Hi Folks

So we are now back in Guatemala. We landed at 10:20 on Saturday January 3 and were met by a guatemalan friend. We spent the night at their house. On Sunday we attended church, had a meal out and then moved into another friends' apartment in zone 21. This zone is very noisy with commercial airlines flying directly over the home and a very busy road beside the house. We have been here for 10 days and during this time we found a small house and began moving our "stuff" from where it was in storage to the new pad. This included activities like washing and cleaning etc. so yesterday we took some time off and went to Antigua for the day. We purchased food and made a visit to the family we have been helping that live just west of Antigua. We kept the visit short and made it back to our zone 21 apartment just after 5 pm. Now it's time to carry all our travel bags down to the car and move to San Cristobal. We are not sure when we will have internet access again. They are supposed to be coming this afternoon to hook this up but we are in Guatemala and know better than to get our hopes up.

It is interesting comparing the situations here to Canada. For one thing, when we traveled back to Canada in July, the air felt colder upon entering the lungs. I did not notice this after a few weeks. Here in Guatemala the air is always warmer. Within one day of arriving in Canada I had a nose bleed. Dry air. In Guatemala the air is a little moister. I say a little because the elevation has a lot to do with the humidity. Most of Guatemala is at 4 to 5 thousand feet above sea level and the temperatures and humidity favour good living. Down off the mountains the temperature rises and you are closer to the ocean so the humidity rises. Noise levels in Guatemala City are very high compared to our little town in the Crowsnest. I was amazed many mornings in Canada when I would hear nothing except perhaps the wind or a train whistle in the distance. In Guatemala the sounds are everywhere and in your face so to speak. Smells are almost non existent in Canada but here the smell of sewer is often noted in walking the streets. Birds sound different and are different and yet with all the activity of a city they still seem to thrive. Well these are just a few observations that I have had contrasting the two countries.

Thee next blog will be from our new house location in San Cristobal

Thats all for now.
Tim