Peace in our time?
"We have achieved peace in our time" (
Neville Chamberlain, 1948)... I guess you are wondering why I have started this blog entry with a quote form the once Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Simple really. I had a brief spate with a German and now I do think that I have achieved peace, however I am well aware of the last little Austrian/German who agreed to peace and then rescinded on his word - that's Hitler for those of you that need a history lesson. Prepared for peace ready for war as one of the many murals in the Belfast say. I am beginning to realise that I seem to hold grudges over very silly little things like being locked out of my room in nothing but a towel.
We left from the scenic village of Panajachel and headed back to Antigua a mere 3 hour drive away in our own mini van. Private transport really is much better when it isn't extortionate - and so far it hasn't even really cost us anything extra. We got back to Antigua at about midday and spent the rest of another sunny day mulling around the hotel and relaxing. We all went out for dinner to a local restaurant in the evening, kind of like the last supper as we were saying goodbye to our G.A.P tour guide Aaron. Speeches insured, mostly from Aaron and people chipped in here and there. We all said what our best experiences of the trip were and what was our worst moment.
Only kidding, there were too many good moments to pick one for our tour with Aaron, which is why I came up with my usual randomness. Our host at the restaurant also told us a bit about the history of Guatemala and the civil war that engulfed the country for a long period of time. Luckily Guatemala has had a stable government for over ten years, which mirrors the US Administration in its structure. I asked if there was any corruption and got a reply of 'hell yeah, although we believe it has been reduced by 40%... but 40% of what was my next question, no idea came the response. First Belize now Guatemala, corruption seems to be the word for Central America.
I also took a stroll around Antigua by myself for a few hours and was surprised by the amount of historical and interesting things that I seen. First of all I found a really good pizza place that did exceptional pizza for bargin prices. Two slices for ten Quetzales (£1), cheap cheap cheap and after my sad news of pineapples doubling in price it certainly lifted the mood. I ran into some locals playing what looked like a giant version of a toy I had as a child - cant remember the name, but maybe the picture will tell its own story.
I also stumbled into the local church. It looked impressive from the outside but was even more impressive when you got inside. There were beautiful paintings and statues littering the main chamber as well as side chambers that had areas were you could go to pray in private. It was quite a relaxing place to spend half an hour and there was very few people inside apart from some locals lighting candles and saying prayers. I kind of felt bad taking some photos but I just couldn't bring myself to walk away without taking a few pictures to remind myself of the beautifully preserved architecture and paintings housed within the church.
As I mentioned earlier I had a shave.
Almost forgot to say about the best McDonalds i have ever been in. I know they are all the same, right? Wrong! In Antigua the one i found has an amazing garden and staff that dont have spots. Yes the burgers taste the same but its the most impressive one i have seen. It even warrents the words Restaurant to be put after the name... cazy i know!
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8 hours on a bus.... emmmmmm lovely
8 hours on a bus..... Doesn't sound good at any time of the day never mind early in the morning. I just hoped that we would at least have a decent bus - I didn't hold out much hope though given past experiences in Central America. To my surprise and relief however we were greeted by a large tour bus. The seats were really comfortable and after a while of getting into another book - this time its on the Crusades - 8 odd hours on a bus didn't seem so bad. We were heading to the historical town of Antigua. Like many other places we had been before on this trip I didn't know what to expect.
Before we got to Antigua we had to change buses in Guatemala City. I had heard some nasty stories about bus drivers being killed in the City. It has something to do with the local Mafia having to be paid by the bus drivers to go through their patch, if they didn't they would run the risk of being shot - suddenly bus driving doesn't sound so appealing right? The city buses or chicken buses as they are commonly know in these parts have 2 armed guards on board to protect the driver.
While the bus we took looked brand new after about 2 miles it stalled. After a few chuckles from everyone thinking the driver was a little rough on the clutch we found out that there was something wrong with the engine. Exit stage right all men of the bus to give it a shove in the right direction. Luckily the bus started after our enthusiastic jump start and we continued onto Antigua.
First impressions of the city of Antigua were good. It had an old town feel with all the usual things you would associate with a busy city.
We visited an Irish bar after the Chinese - what is it with Irish bars they just seem to be everywhere. I watched as a few of people on our group got rather tipsy and divulged some of there secrets and inner thoughts, nothing like a bit of alcohol to grease the wheels a little. I will refrain from repeating any of the weird and wonderful facts about my traveling companions. The German is exempt from that of course as my previous blog entry's are testament to.
