Heading Out

Yesterday was the big day!  Mom and the boys dropped us off at the shuttle to head to Atlanta. The ride there was a long one. Our driver was an extremely nice man, but he was hard of hearing. I was wondering how many times a day he makes that long drive but he said he only does it once a day. I am glad we took the shuttle because the international side of the airport is about 20 minutes away from the domestic side. We would of been lost ride out of the gate!

As luck would have it our flight was delayed an hour. Apparently we were short one plane and then the pilot and then stewardess. Minor details that the man at the delta counter found highly amusing.

We landed at 10 pm local time and the airport was deserted until we went to leave and the whole street was packed with people trying to get us to take their shuttle or buy their wares.  Fortunately I had pre-hired a driver to take us to Antigua. The van rattled but we made it.  The town has cobbled, narrow streets and more than once I wondered if it was a legit driver but he turned down an even more narrow road (which is locally called an alley) and dropped us off right at Casa Cristina. The room is small but very clean. When they told me they had hot water they meant in the shower only lol.  

This is one of the volcanos from the roof of our room. It was a beautiful day. 

The rooftops look like this. Lots of growing things and clothes drying. There are planters everywhere and everything seems to grow without effort. One good reason to live here, I guess. 

La Merced is a huge Catholics church whose bells woke us at 6:00am for Mass. We toured it today. There was also a wedding this morning and Mass this afternoon (complete with bells). No one can say they forgot to go to church or lost track of time and didn't make it because the bells ring 1/2 hour before Mass and then again 10 minutes before it starts. Smart priests if you ask me!

Small but clean 

Lots of Guatemalan art decorates the hotel. It is three stories and only has 14 rooms. 

A closer look at Le Merced. By 9:00 this whole square was filled with vendors. By noon it was hard to walk thru everyone. We didn't buy anything off the street. Although some of the food smelled delicious. They didn't start to pack up until 8:00pm. They stayed thru the rain even. 

The Park is the center of the town. It was packed,too, by noon. This fountain is rated pg-13. 

We visited with a bike shop. I wanted to take a bike tour of the small outlying towns but Phil didn't feel  up to par.

Bikes are all over the city. Some of them carry three to four people. On the back, handlebars, etc. they ride right on the roads with the cars and motorcycles.  And no helmets!

This lady was trying to get me to buy something. If I wouldn't pay a certain amount for an object in the states I am certainly not going to pay more here. I ended up not buying anything because she did not like my price.   That was the end of my wheelin and dealin for the day. I hate haggling. And the prices are not on anything of course. It is hard to hand out $100 quetzals because physiologically I think of the as 100 American dollars but it is only about 12 American dollars. It will take practice parting with my money. 

Le Arc is the only thing left standing from an old monastery. That is the street going underneath it. 

This was taken before it was so packed you couldn't walk down it. 

We did finally find a place to eat. We went safe and went Mexican. 

It was delicious!

Everything is embroidered here. It is beautiful art work. 

Phil was feeling good enough for flan. 

The flower are all real and they smelled beautiful. 

Real plants.  Every where!

The remains of an old convent which is now an art center.

Motorcycles are everywhere!  One had mom, dad, and two children on it!  Another had an infant wrapped in a blanket on the back with mom and dad.  

The church is right around the corner. Who would of thought?!  Church tomorrow at 9am. 

So..this is a busy street. It is someones home. The big doors open and you park your vehicle in your house. There are no garages.  

This is the "ally" to our hotel. 

I wanted to take more pictures of people but I thought it would be rude. We went to the outdoor market which was quite an experience. Tons of food - vegetables and meat in the open. Buckets of beans and rice.  Kids playing in the food. It would be a challenge to get food there. It was packed body to body with natives. I think we were the only foreigners. They probably thought we were lost, lol. 

A lot of children carrying their siblings in slings. I love the native skirts. It is just material you wrap around the waist and tie on with a belt. 

Oh!  Ethan will be happy to know that "Psych" is on here as well. We watched an episode in Spanish today. It is still funny. 

Tomorrow we head to San Pedro. Hopefully we can get Internet connection there as well!