I woke up at 4:30 because I was cold from the air conditioning. It was 64 degrees in there! I wanted to turn the AC off, but I didn’t know how. Amber woke up at 5:30 and I asked her to turn it off, which she did. After this, I slept until the alarm went off at 7. We got ready for the day and ate egg sandwiches with Tia Liliana. She has diabetes and is blind in one eye and only has 20% vision in the other. After breakfast, Vicky told us that we each had to pay $10 for gasoline for her to drive us to the beach. Gas was about $4 a gallon and we were only going an hour away, so I think that was a bit much, but we didn’t say anything. We went in a nice red car with cool AC. I sat in the back with Amber. We looked for the place where we could walk to the waterfalls that Lonely Planet suggested, but we had some trouble. Vicky asked several people, but they kept telling us that it was dangerous. It is interesting that there is such a spirit of fear in Honduras. People were constantly telling us that things were dangerous (bien peligroso), especially the buses because they stop every ten minutes and let on thieves. Vicky had never been on a public bus because she said they are too dangerous and expensive. She was surprised by how little we paid to get to San Pedro Sula. After driving down some gravel trails, we decided to head straight to the beach of Omoa. We looked for a beach, but it was not nice there because the water went straight up to the houses and shops. Vicky took us to another beach near Omoa that was better. We spread out on our towels. Amber and Lauren read and I thought. After a while, I walked up and down the beach. Vicky went to sit in the shade under a little roof and I went back to lie on the beach. We could hear music coming from a seafood restaurant on the beach. At 12:40, we went to the restaurant to get lunch. It was very expensive. Amber, Lauren, and I shared grilled chicken and some sort of seafood. I had a watermelon licuado. We were all really thirsty and finished our drinks before the food arrived. The meals also included beans with rice, tons of fried plantains, and salad. The plantains were similar to French fries, but they have more texture. We talked for a while and then Vicky suggested that we go to another beach that she knew about. We didn’t really care, so we headed off. When we arrived, it turned out that there was not a good beach. A man told us that the beach was dangerous and suggested we go back to the beach we had come from. We decided to return to San Pedro Sula so Vicky could nap. We arrived home at 3:30. We went swimming in the pool that Tio Victor had built so Liliana could do therapy in the pool. We showered and used the internet. Lauren and I put our laundry in the washer with the help of Lesli. We ate dinner with Tio Victor and Vicky. We had baleadas (flour tortillas with refried beans, cheese, and cream)… delicious! I ate two. Lauren had received a message from her cousin Allan with his telephone number. Lauren and Victor called him and Allan told us that he would come pick us up in ten minutes to spend time with his family. We quickly got ready and his driver picked us up and took us to a luxurious restaurant called El Portal. We were wearing casual clothes and when we arrived, we noticed that everyone was dressed up in suits and dresses. We met many of Lauren’s relatives (on her grandmother’s side). Allan ordered food and drinks for us, although we were quite full from dinner. Everything was very fancy. We talked with her family for more than two hours and her cousin Tato (Roberto) was going to return to La Ceiba the next day and told us that he could take us with him and we could stay in the beach house. We left the restaurant a little before ten. Allan paid another driver to take us back to our house. Their family has a lot of money. We assumed that Allan had told the driver where to take us, so we were surprised when the driver asked us how to get to our house. We didn’t have the address with us, but fortunately Lauren had Tio Victor’s number so the driver called him to ask for directions and we were very close to the house. We thanked Tio Victor and asked if he could take us to the gas station at 6:30 the next day to meet Tato. We felt bad asking him to cart us around, especially so early, but he was very gracious and assured us that he always gets up early anyway. We packed and went to bed at 12:45.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
el 13 de julio 2011
We got up at 7, got ready, and left the hotel around 7:45. We ate breakfast at Antojos Dana. It was a great breakfast with eggs (estrellados), beans, tortillas, cheese, crema, plantains, and a fresco made of seeds. The fresco had ice in it, and we were concerned that it might not have been made from pure water. We also had a big flour tortilla that we shared and was absolutely delicious, especially after eating corn tortillas for so many weeks. After we ate, we went to find a colectivo to get to the border. We found one and paid Q20 each. The colectivo had an interesting collection of people: a man who moved from the U.S. a year ago to teach English and travel (his relatives were from Guatemala), Maximiliano (a cute grandpa man), among others. The English teacher had had a motorcycle accident and had a huge infected wound on his arm. We arrived at the border and had our passports stamped on the Guatemala side. We also changed money. I only changed Q400 for 940 lempira. I should have changed more. The exchange rate was 2.35 between quetzales and lempiras, which was very close to the 2.4 that we had found online the day before. We rode a little farther in the colectivo when they deposited us on the border of Honduras. We had to walk to the immigration office where we filled out forms and paid the entrance fee of 60 lempira. A man advised us to take a taxi for ten dollars each. We just wanted to find a public bus. We walked for a bit on a slightly sketchy road and then found an old school bus. The temperature was very hot and humid. There was a pretty woman with a baby inside the bus and also a lot of mosquitoes! We left after 10 minutes. The bus cost 51 lempira. The bus stopped many times (every two minutes) and the driver played loud music. After a long time, we arrived at Puerto Cortés where the ayudante showed us the bus to San Pedro Sula. This next bus was very good with comfortable seats and air conditioning! I sat in the front with Amber and Lauren sat a few rows behind us. It was nice to have some time to talk with Amber about things I have been thinking. This bus cost 48 lempira and took one hour. This bus, too, stopped frequently, although it was labeled a “direct” bus. We arrived at the bus station at 2. The bus terminal in San Pedro Sula is connected to a mall. I wanted to buy a green soft serve ice cream cone from Burger King for 7 lempira, but we only saw an ad not the actual restaurant. We looked for a telephone so Lauren could call her uncle. We walked a long way to the terminal for Hedman Alas, the bus company Lauren had used when she came to Antigua. I watched the bags while Lauren went to call him. After this, we bought licuados for 20 lempira (one dollar). I had watermelon with milk. The watermelon flavor wasn’t very strong, but it was very refreshing after a dehydrating day of travel. Tio Victor arrived and we went with him and his daughter Victoria (Vicky) to their house. They have four dogs including two Golden Retrievers who like to swim in the pool and then jump on people, a Boxer, and a Chihuahua that bites. We went up to the room where we were going to stay. It worked out well that the room has two beds, a twin and a double. The room had air conditioning, which was wonderful. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading Lauren’s Central America book to decide what we wanted to do with our time in Honduras and then we showered. Around 6, Lesli, the woman who works for the family, came to tell us it was time for dinner. She came to their house in September when she was pregnant. Tio Victor is very generous. Lesli lives and works at their house with her baby Andrea Fernanda. There is another woman named Monica who lives in the house, too. She used to work for them a long time ago. She didn’t know how to read or write, so Tio Victor paid for her to go to school and then college. Now she is a nurse but still lives with them. We ate avocado, fried plantains, and beans with cheese and cream. After dinner, we talked for a long time about family history and Lauren’s family tree. Tio Victor wrote out a family tree for Lauren’s grandpa’s part of the family. Vicki spoke English to us most of the time and it was hard for us to keep speaking Spanish. Tio Victor showed us pictures of his farm and La Mosquitia (an undeveloped area of Honduras that has a lot of problems with drug trafficking). He also showed us the hair from his grandma (that was cut off in braids) and ancient documents from Lauren’s relatives including birth certificates, marriage licenses, and passports. At 9, we returned to our room and wrote for a while before getting ready for bed at 10:15. Amber was already asleep in the small bed and Lauren and I shared the large bed.
el 12 de julio 2011
We woke up at 6:15 and packed everything up. We ate two plates of eggs with plantains, beans, plantains, and toast and a bowl of cereal with banana. We paid our bills (they kept a running tab during the time we were there) and I owed 535Q including our shuttle ride to Rio Dulce. We left at 7:40 with the couple from New Zealand. They want to open a hostel. On our way to Lanquín, we had to stop for a truck that couldn´t make it up a hill and was blocking the road. Finally we arrived in Lanquín and we changed to another bus. This time, it was just us and three girls from England. We got stopped another time along the road because a gas truck was stuck trying to come up a hill on a curve and couldn´t turn in time. Our driver maneuvered around the stuck truck with the other guy directing. We made it safely around with three inches to spare! The road to Río Dulce was not really a road, it was more like a gravel trail filled with hills, curves, and potholes. In two places, we had to get out of the bus and walk so that the bus could go up the hill! I gave Amber a massage, which was possible because she was sitting in the seat in front of me. We guessed when we would arrive in Río Dulce, and my guess was 2pm. We stopped at 11:30 at a restaurant and some people ate sandwiches. Amber was sleeping during part of the stop. We switched vans again, and I was happy that the driver put our bags inside the van because I was scared it was going to rain and our stuff would get wet. The new bus did not smell so good. I read the rest of my book (Cast Two Shadows) and then we arrived in Río Dulce at 2pm! We decided to look for a bus to get to Puerto Barrios because it is closer to the border with Honduras. A bus man wanted us to spend the night in Río Dulce and take a direct bus to San Pedro Sula the next day for 130Q, but when we didn´t want this option, he showed us a colectivo to Puerto Barrios that cost 30Q. We wondered if we had paid too much. I sat with Lauren and worked on my memory verses while she read the Bible. This trip was much smoother with a better road. We kept stopping and picking up people. We arrived in Puerto Barrios around 4:30 (which was faster than I had anticipated). We tried to find information about the bus for the next day, but we did not have success. We went to Pollo Campero for dinner. I had a grilled chicken sandwich and a vanilla ice cream cone. It began raining. We decided that Lauren and Amber would go look for information about a bus, find a hotel, find a grocery store, and call Lauren´s uncle while I stayed at Pollo Campero with our stuff. I was going to write about things I had been thinking about on the bus, but I met a new friend instead from the table next to ours. Her name was María José and she was 7 years old. Her little sister was named María Alejandra and she was 9 months old. María José sat next to me at my table and we talked for a long time. When she found out I was from the U.S. she asked me if I had seen a pregnant dark-skinned woman with black hair without any moles on her face: her cousin from Los Angeles. She was disappointed that I didn´t know her. I learned that there is a Chuckie Cheese in Guatemala City. The sky was very dark with lots of rain. María José wanted her family to take to a hotel. It was a bit awkward because she would go over to her dad and whisper in his ear and ask if they could take me to my hotel. I didn´t want him to think that I had asked her to ask him! Finally her family left and I began to write. I had scarcely begun when my friends returned. Their mission had been successful. They had reserved a room for us at a sketchy hotel, found information about the buses, a supermarket, an ATM, and a place for us to eat breakfast, and Lauren had talked to Tio Victor… all in the space of about an hour, in the rain! It was still raining a bit when we walked back to the hotel. I paid (Q123 for the three of us). A hotel man showed us to our room and it was funny because he pointed out the bathroom and the TV about four times each! We left our bags there and went to the ATM and the supermarket where we bought snacks for our trip (cookies!). The city was a bit sketchy, especially at night. The Lonely Planet book described Puerto Barrios as a sketchy and unfriendly place that most tourists leave as quickly as possible. There are many bars and brothels. We returned to our room. Amber gave me a massage which helped my tense muscles. I wrote a bit in my journal and we went to bed around 9:30.
el 11 de julio 2011
We woke up at 7, although Amber had woken up an hour and a half earlier. We got dressed and went down to the restaurant where we said goodbye to Erika and Felippo. Felippo didn’t finish all his plantanos, so he gave them to us. We ordered breakfast and read/wrote while we waited for it to arrive. We shared two plates of eggs with plantains, beans, and toast. During breakfast, the couple from New Zealand, Alex and Paul, arrived and we talked with them. We were going to visit the cave of K’an Ba at 9:30, so we still had some time to kill before we went. For this reason, we read/wrote in the restaurant and the cabin before going. We went with Hugo, Alex, and Paul. When we arrived, there was a huge group of people waiting to enter. I was disappointed that it appeared that we were going to be part of such a big group. However, Hugo presented us to our guide, Carlos, and he was the guide for only the five of us! The cave is really amazing. In order to enter the cave, all you need is a candle and rope tied around your flip flops to make sure they don’t fall off. This would not be allowed in the U.S. We didn’t even have to sign a waiver; there was just a sign that warned of entering the cave at your own risk. The level of the water was higher than the day before due to the rain. We had to swim with our candles above the water, like I had the year before. Amber had been there four years ago. During one part, we had to cross under a furious waterfall. I went first. I could not see what I was doing or even where I was going. All I could see was the river pounding over the waterfall. I gripped my candle (that had gone out from all the water), held onto Carlos’ hand, and blindly followed him under the rushing water. It was a little scary, but I completely trusted Carlos. We all made it safely across, and after climbing a ladder, we relit our candles. The big group was in front of us, and because of this, we had to extinguish our candles (to save them for later) and wait for the group to advance. There were four pools that we had to swim across. Because it was dark and you couldn’t see through the water, once in a while, we would stub our toes on a rock. The next day, we could see bruises on our legs where they had collided with underwater rocks. After we had climbed a ladder, we had to grab onto a rope and walk across walks that were submerged in the rushing river. Carlos found some black ashes that were on a rock and made a cross on each of our foreheads that looked like a cross from Ash Wednesday. Finally we passed the other group that was jumping off a high rock and we went deeper into the cave into a big room with rock formations. One of the formations looked like a hat and because of this was called El Sombrero. When the big group caught up to us in the big room, the room was illuminated by all the candles. Their guide secretly climbed up on a high rock. Then he got our attention and jumped off. When the large group got ready to leave, Carlos directed us to swim first. We returned by the same route by which we had entered.
After the cave, we used inner tubes and went down the river with Carlos. We wrapped our legs around each other so that we were all connected. The water was quite cold, but the sun was out. We floated all the way down to Las Marías where Carlos left us. We showered, and it felt so good to be clean. We ordered two chicken sandwiches and a fruit plate to share. Afterwards, we played a card game that the couple from New Zealand had taught us during lunch. They went to Semuc Champey in the afternoon. Johnny taught us another game that was similar to the New Zealand pile game. His game was called Presidente. It was a bit unfair because the loser had to give the winner his-her two best cards the next round. While we were playing, a big tree fell down over part of a cabin and harmed the roof. Johnny and his brother Juan cut the tree into pieces. The sun came out and we decided to take advantage of it. We went to the platform by the side of the river. It had a roof over part of it, which we needed because it began to rain shortly. We did our nails, read, and wrote. Amber and Lauren left, but I stayed there for another hour or two, reading, writing, praying, and thinking. There was a group of three people from Argentina who were camping by the river. They were swimming and then they cooked dinner over a fire. Johnny arrived and jumped off the platform in the river because he said he had ants in his pants from cutting up the tree. Two children who lived nearby came and the people from Argentina shared their food with them. I talked with them and Ramiro read my journal over my shoulder (I had written in Spanish). José, the other boy, left, but Ramiro stayed for a while. He taught me two words in his Mayan language (Q´kek che?): notebook and rain. Both words began with H, but I could not pronounce either of them correctly. I left shortly after Ramiro did.
For dinner, we shared two plates of food: one of chicken and one of beef. After dinner, we played Presidente and then Johnny and Juan danced salsa with us. There was a new group from France and the United States there. I met a man who is part of the Peace Corps near Sololá. At ten, the lights went out, but we were still having fun, so we went into the other dining area and Johnny lit candles for us that he stuck in empty glass pop bottles as holders. We played cards (Johnny, Juan, Amber, Lauren, and I) and talked for three hours. The other group only stayed up for maybe another hour. Johnny gave us Gatorade to drink. It was pouring down rain. Finally, at 1:30, we went back to our room and got ready for bed. We went to bed at 1:45 with only 4.5 hours to sleep!
el 10 de julio 2011
Lauren and I got up at 7:30. Amber already had awoken and was doing exercises. We got ready for the day and headed down to breakfast. We shared a fruit plate, an omelette, and fried eggs. The egg dishes came with beans and plantains, a great way to start the day. We ate with Felippo and Erika. After eating, we got ready to head over to Semuc Champey. We went with Felippo and Erika. We walked there together and crossed the bridge that Amber had jumped off of when she was here four years ago. We paid the entrance fee of 50Q and walked to the river. Semuc Champey is incredibly beautiful. When I imagine the Garden of Eden, I think that parts of it must have looked like Semuc Champey. We walked to the wells and we swam in the chilly water. There were small fish in the water that nibbled on our toes. Tammy would not have been a fan of this experience! I didn’t like the sensation, but it didn’t scare me, it just tickled. We enjoyed the wells while talking with Erika. Felippo was taking pictures with his high-quality camera. After this, we walked to where the river goes under the wells. We took some pictures there with Felippo. There were several security lifeguards around Semuc Champey, which impressed us. We hiked up to the viewpoint. The view was amazing, although I had been here just one year ago. We ate snacks and took pictures before going down by another path. It was difficult to get down because the mud was so slippery. Erika and Felippo were getting ready to head back to go to the caves, but we decided to stay one more day in Semuc Champey, so we could enjoy more time there and then go to the caves the next day. Lauren still was not feeling well and wanted to rest a bit. Erika and Felippo returned to the hotel and gave the message that we were not going to visit the caves that day. We went back to the wells because the sun (which had been non-existent so far) finally appeared. We were chilly so the warm sun was a welcome change. We sat down on some rocks on the edge of a well, but it was uncomfortable because there were lots of plants and insects. Lauren and I wrote and Amber was reading, but twenty minutes later, there was a storm. We left the wells and went to the shelter to wait for the storm to pass. We talked and continued our activities while we waited for the rain to subside. When the rain lightened up, we returned back to the hotel. We ate cereal (corn flakes with a bit of granola) with milk and banana. A couple from New Zealand came and we talked to them. Afterward, Lauren went to lie down. Amber and I found hammocks and we wrote/read for a short while. When it began to rain, I went to the restaurant and talked to the people there. Felippo showed us the pictures he had taken and Amber saved some of them on her flashdrive. The pictures were marvelous, even though it is hard to capture the majestic scenery. Each night, the restaurant serves one meal and tonight, it was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and salad of lettuce, tomato, onion, and lime juice. We each had our own plate (no sharing), and we were all stuffed after the meal. After dinner, we taught Erika how to play Hearts and talked with Gustavo and Eliana, the people from Argentina who were paying for their travels by making and selling jewelry. Amber and I bought coconut rings. After this, Amber called her dad to wish him a happy birthday. Johnny dialed the number and talked to her dad first. Then he played loud birthday music for him while Amber was trying to talk. Johnny offered us rum and coke in honor of her father’s birthday, which was funny since he doesn’t drink. We only had ten minutes left until they were going to turn out the lights, so I hurried and finished getting ready for bed just as the lights turned off and it began to rain.
el 9 de julio 2011
We woke up at 6:20 and got ready for the day. At 7:15 we ate breakfast with the family. We had two pancakes with maple syrup or blueberry jelly, a tostada (similar to a sugar cookie), and pineapple. We said goodbye to everyone and returned to our house (#59) to wait for the bus. While we waited, we talked with Larry about his testimony. He had to give us the short version, and I wished we had had time to hear it all. The bus arrived a few minutes before 8. We were the first people on the bus and we chose seats near the front of the bus for Amber. I sat behind Amber and Lauren, on the left side of the bus. It was a big, nice bus. When we got on, I noticed that it was the same company that I had used last year when I went (when I had a less than desirable experience). One of the guys on the bus was even the same guy that had been in Coban the year before and sold me my tour package! We drove all over Antigua looking for the other people for more than an hour! We passed our house three times! We saw Enrique and Larry and Dorothy walking through the city. Finally, we left Antigua at 9:15. Again, we were the only Americans on the shuttle out of 19 people! There were people from Holland, Australia, England, Spain, and Italy. We talked to some interesting women from Spain. We asked how long they had been traveling and they said they’ve been traveling since 2008 (if I remember correctly)! We got to Guatemala City at 10:30 and then continued on. We drove for another hour or so and then we stopped by the side of the road so people could answer the call of nature in the bushes. I am not sure why we didn’t stop at a restaurant, like we usually do. A police officer stopped and talked to the driver. I think he was confused about why we were stopping. Later, we stopped at a restaurant at the side of the highway around 11:45. Supposedly we were going to be there 15 minutes, but in reality it was more like 45 minutes. We talked with the Italians, Felippo and Erika. Felippo works at a hostel in Nicaragua. Erika was visiting her boyfriend in New York and then came down to visit Felippo for a bit. Finally we left the restaurant and continued on our journey. We arrived in Cobán at 3:30. I am not sure why the trip took so long because the weather was good the entire trip. In Cobán, lots of people got off the shuttle, including the women from Spain. We got their contact info about their organization. When we asked them when they started traveling, they answered “2006.” We had been expecting an answer of a few weeks or months! They were really funny. Sara read the Spanish words I was copying from Amber’s Spanish notes and she told me that “chistista” is not a word.
We left Cobán at 4. The driver told us that the trip would last two hours to get to Lanquín, but in actuality, it took a bit less than that (for once). When we arrived in Lanquín, we got our backpacks and bags and immediately, a man from Las Marías, a hostel in Semuc Champey, asked us if we wanted to go to Las Marías. We had wanted to stay in Lanquín because it would be easier to leave on Monday, but he kept trying to convince us. We walked most of the way to El Retrato, a hostel in Lanquín, but we discussed it as we went. Transportation was our biggest problem. However, as we went over our options, we decided that it might be better to stay in Semuc Champey because we wouldn´t have to pay for a tour of Semuc Champey and the caves. We sent Lauren back up to find the man and tell him that we wanted to come with him to Las Marías. Amber and I stayed with the bags. We tried to ask several people about the public transportation from Lanquín, but everyone kept telling us that we had to take a shuttle. We were frustrated because we knew that if someone had a relative in Copán or Puerto Barrios, he or she would not be paying to take a shuttle to get there! Lauren arrived in the back of a pickup filled with other people. Amber and I got to sit in the backseat inside the cab. We tried to look at a map in the Guatemala book as we went. Our original plan had been to go to Copán from Semuc Champey, but it didn´t seem to be very possible. For that reason, we thought about going to San Pedro Sula first and then go to Copán at the end of the trip as I headed back to Guatemala. We arrived at Las Marías after a 30 minute bumpy ride. We found it interesting that the guide book described the road from Lanquín to Semuc Champey as “a long, hot walk.” The road was actually quite hilly, rocky, and quite far. I think it would take many hours to walk that distance. I am surprised that Lonely Planet said that it was even walkable!
We settled into the second level of a cabin in a dormitory (35Q/$4.50 per person per night). There were five beds in the room, but we were the only ones up there. We put our passports and money in the safe. We sat with Filippo and Erika. Amber, Lauren, and I shared pollo de la plancha (grilled chicken) and a ham and cheese sandwich. I drank peach juice in a can. After talking with Erika and Felippo, we returned to the cabin. During the dinner, it had started raining and continued raining heavily until we went to bed. Because of this, we had to walk up the hill to our cabin and then to the bathhouse in the rain. I forgot to use the bathroom while I was there and so I had to take an extra trip there in the rain. Also, I had to return to the main area of the hotel to ask Hugo about the light in the cabin. We couldn’t find a light switch anywhere. We had seen a sign down below that said that the generator (and therefore the lights) are turned off each night at 10. Hugo told me that all the lights would go out then, and if we wanted to turn off the light earlier, we could grab the lightbulb with an item of clothing and unscrew it from its socket. Lauren was feeling sick and, for that reason, fell asleep early. Amber and I wrote in our journals until the light turned off at 10.
el 8 de julio 2011
Today we climbed the Pacaya Volcano. The shuttle picked us up at 6am from our house. We rode in the shuttle for more than an hour. We were the only Americans in the group. Some people were from Mexico, Australia, and other places. When we got to Pacaya, the air was very chilly. Everyone else in the group had worn shorts except for me. On the way there, I thought maybe I’d made a mistake, but when we arrived, I was glad that I had on long pants and hiking boots. The tour cost 70Q and the entrance price was 50Q. We stopped at a little shop, and I went to the bathroom (0/5 on the good bathroom scale). I bought marshmallows at the shop because we forgot to buy them in Antigua. There were men following us leading horses. They called out, “Taxi, taxi!” There was a lot of fog as we climbed up. We couldn’t see the view from the lookout point or the lake in the old crater. However, when we arrived at the volcano, the fog began to disappear. It was creepy-looking with black volcanic rock beneath the swirling mist. It looked like something from outer space. We talked with a guy from Mexico as we hiked. We came to the crack in the earth where you can roast marshmallows. The heat was intense as we leaned over the crack and roasted our colorful marshmallows on a stick. We shared with the other people around us. A dog followed us and wanted to eat the marshmallows, too. While we were standing around the crack, another volcano (Fuego) made some eruptions. I took pictures, but they aren’t as impressive as it was in real life. Apparently, it erupts about every 20 minutes. After that, we went over to the cave. We had to wait for another group to come out and then our group went in. When Pacaya erupted last May, this cave was created by the lava. We entered into the cave and were amazed by the heat inside! We chatted with the Mexican guy, Geraldo, and his mom. She gave us the unusual compliment that she thought we were Europeans because we spoke Spanish so well and usually Americans say that they speak Spanish, but their Spanish is horrible. She is a doctor and works in Cleveland, Ohio, which is where I was born. It felt so nice down in the cave. When we left, we felt cold because of the contrast. We hiked back by a different route and we saw where the journalist died last year during the eruptions, trying to get photos. We got back in the shuttle and drove back. The way back seemed longer and most people tried to sleep. Elvira had given us pineapple cereal bars and we ate cranberries, also.
When we arrived back home, we showered and then it was time for lunch. We had hamburgers (without buns), salad of lettuce, tomato, and avocado, pasta, and a crepe with crema and blueberry jelly. In the afternoon, we signed up for a shuttle ride to Lanquin the next day for 150Q and we went to the market where we bought a few souvenirs. Then we had our last dance class. I danced with Carmen and we took some pictures. I went to the internet café after that. For dinner, we ate black bean soup with corn chips on top of the soup, tamales with flowers and chicarrones inside, bread, and fried plantains. We talked for a while after dinner and then Elliott (Elvira and Enrique’s son) and his wife arrived, but they only stayed for a half hour. At 8:30, we walked together to Pena de Sol Latino, a favorite restaurant of Jenny and Amber. Sharon, Lara, Alex, Larry, Dorothy, Elvira, Enrique, Lauren, Amber, and I went. Amber, Lauren, and I bought desserts for everyone—hot brownies with ice cream, blackberry pie with ice cream, chocolate mousse, and pineapple flambé. We shared the desserts, just like a big family. The restaurant has a live band that plays fun music using interesting instruments. They kept taking breaks every time I got ready to take a picture. I think Lauren got some, though. I collected everyone’s email address and we talked and took some pictures. We headed back to the house around 10:30. We went to the house with E&E and paid them. Elvira gave us bracelets from Guatemala. We packed our stuff and went to bed at 1:15. I had more work to do to pack up my stuff since I had to decide what I was going to leave in Antigua. Amber just had to pack everything up.