We are a little late in posting this entry, but the end of the second quarter brought a busy week.  Last weekend, (27-28 of Jan) we had planned a kayak trip on the coast.  Our guide called in sick, so we re-scheduled for late February, but we still needed to get out of the city, and Antigua is never a bad option.  Antigua has to be one of the most unique cities in the world and we can't get enough of it.  I can see why some teachers in Guate City make the one hour+ commute from Antigua every day.

One of the first thing we noticed on this trip is how Bears fever has swept its way to Guatemala.  It's not unusual to see ND gear down here, but this was a first...



One of our missions on this trip was to find a place to stay during Holy Week.  We are very excited to have 4 friends coming to visit during the first week of April.  Holy Week is the busiest time of the year for tourists in Guatemala.  Outside of the Vatican, Antigua is the world's best place to be for Holy Week.  Most hotels triple their prices (kinda like South Bend on home football weekend) and require a 3-7 night stay.  We heard about a new hostel that just opened and were fortunate to book a reservation for Holy Thursday.  Looking forward to witnessing the extravagant processions and pageantry with my ACE-LA buddies, Marshall and Greg, and Sarah's friends, Emily and Josh!

We have been looking for a painting of our favorite vista of Antigua, which is from the panoramic view of the "Cerro de la Cruz."  The Hill of the Cross overlooks Antigua with Volcan de Agua looming on the other side.  We had never climbed the hill to get a firsthand look, so we joined the tourist police for an escort during the hike.  The police provide this service for free, because robberies have been known to take place when tourists go alone.  The view did not disappoint.  Even though it was pretty cloudy, we could still barely see the Volcano.





Other than this small trek, it was a pretty low-key trip to Antigua.  We, of course, made a stop at our favorite coffee shop, The Bagel Barn, the place where Sarah became a coffee convert back in September.  We also made stops at a decent Thai restaurant and an Irish pub.  True international flavor.  Sunday morning we went to Mass at Nuestra Senora de La Merced, where there was a wedding going on the night before.  I thought the decorated pick-up truck waiting outside the church would look pretty cool sitting outside ND's Basilica, but Sarah disagreed.  Here is a picture of the truck and other sights...


Just Married!



Father and Sons Street Performers




The Famous Arch.  You can see why the IOC will have their meetings in Antigua later this month, when they will decide who will host the 2018 Olymic games.