Day 20: Up at the Cross & Ramsey Arrives

This morning I woke up and walked to the north east side end of Antigua Guatemala. The volcano on the right in this photo is just under 14,000 ft. elevation, and I will be hiking it tomorrow (Monday the 15th).

I took a small walk up the mountain.

To the cross over the town.

I met Pierre from Montreal. I must say it was a really wonderful conversation. In many ways, I hope to be in the position he is in now. Working for the Canadian government he is actually able to work for 18 months at 75% salary, and then take a 6 month vacation. He went on a 6 month trip to India in which he spent less than $1,000. He's been a lot of places, and he's just started a 6 month vacation living in Antigua. 

On a completely different level, I was inspired by his philosophy. He reminded me, just because you can go to the moon, doesn't mean you should go to the moon. If you don't want to go to the moon, you shouldn't. 

We also talked about the importance of living in the moment. Our perceived grasp on the future is a construct, and our recollection of the past isn't reality either. I know I spin my own story all the time. 

He also made me think about sending my laptop and camera home. "When you're worried about losing something, you act differently." This is very true, and although I try not to be materialistic, I do worry about my laptop. I can't help it! 

Anyways, Pierre from Montreal was awesome, and a great start to the day. We probably talked for 90 minutes. 

I went into town and there was a little festival.

I continued to walk around and see really really really old stuff.

Some more old stuff. Like from 1618 olde.

So many wonderful textures.

Pineapple chicken and rice for lunch.

I've been walking a ton. Probably too much. Miles and miles wandering around. Below you can see that I needed some lubricating lotion to keep my thighs and butt cheeks in check. Also, some wet wipes for the hike tomorrow and Tuesday.

Gotta make sure my butt is in Tip-top shape for tomorrow's hike!

This is the trip! Acatenango. Lots of reviews say that its a pretty tough hike. I assume that they are all pansies, so I'm not worried, but I'll have my two cents on the matter by tomorrow night!

Ramsey just arrived!!!! And he has quite the story about getting here.

24 hours ago, Ramsey called us to tell us that he wasn't going to make it. He is trying to rent the house he owns, and he ran out of time remodeling it. BUT he worked all through the night, not sleeping, and with paint in his hair and on his hands he started packing a backpack at 3:30AM, it was the first time he ever packed his backpack. He decided, "I probably won't make my flight, but I'll try," and headed to the airport to make his 5AM flight. He made it.

As you may remember, my nook broke last week, so I ordered a Kindle and sent it o Ramsey's house, and he brought it! Now I can continue reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance! Yay. 

As you can see, there is a lot of rain in June in Guatemala. Also, It isn't the warmest month. We will be climbing up to just under 14,000 feet in elevation tomorrow morning, and we will sleep there. INSANE! IT WILL BE COLD! And I'll probably get altitude sickness.

Day 19: Antigua Guatemala

First off, here is a lovely video from Semuc Champey of the oldest little girl asking me if she could take my picture. As she held the camera up to her face, she couldn't figure out how to get me more into the frame, and so she got down on one knee. Just too cute.

We had 2 horrible bus experiences in a row, so this time we decided to upgrade. For 250Q we would take this big tour bus back to Antigua.

We got on at 9PM and would arrive in Antigua by 7AM. The seats were so comfortable, and I was able to sleep for a majority of the ride. Definitely worth it. 

Antigua, which mean ancient in Spanish, is old. Construction started on The Cathedral of Saint James (below) in 1545. I was particularly surprised when the band in the front door was doing their rendition of "Like a Prayer" with 2 drums and a flute. They never went to the chorus, but rather played through the verse about 40 times. 

I do acknowledge the idea that it could be some other song with the same tempo and melody, but I'm pretty sure they were channeling the spiritual side of the divine diva Madonna. 

Being a more popular tourists town, rooms were more expensive. There were a lot of options though, and Onvisa has 40Q beds, and so we went with that ($5). There is a super annoying parrot here, and the room feels dingy. 

The skylight makes you feel a bit grody. 

This old Spanish colonial town was the capitol for central America for a long time. Beautiful buildings from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries are sprinkled throughout the town.

Being a tourists hub, prices are higher. Based on a recommendation from the internet, we found Cafe D'Marta which had really good deals on breakfast. This is also the first place we've found that does multiple cups of coffee included with the meal. This comes highly recommended! 

The Capataz from the menu for 40Q

There is also a Mcdonads, Burger King, Wendy's, Duncan Donuts, and Office Depot. The following picture was taken in McDonalds. I guess you could say, "They aren't CLOWNING around"

Chips aHoy Mcflurray with Carmel.

The market in Antigua is huge.

There was a giant collection of hats from Colorado.I loved them all, and was REALLY close to buying the Denver Nuggets hat.

I then found this hat. Love. 5Q ($0.60)

A guy tried to sell us this puppy for $6.

Unlike a puppy, I actually needed a watch. My phone died on day 3 of the trip, so I was wondering around without any grasp of time. This is a bit of a romantic notion, "I am not bound by time, but rather by the spirit of the earth beneath my feat and in my heart and bowels," but for practical purposes I needed a way to tell time. This Casio watch was 35Q, and I feel fairly confident I couldn't have brought the price any lower. 

When the guy was trying to sell it to me, he kept saying, "It's Casio! It has a stopwatch!" I haven't worn a watch since my Marvin the Martian watch I had as a kid, so I was quite excited by the stopwatch feature. So I immediately ran back to the bathroom at McDonald's and set a record on the toilet. 7.75 seconds. Mom would be so proud. Mom, please confirm this in the comments.

Back to the market I bought a "Empanada de Leche", and this milk filled pastry was amazing. Many of my close friends know I am in love with empanadas from taco bell back home, but this baby was half the price, twice the size, and way more delicious. (5Q - $.60)

Trying new fruits.

I applaud these woman for so dutifully lactating for years on end. You service hasn't gone unnoticed. 

They harvest coffee here in Antigua, and there are a million cafe's to prove it. There are also a few strange benches dedicated to the wonderful bean.

A nice park.

Another nice park.

Back at the market, looking for action figures.

Next up is doing a 2 day hike up a volcano! I will see lava!