I arrived at my hostel: Base Camp. I knew I was only going to be here a few days before moving to the other hostel, but it seemed homey enough (kitchen, sitting area, TV, WiFi, private room...not bad at all!). I left my things in the hostel and MaJo showed me around Antigua. It's such a nice town (approx. 30,000 people). The architecture is pretty colonial and colorful, all of the streets are cobblestone. Ruins of old churches and other buildings remain standing, nestled between small tiendas, restaurants, markets, schools, hostels and hotels, and tourist attractions or organizations. The people seem friendly and there appear to be lots of tourists. Overall it appears like a fairly safe and livable place :)
Classic Antigua picture with the arch and the volcano in the background.
Thursday night I met up with MaJo, along with Kat, Heather, and Doug. The three of them work for Habitat for Humanity and live here in Guatemala. It's funny how different a trip may be experienced when there is an end date to it. I only have 60 days or so here, so I'll need all of the help from them I can get. I'll want to live those two months to the fullest!
Friday, MaJo showed me around again. She’s been so awesome to have as my first friend in Guatemala. I’ve learned that Antigua, Guatemala is a pretty small world. Nearly half of the people I’ve met are from New Hampshire oddly enough, most of them friends from home, but nonetheless, neighbors of Vermont. Anyway, we went to La Bodegona, a huge grocery market where they offer everything from "diapers to bottled water", as they described in one of the travel books I was reading. I bought some food so I wouldn't have to go out every day/night to eat. They've budgeted me $10/meal, not including breakfast. Most of the time I don't normally eat breakfast anyway, but the smell that wafts from the local bakeries tempts me to consider otherwise.
So far, all the food that I've tried has been great, and reasonably priced as well. Taco salad, quesadillas, nachos, fresh bread, avocados, eggs, beans, coffee, cerveza. Sometimes the people here are referred to as having a "panza verde", literally meaning green belly, from all of the avocado they eat. Hopefully the only belly I get here is a flatter one, as I plan to run through the streets, and perhaps every so often uphill to the cross, but regardless, I don't believe there’s such a thing as too many avocados.
I’ve moved into my other hostel now, Villa Esthela. It’s bigger and busier, with a beautiful rooftop terrace (with a small bar!) that looks over some of the city. I’m currently writing my blog from here now, no internet though. The neighbors have a Range Rover and a BMW, beautiful gardens too. There’s an awesome view of the surrounding volcanoes and mountains, and I may have to take a siesta in one of the hammocks they have up here (after lathering on the sun screen and bug spray of course).
Tomorrow is my first real day of work, Sandra is picking me up from the hostel at 9:30. I’m anxious to see where in fact San Pedro lies in comparison to Antigua, as well as more specifics of how the organization works. I’m eager to meet the women and learn how Nest has affected their lives – I’m sure it will affect mine as well ☺. I’ll write more tomorrow when I have a better understanding of what I’ll be doing here. Thus far, I’ve been enjoying every minute, brushing up on my Spanish, learning about the history of this quaint little city, trying new foods, and making new friends. I’m thinking that these 60 days will go by faster than I want them too…
No comments:
Post a Comment