Beginning in Guatemala

It is Friday and we have been in Antigua, Guatemala since Tuesday afternoon. On the plane neither of us could believe we were about to land in Guatemala City (watching March of the Penguins on route did not help) but the indigenous people dressed in traditional garb, plethora of little kids wanting to shine our shoes or sell us gum, and balmy temperature helped bring us to our senses, literally.



An hour later we arrived in the gringo-laden cobblestoned streets of the colonial city of Antigua to find that since we'd made our internet reservations for Hotel de Casa de Leon, its name had changed to Ummagumma Bed and Breakfast Hotel (no breakfast included this week). The new owner is a very handsome 23 year old Guatemalan man named Saul. At this terrific hotel, we've also met Odillia Shoc, a beautiful young Mayan woman who travels two hours from her village everyday to clean the hotel; Wagnerio, a Guatemalan website designer working in Guatemalan City; and Eddie from Costa Rica whose favorite drink is callemocho (wine mixed with Coke!). Besides all these amazing people, the hotel's best feature is the flower-filled rooftop terrace with 360-degreee views of the surrounding village rooftops and three stunning volcanoes (Agua, Fuego, Pacaya).

Here is a sunset view from the terrace