Cuba Libre

Wow! We just got some crazy weather here. After months of dryness, the rainy season is near, and tonight we saw the first storm of the year. It started out with thunder rumbling ominously in the distance, then we heard the first rain drops on our tin roof. I unplugged the computers (I’ve lost one to lightning before) just as the rain started picking up, then there was a sudden roar like someone lit up a jet engine. It was terrifying; I shot a look at Emily, threw on my capishay, and ducked outside into the breezeway to see what the hell was going on. Hail! It was coming down so hard that it looked like a snowblower shooting off of our tin roof and into the courtyard; within seconds there was a pile of crushed ice big enough to build a snowman. I dashed back into the house, yelling at Emily to come outside, but she couldn’t hear a word of it.

I am not really sure why, but I grabbed a bowl and scooped up a big pile of the stuff to show to Emily. Her eyes popped, and she went out to see for herself. By now, the lightning was flashing pretty steadily, and I could see that all the freshly tilled fields were now white with a layer of hail. The temperature had dropped maybe 20 degrees in a few minutes.

“What should I do with this?” I asked her as we slipped back into our cozy house. It seemed a shame to waste it; potable water in solid form is a rarity in our primitive surroundings.

Emily raised an eyebrow. “Cuba Libre?”

She is often telling me that most of Hemmingway’s stories have an alcoholic beverage that is the “featured drink.” In For Whom the Bell Tolls, it’s anise with water; in Garden of Eden, it’s champaign; in A Farewell to Arms, it’s grappa. We have a simliar situation in our lives; prior to Peace Corps, we would enjoy a mojito on occasional evenings. But amongst many volunteers in Guatemala, the drink of choice is the Cuba Libre, and we’ve adopted the custom.

I’m not much of a drinker, and never have been. But these things are tasty on occasion, and can be made with things that are VERY abundant in Guatemala: rum, coke, limes… and ice. The ice is something we often forgo, since there is none in our village. But hail? The perfect mixer. Here we see the Cuba Libres under construction. Aaah, the good life.