July 13, 2013

We got up at 7 to get ready for breakfast at 7:30, we had a concoction of eggs, tortillas, and ham and also papaya. We went back to our room and did a few things before heading out to Hotel Santo Domingo. When we got to the hotel, we asked where we had to go to get the free ride to El Tenedor, the restaurant associated with the hotel that is on a hill overlooking Antigua. We walked with Carl's to the entrance of the hotel where a vehicle waited to take us up. It is hard o explain, but the best I can do is say that it looked like an over-sized, heavy-duty golf cart. We rode up with a worker who was headed up to work. The hill was just outside of Antigua and was quite steep. There were some good views on the way up. When we got to the top, we walked over to the overlooks. We could see all three volcanoes and Antigua. I spotted the arch, La Merced, Central Park, and the market. We bought some chocolate-covered dried pineapple which was quite delicious. It was in long pieces with one end IDE in white chocolate and the other end in dark chocolate. Then we walked around more. There were many works of art everywhere and an aviary with many birds. We found a deserted overlook and took pictures. When we had finished seeing everything, we waited for the transportation back to the hotel. As we drove down the giant steep hill, we saw a helicopter that was horizontal to where we were on the hill. Then the helicopter landed in a grassy place on the hill. We saw that some people were going to get in and go for a ride. That would be incredibly cool to fly between mountains and over volcanoes!

When we got back to the hotel, we went inside and walked around. We saw some of the ruins of e former convent that stood on the site before the earthquake. We also saw the guacamayos (parrots). We walked back toward the house and I wanted to stop at the little market by the ruins of Carmen. I bought a traditional percussion instrument that plays three notes for my class. I forget its name, but I need to ask before I leave here. Christiana saw some necklaces she liked and wanted to come back later. We headed back home and got there around noon. Christiana needed to exchange a few more dollars for quetzals so we decided to go to the bank before lunch. Tere was a long line, however, and I has not brought my debit card so we decided o come back later and do it all at once because there were so many people in line that we probably would have been late for lunch. 

We had chicken in a white sauce with celery and locoro which is a kind of flower. We also had curry rice and a little salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Steffi and her husband Ben had come for lunch and the new woman, Ruth, was there, too. We talked in English the whole meal because Ruth and Ben do not know much Spanish. Ben was very friendly. He runs a small publishing company. I had already suggested that Elvira write a cookbook and Ben really liked the idea. We talked for a long time. 

Then we headed out with Ruth to go to the bank and then to the Carmen market. However, when we orto the bank (Banco Industrial) it was already closed. I asked the armed guards in front of the ATM if there were any other banks still open. They told us another branch of the same bank is open until five. We walked into that branch just a block and a half away. There was a line and so Ruth decided to go off on her own for a while. I waited with Christiana for a while and then we decided that it made more sense for me to head to the Internet cafe so I cold see when Amber is coming. Ruth was going to come back to the bank in 15 minutes. I stopped by the cafe church and found out that services are at 9:00 and10:45. I did hear from Amber that she will either be coming Sunday afternoon or Monday afternoon. I went back to the house and read my book for a while. Christiana showed up without Ruth who had never returned. She seemed pretty independent and had decided that she wanted to shop in the textile market I pointed out off of the Park. As we walked to the Carmen market, Christiana told me her story about the bank. She waited in line and when she finally got to the front, she was told that she had to have her actual passport to change dollars and not just a copy like the other bank had accepted. She had been chatting with some other travelers as she waited and she asked a girl if she would exchange her money for her. The girl gladly agreed and Christiana was able to get her money that way. We want to the Carmen market. I bought some jewelry made out of seeds and beans and Christiana bought some beautiful necklaces. It started to rain as we headed back. We stopped at the Sarita ice cream shop across from La Merced. They were having a special where you could get an extra scoop of ice cream for only one quetzal more! I had watermelon/green apple for my first scoop and cheesecake for my extra scoop. Christiana had pistachio and piña colada. We ate them in the shop at a tiny table. Another group of tourists came in and I translated the flavors for them. One of the girls was really loud and kind of rude so we decided to go ahead and leave and walk as we ate. I finished mine just as we got to our door. It was5:30. I took a shower and dried my hair with Christiana's hair dryer. Then we read in bed until dinner.

We had paches (I think) for dinner. They were similar to tamales. Mine had a hot pepper inside. We also had lemongrass tea and bread. After dinner, we had a souvenir show. We spread our purchases out on the table and on the backs of the chairs. When Elvira saw the dress I had purchased the other day, she warned me that that kind of fabric will shrink a lot. I am going to try to exchange it for a larger size, maybe tomorrow. We packed up our souvenirs and came back to our room and read some more. It is raining again and sounds super peaceful. The problem is that I wear earplugs to bed so I do not wake p with the birds at 5:20, so I will not be able to fall asleep to the rhythmic sound of the rain. I finished my book, wrote my blog post, and went to bed before 11:30.