The Guate Part (pics)

Antigua is a really lovely city. It was at one point the capital, and there are some really nice details to it, such as the fountain in the central park. Stone women cup their bossoms and water streams from their nipples. There are old churches with intricate stone carvings, ruins of other old buildings, and a nice yellow archway. The buildings are low and brightly colored, and the streets are cobble stone. There is definitely an international/touristy feel about the place. There are several books stores that sell primarily books in English, and on every street there is at least one internet place and one travel agency, frequently both in the same building. There are also tons of really cute coffee shops and restaurants. A couple nights ago we watched most of Fight Club at a really swanky bar with comfy couches, tasty crepes, and a huge movie screen. Last night we went out to a great sushi dinner at an American owned place. It was beautifully decorated, the service was amazing, and the sushi was creative and suprisingly good. The guy we went with, the same one we went to the coffee finca with, knows the owner, and we wound up sitting around this beautiful low wood table talking him and drinking mojitos.

One astute reader of this blog e-mailed me and noted that I've seen a lot of the mala part of Guatemala, and it's now time to find the Guate part. So that's the goal.

Our friend Becky showed up today, and I'm officially begining the Guate portion of my trip. We are leaving tomorrow for Lago Atitlan (we have reservations for a hostel that hosts a cross dressing party every saturday...). We're going to check out a number of the towns around the lake and hopefully do some swimming, boating, and laying in the sun. The week after that we head to Xela where we're working for our room and board for a week. After that, it's a little up in the air. My wonderful girlfriend is coming the week of the 14th, and hopefully I'll be able to give her a best of tour.

This really should be a whole separate entry, but I wanted to let you all know that we're officially moving to the Bay Area in August. I'll be attending law school at UC Hastings, and KJ will be persuing her masters at UC Berkeley. I am pumped.