When we returned to Antigua from the hike we were zombies. We ate a simple lunch and I fell asleep for 2 hours. Then we went out for supper and I ate a double cheeseburger that was entirely too big. I felt almost normal after that but we went to bed early again and slept through the night. The morning brought Saturday and a bowl of oatmeal that never tasted so good. We decided that we wanted to get out of Guatemala and go to the beach on Monday. The volcano debacle was the last straw. Jasmine, our housemate, invited us to a farmers’ market on the edge of town. We met her and her friend Zoey and walked over through beautiful streets and greenery. Caoba Farm quickly rejuvenated our reasons for liking Antigua. There was a woman selling hand made to order shoes. Both Jill and I were tempted. Jill ate a vegan pizza that was made on site. We bought Yuca Bread and kimchee and a chia banana topping from Yogi Super Foods. We also had a tour of the farm by one of the owners. They have lots of biodiversity there with many crops and animals. They are designing compost boxes that can be used anywhere. He also has some Kale growing in the chicken coop as a natural way to boost the chickens’ health. The chicken coop also acts as a barrier to insects before they get to the crops. None of the owners had any farming experience before they started the project they used ideas from the internet and their ingenuity to develop symbiotic growing systems.
While we were on the walk around the farm, I noticed that it was raining dust on us. No one seemed to be alarmed so we finished the tour. As we walked back to our house we passed cars covered in the stuff. I asked a Guatemalan he thought it was from Pacaya, another volcano, and didn’t seem alarmed. My hair felt like it had been used as a broom to sweep a very dirty floor. Our host told us that it was Fuego and a unique event. Fuego is many miles from the city and we are safe from it directly so we just waited for the ash to stop.
It’s been three days and Fuego is quiet again. Jill wants to meet the Yogi Super Foods maker so we decided to stick around for another week in Antigua. She found a cooking class as well. We went to a little fundraiser last night and are going to check out an organization helping children that live in a garbage dump. Its going to be an interesting week.
