7:00 am Well i slept like a baby in the small village of Santa Lucia in guatemala’s highlands. Elevation about 9000 feet so it gets cold at night. Yesterday Julio’s brother brought over a rooster and two chickens, alive carried under the arms of his girls. Lunch for tomorrow! This morning i awoke to the crowing of the rooster, he crowed at least 100 times, i went out to see them and wished them well on their journey to the next world. An hour later i looked out the window onto the patio and saw the chickens already featherless with Julio’s brother standing over a steaming pot of hot water containing the bodies of three said chickens. This is a reality of life here in Santa Lucia. If you want chicken you buy it live, so you know the quality, you know what kind of life the chicken had, you kill it, prepare it, cook it and serve it with love to your family. These chickens cost 80 quetzales each, about $10 USD. It seems alot considering the monthly salary of Elsa, Julio’s sister who is a director of a school for hundreds of children and works 6 days a week is about $150 US. So you can see chicken is a luxury here. I think they plan on making a huge pot of the legendary Guatemalan chicken soup for lunch later today. Today is also market day in Santa Lucia, i plan to walk around and enjoy the sights. Longing for mangos...i’ll see what i can find....i’ll keep you posted.
11 am: Walk through the corn field high high up, small paths up and down small ravines, corn fields on the steepest slopes, amazing views, on top of the world. Divine. no mangos in the market, apparently it's past season, i refuse to believe it.
1:00 pm: Walked back home to a huge pot of chicken soup. The broth delicious, the chicken quite chewy, included the feet and a head or two, which i did not try. I drank the broth and veggies and skipped the chicken. It was just a little hard in many ways.
Much love from the land where everything is real.
Dor
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