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“Hey, can you believe?” Al asks nobody special, “We’ve been retired in Guatemala ten years, already, yet.” Wisconsin modisms are hard to break. It was the trailings of November 10 years ago. We locked the condo in Cedarburg. Thanks to the gods of corn and rain, it was sold! We tossed the bare necessities for the trip into the ‘84 Toyota. The likes of a waffle-iron. It had to be about 7:00 a.m., because Al’s class started at 8:00 at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

We drove in silence the 15 odd miles from Cederberg to Milwaukee, parked in the lot. I went for coffee, he to his class, his last at the University.

Free At Last...

After six cups of brew, I heard him, “I’m done. I’m now a retired professor emeritus. Let’s go!” And so, to the parking lot. Into the trusty Toyota. South. Illinois. Indiana. South some more. Through Texas. Then Mexico. After a week plus we were in Guatemala. And then to Antigua where three years previously we had bought a small house when Al was working at the University of San Carlos as a Fulbright scholar.

 “Can you believe?” Al commented to nobody special, “We have been here ten years already, yet.” We arrived the first week of December, 1988.

Getting Involved

I have worked as a volunteer at Hermano Pedro Hospital in Antigua for these past ten years. I guess you can say it has been very rewarding ‘cause I’m still here! Al has taught courses in Philosophy for Children and has acquired a reputation as a silversmith in Antigua. His stuff: nacimientos (nativity scenes), icons (statues), crucifixas and jewelry are all over the world. Then, he got a “cold finger.” That was the end of the silver and gold work.

Getting Connected

Sure, getting our residency papers, license plates, drivers license and the other odds and ends that could easily drive one crazy were finally managed. Thanks to some really good Guatemalan friends. One MUST ask the significant questions of KNOWLEDGEABLE individuals. Find somebody who has gone through the process successfully in a reasonably short amount of time.

Home in the Country

After a few years living in Antigua, we thought we’d like a place “more in the country” so the grandkids could really know Guatemala. And so, we bought some land four miles from Antigua. A garbage dump, really, with a bonus of some very old coffee trees. An acre and a quarter. And now, after a lot of hard work and planting a few thousand more coffee trees, Al processes, roasts, bags and sells “Finca Los Nietos” coffee. “Finca Los Nietos”? It means, “The grandchildren’s’ farm.”

“Divine” Guidance

A friend with two straightened coat-hangers in hand identified where there was water. Two guys with a bucket, sawed off hoe, and a facsimile of a pulley went 75 feet down and, yes, found water!

Now we are selling the Antigua house as we live at the Finca full time.
 “Can you believe?” Al commented to nobody special, “We’ve been here ten years, already yet.”

He doesn’t do silver and gold anymore but he does do coffee and chocolate covered coffee beans. All for sale. We provide employment, school money, for three. We have one full-time person who earns a wage better than most. Al also works with young men interested in speaking English. I still do volunteer work with malnourished babies at Hermano Pedro Hospital. Rewarding? Tell me about it!

What do we miss about the U.S. of A.? 

Our five kids? All geniuses. Our seven grandchildren? All geniuses. I suppose whatever you might miss we could miss if we thought about it for very long. It’s most enjoyable when others ask Al, “Dr. Thompson, where is your other house in the States?” And, he says, “Sorry. We have no other!”
 

Perhaps it’s too bad, perhaps not, but there hasn’t been one day when I have looked at him and said, “Why did we do such a stupid thing like moving to Guatemala?” Come to the Finca Los Nietos, in San Lorenzo El Cubo, four miles outside of Antigua, and you’ll know why.

Oh, I almost forgot. Our kids gave Al a one-way ticket to this place; the land of the Maya, the land of eternal springtime.

“Hey, it’s 1998. Can you believe?” Al asks to nobody special. “We’ve been retired in Guatemala for ten years already, yet.” We’ve been married better than forty years. What does all this mean? You tell me.