Pollo Campero, Ruins, Cafe Latte...

I`m in Guatemala!!! Antigua, Guatemala, to be exact. We arrived last night in Guatemala City, Guatemala`s capital, and met up with Jo Ann at the hotel Dos Lunas. I felt like a backpacker (except that I have a humongous suitcase plus my backpack)because of all the other weary travelers lodging at Dos Lunas. Our hotel hosts were fantastic.. friendly, put us at ease, funny, hospitable, helpful.. loved them. Jo Ann had ordered Pollo Campero, Jim`s favorite Guatemalan restaurant, and we ate cold but good chicken late last night.

Now we`re in Antigua at one of the coolest hotels I`ve ever stayed at--Lazos Fuertes. The room itself isn`t much to speak of, except for the darling swans made of our bath towels waiting for us on our beds... but the rest of the hotel is phenomenal, from gorgeous volcanic views, to rooftop chairs, (free internet), to courtyards with all sorts of plants, awesome wood furniture in the lounges... and.... perhaps best of all, much of the proceeds of this place goes to help kids in Guatemala City, whose families work in garbage dumps. That makes us happy, and we did not even know about it before we got here.

Today after exploring our hotel, we walked throughout Antigua, eating a typical lunch of chicken and pork tamales, and meandering our way through the cobblestoned streets, snapping shots of colorful outfits, brightly painted Antigua walls, fun architecture, mountain and volcano views, and the ruins.

Ruins abound in Antigua, due to lots of violence over the years, and an earthquake or two. I read the history yesterday on the plane, but need to do more research to be exact about it. I was tired while reading Guatemalan history. The ruins are, well, ruins, and great photo ops, as well as fun places to hold a youth lock in, Jim decided! One in particular, Las Capuchinas, had all sorts of nooks and crannies, stairs, doors, etc.. and a beautiful yard where a Guatemalan father with three kids played hide and seek and other outside games. I was hoping to post pictures, but so far haven`t figured that out. Hopefully we will see at least one other ruin tomorrow.

After it started to rain we decided we needed coffee, so walked to the center square, where we had a good latte at El Cafe Condessa, highly recommended. I recommend the latte, not the pie.. Not so great. But hey, what I needed was a latte, so I`m happy.

Tonight we ate dinner at a Western place, but had good soup (tomato and tarragon), homeade bread, and salad... Jim had a healthy granola, yogurt, and fruit.

Tomorrow we take a shuttle to Tecpan, where Julio, from Santa Apolonia will pick us up, literally on the highway, where the shuttle is going to drop us off. It should not be too hard for Julio to find three gringos with their bags, waiting by the highway! Especially this one, with her insanely large bag.... full of things you might just need on such a trip as this.

So, day one in Guatemala has been good. I`m so happy to be back, thrilled to go to Santa Apolonia tomorrow where we were last summer for our mission trip, and cannot wait for a good nights sleep tonight!