On a Guatemalan Farm

 Day four started early.  As should any day that you will be spending on a farm.  Antonio, Michael, and I headed out early with Antonio's father who is the owner.  On our way to the farm we had to wait for some road construction.  Road construction down there is apparently more lengthy than here in the States, imagine that.

 On the farm.  It was different in many ways from the farms I am familiar with growing up in the Red River Valley.  But at least there was a familiar color of tractor.

 Our main mode of transportation during the tour of the farm was horseback.  A very agreeable method to me.  There is something about riding a horse and feeling its power that is both awesome and somewhat unnerving.

 This was my horse.  Now I am spacing on his proper Guatemalan name.  All I remember is that it meant Peru. I think it was Juerto or something like that.

 This was not owned by Mr. B.  But by a close relative.  It was a latex grove. The tree is tapped and the sap comes out. When it drys it is rubber.  It was amazing to grab pieces of stretchy rubber right off a tree.  Mr. B. also had latex trees, though not this far in their development.  He mainly raises cattle, sorghum, corn, and mangoes.

 These are some of the cattle.

 They have the best ears.  I think this is called a Brahman cow.

 Michael and I being awesome vaqueros.  Might I mention that it is slightly intimidating riding through a herd of cattle.  They all stare unashamedly at you, and every now and then you hear a low bellow that I am sure could be directly translated from cow to Spanish to English as, "tourists, uhhhhhhh."
The heat was reaching its zenith about this time of day, and despite sunscreen and hats for some of us, we ended up with some signs of the sun.

 Inside the farm house.  Simple, but comfortable.  After our long ride and lunch we took some siestas. The heat will really suck the energy out of you.  But an hour or two of sleep in the shade with some extra glasses of water seems to do the trick.

Growing fences, that is what they do.  Plant trees in a row, when they grow tall enough, chop off the top branches and plant them in the ground in between, where they grow into more trees.  The advantages of a 12 month growing season are splendid.

Case in point.

After our afternoon activities and inactivies, we took a short hike to a dam on the river that runs through the ranch.  Of course we had to have some fun, standing on the 8 inch slippery slimy concrete ledge between a 10 foot drop to rocks below or a giant pool of water.  There was also yet another amazing Guatemalan sunset with an evening thunderstorm to punctuate it.

Michael driving us off the ranch.  I tried, but my aptitude for a manual transmission rendered me unhealthy to the vehicle I was attempting to operate.

A Relaxing Second Half of the Third

  After everything that happened on the third day, we were ready to relax.  Quiera the B's pit bull was a playful way to do that. She likes to put stuff in her mouth.

This is in the B's home city of Retalhuleu.  We went into town after lunch and had a look around.

 At the city center was the city church which had some amazing design aspects.  The Spanish architecture is truly beautiful.   

 Oh, and by we I mean Michael, Antonio, and I.  And we decided to take a ride in a taxi.  It is interesting how it works.  Instead of charging by distance, they charge the same rate for anywhere in the city.  Taxis are rather small though.

 It is kind of exciting riding through the busy city on bumpy roads with the motor bikes, and cars, and people.

 Then we walked.  Thankfully the military patrol didn't follow us.  Not sure what they were doing.

 It was threatening to rain so we decided to step into a cafe for an afternoon snack.  It was a cafe in a hotel and we were in an open air porch of the courtyard where we could watch the rain that was falling churn the swimming pool into a froth.  Then a really close thunder bolt knocked out the power.  Given the onset of darkness with the thunderstorm, they had to start the generator to keep the lights going. Everything got loud.

Gallo (means rooster) is the national beer of Guatemala.  It tastes pretty good.  It usually comes with a glass with lemon juice that you pour your beer into.  It was interesting spending a week in which you could legally order a beer.  Made me feel old.

It was a rainy walk back to the car in the dark streets of Retalhuleu.  The day ended at the B's house with an amazing dinner and excellent (if sometimes broken) cross language conversations.