Some Habitat representatives met us and shuttled us (no chickens on this swanky van-bus) to Antigua, Guatemala where we will be spending the night before going to Coban.
The weather is amazing. Sunny and about 25 ish.
My first cup of coffee at the airport this morning cost 23 quetzals. Yikes, that takes some getting used to. Really that´s less than $4 for an airport latte - not too bad.
Antigua is a lovely, small community with narrow cobblestone (very rough) streets and even narrower sidewalks. ´Since we came in early we´ve had a chance to explore and have our first meal. I had pollo piento or something like that. Reminded me of a chicken curry - very good.
Antigua is very touristy. The old colonial style means that the streets are lined with white washed stucco walls (painted vibrant colours) with about 2 or 3 doors per block. There are small signs saying what´s inside. Once through you find yourself in a shop, restaurant, bank, internet cafe, hotel, etc. usually with an open air court yard. Any plants are inside in the court yard. The streets are just walls, sidewalk and cobblestone, no plants.
The city center plaza has a lovely fountain with all sorts of flowers, plants and trees. There are several old cathedrals. We saw a wedding in progress in one of them this morning. We got to see the bride walk down the aisle (seemed very typical to a Canadian wedding).
We can see the volcanoes in the backdrop to the city. We also see small mountains with a lot of greenery.
Our Hotel is nice. There are 4 beds and a TV in my room, I´m sharing with one other person. It is an old Villa turned into a hotel. There are several courtyards (10 ftx 10ft) inside with plants and a rooftop patio.
Everyone has been super friendly and patient with my limited Spanish.
Freakiest thing so far is seeing armed guards at gas stations and the bank.
I'm not sure when I'll get to make my next entry. Until then take care.
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Glad you made it safely. Keep us up to date!
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