my guatemalan adventure!

i know that i have been mr. MIA for the past long while now but in that time i managed to put together a collage of video shorts from my time in guatemala and i post it now to share with you. for me, memories flood back when i watch it  and i imagine for those of you who i met along the way the same will be true for you. and for all of you friends and followers who tuned in regularly to read watched or looked on as i conquered guatemala this should be fun or at least a worthy distraction to life.


enjoy!     my guatemalan adventure

adventures on the high seas!

Part 1

as i mentioned in my last post a new and exciting adventure was awaiting me over the next wave. i shall recap.

monday morning we made our way over to roatan, one of the bay islands, to meet with our captain bill, discover our ship and sort out our immigration papers. at 6:30  am a catamaran arrived at our dock to take us to our neighbouring island. the seas were calm and the ride was delightful. lying on the net with the sun warming us while watching the water race below us. what could make a better picture? why dolphins of course and dolphins there were. the journey was not without incident, what ever is? one of our prospective crew was "brought to her knees" with the rocking of the cat. concern for the days ahead lay in her face but she was not deterred, committed and excited she was and forward we proceeded.

arriving on roatan we met our captain bill, a 60 plus american with a long white beard. we had heard many a warning with regards to the captain and the boat. there are many a drunks and just plain miserable people on the water as there are on land and to be cooped up with one for days on end in a confined space...no good. the boat as well. there are boast of all shapes and sizes in all sort of conditions and we had been scared to believe that the sailboat would either be in disrepair or super tiny barely fitting one let alone 5!

one of our first questions upon realizing that the captain was a kind, quiet and thoughtful man was "tell us, what is the size of your sailboat?" we had taken bets on the size and the guess ranged from 32 foot to 42 foot. bill responded with a bashful pride, "56 foot". our collective jaws dropped. wow.

with our large bags, mine larger than the others well at least heavier, we boarded the little inflatable with an 8 hp outboard in two shifts to ferry to our new home for the next 5 days. me and neil were the first two to witness the majesty of "second summit" our 56 foot, double mast one of a kind floating home. we were both unequivocally blown away. it was beautiful, it was visible with every detail that this was a work of love. we learned later the bill had spent the past two years bringing the boat back to its original splendor and then some (that is a personal opinion, i as i never saw the ship before). while in rio dolce he refitted the entire ship with teak from the local jungle creating a stunning look and feel. our fears were dissolving and our and our excitement was growing.

after two days in roatan (not on as we were living on the boat) we woke a touch before dawn to head out on our way. the journey began. 

we were expected to operated in teams and the teams in shifts. what i mean is that neil and i, a team, were expected to have 3 hours on the helm while the other teammate was on "watch". this means that a team was on for 6 hours then off for 6 hours while the other team was on duty. as we started off this was a none issue. clear skies and simple seas, it was fun, it was easy (that is once we got the hang of handling a 56 foot sailboat). neil and i were took the first shift and it was great, exciting, simply amazing. mark and eileen were up next and as with us after a bit of learning curve (mark more than the rest of us, he was literally doing doughnuts!)

end of part 1

a new chapter

first off let me apologize for my lax attitude as of late on this, my blog. for the past 3 weeks my friend marc joined me for 1.5 weeks in guatemala and utila, honduras. i wont catch you up completely as so much has happened but i do hope in my down time to update bit by bit on the amazing good times.


tomorrow morning i will be leaving the island of utila by catamaran to the island of roatan,  5 hour sail. i am heading there with 3 new friends that ive been diving with over the past 2.5 weeks to meet a 'captain bill'. to arrange our papers in order to help him crew his sailboat to rio dolce, guatemala! this is a dream i have had for a long time, to crew a sailboat. i first had the idea in australia but i could not convince a captain to train me on his boat, as suck i was left wanting. again in indonesia and in thailand, i just couldnt catch a break. until now.


captain bill is an 80 something texan who desperately needs crew to help him get his sailboat from roatan to rio dolce for the upcoming hurricane season. we saw a sign on a message board (one on the road not on the internet) asking for experienced crew for an ALL EXPENSE paid sail. we called anyway. he was reluctant and reiterated his desire for experienced sailors but the next day he called back. i think he was worried that none would come forward and couldnt risk it. needing to get the boat back he has decided to take the chance. yay for us.


we are taking the cat tomorrow and captain bill is going to pay for it! once arriving there, a more expensive island than utila, he is going to let us stay on his boat while our immigration is sorted out. and with luck on wednesday we will head out on our way for what will either be a 2 -3 day sail. on which we will be expected to do everything (whatever that is, i will let you know when i find out).


now just a few pictures on my desktop from the past few weeks here on utila.

me underwater 20 meters

me and dora down at 25 meters

me and friends at water key (i am second from the right)

wedding part dos

so i became (but for a short time) the official photographer of not only the bride and groom but also the 'matron' and a few other couples. eventually i had to pull the plug, so to speak. insisting that though i would love to take their photos all day i had a job to do and a short time to do it in. they were gracious and backed off and i was left with the my intended subjects. 

we cruised from pre determined spot to predetermined spot accommodating for those lovely wedding photos that couples cherish. i felt so alive like finally after so much indecision with my life, my plans, my abilities, generally myself, i was able to see and feel like myself. not only believing that i was good at what i was doing but knowing i was great at it!

finally the bride was on her last legs having not eaten all day the photo session was becoming too much for her to handle and so just shy of getting to all the positions i had envisioned the day before it was time to end. regardless of the fact that i didn't get them to all my preconceived positions i was very pleased with what we had accomplished in such a short time considering all the hurdles that we faced namely the language barrier.

someone came up to me and zan and said that the bride and groom wanted a picture with us in front of the building. ok, sure why not. but when we got to the front and posed together for our own photo the bride and groom were nowhere to be seen. as we looked around the back door of the 'wedding car' opened and the bride waved us over. i thought to thank us, i was wrong, instead we were invited into their car! ok, sure, why not.

they were about to get some food and asked if we had any preferences, not wanting to be difficult i stated i had no restrictions nor preferences. zan however is a veggie and asked for a salad. quickly the groom and father-in-law got out of the car and ran across the street towards, of all places, mcdonald's. really, was my first mcdonald's experience in guatemala going to be in the back of a bridal car? as it turned out no, it wasn't. rather it was pollo campero. what's that you might be asking. well before you get to excited, it is the latin equivalent of KFC. so there i was sitting behind a beautiful bride in her amazing typical wedding dress eating greasy fried chicken! whats more is that zan, my veggie friend, who ordered a salad opened her container hungrily only to find strips of chicken on top. i now had a side of chicken strips. mmmmm. 

before the food finished we were on the road off to the reception hall. i must admit it was pretty weird driving around town in a car. since being in xela i had been in two cars: a taxi and the bride's brother's car when we went off for lunch. and now here i was cruising around a city i have gotten to know from the sidewalk in the back of a sweet SUV, eating my pollo campero while sitting behind the newest kind of bride, what a difference a day makes!

i was not prepared for what came next. if there were 150 people at the ceremony there were 450 now filling the reception hall. every woman save 5 or 6 wore typical dress, i found out tonight that their fancy special dresses alone would have cost upwards of $500. that is ALOT of money here. money aside it was an amazing site! and when i say every woman i mean, every woman, child and young, young girl. i have never seen anything like it. the colours were bright, vibrant and everywhere! the room as well had morphed into much more for when i left it 12:30ish. obviously now it was filled with people but more so the audio component of the event had only started to arrive in boxes when i was leaving. now it was blaring in front of me (yes i chose that word on purpose) with 2 literal walls of speakers (floor to ceiling) looming and booming with the sounds of the over a dozen piece band. the place was going off!

what followed was truly special. i was afforded the opportunity to not only witness some ancient mayan traditions and ceremonies but i had front row seats! what an honour. i have since described it as opening a national geographic and stepping into one of the pages. introduction dances to gift exchanges brought in on the heads of the matrons i was there, mouth agape delirious with wonder (and as it turned out a bit later some bad chicken) 'shooting' (taking pictures) away. for the first time since arriving in guatemala i was not only being allowed to take pictures of women in their uniquely stunning attire but i was being approached and ASKED to take their photos. i was in heaven. (until the chickens fought back that is).

the traditional aspects were mixed in with what i'll call western traditions like the cutting of the cake, the first dance (but they had a few) and everyone seemed to enjoy both aspects with gusto. when the traditional aspect finished up the band kicked it up and the crowd got to their feet and began to dance up a storm! the air was light with happiness.

eventually the bride and groom, exhausted from the day of nerves, happiness, excitement and love, were ready to take their leave. (and not a moment to soon as i too was done from their day.) shaking hands, hugging, a few tears and they were off.

and so ended my first ever wedding photography experience and more than that a one of a kind glimpse at some beautiful cultural traditions that not even my guatemala housemates who looked at my pictures knew what they were! 

i wish the hugo and rebecca all the luck in the world going forward.

the hangover that led to the wedding

so it all started the day (thursday) that i thought i was going to die. (not literally but nearly so). my house mate, zan approached me and told me that there might be an opportunity for us to be the official photographers at a traditional wedding happening saturday (today). all was confirmed well before i felt human but that didn't impede my excitement and my nerves....a wedding? wow? i've never been the 'official photographer' before, yes i've been the 'official unofficial photographer' at a friends wedding but there was no pressure, i was there for fun to take fun candid shots of all my friends and family. this time it is going to be different. as the expression goes, the buck stops here. there is no one, not even technology, that i can pass the buck onto should every shot be over/under exposed or god forbid the lens cap was left on? i could see a riot of 500 guests rushing towards me to see who could stake the gringo first, for all i know i'd have started a new guatemalan tradition at weddings, as saint patrick ushered (or killed, not to sure on the official story) all the snakes out of ireland, the weddings would spell the end to the gringo infestation or guatemala.

enough of that. there will be no riot and there will be no expulsion of gringos from guatemala (well not on my account anyways). 

i have just finished the first portion of the day. up at 7 and at the salon for 8. the salon is where the reception will be held and in what i am to understand is guatemalan tradition the groom, his friends and some family are in charge of the set up. my role was to follow the groom and catch him in all his pre ceremony glory while zan would follow the bride as she embarks on her day of nerves and anticipation. not having yet spoken to zan i do feel as though i got the shorter end of the stick on this one (i am not saying i wanted to follow around a bride on her wedding day but setting up a banquet hall for the festivities that would follow was not how i envisioned my first gig as a wedding photographer!

time has run out and i have to run to the municipal building where the ceremony is to take place. odds are this will resume in the morning, 

{pausa}

wow, what a night! well afternoon and night! it was so very cool i feel now that i should warn you that this will probably run on as it was a night of firsts and i have to share.

i left you as i left my house on my way to the municipal building where the wedding was to take place. when i arrived i was full of nerves. as i mentioned this was my first wedding and i didn't know what to expect, how to act, where to be or what to do. the front of the municipal building was locked. i freaked. {deep breath} the groom gets out of his car with his parents. the door to the building opens. and from somewhere deep within a calm takes over. 

{maybe it was the dozens of huge political events, rallies and fundraisers i organized and oversaw during  the past decade or maybe when you are FOLLOWING YOUR BLISS peace finds you and not the other way around. maybe it was both.}

on the front steps i took some photos of hugo, the groom, and his family with the tall columns stoically standing guard in the background. from there we moved into the garden, i quickly assessed what i thought would be the best shot, overruling 'dad' and directed them to my preferred position in the garden. after a few minutes with them in the garden and sea of colour and smiles began to flow through the front door. ensuring that they were wedding guests with hugo i made my way over to them to begin what was to be a very long day full of hundreds of photos, smiles, traditions, excitement and love. 

confirming with the groom, mc (a more serious and officious role than back home, so much so it is shared by two people!) and the mayor (he was officiating the ceremony) that i could stand up on the raised platform where the ceremony was to take place, take my photos and use my flash. then realizing that the time was upon us for the bride to arrive. rushing down stairs to the front steps, regaining my composure and my heart rate. i waited.

but not for long! minutes later the bride arrived in her decorated car and done up self. she was wearing a white veil, traditional to us westerns, but it complemented her traditional mayan dress. a stunning combination. she was dead nervous and it was visible and justifiable. and it was my job to calm her down if there photos were going to turn out. with a few jokes and funny faces she had relaxed to the point of no more clenched faces just lovely smiles.

leading her into the building shooting all the way in. pausing on the stairs for some classic shots. and continuing on her way into the hall. this is where i left her and made my way up to the front of the room just to the left of where the soon to be man and wife would sit.

they were both nervous and it was amazing to share with them such a special time in their lives. the mayor who was officiating the ceremony was, as most politicians, very verbose and from my cramped position kneeling on the ground it seemed to last longer than it actually did. but after 50 minutes the newly married couple made their way down the aisle and out main hall to the balcony and awaiting masses. 

after a longer than 'normal' (north american standards) receiving line it was finally MY TIME! now MY TIME was to be short and i was prepared for that having mapped out 6 positions around the garden and around the columned outer-hallways to take some formal couple portraits. it was going smoothly until some of the family who were sort of following us at a distance decided that they were not going to miss the opportunity of having a professional photographer in their midst and not getting a photo of them in these stunning 'positions' aka locations.

end of part 1

stay tuned for more....

Xela Futbol Video

sunday finally a day of rest

after much school, yoga, friends, activities, dancing, football (watched not played) and soaking in natural springs 2700 meters above sea level i finally have a day to just sit around, attempt to study (notice attempt), chill in a cool new found cafe while listening to a funky eclectic collection of music while enjoying my favorite guatemalan beer, gallo.

yesterday (saturday) was lovely, exciting and at times a bit freaky. it all started with an early start to say goodbye to a new found friend, allan, who was off from our casa to greener pastures in san pedro (a place near and dear to my heart) before heading back to the US. after walking him to the bus office and waving him off we struggled up the hill to our casa for some much needed breakfast.  mine was quicker than normal as i had an appointment to meet a group from my school for a trip to fuentas georginas, a group of thermal springs that flow from the volcano. it was lovely. it was hot. it was heaven on my yoga beaten body. while soaking away the clouds rolled in...

*this means something different at altitude than it does where we all come from. at altitude, 2700 meters, the clouds are not up above but below, in front and all around. it was eerily beautiful. the steam off the pooling water added to the effect. 

...surround us was a flora that could only be described as 'jurassic', with leaves that defy the description of large and could be, if needed, used as an umbrella for two! aside from my group of 7 all others were from guatemala city or xela, out for the day to relax with the family or a romantic time with their special person(s). after 4 odd hours of soaking, chatting and all around chilling out we decided to head back to the city. i was hoping for a chance to catch a nap before my second futbol experience.

nap successful. waking up refreshed and ready to go, after a quick bite of course.

having purchased the tickets earlier in the afternoon due to the popularity of the match and not wanting to miss-out we only need to 'pre-game' it before heading to the stadium. it was pandemonium, it was wild it was CRAZY. people everywhere. food vendors. jersey vendors. scalpers. and did i mention crowds and crowds of people everywhere! we entered the stadium to the sound of drums, horns and cheers (it was still 45 minutes still game start). the smells of bbq making me salivate likening me to pavlov's dogs, i was cool with it though they smelled AMAZING! coming up from under the stands, looking up, shocked by the crowds above. i was shocked and wondering where the heck we'd be sitting. as it turned out all the aisles were filled with people using them as seats. so in order to get to the top row (standing only) we had to get through many a guatemalteco who were unreasonably angry at the interruption regardless of the fact that they were sitting in the bloody aisle!

the crowd was in full form. energy was high. shouting was loud and fireworks a plenty. the game was much more interesting than last weeks, with goals, yellow cards and even a few red cards. the ref was making such shitty calls that a mass of SWAT dressed police on the field to escort the blind refs off amid cans, bottles and even fireworks being thrown and shot respectively to the field.

when it was all said and done the score was tied 2-2 and the crowd was happier than last week but not by much. xela still sits in first place and it is my hope that next week we can take it to the next level and win. 

today no hangover but also no studying, lets hope i can get on that. wish me luck.

survived another class (spanish and yoga)

today's report:

what a busy day i had. it is hard to believe that while on "vacation" (that's what some people would call what i am doing but that word does not come close to describing what i am doing here) one could have so little spare time!

yesterday after class i found half an hour to update my blog then it was off to my house (mi casa) for lunch, mmmmmm, as far as food is concerned i am doing very well, then it was time to focus on homework. i plugged away at regular and irregular verbs, present and passed tenses, for 3 hours then it was off to yoga. it was intense. after 15 minutes i was once again prepared to walk right out, but i didn't and i am glad for regardless at how unbendy i am i leave feeling GREAT! in class he was expecting us to plant our hands on the ground outside of our knees as we crouched. then he told us to put our knees on our elbows (what?) then, and i quote, "simply put your weight on your arms, lifting your feet and swing back and forth. (did i mention WHAT?) suffice to say i collapsed twice before i realized that move was still beyond me. aside from that ego squashing experience the class was intense but doable and i felt fresh and alive when i walked out.

it was a brisk walk to the casa for dinner which true to form was delicious! simple but delicious. tortillas (fresh), eggs (fresh), cheese (fresh) and of course hot sauce...mmmmm. dinner was wolfed down and a quick shower followed. dressed i was off to a meringue lesson at my school. meringue, a new experience for me and for my unfortunate partner who received the business end of my elbow in face during, what i considered, a particularly difficult move. she was gracious and was pretended not to be bothered with my clumsy/ungraceful nature. despite my lack of ability in meringue we both had a blast and when it came time to finish our lesson it was decided that we would all head off to a bar to practice...mama mia. remember yesterday how i told you my detox was going great, well no longer. i didn't get polluted but beer was consumed. alas, i figure that a fine balance of education, health and fiesta is my way forward. 

arriving home at midnight i had no energy left to review my days studies and homework and drifted peacefully off to sleep. ah sweet sleep. i was so tired i was not woken (for the first time this week) by the rooster who feels the need to flex his muscle at unnatural hours, even for a rooster. 

so busy as i am good times are still not only at hand but being had, day in and day out. off to lunch, then homework then a goodbye party for a new friend (where i dare say i will have more than a little beer, but it will be for a good cause. wish me luck. ciao for now. 

school, school and then just a bit more school...

my apologies. i have promised yet not delivered at putting together a batch of photos and videos of our outrageous futbol experience. (yes i do know how to spell but now you too know how to spell it in spanish, your welcome) the reason, not excuse, is due to a change in attitude a shift of focus. rather than going out and partying all night, having a blast and sharing the oddities of the night i have pulled back and am spending a lot of time reviewing what i've learned and even more time tackling all the homework assigned. for example yesterday i was made to write 60ish sentences using irregular verbs in the present tense. sounds pretty tough eh? (if you answered no to this question feel free to close this window and never come back!) i worked on those sentences for 6 hours with but a few interruptions. that's right, 6 HOURS. but that is how one learns a new language and i am determined to bring my spanish to as high a level as possible during my 4 months here.


as well as bettering the mind i am now attempting to also better the body. on monday i went to my first yoga class in 8 years with the idea of detox and betterment in mind i ignored the INTERMEDIATE in the title of the class and focused on the fact it said BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE. at first i was thinking, hey this is just like riding a bike, a little measured breathing, self recognition and introspection. but then it all went to pot. our instructor thought we should do the postures without him talking, he said we'd get more out of it. i however disagree, as trying to follow the movements of someone who as been practicing for 18 years without the aid of instruction, was far far far away from easy but slowly i started to find my own pace and ability level and things started looking up. that is until he said ok now 4 more times in this posture and we can get started. WTF! what felt like 1.5 hours was but 15 minutes, i died a little. when the cute girl beside me, with the "omega" symbol tattooed on her back with a wreath of green and roses, started grunting my spirits lifted.


suffice to say the class was hard but not too hard to scare me off. i may have fallen, i may have sweat a liter of moister, my body may have shaken throughout the entirety of some postures but at the end of it all i felt AMAZING! so much so that i signed up for a month of unlimited classes,  i thought it a nice complement to my 20 hours a week of spanish study. i had to laugh when the yogi said "now damon, for this to be of value you have to come at least 6 times" he didn't mean personal value, no he meant financially, 6 classes equal the cost of one month unlimited. why is that funny? well a solo class costs 15Q - just about 2 dollars, the unlimited class is 100Q - around 12 dollars. now if any of you have taken yoga or at least gone to class you will know that a solo class costs well above $12 in fact something much closer to $20-$30 per class and that is reduced when a package is bought to on average $15 a visit.
if i never went to another class again i would still have paid less having bought a month package than if i went to one class in ottawa. that is not to say i am not going back, no that is not the case. this evening i am returning to the aptly named "yoga house" for another session and this time i have recruited, i believe 4 ladies to join me. i don't know if walking like i'd ridden a horse from ottawa to guatemala or wincing at every movement for the past two days would be such a selling point but for whatever reason, i've got recruits!


it is now time for me to go home for lunch, the most impressive meal of the day, and then time to hit the books till it is time to punish my body once again. wish me luck.


oh i think it's a good time to mention that i have not had a drink (not even a beer) since saturday! the detox stands! i don't know for how much longer, but yes it stands!

a wild weekend

please excuse my lax approach these past few days but it has been crazy busy with fun, frivolities and yes even football (that's soccer to all of you up north) and when i have had a minute to myself my condition was not conducive to motivation or at times coherent thoughts. suffice to say that there was much fun to be had and little time to do anything else so i will take a few minutes to go over the broader strokes while highlighting a few funnier moments.


friday night started off innocently enough with a small fiesta at my school. there were some silly games that became bearable after a gallo (or two) (gallo = local beer), then there was dancing and a man i refer to as elvis guatemalteco played some sweet latin sounds on his guitar. at the end of his 'set' we started to chat and he offered me guitar lessons, not something i was interested in but when he quoted me 25Q for 2.5 hours i couldn't say no. so tomorrow i will begin to learn an entirely new style of guitar, should be pretty cool. things started to go downhill pretty quickly thereafter. first going to a bar, la rumba, where the drinks were flowing and the dancing was abundant. in fact my salsa partner from a few night prior happen to be there and well i wont call it 'salsa' per se but we danced and danced. we danced until i as forced to flee the dance floor. why run away damon? well what started innocently a high five to a guatemalan couple turned into something no bueno, when i was propositioned to 'take leave' with them. i don't want to come off as a prude for that is the last thing i'd call myself but i do consider myself someone with standards and well, they were not being met. rumba closes and we, for no other reason than because, go to the next bar on the block. i can say that we didn't need to be there and at some point my housemate and i decided it was time to return home. by this time it is 3ish in the AM and we are both feeling very 'good'. we were walking chatting, laughing and generally just being foolish. but when we finally looked up (paid attention to where we were and where we were going we realized that we had no clue as to where we WERE! this was slightly unnerving. i hid my wallet in my clothes and kris got out his knife, just in case. luckily for everyone involved after only a few minutes passed and after turning a few corners we come across another friend of ours, who must have heard us coming, as he stood at the end of the street with his arms outstretched in the air, like a beacon of light and hope after a long voyage at sea!


saturday started much slower than not and i missed a walk to some nearby natural saunas, oh well. our entire house looked worse for wear but we knew that the night ahead would hold no prisoners so we had to sort ourselves out. our mama, sandra, looked at us and started making a local hangover cure, gracias mama. slowly but surely we started to feel 'normal' again. and before long it was time to get ready for the football match that was going to be amazing, the crowds were already about, the cops were out directing traffic and generally spirits were high. spending time with the brits of course like before any big night we went out for some curry. i'll give them this, it was huge, spicy and bloody delicious.


meeting up with some more friends post-feed we went and purchased some bottles of 'ron guatemalteca' a local inexpensive brew or rum. arriving at the stadium i knew i was in for more than i could have imagined. people everywhere. fireworks going off. food vendors. unofficial jersey sellers (which most of us ended up buying...when in rome). it was nuts. buying out tickets we entered the stadium. drums pounding. horns blaring. people everywhere! through the mess and up to the stands (concrete seats). we found what we thought were good seats but later turned still to be good but in the oppositions section...iffy.


now it was time to buy some mix for our rum. so guess what they sell the soda and then pour it in plastic bags. interesting. so here we all are holding bags of coke and rum...too funny. the game starts and so do the minutes of fireworks huge ones, little ones, loud ones and scary ones (ever have a firework fall on your head? well me neither but i saw it happen). truthfully, the game wasn't that hot but we made up for it in noise and good times. right before half time we run out of rum. lauren and amanda head out to pick some more up. 45 minutes later we are all a bit worried. just when we think its time to send out a search party they return and far from empty handed. as well as buying more goodness they not only found a puppy but brought him into the stadium. what they were thinking is well beyond me and to be fair after all the rum we'd consumed i think their actions were beyond them too. somehow the situation sort of resolved itself as a couple of guys who also had a puppy agreed to take 'our' puppy. i say 'sort of' because i am of the belief that the puppy was not lost and abandoned but had an owner and a home. oh well.


the game ended we lost but the party didn't stop. i carried on and we carried on. i left sooner than most but couldn't tell you when and felt only slightly better than the rest the next morning. yesterday was spent very very relaxed. walking around the markets that seemed to pop up out of nowhere, eating greasy food and watching movies in the company of good friends. hurting heads but also good times. 


i have decided that this week (not weekend) will be spent in 'detox'. focussing on my spanish and my mental/physical well being. this may make for some interesting blogging and it may not. only time will tell. hasta pronto.


photos to follow.

salsa disaster or master?

as you will know from my last post, i am in xela, guatemala. i am here to learn spanish and experience the second largest city in guatemala. so far so good. being the lucky guy i am i fell into a great school and met up with some great friends from part 1 of my guate adventure. i thought this would be a primarily spanish learning centre (at least for me) but it has turned out to be much more than that.


last night after a delicious family dinner me and my friends went off to a salsa dancing lesson at a bar in town. i was reluctant to say the least so i did require some lubrication from my good friend Gallo (a local beer). 1 liter in i was ready to hit the dance floor, truthfully it may have been more than the beer that brought em to the dance floor...there was a very sexy finish lady that could also take the credit. at first i was thinking cool, 1 2 3 4 5 and back 1 2 3 and forward 1 2 3 4 5, easy i got this! well that was until they added more steps and then, if you can believe it, a spin! i was wishing now for another cervesa and a pair of shoes, the sandals were just not cutting it. but things changed, as they always do, for the better. we got paired up and now we got to practice our 'moves' with another. would you believe it if i told you that canada and finland were united on the dance floor with some wild steps, moves, spins and whatever else our teacher tried to throw at us. i was feeling atop of the world! that is until the bar opened to others and a crowd flowed in filling the once empty bar. soon there were others on the dance floor and they were not beginners. knowing out place we found our seats and watched the madness ensue. i tell you i saw things on that dance floor that i thought was reserved for xxx websites (not that i've looked, of course) and not that i am complaining for it was AMAZING. 


the coordination, the skill, the sexuality all ensure that i will be back next week, in shoes and ready to SALSA!

i have arrived!

after a month of canadian pride i have finally made it back to the lovely land of guatemala! monday night i landed in guatemala city and made it safely to my hotel at around 9:30 pm (not a very safe time to be out and about) but i was in a taxi and felt pretty ok. my intention was to check-in, drop my stuff in my room and head out into the neighborhood in search of food as i had not eaten since 2ish in miami. however this was not to be the case. as i approached the hotel all the shops, eateries, everything was closed! the man at the front desk was a nice and was very adamant the there was nothing open near by and walking around trying to find one was not in my best interest (guatemala city is one of the most dangerous in the americas). i suppose it goes without saying i went to bed hungry - boo. 

waking early the next morning i made it to the bus terminal that was going to take me to xela, the city i planned on staying for the better part of march studying spanish. the trip was uneventful and i arrived in xela noonish. having heard from a few friends who had arrived in xela while i was in ottawa i knew to head to a hostel called casa argentina, where they were staying. no problem. met at the door by two lovely dutch ladies who were touting a school. never one to turn my back on pretty ladies i let them lead me to sol latino, which as of one hour ago became my spanish school, to show me around. i could barely believe it when i passed through the front gates and heard my name. sitting in the classroom was phil and lauren to friends i had met in san pedro and who i had spent nearly everyday with before my trip was cut short and i was forced to return to ottawa.

hooray this was working out better than good. i was invited to join them on a trip to a nearby town that makes a fruit liquor, ok i like liquor. it turns out they make bootleg fruit liquor, of course never refusing a host or a drink i bought a bottle as did my friend phil. prepared for the night ahead we got on the 'chicken bus' and returned to our casa. it all started so innocently with 3 liters of beer and our fruit liquor but when we went out for 3 more liters and then 3 more after that we were feeling better than fine. at some point my phone rang and another friend of mine was on route looking for me. he arrived with 3 liters in tow and it went from drunk to drunker. it was truly a well deserved fun fiesta! that being said, this morning when i woke up i wasn't thinking of the fun, nope i was holding my head and wishing i had a bano in my room as i couldn't be bothered to dress!

sucking it up i made it out and had a very productive morning. i checked out a couple of schools and decided on a smaller one with much more character and charm than the others. i start tomorrow and am registered for 3 weeks and 2 days. cool. also i am moving out of my casa argentina in about 30 minutes and moving into a local family's home. also cool. not much else to say other than i really ought to pack up so that i can make it to meet my friends and move into my new home.

i am going to try and be as blog-productive as last month when i was last in guatemala, to share with you what i see through words and photos. thanks for stopping by and chat soon!

the cause of my hangover

rasta dog watch out!

oldest church in CA

a man on a loom, he is also the bootlegger who sold us our drinks

same

loom detail

loom detail

loom detail

view from my room first night in xela

GREAT NEWS!

just a quick note to say that after a what seemed like ages but was actually on 10 days the results from my latest excision came back with flying colours! they were able to conclude this time that they successfully got it all, no nasty cells left behind. YAY.


thank you all for your kind words of encouragement and positive energy, for all intense and purpose they worked! i have had the pleasure of spending some quality time with my family who are supportive and loving as per their usual MO. over the past few weeks, when not dropped by illness or post surgery pain i've been able to touch base with some old friends, some of whom i haven't seen in a few years, all are doing great.


you have all been more helpful than i can even begin to express so please take this small thanks and know you've helped me through a difficult time.

happy family day!

hi all, sorry for the lax behaviour with regards to my postings and musings on my blog. let me recap the last few fun filled weeks as i am sure you are dying to know all the exciting and fun things i've been doing to fill the time...


lets being with my head in the toilet, for that is exactly how my return to ottawa began, praying to the porcelain god oh joy. i was literally felled by the debilitating stomach flu for the whole weekend. managing to get up just in time for my doctor's appointment monday morning. the surgery lasted for 55 minutes (much longer than i had expected) but it felt like only a few minutes due to a wonderful suggestion from my sister ... NO2/laughing gas = AMAZING. (thanks lara) 


maybe now would be a good time to discuss drugs vs pain. regardless of how we feel about drugs illegal or prescription i think we can almost unanimously agree that pain is bad. so why is it i had to wait until i was 32 to be giving NO2 to help ease the pain and anticipation of pain? throughout my life i have had my fair share of cuts, bruises, fillings/teeth pulled and later in life interesting (and scary) bouts with foreign born infections. never once was i offered anything for the pain aside from local anesthetic (and if i may point out those needles tend to hurt as much if not more than the offending problem). why is this? why oh why would we subject people to pain without even the offer of respite? NO2 happens to be even better than a dulling of pain i would dare to describe it as fun, i was completely removed from the experience of having a doctor roughly cut, scrape, dig and sew just below my lower lip for just under an hour. i would not have wanted it any other way. from now on i will take responsibility and ask for help with the pain instead of stoically enduring simply to say i did. 


so the surgery was bearable (fun) but the post was brutal. my lower lip swelled and swelled to the point of ridiculous. i was likened (by me) to a white bubba from forest gump, not cool. unable to drink but from a straw, eating but the most basic of soft pureed foods (thanks for all the effort and delicious smoothies and milkshakes mom!) this lasted for 4 days, brutal, it got to the point that i believed my swelling lip would never subside and was beginning my life anew as a freakshow scarring little kids and making babies cry being my new niche.


but then on the 5th day the sun shone and my lip reduced, and the people rejoiced!


saturday i woke with a purpose, a raison d'etre. off to look at some new cool sleeping bags that occupy 1/4 of the space of my current sleeping bag, it just made me giddy. then off to coffee with a couple of friends. a very successful coffee if i may say so, 1 richoo is working on my professional website (so when it gets launched and looks super cool you know where to go for your wicked cool site) 2 recruited my buddy marc to join me on a scuba adventure in early april! how cool is that! we both have been wanting to get out padi for ages and now we plan to get it together in the most inexpensive places in the americas on a reef that is considered second to the great barrier reef! not to mention march and april are two months you are likely to encounter whale sharks! omg!


from there i got in the car and headed to my sister's where i've been since. together (lara, mike, katie and matthew) we celebrated valentine's day and now family day. oh the fun we are having! they say the best medicine is family and i would have to agree with "them". when katie saw my face she said "uncle damon, what happened, you have a booboo?" 
"well katie, i went to the doctor and he did some cutting and making me better"
"does it hurt?"
"well yes a little but not so much anymore"
"uncle damon"
"yes katie"
"i am so proud of you!"
well if your heart doesn't melt from that you just may dead inside. (that was harsh so i am going to add a smily face to lessen the impact) :-)


so now i am waiting for the results which will of course be good news and filing my days with fun, family and friends. trying to accomplish a few minor improvements on my pack and travel system, see as many friends as possible and spending some quality time with my family. 


until there is more to report, be well.

my attempt to learn spanish - the plan: fly into cancun january 9, travel through belize to xela, guatemala for a month of spanish lessons. another tw

as you know i am back in canada for a short spell but this morning i came across a very fun blog of a young lady doing much like i was doing and thought that while you can't live vicariously through me, we could all live vicariously through others like her...thoughts? well like or not here it is.

my attempt to learn spanish - the plan: fly into cancun january 9, travel through belize to xela, guatemala for a month of spanish lessons. another two months to make my way back to cancun by april 20. - WorldNomads Adventures

now that i am back in canada...

for those of you who don't know my politics, this is a satire of the current ruling political party that i have NO love for. 
for those of you who do know my politics, this made me laugh it just might do the same to you. 


enjoy.

this is me flying like a bird! enjoy. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7_HgNs3tQc

i am home (well toronto)

just a quick note to tell you that all is well. after a grueling day - 22 hours of travel - i woke up in a comfy bed in my sister's basement. walking up stairs i heard my sister and her two lovely children playing in the family room. upon opening the door to the basement my niece looked up and with such a look of surprise and joy that all of yesterday's angst melted away. the day was spent playing, playing and then there was some more playing. i also found some time to finish editing a video from monday's adventure (i still haven't told you what i did but soon you will see!) and finishing some potential posts i started while waiting the day away yesterday. below is one called "how is this justice" and it should be noted that my friend who's name isn't jim (i changed it just in case) is no longer in any danger of arrest or anything but that shouldn't make this any less interesting....read on....

__________________

how is this justice?

just a small note to tell of a pretty crazy thing that is happening to a friend and a little advice should you ever find yourself in a similar situation while in guatemala...

the other night while my friend was in his apartment a german guy who somehow got on his roof subsequently fell off the roof. from inside his apartment, jim saw through his window the man falling from said roof. being human, jim rushed to the man's aide, first finding him in the bushes then calling the ambulance and police. wow. but that isn't the crazy part.

yesterday i met with him and he told me that the german died in hospital and that the police wanted him to go to the station for comment but what we learned that afternoon convinced us that going to the police station was a BAD idea. why? well, in guatemala they have a strange law that says the last person to 'touch' someone who then dies is legally responsible and in this case that person was jim. kind of messed up as jim did not invite the german up to his roof, jim did not push the german from the roof, jim did go to his aide and the german did die. considering the law, the country and the situation we both agreed that going to the police station was NOT in his best interest, rather calling the consulate and DC lawyer were what was in his best interest.

i was blown away by the law and by what it ensures, that an injured person is unlikely to get any kind of assistance on the street from passerbys. the government is breeding a negative moral fabric to this beautiful yet fragile society.

not much of a post i know but i think it is important to not only extol the beauty and the majesty of this stunning country but to also show the 'other side', the ugly, the unforgiving, the unjust.

sitting in the airport in guate

not happy. very tired. started my day after 2 hours sleep at 1:30am. drove to guate for 3 hours. now sitting in the airport 3 hours before check-in as a result of trying to beat guate's rush hour situation (1 km=1 hour).


nothing to report, just whining. maybe chat in miami but only if i can find the time in my 7 hour layover. 


today sucks.

t minus 12 hours.......

there is not much time to write now as i would (no offense) spend my last few hours in this lovely little community with new friends and new family. in fact that has kind of been the case lately as i am sure you noticed but that does not mean that i've been up to nothing, you will soon discover that it is quite the opposite.....during my 22 hour trip home (gotta love cheap last minute flights) i hope to cut some video, work on some photos and write up some of the last few days in the hopes of ignoring the 'present' - siting on a plane, sitting in an airport, getting overly aggressively searched at the airport. 


so cheer up folks, damon is coming home! so clear you calendars and get ready to make me dinner and have me sleep on your couch 'cause it is going to happen!'

wish it wasn't the fact but....

i just booked my ticket home. boo.

i leave wednesday in the am from guatemala city and transfer in miami airport 7 hours later. i will be landing in toronto at 11 pm and going directly to my sisters. the next morning i will drive back to ottawa with my wonderful mom. the only thing i am waiting on now is an appointment from my doctor.

like i said, it sucks but it has to be done so home i go for a short "intermission" from my exciting CA adventure.

more when i have more.