Day 75 – Antigua, GU

Day 75 – Antigua, GU     11/4/10     Mileage: 0

 To make up for the lack of pictures yesterday, I made an effort to take lots of pictures today. Here are some overdue pictures of my $18 room.

My room at the Black Cat...

Plush, no....but it is only $18 and I didn't come to Antigua to sit in the room all day!

Looking into my room from the center courtyard...

The breakfast is great and included with the room!

The Black Cat's little bar/restaurant...

The Black Cat's co-owner, Alejandra...

Over breakfast (which is included!)  I had a nice conversation with Alejandra, the Black Cat’s co-owner, who gave me some good travel info and recommendations.

On the way to school...

After my delicious breakfast, it was off to school to torture Christina for another 4 hours.

Me maestro, Christina...

Today we took a field trip to the local produce market, which is like a farmer’s market at home but 10 times the size.

On the way to the market...

It was awesome…the market was huge and the amount and quality of the produce was unbelievable! There were fruits, vegetables and other produce ranging from the familiar to the truly bizarre.

The market in Antigua...

El mercado mas grande!

Holy frijoles!

Every kind of farm produce was there...

Meat, it's what's for dinner...

The inside of a granadilla. Kind of looks like and has the texture of fish guts...but it does taste good.

Fresh pollo.....

The Elegante Vegas barber shop...

Nester and his Vegas barber shop...

My quick and cheap lunch...

This local fellow must have hit happy hour a bit too hard...

Me and Charley...

Me and Alejandra..

Hanging at the Black Cat...

Day 74 – Antigua, GU

Day 74 – Antigua, GU     11/3/10     Mileage: 0

 School day numero dos and I was surprised to see Christina had returned instead of running for the hills. We sat down and soon after the massacre continued. I could see her wince with each clumsy and painful pronunciation, but she hung in there. After two hours we had a 30 minute cease fire so she could catch her breath and I could reload for my next linguistic barrage. After another 90 minutes of verb tense and vocabulary bungling, the school bell rang and a truce was called until tomorrow. After school I had a quick bite for lunch before returning to the hotel to use the wifi to download some language software and update the blog. Once that was done I wandered out for dinner and found a little taco stand where I had 4 authentic tacos with all the fixins for $3. Belly filled to the rim, I (not surprisingly) had a hankering for a beer(s) to wash down the tacos. I found a place that had Moza, which is a Guatemalan bock beer that is quite good. After 4 of those and some good conversation with the bartender (Jerome, an ex-pat from the US) and an Irish gal (Amy) sitting next to me, I packed it in. Sorry for the lack of pictures, I forgot to put the memory card in my camera this morning! I will make up for it tomorrow when I try to do some day in the life pics…

Day 73 – Antigua, GU

Day 73 – Antigua, GU     11/02/10     Mileage: 0

 School day…crap! Today was my first day in Spanish School and class starts at 8, so I was up and out the door at 7:30 for the short walk to Probigua…the name of my school. Antigua is known for Spanish schools which are numerous and inexpensive…which is why I chose to study here.

Probigua Spanish School...

The "classroom" is actually an outside covered patio with a garden in the back...pretty cool!

My school costs $125 per week for 4 hours per day of 1 on 1 instruction….that’s pretty good! I met my instructor, Christina, and before we even sat down she went right in on me in Spanish: Buenas dias, como te llama? To which I said…no thanks I had coffee. She chuckled and shook her head as she realized that she had her work cut out for her. I was surprised that she didn’t speak any more English than I spoke Spanish. But then again, I wasn’t there to learn English…I was there to learn Spanish and I was after all in a Spanish immersion school. So, on with the immersion I went, and after 4 hours of butchering every word and phrase in my kindergarten Spanish book, the language massacre mercifully ended. Christina said there was still hope for me, but I’m sure she says that to all the gringos. I said adios to Christina and went back to El Gato Negro to lick my mental wounds. I also worked on the blog and made some calls home on Skype before heading out to find dinner.

Tienda's are basically convenience stores, and I passed "Tienda Shalom" while walking around. Do they sell matzah there...I wonder?

I settled at bar that happened to have an Adam Sandler movie playing on a TV behind the bar. The sound was off but there were Spanish subtitles. I sat there trying to read the subtitles with my newly acquired Spanish prowess, but only proved how far I had to go as I was the only one not howling in laughter. Just then the bartender asked: Hola amigo, como te llamas? Sure, I’ll have another beer…  😉

Day 72 – Antigua, GU

Day 72 – Antigua, GU     11/01/10     Mileage: 0

 I was up relatively early and walked to the center square for a coffee before returning to the Black Cat for breakfast. This morning I chose the “typical”,  which was scrambled eggs, beans, fresh farm cheese, avocado, tomato and whole wheat toast…also included with my $7 bunk room bed…amazing! Today I spent quite a while on the blog, did some laundry and taking a long walk around town.

I didn't take many (good) pictures today for some reason, so here is my one token shot of a rare sight in these parts....a Ducati Multistrada!

At night I also found a fun gringo bar called the Monoloco. Even the bar tenders were from the US and were it not for the bouncers sporting metal detectors to scan the patrons at the door, it could have easily been a sports bar in Denver. It was definitely surreal after weeks of only hearing Spanish. So after a proper gringo meal of beer and chicken fingers, I was off to the relative luxury of my single room!

Day 71 – Antigua, GU

Day 71 – Antigua, GU     10/31/10     Mileage: 0

 Today was going to be a good day, not because I had anything good planned, but because I had absolutely nothing planned. I had no “chores” that needed to be done, and no ware that I needed to be but right here, right now, right where I’m am. That is a great feeling for sure and I was basking in the freedom. After a great breakfast of fresh fruit, granola and yogurt with honey, (which came with my $7 bunk bed!) I was off to walk around town to see the parts of town I had yet to visit.

The town square...

The Cathedral on the town square...

One more of the Cathedral...

A random street in the town center..

Another street downtown with the ever visible Volcano Agua...

La Merced Church...

Along the way I was enjoying the Spanish colonial architecture and in particular the doors.

These doors are very real and very heavy!

Here's another...

....and another...

....sick of doors yet?

OK, last one...

Volcano Fuego also puffed out some smoke and ash which I could see right from town…pretty wild!!

Volcano Fuego puffing out some ash...cool!

Today was also the big Day of the Dead celebration and people all over town were making preparations for tonight’s celebration. After having lunch in a nice cafe, I went back to the hotel for some wifi and a shower. At sundown the festivities switched into high gear and there were people everywhere, many in costumes ranging from a simple mask to a movie worthy costume.

The street scene on Day of the Dead....now night of the dead I guess...

The pictures are not that good, but you get the idea...

There were Latin woman everywhere dressed as the hot nurse, the hot teacher, the hot school girl, the hot devil, the hot policia woman, the hot bar maid, the hot farm girl and every other occupation worthy of being sexed up. Some other notable costumes were 4 Chilean miners complete with headlamps, a Mad Hatter that could have walked off of a movie set and one group of guys all in drag that were hilarious. I stayed out as long as I could so as to delay the inevitable return to the bunk room. Thankfully tomorrow I can move to a single room with my own bathroom…ahhhh.

Day 70 – Antigua, GU

Day 70 – Antigua, GU     10/30/10     Mileage: Local miles

 Breakfast came with the room and like yesterday it was very good!

This the view of Volcano Agua from my 2nd floor hotel room window...

 The first chore for the day would be to box up the souvenirs Tracy and I had purchased and ship them back to the US. The hotel had a box that I could have from a flat screen TV they just installed, so that worked out. I first went to the Antigua post office and they quoted me $125 to ship the box to the US! Whoa! I politely declined and set off to find the DHL office, and they quoted me $275! I asked the DHL folks what the cheapest way to send the box was and they said the post office. So off I went back to the post office to ship our now very expensive bargains. Once that was done, I set about looking for an inexpensive room to hang my hat for the next week or two. I eventually settled on the Black Cat Inn and Hostel, which had single rooms for $18 per night including breakfast.

El Gato Negro...my home for the next week...or two...

El Gato Negro from across the street...

The roof-top patio at the El Gato Negro...with Volcano Agua in the background...

One more of the roof-top patio...

The center courtyard that the KLR will call home...

They were sold out of single rooms for tonight and tomorrow night and only had bunk room beds available, but then again it was only $7…also including breakfast! So, I booked the bunk room for the next two nights and a single room for the remainder of the week. Once I got the KLR and my gear over to my new digs, I went for a walk around town and took in the sights. For dinner I found a great little place called Bistro 5 Cinq and had a light dinner of manchego, marinated olives and 3 glasses of rioja.

Bistro 5 Cinq...

Afterwards it was back to the bunk room to be lulled to sleep by other people snoring and audible flatulence. All I can say is thank god for the rioja which made the ordeal more palatable…pardon the pun.

I knew I liked this bar…. The Monoloco in Antigua, Guatemala

This one's for you Mick!

Day 69 – Guatemala City, GU to Antigua, GU

Day 69 – Guatemala City, GU to Antigua, GU     10/29/10     Mileage: 32

 Tracy had a 5:30am ride to the airport, so I walked her down to see her off. After she was on her way, I went back to the room to use the wifi and have breakfast which was included with the room (and was excellent!). Once the bike was packed, I was off back to Antigua where I would spend a week or two in a Spanish language school. In Antigua I went back to the hotel we stayed at two nights ago where I had also stashed my big yellow dry bag for the overnight run to Guatemala City.

Back at the Casa Florencia for one more night...

This time I was on the second floor which has a great view of Volcano Agua...

They gave me a great rate so I ended up staying there again. It was still well over my budget, so tomorrow I’d have to find cheaper digs. I had an early dinner in town and went back to the hotel to enjoy the plush room and wifi.

Day 68 – Antigua, GU to Guatemala City, GU

Day 68 – Antigua, GU to Guatemala City, GU     10/28/10     Mileage: 32

 Another beautiful morning in Antigua and after breakfast it was back to the artisan market to purchase (and haggle for) the last of the souvenirs.

I thought this was an interesting fountain inside the cafe we had breakfast.

And those of you who know me well know why... 😉

 Now it was back to Guatemala City so that Tracy could catch her 7am flight tomorrow morning.

Guatemala City from the mountain road high above the city...

Once settled into the hotel, we walked out to find an early dinner and a few drinks. Tracy also, not surprisingly, did a bit more shopping and, not surprisingly again, bought a new pair of shoes. Back at the hotel we used the wifi and went through the trip pictures, but later we were both hungry again and in the mood for pizza. It wasn’t that late, but the closest pizza joint that we knew would be open was….ummm…Pizza Hut! So, we capped off the night with an authentic, genuine, medium Pizza Hut supreme. I did at least drink Guatemalan beer with it…  😉

Day 67 – Antigua, GU

Day 67 – Antigua, GU     10/27/10     Mileage: 0

We were up and out fairly early and had a great breakfast in a cafe with a cute center courtyard. Next was to get signed up for a sunset hiking trip to the Pacaya volcano later this afternoon.

Walking around the streets of Antigua, with the Agua Volcano in the background...

There are tons of mopeds and small motorcycles around town and in Guatemala in general. They even have special parking for motos on most streets.

Tracy in front of the Arco de Santa Catalina...

Once that was done I went back to the room to catch up on the blog for a bit and Tracy did some shopping. We then went for a walk and to the artisan market for a bit of shopping before heading back to the hotel to be picked up for the ride to the Pacaya volcano.

It was raining hard on the way to Pacaya but luckily it stopped in time for the hike...

It took about an hour and a half to get there and we arrived at the base of the hike around 4pm. As soon as the door opened to the van we were bombarded by kids offering hiking sticks and “taxis”.

Sticks and taxis...

So, you might be wondering how a taxi was going to get up the side of a mountain? Well, what they call a taxi is actually a small horse. There were about 15 people in our group and nobody bought a stick or a taxi….at first. You see, the trail is very steep right out of the gate and the guide (who might be in cahoots) set a nice fast pace up the mountain side. All the while, kids on “taxis” are following close behind yelling “taxi, taxi” at the struggling gringos, just waiting for one of them to crack so they can sell you a taxi!

Tracy with the "taxis" in hot pursuit waiting for her to crack, but she didn't of course...

The gringo rest stop...where you had the opportunity to reconsider the purchase of a taxi!

Well, we all hung tough…all except a young strapping Israeli dude that is! Anyway, after an hour and half hike we arrived at a ridge around 600 feet below the summit cone. All along the way the views were great as we could see 3 other volcanoes poking through the clouds…one of which was putting on a show spewing ash and smoke.

A view across the clouds to 3 other volcanos. The two others are smaller to the left of the big one.

Here's a better shot of the two smaller (more distant) volcanos. The one spewing ash is called Fuego.

There were no running lava flows today, but this was an active volcano and there were several spots where cracks in the earth were putting out intense heat.

Me and Volcano Pacaya. The fellow in the picture with me is our guide.

Tracy and Pacaya...

One large crack you could look straight down at the red hot glowing lava 15 feet underground….amazing!!

The heat coming out of some of the cracks was intense!

This crack you could see the red hot glow of the lava. Of course it never comes out in the pictures...

Sunset on Pacaya...

The sunset was spectacular...

After enjoying a great sunset, it was time to hike back down…only this time it was dark. Luckily we had my headlamps, so it really wasn’t too bad. It took another hour and change to get back to Antigua, but we still had time to grab dinner before getting some much needed rest.