Time to Meet Max: Adventures in Guatemala with Anna & Cole

By Gary Neil Gupton

Time to Meet Max: Adventures in Guatemala with Anna & Cole

Cole and Anna are kids seeking adventure in Guatemala. They ride a tuk-tuk, a "chicken bus", horses to Volcano Pacaya, and zip line over Lake Atitlan. Along the way they discover something unexpected: a boy named Max. Max is extraordinary. He was adopted fro

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary Neil Gupton
• Release date: Nov 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9780692148747

Gary Neil Gupton

ary Neil Gupton has been dabbling in art all his life, beginning with pencil doodles and sketches; posters while in elementary school; local arts group classes in watercolor, pen and ink, and acrylics. Time to Meet Max, second edition, includes his original pen and ink drawings for each of the six chapters and a mixed media color Quetzal on the cover. Gary Neil Gupton grew up in a rural community outside Louisburg, North Carolina. He worked in tobacco fields in the summers, helped raise cows, pigs, chickens and beagles, and ran barefoot in the garden, covering seeds while his Daddy plowed Maude the mule. At eighteen he left home for Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. He sailed on the working replica ship Endeavour from Baltimore to Philadelphia, took a walkabout in Key Wesst, and more recently went on mission trips to Guatemala to help build houses, feed and minister to the people. While in Guatemala he traveled on horseback to Volcano Pacay and zip lined above Lake Atitlan. The highlight of this last trip was meeting a missional family in Antigua with six children, including a little boy adopted from Haiti - inspiration for 'Max'. Gary lives in Leland, NC, when he is not traveling, seeking adventure...flying.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

THE CHICKEN BUS

Hey, Cole, here comes the tuk-tuk!

The tuk-tuk driver pulls to the curb of the Old Antigua Inn, and Cole and Anna climb aboard.

Y’all be good! Cole’s mom calls.

We’ll be fine! Anna calls back to her mom and dad.

Anna, the elder of the cousins, is nine-years-old. Cole, a year younger than she, is a ‘young-un’. They pretend to be brave, venturing out on their own in this Latin American country. They had been looking forward to tootling around in this very cool gas-powered tricycle. The yellow tuk-tuk creeps forward, sputtering and blowing white exhaust like a worn out weed whacker.

Their worried mothers and proud fathers wave from the shade of the wooden entranceway of the Old Antigua Inn. The two families had decided to take their summer vacation in Guatemala, a country half a continent away from North Carolina. Anna and Cole had lived their entire lives in a quiet little crossroads town, and they’re excited about the prospect of exotic adventures.

The parents hadn’t let the children out of their sights on previous trips, but they think it’s time for Cole and Anna to spread their wings and fly. Volcano Pacaya, one of the hottest spots outside Antiqua, is a great place to begin their adventures – with a hired guide, of course.

On the morning before leaving the inn, Anna and Cole had looked out their second-floor window and seen smoke rising from the top of the volcanic mountain.

That volcano reminds me of the steaming hot bowl of caldo you had for dinner last night, Cole. Anna just had to remind him. Cole had spilled his bowl of hot chicken, vegetables and broth, drenching his shorts.

‘Caldo.’ Cole still cringes at the thought of it.

~Q~

The driver steers the three-wheeled tuk-tuk along the bumpy cobblestone street, jostling his two young passengers.

You two stick together, Anna, you hear! Her dad calls out, cupping his hands to his mouth like a megaphone. The tuk-tuk is louder than any of their voices, so Anna and Cole can’t hear a word.

Cole, you look after Anna! Cole’s dad shouts and points. Cole sees only the pointing and wonders what his dad has said.

Don’t worry, we’ll be OK! Anna shouts and waves.

The tuk-tuk driver approaches the end of the block where he takes a sharp right.

Yeah, I’ll take care of her! Cole shouts as he leans to the left.

Anna gives Cole a look, smirking and rolling her hazel eyes and shaking her head, ‘no’. ‘You know I’m your elder. I’ll do the looking after.’ Cole knows what she is thinking.

Cole glares at his cousin. We’ll take care of each other. Anyway, Dad hired a local boy, Jack, to be our guide.

Cole gives Anna his special look, raising his eyebrows and staring into her eyes – no blinking. She outstares Cole, and he blinks. Her dimples become deeper with her impish grin.

Oh, yeah, we’ll need to look for Jack, Anna agrees. But how will we find him at the bus stop?

Don’t worry, Anna. You’re always worrying. Cole didn’t know how they were supposed to find Jack either.

~Q~

The tuk-tuk driver passes Mission de Calle and heads toward the Old Antigua Market. The market square is swarming with shoppers and venders displaying their yards of multicolored hand-loomed fabric, dolls in native dress, silver bracelets and bangles, and terracotta pots made in Guatemala.

Stop! Uh – alto! Cole stands and topples onto the back of the driver as the tuk-tuk comes to an abrupt stop. The street noises of buzzing tuk-tuks and motorcycles, compact cars, vans and pickup trucks,