Posada del Angel Antigua Guatemala

... headed off to Sumpango. (We later learned that the tour guides were telling people after the event that they did all these amazing "tour guide-esque" things with us ... this was not the case)<br><br>Upon arrival in Sumpango we climbed up a massive hill, down man-made bamboo fenced hallways and saw above us a field of hundreds of people running around with their kites and, beyond them, the barriletes gigantes ...

... if you have the money. <br><br>Generally, with the exception of my weekend getaways and the school excursions, my time here in Antigua has been characterised my daily routines of attending school, visiting different cafés in the afternoon, making homework, and tucking in early. Most nights, Eliane and I have just spent in our respective rooms with the family, perhaps going out once of twice every week to Reilly's for a beer or two. Staying here ...

... in 2008, 600 of which had been<br>children. The billboard was basically urging people to stop violence<br>against children. Thinking that we weren´t reading it right, we asked<br>Damian about it. He said that no, it was true, and that probably 80% of<br>those murders had been in GC. Ok, good decis on getting out of there!<br>Anyways, though, thank you to Damian - we would still be standing<br>bewildered in that crowded bus station if it hadn´t been for him. <br><br ...

... drove half the way up it on a dirt road, I felt every rock. The van stopped when it couldn't go any further and we began trekking through the vegetation. I was unsure wether to be a puss and buy a hiking stick off a child, but I figured not breaking my ankle was worth $5, and the infamous Guatamalan ...

... in Central America, so we have to hike up at dusk so that we can see the lava when we get to the top... torches and sticks in hand and we start to climb... a little tough but the last 30 minutes was hell... volcanic ash is so tough to climb on.. you take one step and it throws you back two steps.... get to the top, Stephen has to wait for me this time as we are in a tour group and the tour guide has to lead due to the danger involved....<br><br>No this is going to ...

After making the fabulous discovery that our room cost us half of what we expected ($34 for the room not per person!!) We proceeded to spend most of the day making use of the facilities at la Casa Del Mundo. After a rather sleepless night I whiled away the hours reading and dozing in a hammock whist Anwen sunned and swimmed. We caught a shuttle from Pana to Antigua at 4 and hadn't really ...

... en vriendelijke gids die onderweg veel uitlegde en liet zien. Dit leidde er wel toe dat we onderweg ingehaald werden door de mariposas (de vlindertjes), de tigres (de tijgertjes) en zo af en toe door een dikke Amerikaan op een mager paardje (oooh look at you all sweaty...poor people..you should have rented a horse!).<br>Na een wandeling van ruim 1,5 uur begon het landschap iets weg te krijgen van een maanlandschap ...Geen ...

... est préparé à partir de farine de maïs -ou purée sèche de haricots, voire un mélange de plusieurs farines- cuite avec de la chaux, de l'huile, du bouillon, et puis, souvent, un dernier ingrédient qui peut être salé (viande, ragoût) ou sucré (fruit, souvent raisin ou ananas); le tout enveloppé dans des feuilles d'épi de maïs, mais qui peuvent être aussi des feuilles de bananier, puis cuit à la vapeur. Ca ressemble à ça avant ...

The group voted to pay a bit extra to take private transport to Antigua, to shave a bit of time off the journey. We had a lunch stop in Guatemala City at a shopping mall before arriving in Antigua in the early afternoon. Antigua is set in the middle of three volcanoes and is a beautiful city. The weather was sunny and warm when we arrived, so I ...

... we will be able to start construction around the end of February/beginning of March if all goes well. I've heard that there were some people out there that had wanted to donate to the fundraiser, but didn't get the chance. DON'T WORRY, you can still donate! This is only the beginning! I will repeat our efforts in 2009 to raise funds for another elementary school, so if you are interested in supporting this ...