Ringing in the New Year in Guatemala

Lunch at Pollo Campero

We had never visited Humberto, Paulina, and the family in Guatemala around Christmastime before. This year we decided that we would spend New Year's there. As two of the girls have birthdays in the first week of January, this would also allow us to be there for their birthday party.

We flew down on December 27th. Paulina, Vanesa, Yasmin, and Eddy took the 3 hour ride to Guatemala City to meet us at the airport. It was very nice to see them as soon as we arrived. We stopped at Pollo Campero for lunch. Eddy and Yasmin enjoyed the huge indoor play area. Eddy kept slipping and falling down in his stocking feet, so he took off his socks to give himself better traction. We enjoyed the fried chicken, cole slaw, french fries, rolls, and "American doughnuts."

Steph and Aracely

We drove to Panajachel, and the other kids were waiting for us in the driveway. Aracely surprised and delighted us by greeting us in English. She is in her second year of English language school. The progress she had made in the past 6 months was unbelievable. We are very proud of her! We greeted Paola, Yoselin, and Humberto, as well as other neighborhood cousins Neli and Josue.

Humberto showed us around the property. A lot of finish work had been completed in the past 6 months. He had planted a garden around the perimeter of a small courtyard separating the house from the guest rooms. There was a small Christmas tree lit up on the center of the courtyard. Humberto mentioned that it had been in the dining room, but had to be moved for space. Exterior walls had been stucco'ed and terra cotta tiles finished off the tops of the walls. It looked lovely.

Steph, Eddy, and Craig

Steph, Aracely, and Craig

The next day we took Yoselin, Aracely, and Eddy for a walk down to Lake Atitlan. It was a beautiful, sunny, clear day. This time of year seems to be a lot less humid than it is in July. The direct sun is hot, but once you are in the shade or when the sun goes down, it cools down considerably. The sky was clear and the volcanoes were visible. Aracely said the very astute, "I am hot. Ice cream is cold" in English.  Hint, hint. She is so cute! So we bought chocolate cones for the kids and a strawberry cone for ourselves. The girls dunked their feet into the water. The water became quite rough. We learned later from Humberto that this was due to the xocomil, a wind that is stirred up on the surface of the lake around midday. The wind gets its name from the Mayan words for "take away" and "sin." They believe that the winds come and carry away the sins of the villagers.

Steph, Aracely, Eddy, and Craig at Lake Atitlan

The next day, the kids wanted to go back to the lake. Today we took Yoselin, Yasmin, Eddy, and Aracely. They wore shorts since their pants had gotten so wet last time. Even Terry the dog followed us to the lake! Yoselin and Yasmin are total fish and went straight in for a swim. I kept ahold of Eddy and walked him along the shore and onto the dock.  Aracely attempted to just put her feet in, but some of the erratic, xocomil-induced waves splashed her and wound up getting her pretty wet.  She became cold and wanted to go home. When the other girls got out of the water, they were cold as well. There were no requests for ice cream today!

Eddy, Steph, and Aracely at Lake Atitlan

The next morning we went to do errands with Paulina, Aracely, Eddy, Yasmin, and Yoselin. We went to a barber shop near the market to get Eddy a haircut. The barber laid a wooden plank between the armrests of the old-school barber chair for a makeshift booster seat. Eddy was very patient and stayed completely still while the barber trimmed him with clippers, scissors, and even a straight razor ( ?! On a three-year-old?!) Eddy looked all handsome with his new haircut.

Eddy gets his hair cut

Next we went to the market, which had expanded into some of the neighboring streets with holiday vendors. Paulina bought fresh vegetables and chicken, and we rode home crammed into a tuk-tuk. After lunch, the kids wanted to go back to the lake. Today we took Yoselin, Yasmin, Eddy, Aracely, and Josue. Paulina told the kids not to swim; just to dunk their feet. Yoselin and Yasmin stretched the rules a bit and  laid down on the jetty. The waves broke over the jetty and doused them with water. They also dunked their heads into the water. They ended up getting just as soaked as if they had gone for a full-fledged swim. But at least we had remembered to bring towels today! We got creamsicles from the ice cream stand as the girls soaked up the last warm rays of the sun, and then we headed for home.

Yoselin, Aracely, Eddy, Steph, Yasmin, and Josue at Lake Atitlan

The next day was New Year's Eve, and we all woke early. We headed to the market at 9:30 to stock up on food and supplies for the New Year's Eve party that Humberto and Paulina would be hosting. We stopped to buy a huge bundle of pine needles from a local Mayan family on Rancho Grande. These would be spread on the ground and floor as part of the New Year's offering; and they have the added bonus of making the house smell like pine.

Buying pine needles for New Year's Eve

We continued on to the market. Stalls of fireworks were set up in the streets. Paulina bought all kinds of fruit, as well as beans, vegetables, and beef. She bought the girls each a new pair of earrings to start off the new year. It was warm in the sun and Eddy led us all over to a milkshake counter. We had delicious milkshakes flavored with fresh strawberries. After getting all the food that we needed, we stopped at a clothing stall and Paulina bought some new outfits for the girls. We rode another overstuffed tuk-tuk home with all of our purchases.

Paulina and Paola at the market

Vanesa prepares canteloupe to make ponche

Later in the afternoon Humberto's mother came over. She, Paulina, and Vanesa cut and prepared the various fruits for the traditional warm punch ("ponche") which they would be making. The New Year's Eve party was going to be a pot-luck. Paulina was making chili con carne, and guests would be bringing other dishes. In preparation for the party, Humberto and the kids scattered pine needles on the floors of the hallway and guest rooms, and on the ground. They hung up red and green streamers and green balloons. They positioned a row of tables with chairs on both sides down the middle of the hallway. Someone brought over a grill.

Humberto and Craig

Yoselin

Craig and Paola, New Year's Eve

Fun with sparklers

Salud!

The kids played with sparklers. At around 10:15, Carlos, Vilma, and Elizabeth arrived. We sat with them in the living room and drank a locally-produced fruit cordial. It was bright red and very sweet, in a Johnnie Walker bottle. We all drank a toast. As it approached 11 o'clock, other guests began to arrive. Humberto's brothers and their families, nieces and nephews, Humberto's sister Juana and her daughter Rocio, and Humberto's mother. They were grilling sausage and steak on the grill. As an appetizer, there were warm fresh home made tortilla chips with fresh guacamole. The tortilla chips were satisfyingly crunchy and really hit the spot. Some of the older kids were acting as dj's, using Humberto's computer and a set of speakers. Aracely danced in front of the Christmas tree.

We could tell when it was midnight due to all of the fireworks that went off simultaneously around the city. Some were professional grade and visible from a distance, but most people just lit their own around the neighborhoods. Humberto lit off some which created a shower of sparks, and others which twirled around on the ground. Everyone hugged and wished one another "Feliz Año." Humberto wore a pair of glittery 2012 sunglasses that a client had given him today. After I photographed him in them, he gave them to me. It became my mission to try to photograph as many guests as possible wearing the glasses. That was good for quite a few laughs.

Feliz Año, Paulina!

Craig, Rocio, and Steph ring in 2012

New Year's Eve buffet

By 12:30, the food was ready and the buffet was open for business. By this time, we had already lost a couple of the younger kids to sleep (Yoselin and Eddy both fell asleep in their chairs and were carted off to bed). Everyone piled their plates with chili con carne, sausages, blood sausage, chicken, rice, etc. And we drank rum and orange juice. The food was delicious. Paulina's chili con carne was fabulous. It was our first time ever trying blood sausage, and we were surprised at how spicy it was. We all sat around chatting and enjoying one another's company late into the night. Families said their goodnights and took kids home. Humberto and Paulina's kids went to bed with the exception of Vanesa, who was still going strong playing on the computer. We did a double-take when, at 4:15 a.m., Eddy came stumbling out of the house. I intercepted him and held him on my lap, where he promptly fell back to sleep. After a few minutes I brought him to his room (where Aracely and Yoselin were already asleep), tucked him in, and turned off the lights. Craig and I took that as our cue to call it a night. We left Humberto, Paulina, and three other guests to finish off a bottle of XL Extra Light Rum. Since the party was literally right on the other side of our wall, we didn't really get any sleep until the party ended at 5:30.

New Year's Eve buffet

 

New Year's Eve dinner

Eddy and Steph at 4:15 a.m. New Year's Day

The next day got off to a slow start, given that we had all been up so long the night before. Craig and I didn't emerge from our room until almost eleven o'clock. We helped to clean up the mess and Paulina made us a lovely light breakfast. Today was Yasmin's eleventh birthday. Although we knew the kids wanted to go to the lake today, we knew that there would be a joint party for Yasmin and Paola (whose thirteenth birthday is the 5th), so we needed to try to keep them distracted. At around 4 o'clock, Vilma, Carlos, and Elizabeth arrived, soon followed by other guests. There was a lovely birthday cake. Humberto brought home a large rabbit piñata, and the family filled it with hard candy, lollipops, and gum. The children (and even some of the adults) got plastic bags ready for candy-gathering. Yasmin got the first swings at the piñata, as some of the men pulled on ropes to make the piñata swing back and forth on a wire. Paola was the one who really demolished it. With her blindfold still on, she grabbed it with one hand to stabilize it, and whacked the thing apart with the stick in her other hand. Candy showered down and the kids gathered it up. Before anyone could get hurt, Humberto stepped in and shook any extra candy out of the piñata. There was some

Eddy, Chino, Aracely, and Diana at the birthday party

Filling the piñata

Yasmin with the piñata

After that, it's time for the cake. We all sing Happy Birthday to Yasmin and Paola in Spanish. That is followed by a second verse with the words "Queremos pastel" ("We want cake"). The guests then count to 11 and 13 and the birthday girls blow out the candles. Then the girls are supposed to each take a bite of the cake without using their hands. They bend forward and attempt to take a dainty bite, but Humberto and Junior push the back of their heads and they end up with facefulls of frosting. Cake is served to guests, along with tostadas with salsa and cheese on top. We have ponche to drink.

Yasmin and Paola's birthday cake

Later that night, Humberto opens a bottle of wine that a colleague had given him for the holidays. Humberto, Paulina, Craig, and I toast the upcoming year, and we thank them for another wonderful visit. Eddy rides around on his little plastic tricycle holding a sparkler, and inadvertently sets some pine needles on fire. I quickly stamp it out. Juana, Rocio, and Humberto's mother come over for what Humberto calls "The Last Supper." We eat the delicious leftover chili con carne from last night's fiesta. We all go to bed early; two parties within twnety-four hours have worn us all out.

Eddy plays with a sparkler

 We get up the next morning and pack up our things. We say goodbye to Humberto. It is his busy season, and he has to work every day while we have been here. Paulina and all of the kids make the long drive to the airport with us to see us off. That is so sweet of them (especially since some of the girls suffer from motion sickness) and it means a lot to us. This allows us to spend an additional 3 hours with them, and it allows them to get more familiar with the city and do some errands after dropping us off. Our driver Adrin gets a photo of us all together at the curb at the airport. We wave as they cross the street to get back into the van. Eddy keeps looking over his shoulder for us. He doesn't remember the goodbye ritual from past trips, so he doesn't understand that we are on our way back home, and that we won't be seeing them again for another six months.

Dropping us off at the airport

Thanksgiving in the Islands

Thanksgiving dinner at Molly Molone's: Steve, Mom, Marty, Craig, Steph

We upheld our tradition of spending Thanksgiving in St. Thomas with our pal Marty. This year, Craig, Steve, and I were joined by Craig and Steve’s Mom. We shared a two bedroom beach front suite at Secret Harbour (the same room that we had when our friend Beth joined us back in 2002  , but its kitchen and bathrooms have been upgraded since then). For the past couple of years, we have gone to Toad and Tart for a full Thanksgiving dinner, but Anna closed up shop since last year and we were left looking for a new place to eat turkey. Marty suggested dock-side Molly Molone’s in Red Hook, which had an incredible deal: all you can eat turkey dinner with all the fixin’s (including unlimited wine) for $22. This is a bargain by island standards.  We ate as much as we could while enjoying football on their big screen TV’s.

The next day was our traditional Cap’n Marty’s Island Hop. We had an inauspicious start to the day as we headed out to our rental Ford Focus to find that it had a flat tire (to go along with its lack of shocks). Steve called Marty and managed to catch him just as he was getting onto his motorcycle to come and meet us. He was able to switch to his car and came to the rescue. We would deal with the flat tire tomorrow.

When we arrived at the marina, Marty and I went to fill out the boat paperwork, and the others went to Marina Market to buy provisions. As usual, we rented the boat from Mattheus at See & Ski.  With Cap'n Marty at the helm and Steve (a.k.a. "Milky") as first mate, we set off from Red Hook towards St. John.

Cap'n Marty's Island Hop: Milky, Mom, Cap'n Marty, Craig

Cap'n Marty and Mom on the boat

Craig swimming at Peter Bay, St. John

 

 

 

Swimming at Sandy Caye

Sandy Caye

Craig at Foxy's, Jost Van Dyke

Steph at Foxy's

We anchored off of Peter Bay in St. John and Craig, Milky, and I went for a swim in the turquoise water. We enjoyed watching pelicans and another sea bird whom we dubbed Jonathan. We aren't sure what kind of bird he was, but he had distinctive turquoise coloring on the underside of his belly and wings. The pelicans plunged straight into the water, whereas Jonathan glided along the water, just barely preventing his wingtips from breaking the surface. The weather was partly cloudy, which meant we didn't get sunburned. We could see rain clouds in the distance, dumping rain on the coasts of other islands. Hopefully we would avoid it during the rest of our travels today. We climbed back on the boat and dug our wonderful Marina Market sandwiches out of the cooler. Craig and I had our usual: the turkey with cranberry sauce, cream cheese, and dijon mustard. It was delicious. We had already worked up an appetite this early in the morning..

 

After that, we  docked at Tortola to clear customs for the British Virgin Islands. Mom got her first stamp in her passport here – how exciting!! We anchored off Sandy Cay, a gorgeous strip of white sand. We all got into the water here for a swim, even Cap'n "It's too cold to swim in November?" Marty. Once Marty and Mom got back onto the boat, a rain cloud caught up with us. We continued swimming while raindrops pelted us. Marty told us that we better get out of the water or we were going to get wet.

Once we were back aboard the boat, Milky played the role of relief captain for a while as we cruised through open ocean. Normally we would head over to Norman Island to the Willy T for cocktails, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to go knowing that our favorite bartender Zeus is no longer there. It just wouldn’t be the same. So we changed up the itinerary and went to Foxy’s on Jost Van Dyke – someplace we haven’t visited in several years. 

 

At Foxy's, we sat at a table in the sand near the bar and the stage where Foxy the proprietor sometimes plays his trademark island calypso guitar. We drank painkillers and ordered some lunch. I got conch fritters. They were fresh, hot, and delicious in a tahini sauce. Craig and Steve got  a delicious chicken roti and curry. We caught sight of Foxy with Massachusetts Senator and one time Presidential hopeful John Kerry. Mom shook Kerry's hand and he smilingly acknowledged her Patriots T-shirt. We ordered a second round of drinks. We browsed around in the shop and Mom bought a pair of sandals.

The boat was anchored in waist-high water, so we walked through the water and climbed aboard via the ladder.  We had hoped to stop at the Soggy Dollar Bar for some more drinks, but it was packed with people and Marty didn’t feel comfortable anchoring the boat so close to other boats. So we skipped it and headed back toward St. Thomas instead, via Pillsbury Sound. We saw a rainbow over one of the ships we passed.

Sunset at Secret Harbour

Dinner at Sunset Grille: Steve, Marty, Mom, Craig, Steph

For once we weren't racing the clock to get back to the marina by 5 p.m. We pulled in at 4:40 today. That meant that we were able to get back to Secret Harbour in time for a fantastic sunset. For dinner, we went to the newly opened Sunset Grille at Secret Harbour. It was previously the Blue Moon, and we had always enjoyed eating there. They renovated the restaurant when it changed hands. We sat at a table right next to the ocean. For an appetizer, we shared the ahi nachos. These were mango salsa, wasabi sour cream, seaweed salad, pickled ginger,  and tuna piled delicately on wanton chips. I absolutely melts in your mouth! Craig and I got the jerk chicken, which was served with coconut bread pudding and rum apple raisin slaw. The food was all top-notch. We washed it all down with frosty painkillers. After a busy day, we went to bed early.

As luck would have it, our visit coincided  with a big party thrown by Marty’s motorcycle club, the Carib Riders Motorcycle Club. It was a weekend-long party at Magen’s Bay to celebrate the 69^th birthday of CMRC member Skeeter. This sounded like fun to us, so we accepted Marty’s invitation. 

On Saturday, Craig cooked us a breakfast of "Craig McMuffins" in our little kitchenette. We enjoyed eating with a view of the ocean from our room. After Craig changed our flat tire, we headed over to Magen's Bay mid-afternoon. We were introduced to birthday boy Skeeter, his lovely wife Donna, and his daughter (who coincidentally lives about 2 or 3 miles from our house – what a small world!), and we were happy to see Biker John and his wife Nancy (whom we had previously met when we ate at their former Mexican restaurant  Charlotte Tamales). Folks were camping in a wooded grove right next to the beach. There was a small pavilion where local band Untold Trouble played three live sets of classic rock, and there was a buffet full of all kinds of good down-home food (macaroni and cheese, pulled pork, pasta salad, a full turkey, etc. This was no ordinary cookout.) We enjoyed the live music; the band really rocked. And the food was delicious. The guys drank beer and Mom and I drank rum and Pepsi and vodka lemonade. Everyone was so incredibly friendly and welcoming to us. We are glad that Marty has such good friends nearby. They really stressed the fact that since all of their families live on the mainland U.S., they act as surrogate family for one another on the island.

Untold Trouble plays at Skeeter's 69th birthday party

Craig and Steph at Skeeter's birthday party

Campsite, Skeeter's birthday party

Mom's walks down Magen's Bay beach during Skeeter's birthday party

Skeeter, Biker John, and Nancy watching Untold Trouble

Untold Trouble with special guest

Acoustic set

Mom and Donna (Mrs. Skeeter)

There were several other gatherings taking place on the beach that day. One was a group of VW bug enthusiasts who had their customized bugs on display. These same guys and vehicles had been here last year when we visited as well. We wandered through and admired their vehicles. The electricity at the beach shuts off at 6 pm, so that’s when the band stopped playing. They did a little bit of acoustic music before everyone headed back to the camping area. They had a campfire and everyone dug into a delicious glazed spiral ham prepared by Biker John. Marty crashed in his little one-man tent, and we said our goodnights and headed back to the hotel.

Sunday was a day of relaxation. We didn’t leave the Secret Harbour grounds.  After a leisurely morning enjoying cereal and coffee in the room, we staked out beach chairs in the shade of some palm trees and went for a swim. The water was cooler than usual, and the sky was overcast for most of the day, which made it even chillier. We saw yellow and black striped fish as well as some translucent fish that looked sort of like angel fish.  The latter kept bumping into me underwater, startling me in an amusing way. Suddenly it wasn’t so amusing when they started to bite at our legs. I have been nipped by fish before when snorkeling, especially when trying to feed them. But those nibbles were nothing compared to what these guys were doing. They had sharp teeth and it really hurt. If we stood still they continued biting us. So we started to tread water and flail a bit to keep them at a distance. 

These guys bite!

Steve wandered down the beach to get us some bushwhackers and blackened bleu cheese burgers – delicious!  We spent the afternoon on the beach, taking another swim before heading inside at 5 o’clock to watch the Patriots/Philly game on TV. We ordered pizza in-room from Señor Pizza and watched the Pats win. Of course, they were so far ahead that at 8 pm the coverage changed to another game.

Iguana

Craig and Steph at Secret Harbour Beach

Monday we went to Havensight so that Mom could do some shopping. We stopped in to see Marty who was working at Sean’s store, The Pirate’s Chest. It is now located at the Port of Sale mall as opposed to its previous location up on Paradise Point. The store is really nice, and who did we run into but Skeeter, Donna, and Skeeter’s daughter. After chatting with Marty and buying a few items, we walked around and went to a few other stores. Then we drove over to Udder Delite for their famous milkshakes. I got the Jamocho (chocolate ice cream, coffee ice cream, and Kahlua) and Craig got the Udder Delite (almond crunch ice cream with amaretto). They were deliciously refreshing after our morning of shopping.

Then we went back to Secret Harbour. We enjoyed the sunset, though it wasn't as dramatic as Friday night's.We had hoped Marty would join us for dinner on our last night, as we were planning to go to one of his favorite restaurants, Petra’s Schnitzel Haus. However, he was still recovering from the weekend, so just the four of us went. We started out with an appetizer of snails in garlic and butter. They were just as we remembered: delicious. Mom had never had them before and she was pleasantly surprised. She and I had rum punch while the guys had beer. We all got schnitzel (Craig, Mom, and I got pepper schnitzel with onions, peppers, and cayenne pepper, whereas Steve got the Jaeger schnitzel) served with bratkartoffeln (potatoes similar to home fries) and red cabbage. It was obvious that Mom thoroughly enjoyed her first exposure to schnitzel as she cleaned her plate. We had hoped to get some of Petra’s fantastic home-made strudel for dessert, but she had been away for the holiday weekend and hadn’t had time to prepare any. So we headed back to the hotel and got dessert and drinks at the Sunset Grille.

Marty at the Pirate's Chest

Craig and Steph at Secret Harbour Beach

Sunset at Secret Harbour

Dinner at the Schnitzel Haus: Steve, Steph, Craig, and Mom

On Tuesday we woke up early, got everything packed, and checked out of the hotel at 11 o'clock. We had some leftover food we hadn’t consumed, so we stopped into Sean’s store to give the leftovers to Marty. We got a chance to speak to Sean on the phone, and we said our goodbyes to Marty. We then stopped at the Delly Deck for lunch. Their special of the day was meat loaf and mashed potatoes. Craig and I both ordered it and it was absolutely delicious!

When we rerturned the rental car, they gave us a credit of $25 for the inconvenience of the flat tire. That was an unexpected surprise! Our flights home were on time and we arrived in Boston shortly after 10 p.m.

Secret Harbour

 

Secret Harbour