It sounded like a good idea

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On my first day here I met a lady from Quebec City and we have been spending time together. She suggested yesterday that we should take a volcano hike on Sunday, a prized activity amongst tourists. It sure sounded fun so off we went to book it. First surprise, we must leave by 0600 AM. A bit early but doable. We are still not quite used to the altitude and neither of us is a spring chicken so we inquired as to the difficulty of the climb. "Muy facil" we are told. So we part with our money and made a date to meet at 0600. Muy facil is like Willim telling me that it takes only 40 minutes to drive to his place when it takes closer to 1.5 hours. Muy facil, my behind.

Of the 5 parts of the activity (getting to the base of the volcano by car, climbing up to the "mirador", resting and watching the volcano belch smoke, climb down, and drive back to Xela), I really enjoyed 3 parts....I managed to fall on my butt only once. Very proud of my self.

I came back dusty and dirty and my feet were on fire. Still, after a shower and 2 cups of tea, I do feel pretty good. The climb took about 2 hours and the return about 1:20. To go up to the very top takes about 4-5 hours. I dont think I will try it.

After bugging Jaime (he takes care of the place for the landlord and he was the one who was supposed to meet me when I arrived) for a week, I finally have a television. Very good to practice listening to Spanish. That Jaime has more excuses than Larousse has words. Still it is hard to stay mad since he is quite funny.

I also broke down and bought a heater even though everyone here seems to think that being cold in the house is no big deal. I decided to go against convention, rebel and buy one. I am so much more comfortable. Helen also bought one. I guess some things like comfort become more important as you get older.

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Photos

From the mirador
A view of of Santiaguito, a volcano that erupts up to 25 times a day. We spent over an hour at the mirador but it did not erupt. Still, a nice view