Off to Antigua

I'm a little behind on the blog but that is normal towards the end of the trip. Too many long days and too many nights of sleep deprivation....what can I say.

Sat. morning we gathered at the hotel to take the van ride to Antigua, Guatemala....not to be confused with the island. Antigua is a wonderful place to decompress after trekking through corn fields and over mud trails.

Antigua is a UNISCO heritage site and the original capital of the Spanish Empire. It is a lovely colonial village of beautifully colored stucco walled buildings. Every now and then you get a glimpse of the inside courtyards when a door or gate is open. They usually contain beautiful gardens. Only 5 of us went in the van since Joy and Gladys stayed in Pana to take more Spanish lessons and Dave, Jay and Amanda hired a MF pickup and Samuel as tour guide to take them to a mayan ruin on the way to Antigua. We arrived at Hotel Bucaros too early to check in so we dropped our bags at the front desk and headed out. We made it as far as Frieda's Cafe where we indulged in Mexican food and adult beverages. We were enjoying the relaxing atmosphere so much that we were still there when the other 3 made it to Frieda's. We then all walked to the Park Central where we enjoyed the

fountain with the serinas (mermaids) spewing water from their tata's and listened to a couple of Bolivian musicians play pipe flutes then onto a beautiful art gallery. By then it was time that we could check into the hotel. We got to our rooms and relaxed for a bit then off to dinner at La Fonda for the best chicken soup ever!! I think I may have mentioned that in a previous blog update. There was an unusual amount of traffic and people even for a weekend. It turns out that Nov. 3 is a special day for weddings in Guatemala...not sure why...need to google that. There was even a lovely parade right past the restaurant so we got to watch that go by. We noticed on the way to the restaurant that they were creating live carpets on the cobbled streets so I should have guessed then there would have been a parade gathering somewhere.

Wasn't it nice of me to arrange a great meal and a parade!!! Dave and Jay were picked up the next morning by one of my favorite drivers, Jose, to catch there early morning flight to Boston and home. The rest of us left at a more decent hour...10:00AM for our respective flights home. I am always so awed by the wonderful people who join me on these trips and this group was no exception. Thank you to all who participated and to all who kept us in your prayers. I plan to do this until I can't!!!