Despite staying up as long as I could Saturday, I ended up waking at 2am Sunday even though my flight was after 9.
Jetleg 1
Jessica 0
I tried to fall back asleep and finally gave up around 4. I needed to pack anyways, so I repacked everything and read a bit.
Downstairs for breakfast and airport shuttle, only to find the same driver from yesterday. He recognized me instantly and shouted ‘Belize!’. As he was dropping me off, C wished me luck with my school while I replied hoping his son can come home soon.
I was so early for my flight that I just found a charging station, and sat to read. I haven’t read in a long time (not enough time, when I try my interest isn’t kept, etc), but we had a book recommended to us about life in Quiche — we follow the life of a young girl faced with poverty, starvation, oppression, manual labour and on and on. I’ve still not completed this, but I’m certain once I do I will reflect in writing.
I digress… My work colleagues met me in Houston and we all arrived in Guatemala City together (with one exception who was flying through Miami instead).
Upon arrival, our School the World representative (Ana) introduced us to another group who arrived and off we went to Antigua.
Our hotel (Hotel Eternal Primavera) is truly it’s namesake ‘Eternal Spring’s as we walk into they main lobby to be greeted by a garden patio with incredible views of the volcano. Rooftop view was even more beautiful, and the bedrooms are spacious!
I’m not one to sit around the hotel, so I asked Ana if we could go explore and with that permission a small group of us headed out to adventure with first stop being an ATM.
With only a few hours to explore the city, we knew we had to be efficient. Straight to the centre of town, only to discover the first day of Lent celebration. Very similar to the Santa Semana ceremonies we witnessed in Spain, there was a parade of floats to celebrate the life and death of Jesus.
It was here we met a young lady who was selling her handmade embroidered scarfs. None of us could resist…
On our way to the famous arch, ice cream was discovered and eaten, and along our way to the 1700s church, we stumbled on a food market. Oh.em.gee. So much amazing street food, so little time. Especially since we had a group dinner in less than an hour. We settled on fresh papaya and then these maize tortillas with queso. Oh.em.gee. I’m still dreaming about those.
Our evening ended with our group meeting for Italian (a bit of a letdown after the street market…), but it was great to meet the other members of the service trip and get to know them better. We have a long week ahead, and it was great putting faces to names.
Back to hotel for a good night sleep — we venture into the mountains tomorrow!
