Antigua, Guatemala

Well, I made it with no problems to Antigua, Guatemala. It has been one of the longest days I recall having in a long time…but I’m not complaining. IT started with an early (ridiculously early) get up at 2am. Brent took me to the airport and I was there by 3:30am. My flight which took me via Houston, Texas was non eventful made even more so by the fact that I slept on both legs and even through takeoff from Houston. I was tired! I few through customs in Guatemala without so much as a sideways glance, even as I pushed my trolley ladened with extra luggage for Project School Supplies. My plan had been to take a shuttle (minivan) to Antigua at the cost of $10. But they were offering private taxis for $15 so I decided to be a bad backpacker and splurge and opted for the comfier route. My driver Marcos pleasantly surprised me. Although he seemed to think nothing about disobeying red lights and double lines, he has apparently resolved himself that he will not be getting a job with NASCAR and all in all drove at a relatively reasonable speed the whole way (not what I am accustomed to here in Central America). He was also quite chatty and it was a nice way to ease in to my Spanish, and as bagged as I wa, I was happy that I could have a conversation. I arrived in Antigua and the owner bad part was that I had to walk about a block and a half with all my bags. They had part of a street shut down for a procession so my driver couldn’t get right up close without driving all around town. My shoulders still hurt! Check in at the Hotel Casa Rustica was easy and my room was exactly as expected…..small but functional and clean with a private bathroom. After a much needed shower I took a stroll around the central plaza and a few side streets. It is as pretty as I remember it but it was getting dusk and all I wanted to do was eat and sleep. I found a small local restaurant close by and ordered a soup that came full of chicken, potatoes, rice, carrots onions and cilantro, served of course with the obligatory tortillas and a cold, local beer called “Gallo”. I don’t recall the name of it but it was good. By this time my Spanish with the waiter was horrible. I couldn’t string a sentence together and knew that it was bedtime. I fell asleep to the crows of a cockerel (do cockerels crow) and the thump, thump, boom from the music coming from a local bar…….ahh…it’s great to be back! Forgive the no photos, but no time to download…will add them in my next post! Tomorrow…6hour bus ride to Copan!