Here is Tia Chenta with her newest grandbaby, Kelly! Kelly is now 7 months old.The Second picture is of Tia Chenta with her oldest daughter Roselia. Kevin (far left), Fanny (next to Kevin) and Kelly are Roselia's three children. Mefy is the son of Tia Chenta's youngest daughter Elsa. Elsa is a nurse and unfortunately was working the day we visited, so we did not get a chance to spend time with her....

I first arrived an ignorant young person in Guatemala in the summer of 1994. I knew little about the history of Guatemala and quite frankly, I likely could not have pointed out the country on a map before I knew I would be living here. Right before I left the U.S. to start a two-year volunteer term at the orphanage, I read some books on the political genocide (the whole purpose behind the orphanage...

Little Emily, who arrived at the orphanage just 7 months old and only 9 pounds in weight, has now gained four pounds and continues to grow! She is being well taken care of by the tias at the orphanage and they report her tummy ailments are gone. She is also very alert and babbles even more than little Juanita, who is the same age. Emily was saved in the nick of time, thank goodness!Here's a picture...

I couldn't help myself but post a few more pictures of funky trees in the jungle at Palenque. Check out the weird roots on these trees!Notice how invasive the root systems are with these trees. The archaeologists battle these roots like crazy when excavating and have to be very careful when removing them since they work like mortar sometimes in that they are the only thing keeping some of the stone...

Alicia and I have become self-appointed Nacho experts while living in Guatemala and traveling to four different countries together. This first picture is of the nachos we consumed and rated in Palenque, Mexico. The chips were crisp and fresh, yet less salted and thicker than perhaps we may have liked. The salsa was really Pico de Gallo - a Mexican common salsa of tomatoes, white onion, jalapenos an...