Guatemala

Good morning!I had an exciting day yesterday November 1st. My two main buddies from my house are two women from California, Julie and Bonnie. We went about an hour by van to a town called Sumpango where they have one of the biggest kite flying displays for the Day of the Dead. First we were entertained in the van by two young Aussies who were hungover from partying the night before. They were hilarious. Then in Sumpango, first we spent a couple of hours at the cemetery taking photos. Families gather at the graves, clean them up, paint them, decorate them with flowers, burn incense, and then have a picnic by the grave. They also fly kites to communicate with the departed. It is quite beautiful and a very happy occasion. I didn´t see any sad faces.Then we climbed up the hill to where they display the huge kites, up to 15 metres in diametre. Each kite has a theme, many to do with the environment or poverty or family violence. They are made with a bamboo frame and tissue paper. Groups spend weeks working on them. They are works of art. Spectacular! They are able to fly, but yesterday there wasn´t enough wind for the biggest ones to fly. The biggest we saw flying was about 6 meters across. When we got back, Bonnie and Julie wanted a steak dinner, so the three of us went to a steakhouse. It was pricey compared to Guatemalan food, but for about $22 we had a delicious steak dinner with wine. While we were eating it started to pour with rain. We called a taxi, and thank goodness we did, because when we got to our street it was completely flooded. There was a fountain in the middle of the road where one of the manhole covers had blown off from the pressure. When we got out of the taxi, we were up to our knees in water. The ditches were full, and the street was honestly like a river. Now I see why the threshold to each door is about a foot high. It keeps out most of the water. My place was nice and dry. Apparently there was a drought during the usual rainy season, and now we´re getting rain in what should be the dry season. I didn´t bring a raincoat!It´s still beautiful though, and doesn´t spoil my enjoyment of the place.