Vamos a la playa...

Just got back to Antigua from going to the beach in Monterico. It was beautiful, the waves were huge, the sun was hot and the weather held out until our journey back to Antigua. The beach was black sand and hot as hell....I thought my little piggies were gonna burn off! I attempted to get in the water but the waves were just too strong. I was almost pulled under a few times but secured my footing and only got a nose full of salt water but half of my bikini top fell off so I had to quickly re-adjust after my wardrobe malfunction!!!

After basking in the sun for about 45 minutes we wandered to a hotel/restaurant called Johnny's Place. This was one of the coolest places ever. We watched the final game of the World Cup at the restaurant while lying on cushioned floor mats and sipping on a variety of adult beverages. I have pictures but don't have them loaded onto my computer just yet so I'll try to post those the next time I have internet access.

I would have liked to spend more time at Johnny's Place but we only went down to the beach for the day and had to catch our bus back to Antigua around 4pm. It was a good thing we left when we did though because the rain started pouring down during our drive home and we had some really sketchy conditions on the journey. We had 15 people in a mini van that probably should seat 12 comfortably. It wasn't too bad but I now understand how the travel companies make their money...15 people in a van each paying $20 round trip. That adds up fast.

The trip down and back was really scenic and I got to sit in the front on the way there. I chatted it up with the van driver, Juan Jose, and practiced a bit of my Spanish. At the very beginning of the trip, Juan Jose immediately told me that my host father is the son of his ex-wife and that he and his ex-wife split because he was always looking at other women. In the next moment, he beeped his horn at a woman walking down the street. It was pretty funny. For the rest of the journey he periodically beeped his horn at random women. Other than his ogling of Guatemalan women, he was a nice quasi-tour guide. We saw a lot of examples of how Agatha really wreaked havoc on Guatemalan roads and fishing towns. One road was pretty much falling off a cliff and we had to pass one by one over the part that was still intact. It was a little scary but Juan Jose seemed to know what he was doing.

I didn't end up going to church last night. Andrea (one of the other students at my school) and I met her teacher at the church and proceeded to the room where the service was to be held. However, at the door to the room, this man, who seemed to be in charge of the service but was not any sort of priest, stopped us and told Andrea's teacher that we couldn't come in to participate in the service because we wouldn't be able to understand everything and couldn't participate fully. Apparently, it was a much more in-depth and involved service than the normal mass. Andrea's teacher felt really bad about inviting us and then having to tell us that we couldn't actually attend. So, instead of going to church and praying for our souls and the souls of our loved ones, we went to a bar and had a few drinks to commemorate my last few days in Antigua. It was a lot of fun but I am a little disappointed that I didn't get to go to church. I was a little put off by the fact that I was turned away from attending church. I have always been under the impression that church is somewhere that everyone is welcome but I guess I just don't know all the details about why exactly we couldn't participate.

I'm off to Chicaman tomorrow. Watch out chicken buses...here I come!