – although with walls made out of thin planks, the deadening is rather non-existent. But this also prevents me from attempting to ask him to turn it down. Even if I could, my lack of Spanish will likely make the request difficult to explain.

However, I do know a guy who can have a word with the neighbour. He's a tough sort and rumour has it that he carries a gun. Nothing like a little leverage!

5:15am – Feral Cat #1 is hungry again and begins howling outside my window. I decide that the universe wants me to get up.

5:16am – I give the cat some kibble, realizing that I will have to do this daily from now on. I haven't seen the other feral cats, but expect them to show up hungry soon.

5:25am – I put a pot of "local" water on the gas stove in order to make some coffee. I generally drink bottled water but at the hotel I got into the habit of boiling tap water for everything else. Boiling tap water for a couple of minutes should prevent a case of amoebas – but I'm not sure if that provides 100% protection. Time will tell.

5:30am – Check email, news headlines. Even though I've been here a short time, I already find I have little interest in local news from Vancouver. It's all about closed roads and Olympic overruns. Not very relevant when you live in the Guatemalan highlands.

My Feet, The Floor

Suicide Shower

Knife Switch in Shower

6:30am – It's almost time to take a shower, but unfortunately I have left my rubber sandals at the hotel. That means walking around on rough stone (the shower is outside). Most homes in San Pedro don't have hot water. However most showers have big electric showerheads that heat up the water as it flows out. We call this a Suicide Shower: lots of exposed 110 volt wires – and no ground. My shower at the house also features a knife switch.

6:31am – Another neighbor flips on Radio Rancheros, but doesn't tune it in correctly. Double sigh.

7:00am – I survived my first shower and if anything, it was too hot. Perfect!

Breakfast

7:04am – Breakfast time: I put another pot of water on the stove – this time to cook up some refried beans (in handy single serving packets) and eggs. Mmm, mmm! There is only one pot here, so my cooking will be limited until I pick up some additional cookware.

7:05am – I make a list of things to do: write a blog post, pick up laundry, buy a foam mattress pad, get the guy with the gun to chat with the neighbours, and get some more supplies for the house.

The day has begun…

Cheers!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

snowstorm yesterday, 20 below today...very envious of your little set-up there. do get used to the cat, by the way. their early morning habits are hard to break once you start indulging them. your buddy spunky wakes me at 6 am every day since I started feed him wet-food again. if I don't get up he starts breaking stuff - knocks pottery off counters, mantles, et cetera. A real charmer - Mark, San Juan, N.B.

Anonymous said...

I have to say it all sounds awfully exciting compared to an average day in Vancouver. I hope it works out for you, central america is so lovely.

Larissa B said...

Feral cat is super cute! I'd wind up taking it back to Vancouver with me....
Good luck with the neighbour - I thought a leaf-blower at 7:50 on a summer Saturday morning was bad...