Fun times in Antigua

It’s Sunday morning, and I finally awoke to the view of the volcano Volcan Agua outside my window. There are a few clouds, but also patches of blue, a nice change from the last few days.

Yesterday morning, after breakfast at Kaffee Fernando (my new favorite place in town - could it be because of the fresh roasted espresso?), I headed down the the police station to catch a ride up Cerro de la Cruz, a hill on the edge of town with a cross and a view of the cityscape. It used to be a very popular walk until tourists started getting robbed, so now it’s best to be accompanied by police. Riding with me were a couple of ladies from Montreal, also in Guatemala to study Spanish for a while. Their Spanish was at my level (their French was considerably better), so it was fun to chat without some of the pressure one feels speaking with the locals.

Afterwards, I checked out the ruins at the church of San Francisco. The church itself has been rebuilt, but the remaining ruins are huge, and give you an idea of the size this complex once was - it included the cloister for the brothers and a large library. This city was subject to numerous earthquakes over the years, and they finally gave up and moved the capitol to Guatemala City in the 1700s. It’s only been since the 1950s that people started moving back here and restoring the architecture, making it the tourist draw that it is now.

The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting in the main plaza, the Parque Central, watching the people go by. It’s definitely the place to be, especially on a Saturday. As I sat there Friday night, I was regaled by the sounds of a brass band on the edge of the plaza. That was pleasant enough, but then they started playing swing music. Hearing them oompah their way through “In The Mood” was the icing on the cake.

After a reasonable night’s sleep (I have a rooster below my window for an alarm clock) and breakfast a Fernando’s, I sat in the park again, where I was approached by a group of four university students from Guatemala City. Their assignment was to each interview me in English and videotape it. It was a kick exchanging my less than perfect Spanish for their attempts at English, and they seemed to appreciate my willingness to help them with details. We exchanged email addresses, which could be interesting, except I think Freddy wanted me to bring him to the US.

This afternoon, I’m waiting for my shuttle to pick me up and take me to Xela for school. I’ll be meeting my homestay family tonight…. ¡Que bien!