"Squeeze the World"

We had probably one of the most entertaining groups yet come through today. It was a bigger group, about 35, and they came from Poland. Most of them spoke English very well, but they had no sense of "group" and there were some who didn't seem to pay much attention to the guide at all. Those who did asked questions like "where did they put the bathroom?" and from the guide's tone, they didn't ask just once. Anyway, since they were a large group and had a translator, it took them longer than usual to enter the actual village. So, Michelle (the director's daughter) and I decided to grab a donkey to add to the scenery. So I took a harness, and of course they all scatter, so I chose the slowest one. After getting it through the gate and deciding not to try putting on the saddle, we realize that it was the slowest because it was the laziest, and it refused to budge. We attempted to give mild encouragement, and when that didn't work, I grabbed a handful of hay to guide it. That worked, but it was just as the tour group walked in, and we're on the hillside, leading a donkey with a handful of hay. We managed to make it less obvious, but that didn't make us feel any less foolish.

After securing the donkey and letting it graze, we picked a few figs and grapes for them. There weren't a lot of grapes left on the vines, but we managed to find a few decent bunches. Put them in a decent bowl, then a couple arrived at the well. Thinking that the group was right behind them, I rose to greet them with the food. They enthusiastically dug in, and no one else was coming. At that pace, there wouldn't be much left for anyone else, so I pointed out the fig tree to them. Soon, people were showing up, but they created a blockade around the tree and the group bunched up behind them. I started to entice some of the newcomers with the fruit (not unlike the donkey) and eventually a path opened to allow the tour to continue, but the only people interested in that were the tour guide, translator, and us. Everyone else was content picking figs and eating grapes. The guide manages to give his explanation about the well, and moves on with the tour with almost half the group behind him. A few people show up from further down the path (who knows where they were) and find the figs as the rest of the group is discovering the donkey and taking numerous pictures of it, then pictures with us and it, then pictures of them with us and it, and so on.

As soon as they leave, we go to take the donkey back to the stable, but just as we pass the last house, some people come out the door. Apparently they decided to make their own tour of the place, because everyone else was still at the olive press. The donkey is chomping away at the bunch of grapes I've been leading it with as they take their pictures with it. I am so glad we didn't put the saddle on her, or the tour would have taken at least an hour longer. So we get her back in and go to the last house, where the self-tour group had invited themselves to at least half the olives we had prepared.

Oy vey.

The group took longer than they usually allow, but since they were brave enough to come here, they get some bonus points.

Now I feel like I've taken a tour. Fun, I do feel the analogy of the tour and the donkey is good. That's why I always like to stand if front to hear what the guides say, the rest always seem to scatter. Thanks! I guess Squeeze the World doesn't let people know updates occur on the week-end!
Love, Grandma