Antigua

I arrived in Guatemala on Thursday afternoon and had a driver take me directly to my house in Antigua.  Everyone describes Antigua as a charming colonial town and that's a good summary.  It is nestled in a valley with steep mountains and volcanoes all around it and laid out in a perfect grid - numbered streets crossing numbered avenues, and each street is east or west or north or south.  All of the streets are cobblestones, so cars cannot go fast.  All of the buildings come right up to the sidewalks - no front yards - and the sidewalks are narrow.  So you just walk alongside walls and doors.  But inside these walls, are incredible buildings with courtyards.  You just have to know what doors to walk into.  My house is long and narrow.  It just keeps going, with several gardens and courtyards.

  There are about ten people staying in my house, all my age or slightly older.  Most are French Canadian and the rest are American.  All are studying at one of the twenty or so Spanish schools in Antigua, and most have been here before.  Antigua is clearly a hub for interesting young retirees or older working people who can take longer vacations, and many like it so well that they just keep coming back.  One of my housemates is a woman from Michigan who has been here two or three times before.  I have been walking around with her and she is showing me some of the cooler places to go into.  And they are all just blank walls from the outside.

  Yesterday I took a tour to Lake Atitlan which reminded me a lot of Lake Tahoe.  It is a large, high altitude lake with mountains all around it.  The bus goes to one town, and then you take boats to the other villages on the lake.  The road to the town is very steep with serious switchbacks, so you get great views all the way up or down.  The villages have strong Mayan influences.  We visited one of the Mayan gods - I forgot his name - but he has a mask, wears a Stetson and lots of ties, and has a cigar in his mouth.  I think he drinks a lot of cervezas with his caretakers as well.

  I don't expect any sympathy, but it is not as warm here as I would like.  Mid-70s during the day with clouds, and at night it drops into the high 50's.  No heat in any of the houses or buildings.  The sun peaks out just enough to feel good for a little bit, but it cools down fast when the sun is not out.  I wear a sweater or sweatshirt most of the time.  I'm planning to go to the beach this weekend.

  School starts tomorrow.