Advertisement
Published: October 31st 2005
Hola!
So here it goes... I arrived in Guatemala City late Thursday evening and stepped outside the airport to tons of people yelling names of others they were to pick up or meet. I was quite overwhelmed, but managed to make my way over to the taxi's and went straight to the guesthouse that I wanted to stay in that night. Normally everyone says that you should get right out of Guat City once you arrive because it is unsafe, but if you arrive at night you are never to take a bus in the dark because of highway robberies that go on. So I went to the guesthouse and left the next afternoon for Antigua. I walked aroung Guat City in the morning a bit with this girl I met from San Francisco, it wasn't anything exciting, it's pretty much just a big, ugly city. It's very polluted and all the buildings are just composed mainly of concrete and then everything has huge gates or bars covering the windows and entrances. (Not really appealing architechture).
Antigua is beautiful! It used to be the capital city here, but because they have had so many earthquakes here, alot of the buildings have
been destroyed time and time again and are falling apart or completely damaged and the cobblestone streets are far from being smooth. They decided to have Guat City as their capital instead. Anyways, all of the buildings are very colonial looking, and the central park is amazing! It has a very old fountain in the centre and walkways and benches throughout.It is an ideal place for having a picnic lunch and reading a book, or just relaxing. Antigua is very small and very safe, so I feel comfortable here, even when I walk alone at night. There are a lot of tourists here, but that doesn't really bother me. It is nice to have some english speaking people around since my spanish sucks. I didn't realize it would be so hard to communicate here without speaking their language. That is why I am going to look into the schools tomorrow. If I don't learn soon, I will never be able to understand anyone or be able to express how I am feeling or tell them what I would like. It is not like Thailand where everyone speaks english...
So anyways, I spent that one day in Antigua and then took
off for Monterrico, the black sand beach about 2 hours from here. I stayed in an amazing hostel right on the beach with a swimming pool right out my front door, and the shoreline only a few feet from that. There were also hammocks that lined the front of the restaurante which were nice to lay in when you needed a break from the sun. I succeeded in burning myself the first day,so the second day I pretty much stayed away from it. I got to participate in the releasing of the baby leatherback sea turtles (they have a farm there, and release those old enough every Saturday evening) in which we all stood behind a rope and let them walk along the sand from out of our palms and watch them as they made their way to the water as the sunset. It was very beautiful to watch but also to experience. I have never felt something quite like that within my hands before. The next morning (this morning) I was up at 4:30am to watch the sunrise on the beach and then take a 2 hour lancha (small wooden boat) tour through the mangroves and swamp area just
outside of the town. It was so peaceful and the wildlife I got to see was amazing... so I spent the rest of the day relaxing and came back to Antigua tonight. I am leaving from here on Tuesday to go to the cemetary just outside of the city to join in the All Saint's Day celebrations where they fly huge kites above loved ones graves to celebrate and remember them. It is one of the biggest festivals in Guatemala so it should be a fun time... Besides looking at schools tomorrow, I will also be going to the market since I have yet to do any shopping and see how my bargaining skills are here...
Anyways, I just thught I would let you all know that I am safe and having a great time. You will hear from me soon again...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.101s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 11; qc: 65; dbt: 0.0567s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Joe
non-member comment
WOW
that is so freakin' awesome!! i can't believe you got to let turtles go!! i bet its such nice weather there, its freezing here!! anyways, keep having fun and keep it real! PEACE! (trying to act hard core, but i don't think its working for me)