It's warm. Guessing 23C. We're back at Posada Merced, paying more than we should. Last night our room cost $30 for the two of us. Tonight it will be $35 each. Not much by Canadian standards but a hefty sum for us rough travellers! Given the princely sum we have promised ourselves that we will throw caution to the wind and leave our bed bug protectors and sleeping bags stowed safely away. I have my firm believe in "B12 Protection" for peace of mind anyway...
I managed to get $2,000Q ($300US) at a bank machine in Parc Central...a guy in uniform with a gun watched over me. I always get a bit freaked out getting money here. I've heard so many stories of machines with card readers and tourists being mugged. We have learned to go to the machine with others on lookout. I'm guessing the guy with the gun was a pretty big deterrent. Some travellers use a special account with only limited funds. I don't have to worry much about that because I only have one account and it always has limited funds :)
Antigua is probably the closest thing Guatemala has to a tourist mecca. It is, after all, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The streets are rough cobblestone and the sidewalks crumble under foot. But there is something utterly charming about its chaotic looking facade. And it is cheap. Not as cheap as Xela or Comitencilio, where we are heading on Sunday, but still damn inexpensive.
The building we had dinner tonight was built in the early 1500's. It is, like most buildings here, truly open concept. Thick stuccoed walls and large heavy-looking wood doors mimic the traditions of the Spaniards who inhabited Guatemala for a large portion of its history.
We broke the never-go-out-after-dark rule we strictly adhere to in Xela. Antigua is full of holidaying tourists, and happy tourists mean that the natives have jobs and homes and food. Xela, although the second largest city in Guatemala is much left developed. Violence is common and stray dogs are downright scary.
Nevertheless, I am determined to live "in the moment"; a commitment I made through meditation and one I struggle with daily in my "normal" life back home. Still, travel, to me, is an opportunity to strip away layers, clear your thoughts, refocus, and learn...both about the country I am in, the people and am with, and about myself.
Guatemala for the third time will be a journey of self-discovery...
