Back From Guatemala

We are back from our two week trip to Guatemala.  It was an interesting return to my old stomping grounds.  So much has changed.  I will be posting about the trip and posting pictures over the next few weeks.  I'm not sure of the frequency of posting as I have a medical procedure next week which may or may not interrupt my post writing.

A photo sneak peak: Lake Atitlan

Weekly Ephemera #132

• This week was preparation for our Guatemala Trip.  As you are reading this it is very likely we are winging our way south to Guatemala City.  In preparation we cleaned the house and did laundry so we had all the clothes we needed for our trip and could come home to a clean house.  I also started piling things I needed so that I wouldn't forget to pack them.
• During my prep I reread my Mom's travelogue entries from 1972.  I wrote so much better back then.  I feel like I rush my writing now and do it with minimal thought.  I would like to get back to that more relaxed form of slow writing though the real world is interfering with my stress levels.
• I was going to walk twice this week but, due to sloth, I only did one.  It was 13.1 miles (21.1 km) - not bad.  It was longer than I expected and nearly killed my legs but I survived.
• We bought tickets for Bob Dylan at the Orpheum theater in April.  We sort of saw him once before when we lived in California.  I'll have to tell that story before we go to the concert.  Suffice it to say, I don't remember anything about that concert not because of my crappy memory but because I was completely distracted.
• We have not really had any 'real' snow this winter season so far.  I've missed it and I was looking forward to seeing the first snow.  Naturally it's supposed to snow this coming week when I'll be out of the country.  *sigh*  

Book: Orlando Figes' "Revolutionary Russia 1891-1991 A History

With my third book I returned to non-fiction history.  I read Orlando Figes' "Revolutionary Russia 1891-1991 A History" to partially fill in a large hole I have in my knowledge of history.

The book discusses the rise and fall of the Bolshevik revolution from famines at the end of the Tsarist era to the collapse of the Soviet Union.  It is an overview.  It is not a deep dive but it was just enough for me, what I was looking for.  I knew little about Lenin or how Stalin consolidated power.  Sadly our situation today was an echo of what I was reading.

The book is well written and flows nicely.  At times I wanted a little more information but, as I said, this is not an in depth study.  I came away knowing more than I did before.

I gave this book four stars out of five on Goodreads.  It did what I expected in an easy to read way.

A Return To Guatemala

I grew up, from age nine to eighteen, in Guatemala.  I documented our travels to Guatemala back in August 2009.  I graduated from high school in August 1981 and left for college soon after.  I returned to visit my parents during Christmas/New Years 1981-82.  I have not been back since - just over forty-three years ago.  The Wife, who has never been there, and I will be going to Guatemala next week.  It will be interesting to see how things have changed.

When I was there I saw the first fast food place open (Hardees).  Many of the amenities we took for granted in the USA were missing or not quite 'there' yet.  Looking at Google Maps I can see the western world has completely moved in with a Starbucks not far from our hotel.  We will be on a tour - Guatemala is still not a very safe place to be.  When I graduated in 1981 you often heard gunfire in the distance and going out at night was never a wise thing to do.

The two week tour will be taking us to several places I visited as a pre/teen.  The market at Chichicastenango.  Lake Atitlan.  The old capital city of Antigua.  The Pacaya volcano. Tikal.  There are a few places I've never been to including Mayan ruins in neighboring Honduras, Copán, and Rio Dulce, among others.  I was not a good traveler when I was a pre-teen.  I'm sure I didn't get as much out of where we visited as I could have.  This trip will be a second chance for me.

As I entered the trip information into Tripit.com and drafted this post I began to feel excited.  It's been a while since I've been excited before we travel.  Usually I don't get excited until we've started on the trip.  I think this is a good thing.

As usual I probably won't post about the trip until I get back.

PS: The picture above was AI generated using Google's Gemini Imagen 3.

Weekly Ephemera #131

"I will not give into the lies.

I will not give into the fear."

      - Jim Acosta

        ex-CNN correspondent/anchor

• I have spent most of this week doomscrolling.  I have spent too much time on Bluesky watching our great nation starting to corrode and crumble in darkness.
• On Tuesday I had an MRI taken of my abdomen to check for lesions in my prostate.  None were found (yay).  I am not a claustrophobic person most of the time but after nearly an hour in the tight spaces of the MRI machine, I was getting antsy.
• Wednesday was the Lunar New Year.  Happy year of the snake everyone!
• Saturday was the first day of February which is kinda blowing my mind.  Where did January go?
• I walked three times this week for a total of 30.8 miles (49.6 km).  Next week I plan to walk twice.
• My television watching this week was of a scientific nature.  Namely, I watched episodes of "Nova".  I watched one on Quantum discoveries, one on Astrophysical discoveries, and several on the different planets, moons, and other objects in our solar system.  In my early years I had most of this type of knowledge memorized.  I was fascinated with it.  But over the last few decades I have not kept up with the cutting edge research.  These episodes helped bring me up to speed.
• In a week the Wife and I will be traveling to our next international destination.  It's somewhere I've been before - Guatemala.  I intend to post about the upcoming trip later this week.  Stand by.

Another of the old pictures my cousin sent me:

My cousin's sixth birthday.  She is on the right.  My brother is left of her.  I am the three and
a half year old covering his face on the left.  My Mom is standing behind me.
1967, our house, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.