Our day started really early today as we left Chicago by way of TACA airlines for Guatemala City. We had no troubles on our way here. You have to know Don to understand the planning that goes into our Adventures! It always amazes me that things do come together more or less as he planned it. We were met at the airport by a young man in an valient vintage mercedes. As it worked out we were on our way to the apartment during early morning rush hour. It is not the rush hour you endure in California because cobblestone prohibits such speed! You will get a great massage on your trip and if you are lucky you will not bite your tongue as you whip around the city.
The apartment is a small studio apartment complete with a private bath, mini-kitchen, bedroom with cable TV and free Internet service. What more could you ask for at $7.50 per day?? It is clean and comfortable enough. Our apartment is on the second floor and the family below has only 10 children.
Our landlord met us and showed us around and then offered to drive us to town to buy food and other stuff we felt was needed. That turned out to be a mistake because we left here unprepared to do that shopping. We didn't have a list, grocery bags or our 'sea legs'. He dropped us off in Antigua (we are about 20-25 minutes outside of Antigua). We found the market, did some shopping but we were really too tired to be coherent and soon just wanted to get back to rest. Where did we finally find those eggs?? Then we were on our own to find the right bus to get back and our Spanish needs polishing so -- long story short we did manage to get MOSTLY back to the apartment but the bus we took left us out about 1 1/2 to 2 miles from the place. So we walked! I told you all that we would be getting more exercise! We were nearly out on our feet so we got in a short nap because we had plans to meet with Kristin for dinner -- in Antigua.
Kristin will be nice to work with and we begin our first task for Child Aid on Wednesday. It will take us an hour by chicken bus to get there. First we will need to see what kind of computers they have and then come back to Antigua to collect tools and such to get most or maybe all of them working. The restaurant we wanted to re-visit no longer exists. Kristin had two other choices so we selected the non-Italian one (not that the meal we ate had fewer carbs than spaghetti!) but we did enjoy the evening. We took a taxi home since it was dark and buses stop running at 8pm (they start at 3am!! but NOT us). We will meet Kristin at 8 am on Wednesday. The day is finally done and so am I.
