Wednesday, June 20, 2007 (Antigua, Guatemala)
Antigua...is nice and reminds me of Granada. We arrived at sunset and it is very cool here at night -- I wonder what our elevation is. I look forward to seeing more in the daylight.

When we got to the Black Cat the surly and dismissive office attendant told us they were full up (the four with us, the one mentioned and three from Spain, had to go elsewhere) and then that they only had us down for 1 bed, not 2. He finally said he could give us a single private room with a full size bed at the dorm rate. We'll be in the dorm tomorrow.

The hostel seems nice enough, with an interesting layout, though I think I liked the Bearded Monkey better. This is definitely a party hostel, though not a late one, it seems, with the crowded narrow bar at front also being the only way in and out. Loud music and a TV room with a very disorganized collection of old (and copied and swiped) VHS add to the mix, replete with a smelly bathroom. But breakfast is included and they work on a tab system. Overall, I think I'll like it.... Maybe one day I'll open a hostel. It could be part of my restaurant.

Thursday, June 21, 2007 (Antigua, Guatemala)
Antigua really is much like Granada with a lot more tourists (even Suchitoto, with more people of all kinds). It's nice overall, though I think I like Granada better. Still, an impressive mix of church ruins (from an earthquake in 1773) and a safe, laid-back, quiet feel. And there's fresh produce everywhere! I've been missing that and Guatemala has it back! Though, there's a European element in that many public toilets are Q2 to use. (I even got a receipt ticket for one of them.)

C and I met up with Claudia, our friend from Mexico we met on the shuttle. She's moved into the Black Cat tonight. We then started the day (well, after an enormous free breakfast) with a trip to the market which soon shifted to the artesan's market. Even though some of it's kitschy, some is really nice and it's hard not to go crazy buying things (I may have already spent too much). We got a soft, scented trivet for mom and a hammock for dad. I want to get a chess set, a mask, or a musical instrument. The Mayan-Spanish chess set is top of my list, but I really don't know if I can afford it.

We then started following the walking tour from a map I picked up and went to this Textile Museum, showing traditional textiles of the Maya of the area.

We saw the ruins of a few different churches and convents, of which Las Capuchinas was most interesting because of the design and layout of the compound. The living area had 18 cells all arranged circularly around a central patio.

This is not Las Capuchinas (coming later). The above and below pictures, as well as the video at left, are of La Recoleccion. As with many things in Antigua, you can see the damage that this earthquake from over 200 years ago did -- and has left on the city! In many cases there was simply no money to rebuild. Now, either there is still no money or it's become a historic landmark (or mabye both).

The great earthquake of '73...1773, that is. I guess we Americans don't know much about it because we were three years away from our own big fish to fry? Or is that unfair? (Too soon? ;) ) Whatever the issue, here is a very good picture of the two of us playing Ultimate Tourist in the courtyard. Note, that used to be a church and convent. Also note what fell...and what stayed standing.

Me, Claudia, and Cristine at a gorgeous fountain in the middle of El Convento Mercedario, and the same fountain from above (click on it for a closeup in a new window).

One of three volcanos that surrounds Antigua. I find it interesting that the city has had so much trouble with earthquakes, but none really from volcanic activity. Then again, the two are likely very closely related. Still, an interesting geological footnote.

	El Arco. It was built because of the convent originally on the right side of it. The nuns were increasing and they needed more space to house them, but the convent didn't want to have to expose the nuns to the public eye. So they asked the city to close down the street so they could expand into the building on the left and simply wall in the street area they needed. The city didn't want to do this, but compromised by building this arch, which connects the two sides, allowing the nuns to pass freely through without having to be publicly seen. I have no idea whether or not this arch or its connected buildings are still in use.
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I kid you not, it really is as small as it appears. We saw these all over the city, and can't figure them out. They're embedded in the sidewalk, usually a few inches from a wall. There are no parking spaces nearby, so we don't think it has to do with cars, but we don't know how it relates to pedestrians either. There seems to be no rhyme or reason.

	Here, at last, is Las Capuchinas. Also damaged by earthquake (the great rumbler of '73 plus others), it still held together large portions of the building. Most reknowned is the housing area, pictured here and below, a circular construct with all 18 nun's rooms facing a foyer. If you stand in the exact center you can see perfectly into all of the rooms.
	(Repeating the scrollover label: Click the picture to see a different view of this patio in a new window)

On a tip from a hiking guide we met in the street [he and his girlfriend are featured at left] we watched the sunset from Café Sky, a 3rd story rooftop place on the east end of town and with great views. ...There are shuttle offers everywhere. And even so far south, lots of mention of Tikal.

Friday, June 22, 2007 (Antigua, Guatemala)
C continues to improve, if slowly. She's taken to calling the pain her paraside; this evening it became her unborn baby (This is even funnier in retrospect, considering the ladies that asked her if she was pregnant!)

Having Claudia around has been great. She's very nice and a lot of fun....It's...been good...to have a native Spanish speaker to practice with. And though it's very tiring and we have to keep reminding each other, we've done fairly well and I know it's helping both me and C. It does wear me down, though, especially tonight when the 3 Spanish gals came by and much of the conversation was in Spanish. If they talked one at a time and didn't go too fast I could understand about 90% when I focused (it also helped when background noise was low). But slowly I started spacing out because it was just so tiring to stay focused like that. And I couldn't even attempt to respond in Spanish, because I couldn't form the words fast enough, even in my head, to keep up.

Having Claudia around has also helped when I want to do something C doesn't feel up for because of the stomach thing. Like this afternoon Claudia and I went up Cerro de la Cruz [shown below]. C wasn't feeling well enough to go. Or flip-side, this morning we went (all three) to the antique book museum and the two of them kept doing their thing together, which was great for me because it gave me some relative solitude to really focus on the exhibits (I found this museum small but intensely interesting). Left: The first printing press in the Americas

Old music, from the book museum

The cathedral. Again, note what stands against what doesn't.
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	Left: Sibling amusement

	Climbing Cerro de la Cruz and the view of Antigua from the top; Note: "la cruz" is Spanish for "the cross". Why there's a giant concrete/stone cross on the hill above the city is a little unclear. I'm sure it's some kind of blessing and/or protection. Truth be told, I find it a little strange. But when in Antigua, I suppose.

I find this simply to be an amusing sign. For the non-Spanish-literate, it translates "And your pineapple, too".

Another advantage of a hostel over a hotel is that it's considerably easier in a hostel to be near each other generally while still giving each other the space we need. We can do separate things in the same building with ease. Why is this important to mention? One thing Cristine was insistent on was that we not split up at all on this trip (a rule we observed maybe 85% of the time). But as I rebutted, no matter how much you like a person, there are just times you need a breather from each other. So in times where, for whatever reason, we couldn't actually split up for different activities, in a hostel we could be "together" without being together, giving each of us the space we needed, but the peace of mind that the other was safe and available. I would love to hear some local choral music while in this country. European or indigenous inspired, either would be great. Left: our favorite sweets shop, where we pigged out on merengues and other treats. Too bad I didn't stock up on more before our day trip to Chichi. Not that it really mattered; I suppose I could have gotten more before leaving Antigua the next day (we did return for a night), but as will become clear, that became one of the furthest things from my mind.

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