What a great Christmas! Mick and I started our day with a 4 mile jog through the town of Antigua followed by a leisurely breakfast at El Gato Negro, the Black Cat. From there we hopped our shuttle to hippie heaven - The Earth Lodge. The Earth Lodge is this awesome avocado farm complete with dorms and tree houses to spend the night, games and hiking trails abound and even a sauna! We spent the afternoon gazing off at unreal views, lounging in hammocks, chatting with fellow travelers, playing volleyball and Scrabble and enjoying life. Dinner here every night is a family buffet, all vegetarian, with a little extra oomph for Christmas tonight. And on that note - Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
The view from the Earth Lodge's main terrace - note the other volcano, Mick and I plan to hike that one too, assuming my shoe soles don't melt, which I hear happens if you are not careful.
The Earth Lodge's main hang out area: bar, game room, movie room, restaurant and chairs and hammocks behind me.
Our "shuttle" to the Earth Lodge.
12-24-09
After a bumpy bus ride and a decent amount of sleep, Mick and I found ourselves in the charming town of Antigua. All the buildings are bumper to bumper but many of the houses, hotels and restaurants have beautifully landscaped courtyards inside. Mick took Spanish classes here for 5 weeks so he took me on a thorough tour of the town all morning and we even stumbled upon a few new sites. We spent the afternoon in the harrows of the market - sheer craziness! We were the only gringos for what seemed like miles around. After a late afternoon nap, we set back out for a Christmas Eve dinner, 10 pm mass and then to the safety of our rooftop terrace to watch the town disolve into utter chaos - hours of fireworks. After watching a firework smack into someone's house and then having a few come close to us, we decided we better watch Jesus's midnight birthday bash from the safety of our hotel room. (It is clear Santa must visit the Guatemalan's last as they know how to party . . . seriously!)
Nothing says Christmas Eve like some curry and a shot in an Irish pub.
The market of Antigua. I scored some scarves, fruit and a hat. I managed to avoid the live stock and open air meat market - phew! You name it and it could be found in this market!
Antigua - I could happily stay here for a while.
My tortilla didn't taste the best but I certainly earned some street cred with my creativity.
Mick and I had some impromto lessons on tortilla making, much to the amusement of our Mayan friends. They found our efforts endlessly amusing and Mick and I found them not as tasty. Who knew tortilla making was so hard?
Me amid the church ruins.
The ruins of San Francisco Church. The ruins are quite extensive as the church was destroyed 3 times in earthquakes from the volcano. I think the people of Antigua finally got the message when they made it into a museum as opposed to a church.
Iglesia la Merced. I think the food vendors out front really add to the church decor. It's really a shame I cut them out of the photo.
The inactive Volcan Agua, as seen from our roof terrace. We fully plan on hiking that bad boy!
12-23-09 con't
The afternoon couldn't have better! Mick and I made new friends with the David's and invited them along on our boat tour of the lake. We climbed up some more Mayan ruins [that are in the beginning stages of being excavated] to El Mirador - the look out. We spent another few hours cruising the lake, seeing the sights, and even stopped along the shore to strip down to our skivvies and jump in. Almost 90 degrees that day! After dinner with our new friends Mick and I boarded our overnight bus to Antigua.
Our new friends David and David. Good stories, good people and good times.
I had to hike up another 200 steps and more Mayan ruins for this photo of Flores. I'm gonna have the firmest butt when I get home!
Our cruise ship on Lago Peten Itza. Great swimming weather and warm water.
The town of Flores - cute!
