travel blog - antigua

the bus ride to antigua
was pleasant
leaving at noon
which means we had a relaxing morning
filled with some minor last minute purchases
(and quick haggling)
we arrived there in the afternoon
and after hopping out of the mini-bus
we had a bit of a hike with our packs on
after the hotel i found in the lonely planet was booked solid
so off to hotel cristal we went
a place mikayla had stayed at a couple years before
it was a nice lil place
tho freaking noisy during the evening and early morning
as our rooms were right above one of the main streets into town
and in case you've ever wondered
converted school buses, trucks and even mini-cabs
make a HECK of a lot of noise on cobbled stone streets
antigua is a quaint town filled with tourists
prices reflect the touristy nature of the town
i went off in search of tickets to copan with sarah
but gave in to the second agent we visited
when i realized
i was having a difficult time standing
due to this naseous feeling in my tummy
it was prolly the 3x10Q tacos i had the night before
either that
or the 5 different types of sauces i loaded the tacos down with
in any event,
i prolly could have saved us $2USD each
if i were in better shape
but what the heck,
we went for a cool drink (rose de jamaica) in a cafe
that sarah had visited before
it had a beautiful indoor courtyard
and being totally rational
i figured a chocolate brownie
with vanilla ice cream
and crushed macadamia nuts on top
would go nicely along with the hibiscus juice
and fix the tummy problem...
i have to admit
it was a combination of
the name "the butler's revenge"
the description in the menu
and the walk into the cafe where
numerous tempting desserts were artfully displayed along the way
sad to say,
it didn't really fix the tummy problem
but it sure tasted good going down
after a brief walk around the central square and past one of the cathedrals
(la mercred, i think)
we returned to the hotel
where i remained for the rest of the evening
while the others went out for supper
i guess the butler had his revenge
the following morning,
erin, sarah and i went out in search for the best coffee in town
or rather, sarah did
and erin and i tagged along
we were really looking for soup...
ahh, how i love soup! *tm
*wink*
the coffee was found
and according to sarah it was very very good
and the soup was also found
and heck, who knew potatoes and leek could taste so good?!

the rest of the day
erin, sarah and i wandered around through some ruined areas
we found a convent which had a hefty entrance fee of 30Q
which was halved if you were a student
good thing i'm a student
*inno*
i guess most of it had been destroyed by earthquakes in the past
which makes it a really neat tourist attraction
especially because there were no tourists really
except for us
we then wandered off to a church
(iglesia de san francisco)
which we'd seen the spires of from the convent ruin
walked around inside
and found a possible hidden secret tunnel
behind some massive triptychs
which we couldn't get into
because the possible doorway to this was bricked up
and then visited the "ruined" part beside it
which cost only 3Q
and was quite a bit more extensive than it looked from the outside
we also found a little library with ancient bibles and hymn books
tucked away up high in the sky
in an airy wooden raftered room attached to the main church building
a neat little discovery
with some really neat (and huge!) books
and very cool architecture
even if most of it was in ruins
after this exploration
which was punctuated with many rests
in shady archways
or beneath some old tree
sarah decided to try to fly a kite
in front of a church
we later all agreed
that it prolly would have worked much better
from on TOP of the church
where we kind of were
after climbing part of the ruined portion
(that would be by the little library)
but with a valliant effort
she did manage to get the kite airborne for
a generous number of seconds
in the sporadic winds swirling around in front of the church
we then sauntered back for another bowl of soup
and free internet
which the restaurant had given us coupons to
and this time i tried the spinach and coconut
which, while good, was not as good as the potato and leek
but still very nice
according to erin however,
sarah makes a killer potato and leek soup
which puts even the one at the rainbow cafe to shame -
this will obviously require some extensive testing
to confirm this to the world at large
which i will gladly sacrifice my time and tummy to
when they return
...if i beg hard enough :P
winding our way back through town
we visited la merced
and then went off in search of our other 2 companions
we found them at the hotel
and decided to all meet up a bit later for supper
at the cafe flor
"which makes a decent stab at asian cuisine"
according to the lonely planet
and which the ladies had ate at the night before
i must say,
the decor was neat
the ambience was nice
the cook was thai
and a stab was all he had
when it came to cooking thai food
that being said,
the food was still tasty
just not like any thai or chinese food i'd ever seen
:)
and that was antigua
oh yeah,
there were a few visits to some stores
in search of yogurt, clothes and jade
the jade shops were kind of neat
tho i don't know
if i really believe
that lilac jade exists
and i must say
the black jade just looked like a shiny black rock
in any case
shiny stones ARE neat
and i'm sure those that buy them
are very happy with their shiny-ness
yeah

did i mention
that our bus to copan
was to pick us up at 4am the next day?
if not,
that was the reason
why we all pretty much hit the sack
early
:)