Goin' to Guat -- Day 2

Friday, January 16, 2009

Day 2 in Antigua, Guatemala with J:

*Fantastic pancakes for breakfast!

*Headed out to explore. Note: Looking at a map, Antigua looks easy to figure out. Basic grid system of one-way streets. However, you soon learn how few streets are actually marked, so you have to learn landmarks instead.

*Found a bank and exchanged some money.

*Found an indoor market. Spent a lot of money on a lot of souvenirs. Had to carry a huge bag back to our hotel with a boy complaining that his feet hurt. Oh, and I had no idea where I was going. :)

*Rested a bit and then headed back out. Finally found Central Park -- easy to find, but we had originally headed in the wrong direction our first time out. Picked a restaurant for lunch where J chose to have a hamburger and fries. Unfortunately, his mama forgot to order it plain, so it came with ketchup and mayo on it. Yeah, that went over well. I couldn't believe we were sitting in GUATEMALA and he was refusing to eat. But eat he did.

*After lunch, got some frozen yogurt and went to hang out in Central Park. Great place to people watch, but also a place to get approached by those needing money. Pointed out the shoe shine boys to J -- shouldn't they be in school? We then had a woman and a baby want to sell us a necklace. Two school-aged girls who spoke English decided to tag on. They went away when two police officers showed up and just stood there. I bought a necklace from the woman -- having an adorable Guatemalan baby to feed was enough for me. It's a wonder I didn't just empty out my money bag. After she left, the police hung around for a bit, but as soon as they left here come the girls demanding that I buy from them. Honestly, they were mean, and I didn't care for their methods. I think it scared J. I ended up giving them a few dollars but not taking a necklace. Totally wrong way of doing things. After that we walked back to our hotel, and I took that moment to explain it all to J -- why those girls had to do what they were doing.

*Back at the hotel, I was smart: Took the time to go through souvenirs and recall prices for that trip back through Customs. We rested a bit, and then eventually headed out for dinner. Being a bit later and not really wanting to be out much after dark, we just went around the corner to the pizza and pasta place. How exotic, huh?

*The evening was topped off by two events. First, we got a knock on our door and told that our "friends" were out front waiting for us. Friends? Yeah, Juan Carlos. Um, no friends, sorry. Second, someone close by had a loud rockin' party including a trumpet. They danced the Macarena -- had to smile when I realized, hey, at least they probably know the words. So, not a lot of sleep that night.

And those were the highlights of day 2. Getting lost but finding our way. Using my Spanish somewhat successfully. Buying stuff. Interacting with those in need. Enjoying the beauty all around.

Day 3 right around the corner!
:)