Our small bus turns into a road that ends in a cluster of mud and wattle houses. Several men jump up from under the eves of the nearest one and walk toward us. A Rastafarian-looking fellow is in the lead. “Don’t worry,” Mark says, ”He isn’t as fierce as he appears.” Mosa greets Mark with […]

The first time I saw one of the garish lambas it was wrapped around an ox cart driver on a dusty coastal road. It certainly set him apart from his companions, who wore more neutral clothing, and I liked it. In the highlands, many people were wearing the bright wraps festooned with huge red, blue […]

    The Author in Antarctica In my early years, I had lots of time to hunt out the ideal, cheap lodging, the best, cheap restaurant. Most importantly, I had the patience to wait for what might come along, whether people, buses or adventures. Now, I am impatient and willing to let someone else take […]

We Must Remember the Past to Build a Better Future When we returned to Antigua, an article appeared in the local paper saying a resolution had been passed in the US House of Representatives supporting the arrest of the eight men most responsible for the worst crimes during the years of violence. Among the 40 […]

We spent the night in Rabinal, a town where many of the indigenous people who moved from the valley we had just visited lived in grim poverty, still waiting for the government to live up to the promises. The next day, we looked forward to meeting Juan Manuel Geronimo, President of the Association for Justice […]

Crossing the Chixoy Reservior The survivors of the Mayan genocide still struggle for justice. In the years since the height of the violence, 1981 and 1982, the strength of the indigenous people has grown. The organizers won’t even use the term leader because the leadership is shared but the ones who stand in front of […]

Water Issues in Guayaquil, Ecuador, 2010 A Visit with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Water, water everywhere, but nary a drop to drink.       The Rime of the Ancient Mariner-Samuel Taylor Coleridge Guayaquil, Ecuador. I first heard the name when I was living on a boat in the early seventies. My husband and I dreamt […]

Dogs seem to be the preferred pet for people who can afford them. When we arrived, the weather was cool by Havana standards and we saw a number of dogs wearing T-shirts. We were told their owners had probably been for some exchange in Moscow before Russia pulled out of Cuba. The Russians put clothes […]

Cookie Vendor at School After the legalization of the US dollar as a trade currency early in the 1990’s, a double currency standard emerged. As a tourist, I was supposed to only use US dollars or the convertible pesos that were worth the same amount. The coins were geared to our dollar, so it was […]

Tile Work Cuba is an experiment we can learn from, but there are many adjustments needed before its system becomes one we will emulate. The priority in Cuba to take care of the people through the health and educations systems I found refreshing yet the systems being used to control the people were unacceptable. Yet, […]

Skateboarders In the area around the hotel, there were both traditional looking pharmacies and ones that look more like herb shops. In both customers waited in front of sparsely stocked shelves. The doctor who talked with us painted an interesting picture. Each person has a doctor, who serves 500 people. It reminded me of the […]

Che To my surprise, the face most seen on walls, shirts and buttons is Ernesto “Che” Gueverra and not Fidel Castro. Che was a good friend of Castro’s and died a martyr fighting in Bolivia after being a major player in the Revolution in Cuba. One of our resource people was part of the team […]

People Enjoying One of Many Parks A couple of ancient women hung out near our hotel, and I felt so sorry for them, their stick figures clothed in threadbare dresses the result of their forced diet and restricted resources. On my first day in Cuba, a rail-thin woman held out her bony hand and asked […]

Writer’s and Poet’s Mural What I loved about Havana was a pervasive appreciation of the arts. On a wall a block from my hotel was a trompe l’oeil mural of Cuban writers dressed in nineteenth century garb. They were posed as if they were strolling the street or leaning out from balconies. I felt as […]