Now that we've come to the end of the travel part of my trip (at least in blog time...in real time I've been Kristian-less for almost two weeks!), things may not be as exciting. I've been chilling in Antigua for the last few weeks, spending much of my time at my computer snagging wi-fi for the price of a café con leche (which, of course, I have no problem with, since it includes the actual consumption of a café con leche). I've discovered (was shown) that some of the archives I need to look at are online, which means I can get some work done without actually being in Guatemala City. So to catch you up, dear readers, I thought I would give you a brief outline of the interesting people I've met while bumming around Antigua. I feel a little funny writing about people who are, for all intents and purposes, strangers, so I've decided to leave off their names (to protect the innocent?).
At the first place I stayed at after Kristian left I met a very nice woman and her daughter who were here from Boulder to learn Spanish. I had some nice chats with them and caught lunch with them one day at this fantastic restaurant, Gringo y Chapín, that serves $3 menu of the day meals that are superb. I highly recommend it to anyone who finds his or herself in Antigua. In fact, I'll be heading over there today for lunch. It was the first time I tried rosa de jamaica (hybiscus juice). Yum! The hotel I was staying at was owned by a guy from Tennessee, and there were a bunch of good ole boy Southerners staying there who were in town doing work for a medical group that comes down once a year to do complicated surgical procedures in the countryside.
I moved from that hotel to a cheaper place last weekend and am now staying in a hostel. It costs about $8 for a dormitory bed, hot showers and free breakfast. Not bad, although not the most glamorous place I've ever been. The first few days there I ended up chatting with this Canadian guy from British Columbia who was riding his motorcycle from BC to Argentina. He had hooked up with a group of younger guys (he was about 50-ish, they were in their 20s) that were riding their motorcycles from California to Panama. He was an interesting man...made his fortune by setting up the first (or one of the first?) pay-to-play online poker sites on the web. From what I understood, he spends his time going on motorcycle treks and traveling around to poker tournaments. What a life, right? I seem to be running in to Canadians a lot...a few days after that I met a Canadian guy while watching In Bruges at a cafe and ended up having a few meals with him and acting as a translator for him one afternoon. I met another interesting guy after admiring his dog (a border collie) at a cafe (I spend a lot of time at cafes). He and his brother drove their truck down from San Francisco along the Pacific Coast to catch some good surfing. They were in Antigua because one of the brothers contracted a bad case of the runs, got wicked dehydrated, and had to go to the hospital. Since there are few good hospitals in Guatemala, they ended up here. After that I made friends with a couple of US Army guys who were staying in the hostel. Real interesting guys with some real interesting stories (which I will not repeat here but will describe in person upon request). They were taking a short vacation in between deployments to Iraq. Finally, to bring you up to date as to the people I've been socializing with here (yes, I know that they are all foreigners, but I haven't settled in yet...you'll hear about locals later, I'm sure), I met an American in the park yesterday who was doing a survey for a local business and then ran in to her again at a restaurant/bar where I was planning to have dinner. She introduced me to her friends and I ended up meeting her and another of her friends at the local gym early this morning to go for a run.
Right now I'm sitting in the common area of the hostel at one of the few places you can plug in a computer. The free wi-fi is certainly a bonus. The weather is unseasonably cool here at the moment (downright chilly at night). The locals are all in jackets while us tourists are giving in and wearing sweatshirts in the mornings and evenings. Out in the sun I'd say it's in the low 70s, but in the shade it is definitely in the low 60s. Sounds lovely, I know, especially for those of you who can look out the window and still see snow. The only down side to the cool weather is that at night it can get cold (I have to keep reminding myself we are in the mountains) especially since we only get one blanket from the hostel. Last night I wore a fleece shirt and my sweatshirt to bed and seriously considered adding my towel on top of the blanket for extra warmth. But right now I'm in jeans and a light long sleeve shirt and am only slightly cool in the shade. Tough life, right? Until later, then...
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