Both Sides of the Story

Today police raided several locations in the north of the country. They were looking for suspects in a case relating to the massacre and beheading of 27 people last week.

What did I do? Well I went to work, chatted with friends and colleagues over coffee, and went to an aerobics class. Not exactly what you would call living life in a danger zone is it?

Obviously it's not all sunshine and roses here in Antigua, (about 10 hours drive south of the Peten region where the violence is occuring) but it does seem like a world away from drug cartels and mass murder. We don't tend to go out alone at night, or carry anything of value on our persons, but I don't often feel like I am living in a dangerous place.

                                  The Catalan Shepheard takes a break

Another thing that I'm learning about living here is how to deal with the constant ebb and flow of people. I live and work with my colleagues, in a gated condominum. The fact that my spanish is still pretty atrocious, it's not safe to go out alone at night, and I'm not exactly rolling in dinero means that you form very close friendships very quickly.

Things change though, and as I find myself settling into the routine of living here, it seems that a lot of my colleagues are debating their next move. Life here at number 9 is significantly quieter without our resident Catalan songstress Eli, but she is moving on to bigger things and endless African sunsets.

I couldn't resist, an actual African Sunset, Chobe National Park, Botswana. (Not quite Ghana though)