North America

Duluth

Posted by Jim St. George on July 6, 2016
Posted in: USA. Leave a Comment
My five siblings and me with Mom after the funeral. Mom wasn't really into the black thing. And as for my Dad, you can tell you've lived a long life when your four sons are all pretty much bald.

My five siblings and me with Mom after the funeral. Mom wasn’t really into the black thing. And as for my Dad, you can tell you’ve lived a long life when your four sons are all pretty much bald.

Going home for my Dad’s funeral was obviously a sad experience but I was surprised that it was also a beautiful experience. It was wonderful and truly comforting to spend a week with my family: five siblings (most of whom I’m very fond of), my grieving Mom, and a BIG extended family. I introduced Mark to an old high school classmate who was also my fifth cousin, which is probably the best example of what an extended family really means. Lots of my own first cousins as well as well as a few remaining aunts and uncles, and some of my own nieces and nephews. Really not much more to add except how comforting it was to share it all with my brothers and sisters and their families.

Me & Dex, the cancer survivor, with his brother Mat looking on

Me & Dex, the cancer survivor, with his brother Mat looking on

Beyond that there was also a couple of opportunities to genuinely celebrate. One of my great-nephews – my older brother’s grandson – had been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer almost two years ago; he was given just a 20 percent chance of survival. But survive he did and in fact got a clean bill of health from an MRI scan while we were there and then got his final “port” removed (basically a tube into his chest so they could administer drugs without hooking him up anew every time). So we lost my 83-year-old father but gained a cancer-free nine-year-old at the same time. My Dad would have been the first to approve of that trade.

And then I learned that another of my relatives, a smart and charming 12-year-old, had just recently come out. I spent some time talking with him about his experience and the response at school and could just really celebrate the progress we’ve made. It was inconceivable that a 12-year-old could have come out when I was in school – I’m sure they’d have sent him to electro-shock therapy or something like that – but now it’s pretty much OK and increasingly normal. He’s happy, comfortable, and reasonably well accepted. I told him about the “It Gets Better” website, built to help LGBT teenagers experiencing harassment, except apparently it’s already good; there’s not much needed for him at least in terms of getting better. That makes me very, very happy.

So yes, my Dad’s death and the funeral were sad. Very sad. But it was also a week to celebrate family and some other good things in life. But after a week at home it’s time to go back to Italy and resume our previously scheduled programming. Next stop, Tuscany.

My brother Al, Mark, me, and Mark's sister Jeanne, with Duluth's iconic Aerial Lift Bridge behind us

My brother Al, Mark, me, and Mark’s sister Jeanne, with Duluth’s iconic Aerial Lift Bridge behind us

My cousin Janet, who sang at Dad's funeral, with his cousin Elaine

My cousin Janet, who sang at Dad’s funeral, with his cousin Elaine

A highlight for me and Mark was the day after the funeral when we ended up taking Mat & Dex to a carnival

A highlight for me and Mark was the day after the funeral when we ended up taking Mat & Dex to a carnival

Mark & Dex on a ride with little Tori, a friend of the family who has pretty much become family

Mark & Dex on a ride with little Tori, a friend of the family who has pretty much become family

A day or two after the funeral most of us went hiking on part of the Superior Hiking Trail overlooking Lake Superior and St. Louis Bay. Here I am with Al's wife Anita.

A day or two after the funeral most of us went hiking on part of the Superior Hiking Trail overlooking Lake Superior and St. Louis Bay. Here I am with Al’s wife Anita.

Mark & my sister-in-law Karen on the trail

Mark & my sister-in-law Karen on the trail

After dinner our last night in Duluth at my brother Vic's house we went into the backyard for a fire and s'mores. Here's Vic with Dex & Mark.

After dinner our last night in Duluth at my brother Vic’s house we went into the backyard for a fire and s’mores. Here’s Vic with Dex & Mark.

Back Through Antigua & Guatemala City

Posted by Jim St. George on February 18, 2016
Posted in: Guatemala, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Leave a Comment
Mark and his martini and his mother with her strawberry daiquiri at Hacienda Real

Mark and his martini and his mother with her strawberry daiquiri at Hacienda Real

To wrap up our swing through Guatemala we came back through Antigua and Guatemala City, spending two days in each. Antigua is one of our favorite places anywhere; we loved it four years ago, we loved it 10 days ago, and we loved it for these last two days.

On our first swing through Antigua we stayed at a beautiful little place that was maybe a 15-minute walk into the center of town and while that’s not horrible it’s also not ideal. So this time we spent a little more and stayed just about smack dab in the middle of everything. It made it so much easier to hang out in the central park, walk to cool restaurants, and explore those old ruined, abandoned churches that give the city so much character. A highlight for us was touring the ruins of the old Cathedral of Santiago, wrecked by the earthquake of 1773, something that somehow we missed on our first two visits here. Oh yeah, that and the Absinthe Negroni we had one night at bar that specializes in absinthe drinks. We survived, though some day I might just start raving madly.

A classic shot of Antigua. The arch was a bridge connecting two parts of an old convent, now just a beautiful architectural statement. Looming behind is Volcá de Agua.

A classic shot of Antigua. The arch was a bridge connecting two parts of an old convent, now just a beautiful architectural statement. Looming behind is Volcá de Agua.

The Church of Mercy, a new-ish building built next to ruins of the old Church of Mercy. And yeah, another volcano looming.

The Church of Mercy, a new-ish building built next to ruins of the old Church of Mercy. And yeah, another volcano looming.

Then it was two days back in Guatemala City. We had to spend at least one night there, since Mark’s parents had an early flight out on Monday morning (the upscale hotel neighborhood is shockingly close to the airport, even though it’s very much a genuine neighborhood), so we figured we might as well spend two nights and show them a good time.

Art in the beautiful parkway along the Avenue of the Americas

Art in the beautiful parkway along the Avenue of the Americas

What’s a good time in Guatemala City? For us there are three components. First, there is a spectacular Greek restaurant, La Taberna del Griego, where we eat lunch nearly every day we’re there. The owner is Greek, born and raised, and the food is every bit as good as what we had last summer while we were traveling around Greece. Second, we love Avenue of the Americas on a Sunday when they close the street to traffic and seemingly everyone in the city – and their dogs – come out to walk, run, stroll, and bike. And finally, dinner at Hacienda Real, a big meat restaurant that serves stupendous quantities of grilled meat and vegetables. We ate there twice, though the second time none of us were hungry which seemed to discount the value of the place. We were particularly amused when Mark’s mother ordered off the children’s menu, but hey, whatever works, right?

Finally, then, on Monday morning they flew back to Michigan while Mark & I got on a plane to head further south. Next stop, Peru!

Ruins of the old Cathedral of St. James (Santiago), partially restored. These were really spectacular ruins, though it cost us a little over $1 each to wander around

Ruins of the old Cathedral of St. James (Santiago), partially restored. These were really spectacular ruins, though it cost us a little over $1 each to wander around

The old fountain in the ruins of the Church of Mercy was allegedly, at about 90 feet across, the biggest fountain in all of Spanish America. Pretty impressive.

The old fountain in the ruins of the Church of Mercy was allegedly, at about 90 feet across, the biggest fountain in all of Spanish America. Pretty impressive.

Moi, close up to the center of the fountain. While all is ruins around it, there is still a bit of water running through it.

Moi, close up to the center of the fountain. While all is ruins around it, there is still a bit of water running through it.

Flowering jacaranda and ruins of a church - just about perfect

Flowering jacaranda and ruins of a church – just about perfect

The modern Cathedral of Santiago lit up at night.

The modern Cathedral of Santiago lit up at night.

And finally one last shot of Mark's parents hanging out in Parque Central, their favorite spot in Antigua

And finally one last shot of Mark’s parents hanging out in Parque Central, their favorite spot in Antigua

Lake Atitlán

Posted by Jim St. George on February 16, 2016
Posted in: Guatemala, North America. Leave a Comment
The view from our hotel pool, looking straight across to the town of Santiago. Volcán Tolimán is on the left with Volcán San Pedro on the right.

The view from our hotel pool, looking straight across to the town of Santiago. Volcán Tolimán is on the left with Volcán San Pedro on the right.

Lake Atitlán is one of the most beautiful natural settings in the world. I know; that’s a big statement. And yes, it’s not Capri or a Greek island. Still, it’s good. Aldous Huxley compared it to Italy’s Lake Como “with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing.” While we haven’t been to Lake Como (yet), it’s hard to imagine a more perfect lake. Maybe we need to go to Lake Tahoe for a “lake-off”…

First, the setting. It sits just about a mile above sea level and has a surface area of 50 square miles, running about 7 miles across north to south and 11 miles east to west. With an average depth of nearly 1,000 feet, it is the deepest lake in Central America and is remarkably blue, clear, and clean. Created by a massive volcanic eruption 85,000 years ago as water filled the enormous caldera, today the lake is surrounded by three volcanoes, one of which is still active, and steep escarpments.

Mark's parents enjoying sunset in the pool area

Mark’s parents enjoying sunset in the pool area

The main town on the lake in Panajachel, where you can find some good restaurants and lots and lots of tourist shops. We stayed at Hotel Atitlán, a gorgeous resort with huge gardens and tropical birds maybe a mile from Panajachel. The hotel claims there are over 500 different plant species in its gardens, a number that’s not hard to believe.

Mark enjoying the artful lobby of Hotel Atitlán

Mark enjoying the artful lobby of Hotel Atitlán

One of the great challenges of staying on Lake Atitlán is to climb Mount San Pedro, one of the three volcanoes on the lake. Mark & I did that four years ago when we were here and … we didn’t do it again. We both have vivid memories of how beautiful the hike up was, and how spectacular the view was from the top. And how unbelievably sore we were, primarily from the descent. I was seriously tempted to do it again, but decided I didn’t want to spend the next week limping around.

Instead, with Mark’s parents, we hired a boat to take us across the lake for a day trip to Santiago, the largest of the indigenous communities that still circle the lake. Suddenly we were in a different world, where older men still wear these traditional white-striped embroidered pants. They were on sale in the markets but I somehow resisted the temptation. Instead we wandered around town a bit before stopping for a great lakeside lunch and then heading back to our own little paradise.

Here we are leaving our lakeside lunch spot in Santiago

Here we are leaving our lakeside lunch spot in Santiago

That was it. We remain a bit surprised at how cool the weather is, but under the midday sun it was warm enough to enjoy sitting around the hotel’s pool. As late afternoon moved in the large hot tub next to the pool would call, though unfortunately it would often call numbers of people from the packaged tours who stay at the hotel. All in all, a beautiful place to stop for a few days – or longer. We’re going to have to make it to Lake Como and Lake Tahoe to make our own judgments on which is the most beautiful.

Just a tiny sample of the gardens surrounding Hotel Atitlán

Just a tiny sample of the gardens surrounding Hotel Atitlán