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Published: November 11th 2012
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After a couple of day, the exhaust just becomes part of the world around us. It’s kind of like cooking something really pungent in the house. You don’t really realize how much it really smells until you walk out to get the mail and then when you come back inside… WHAM! It hits you like a ton of bricks! At first, Ann wanted to throw up, but now? Nah. What exhaust? We sat and wondered if lungs can really fill up with bad things or that is just something we have been told.
First stop of the day, BREAKFAST! We will spare you the repetitive details, as breakfast was a replay of the day before. (Luckily Wilson was able to join us. See photos) Once we were fueled up, we strolled over to Saint Jerome School ruins to take some photos. http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/historyofcentralamerica/ig/Antigua-Photo-gallery/San-Jeronimo-Church-and-School.htm However, when we arrived, they were not yet open. So, we traveled down the road to see what we could see. We meandered to the mouth of the local market and watched the beginnings signs of life within. After about 20 minutes, we headed back to the school, as we knew it would be open by then. As
we were on our way back, we passed a great little storefront. It was the local refrigeration repair shop. It reminded us of our good friend Patrick in Jacksonville. B&G Refrigeration and can assist with all of your electric and refrigeration needs! (Shameless plug for Patrick, but it is true! We will send you the picture Patrick.) Curiously, next to the refrigeration shop, there was a propane store (think King of the Hill with shotguns). Seriously, the store was being guarded by a guy with a shotgun, as they transferred empty and filled canisters onto and off of a truck. They must be very serious about propane! Along the way, there was also the furniture covering place, as well as a car wash and dental office in one. Car wash while you get your tooth pulled!
We headed back to the school ruins and saw the groundskeeper but no one at the ticket stand. He saw us, waved and strolled over to take our money. The place was fabulous. See photos. (Not that they do justice.) During its lifetime, it was ravaged for stone and was hit by a huge earthquake before the King allowed its renovation. We enjoyed
the family of caretakers, including a kid who was playing with a plastic garbage bag with a coat hanger attached at the mouth. This may sound silly, but the resulting toy was very functional and became a kite sans the need for a string or a tail. The wind would pick it up, carry it up into the air (quite high actually) and then bring it gracefully to the earth again. Completely genius!
After enjoying the grounds of the ruins all to ourselves (it would seem that people don’t do early here), we returned to the market to take pictures before the crowds arrived and made it impossible to move. See photos. It was described in yesterday's entry, but we were not in a position to take pictures. Our self-preservation was at maximum! We hope that y’all enjoy ALL of the pictures of the real deal which we are attaching. These excursions away from the tourist areas and into the heart of the local community are the best part of these types of trips!
Lunch was at La Luna de Miel, which means “The Moon of Honey.” It was owned and run by a French guy and had
a pretty interesting menu. We had baked brie. The music was pretty hard core urban American rap, but the food was great! (see photos). This place advertised out front that it had the "worst terrace in town." Of course, it didn't, in fact quite the opposite. One the second floor, it had a complete hookah pipe bar and luckily, for us, no one was there to partake! On the way out, we spoke briefly to the owner. He had a HUGE French accent and looked the part of ayoung hip Parisian guy. We asked where he was from and he said we a straight face, “France.” Really? Who would have thought it, Captain Obvious!
Later in the day, we met with our hotel owner to discuss some ideas for our next couple of weeks. She listened very intently and assured us that she could arrange some travel for us. She is extremely nice and speaks Spanish, German and English. We would highly recommend her hotel and restaurant to anyone traveling here.
After that meeting, we went to the Church up the road (in Latin America, there is ALWAYS a church up the road!) to sit on a bench
and read our book about Morocco. It was great people watching. After sitting for about half an hour on a cement bench with no back, we opted to mosey down to the main plaza park. These typical plazas are called zocalos in Latin America and most towns have one of 20 of them depending on the size of the village, town or city. Since it was Friday night, everyone was out in droves and dressed to the nines. It was awesome to sit and watch the locals as well as tourists go by, some on the way to Mass, some just out with the family and others just there to make a buck. Regardless why they were there, it was a grand spectacle and we thoroughly enjoyed it. In retrospect, it would seem that sitting at a park relaxing was a large part of our day. It was absolutely horrible! NOT!
When it got dark and we could not read anymore, we went to find dinner. Having walked most of the town, you would think that we could remember where a restaurant or two was that we wanted to patronize. However, that was not the case. So after much
debate about where such and such was, we decided to wing it and head toward our hotel. Lucky for us that we did! We passed by a grand looking restaurant that is called El Sabor del Tiempo, which translates to “The Flavor of the Time.” The restaurant was a big wine store with an attached restaurant. It was wonderful food and service. It was a bit annoying at times because we chose to sit at a table with a ceiling to floor window, but it had no glass window but wrought iron bars, which meant we were sitting (literally) targets for street vendors! There must have been at least 25 vendors that came by to offer their merchandise to us (for “a good price”), to which we said, "no gracias." At first we were very pleasant, however, one can only be asked to purchase the same necklace, drum or flute without getting a little testy. Be the end of our very fine meal, we felt like asking the street vendors (we use that term very loosely), how they would feel if we were to follow them home and while they were eating dinner with their families, we would try selling
them snowshoes! They need those about as much as we need 14 flutes, 39 drums and countless necklaces. However, in a moment of weakness (and thinking of a snack later) we did buy $5 worth of Macadamian nuts from a guy, more than 2 cans' worth in the US Supermarket. Score!
This blog started out to be shorter than the others, but it seems we failed to be more concise. However, it has lots of photos! They are worth a thousand words. Imagine if you will, a world without so many regulations that you can buy anything, at a good price (just for you), from a person with a smile on his/her face. Imagine a world where dogs ride on motorcycles with people, and kids laugh because they just got three playing cards. From the movie, "Love, is all around," it is apparent that it is indeed in this place.
One final note, on the internet, we read much about Guatemala and safety. We were told to carry passports everywhere (no one has ever asked us for them). We were told to worry about pickpockets (not even one attempt). We were told to watch our valuables at the
hotel (no worries here, at least). We were told that people might not like US people (comical suggestion). This place has warm, loving and friendly people. The weather is absolutely perfect, and it is so year-round. Ann got bit by only two mosquitos (those that know her know that this is magic!). In two days we leave. It is sad, but onto other things. We have no agenda tomorrow, but know we will have something new to tell you.
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Patrick
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Thanks for the B & G Electrical Plug!
Looks like your having a great time. Hope you make some good friends along the way. Remember "Don't Drink the Water" Hahahahah. Be Safe. Patrick B&G Heating and Air