Skip to main content

Guatemala: Caught in a Flood

6:44pm
Today Melanie and I packed up at the beautiful Earth Lodge. It was a little bit drizzly in the morning . We had to was up the steep hill with all of our things. I was pretty warm at the tom! Then we waited for the shuttle with some guy whose name starts with an M from Australia. He was an interesting fellow and we chatted about travel and life. It is always fun meeting cool travelers because they always have the best stories. Once we got to antigua I helped us all figure out how much the shuttle was because I was the one who spoke the most spanish. M-guy took off as soon as we got the money figured out, solo traveler.

It took a bit to find our hostel. I had to ask for directions. Our Hostel Capitan Tom isn't fancy at all but the woman at the front desk is very nice. When we came in from the rain she told us to grab tea or coffee to stay warm (I won't mention that the sugar had bugs crawling in it...)

We spent most of the afternoon walking around the city. We found the chocolate museum which had a bunch of deliciousness. We were greater by a woman who spoke to us in spanish and I was able to figure out most of what she said. We tasted a bunch of things and my favorite was the chocolate tea!!

We walked to the arch, were about to take pictures and then it started to downpour. We were stuck inside this very expensive jade shop which was kinda cool because this woman was following us around and telling us about mayan history and the different colors of jade like black and lavender!

But the rain sucked and eventually we had to venture out in it. I wanted to show Mel the textile storeI went to with the girls. I really REALLY want to buy this blanket that is hand made and dyed with plants. Its $150. I dont have a job. Or a house. Sad.

Anyway, after we went there, we went back tot he hostel and I debated the blanket a lot, and also rested.

We went back to the place and I bought a scarf for my grandmother because it screamed her name (I dont buy gifts because I have to, I buy them only if I think of you when I see it. Gifts are more special that way.). The woman at the textile shop suggested a place for us to eat that was all organic. And all in spanish. I had to try and figure out what to eat and it was a little pricey. I had the weirdest tostadas that were weird, but I scarfed it down cause I was starving.

Then to walk back in the rain. SO MUCH RAIN. The streets were flooded. We had to figure out how to get across. Someone used the back of a truck like a bridge, so I did too! Some nice gentleman helped us to jump the rest of the way to the middle of the street and then a short walk to jump over another puddle. It was madness really. My shoes are soaked now. I wish I would have taken a picture of how flooded the roads were.

Im in the common room of the hostel now watching some jackie chan movie that is dubbed over in spanish. I dont really know what is happening but its kind of really entertaining as I write this. The lobby is so run down. The couch and chair have holes in them and theres so much crap just piling up. The guy who runs this place is snoring on the couch. The kitchen was dirty and like I said, bugs... Mel and I get to sleep in a double bed together and the woman is kinda weirded out by it (she keeps apologizing for the inconvenience, its normal for american girls lol). Its creaky but its cheap. Tomorrow we will be staying at El Hostal which is SO much nicer.

9 am
Found a cockroach in the morning after we woke up in the bedroom. Gross. Good thing we didnt find it last night...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Old Friend

Dear old friend, I think about you a lot. As I go about my day I think about how something might make you laugh or say aloud an inside joke that no one understands. I smile as I remember a fond memory. But then I go about my day. At night is when I think about trying to reach out to you again. About what I should have said or what I should say to try to understand why we are no longer close. I come up with scripts in my head about a letter I should write you or a voice mail I should leave, so you know how much I miss you. Sometimes I get angry. Why did this friendship not last forever like I was sure it would? What did I ever do to be treated this way? How could you just leave me alone? Do you even care how I am? I ask myself these questions over and over. I get mad. Then I think. I think that you must not have done this to hurt me; sometimes people just drift apart. That you probably think about me sometimes too. That perhaps, sometimes you smile at an old memory we share. Gut...

Runners High

At 12:30pm, I stepped outside for the first time all day. I hadn't really even left my room until I realized that if I didnt go outside, I probably would bum it all afternoon. I put my running shoes on and bounced outside. I started walking and after I got myself settled, I started to run. After being cooped up, those first few steps of an outdoor run is so magical. The feeling of freedom, fresh air and adrenaline is fantastic. I always have a mad smile and excitement for being able to move so fast. After my first few minutes of running, thats when the exhaustion sets in. What keeps me going longer, is adventure. Do I like running? Not really. Do I enjoy exploring? Obviously. I decided to check out a new part of the power line trail that I have not seen before and ran up the hills, or on straight path, and walked down hills. I went to the beginning of the trail and back again, smiling at the other people who were also out for their afternoon walk/bike. The sun came out and it...

Longest Day Ever

This is the longest day of my life. Literally. No, like actually literally. Or maybe a bunch of the shortest days of my life...anyway... We started off in Wisconsin, not early but it wasn't leisurely either. Then the bus to the airport in Chicago where we were to catch our first flight to shanghai. When we checked in we were informed that we were given an illegal flight through china on our way back home. Apparently you can't even have a layover in an airport for longer than 24 hours in China. The airline was nice about it and helped us in anyway they could but they told us we would have to call our booking agency because it was their fault, not the airline itself. Good thing we gave ourselves plenty of time in the airport because we needed all of that time to figure it out. I called the company that gave us our tickets and the first thing the gentleman said was that we would have to pay a change fee on top of the price for the new ticket. I was not happy with that so I inquir...