Guatemala and the New Adventure Starts at Home 20 11 2010

In was in hospital for 20 days in Guatemala after the operation and had some really good Physio on my knee and got it moving good before I left went back to NZ .

In the mean time Julio keep me busy by taking me out just about every day for lunch or dinner (and he is a great cook ) or to see the sites of Guatemala .

Guatemala city would have to be the most dangerous city in the world that I have been to ( and I have been to a lot ) . The guns and crime is just rife , the murder rate is Hugh and the with only around 1% solved it is not a nice place to live . Julio's son has been held up 3 times at gun point for this cell phone in the middle of the day , the day we arrived there was a big shoot out about 3 blocks from the hospital , there were 7 dead and 15 wounded . You know also when you are in a dangerous place when they have 3 armed guards in Mc Donald's . But the best or worst I saw was a Bus that was shoot up , we came across it up on the medim strip with bullet holes all down one side and the front windows blown out (this was 7 o'clock in the morning ). The bus driver was not hit but the 2 guards on board were seriously ill in hospital , they never said how many Indians were killed (there must have been some) . Anyway the driver had not paid his protection money to the gangs and so they just shoot them . It is quite common as they told me back at the hospital , and it was quite sad that they were just so blazie about it and were not that taken back by it . They just seemed so accustomed to it as if that is the way life is , and there I guess it is .

Unfortunately the surgeon has made a real mess of my knee and now it looks like there is not a lot that can be done other than a new knee at some time in the next couple of years or so . But time will tell and we will see how well i can walk on it . If you look at the Xray you can see that the pin is not even up against the bone and that it has been put in crocked , but the real problem is that half of my bottom knee joint is a lot lower that the other side . All that i hope is that i can walk good enough to be able to continue with the trip next year and then maybe a new knee .

Anyway that is life's journey and you just have to live with what ever goes your way , because that is the way it is .

I will post a new posting at least once a month as to how I am getting on with my leg and with plans for the return

Photos

1. Julio and Lisa , who helped me so much when I was in hospital

2. Me and some of the staff at the hospital in Guatemala , they were just so good to me .

3. Julio took me to some Mayan Ruins just out side Guatemala City , this was the day of the bus shootings

4. Xray of the f##kup of my leg