Living Like a Local

We finally did a normal, "we live in Guatemala City" activity.

There is a street called "Avenida Reforma" that is the busiest and most used street connecting the city. It is closed every Sunday for several hours for walking, running, and biking. There were many people jogging and skating and lots of little kids on bikes. And lots of dogs, which Hazel couldn't get enough of. She waved and squealed at each one she saw.

 There's also a sidewalk down the middle of the street with a large park-like green area.

The street gets its name because there are statues and monuments all along the middle green space of people who have been significant in the history of Guatemala. Examples include a Red Cross founder and a Nobel Peace Prize winner for Literature.

Not very far from where we parked was one end of the closed off section, directly across from the US embassy. At least now we know where it is. Many foreign diplomats live in this area and the area is known to be one of the richest in the city.

 And then of course we ran into this awesome group:

 A Zumba exercise group dancing and sweating away. I might join them in the future.

 We stopped in the middle of a big plaza for a quick soccer break.

(Side note: Ellie has finally learned to play soccer with her feet and mostly without using her hands. She's getting better at dribbling and kicking the ball. Her women's college soccer coach uncle should be proud.)

 Soccer break.

 Practicing our "GOAL!!!!!!!" pose.

We continued walking down the street towards the other end. We ate lunch and had ice cream. There's a kid's park in one part that we look forward to visiting again soon.We also passed a fenced off circle of horses for riding, a place to rent bicycles of all shapes and sizes, and other activities.

And more Zumba:

This part of the city is only about 10 minutes from our house. What a great way to spend a Sunday! I'm happy to have found a place I will feel comfortable running. I've really missed being able to just step outside my house and go for a run in my neighborhood without thinking twice or hesitating because of safety. I definitely took that for granted in the States and can't wait to visit Avenida Reforma again.