Landslide

I've become a delinquent blogger. Not because I don't have things to write about, but because as my time here quickly draws to a close I find myself becoming embarrassingly sentimental. So, you've been warned, the posts I'll be putting up between now and October 17th when I board a plane headed north will probably be filled with reflections and nostalgia. But before I get carried away with that I wanted to provide a little update on the madness of Guatemalan weather of late.

If you read/listen to the news you've probably heard about the crazy weather we've had lately in Guatemala. This year has been the rainiest and most unpredictable in 60 years, according to the Free Press of Guatemala and as such my plans for a normal home stretch have been thwarted at every turn. Two weeks ago I headed to the capitol city for some doctor's appointments (which went well, no tuberculosis!) and on my way home found myself trapped between two large landslides- both of them covering public buses and their passengers. The whole country went into a state of emergency as towns were flooded, bridges washed away and more than 100km. of landslides covered the Inter-American highway which bisects the country. I was thankful to be safe and found refuge at the house of a Peace Corps volunteer nearby. We bunkered down and were battered by 4 days of crazy storms. Eventually the skies stilled and the roads cleared enough to allow my passage back through the mountains and to Huehuetenango.

I've got exactly a month left in my site during which time I'll participate in my third Guatemalan independence day, bookending my time here. I'm looking forward to lots of time with friends and teary going away parties. Tales and pictures to come.