Christmas Week in Antigua

(Photos)

As I mentioned before, Zach arrived Dec 17 to join me in Antigua for Christmas week. We checked into Hotel Las Camelias Inn for the week. He came to Santa Maria with me on Thursday and Friday to help out at the school, then we went on a four-day adventure trip through northeast Guatemala. We returned on Christmas Eve just before the shops closed and managed to pick up a few gifts and groceries for upcoming holiday parties.

Christmas Eve -- To my delight, we had been invited to join my host family (and Salia) for a traditional Antiguan Christmas celebration. Following a much needed nap, we walked up to Angela and Duilio's home at 11 PM to share a drink and catch up on the week. At midnight, the city exploded with fireworks. Along with everyone else in the city, we went out to the street in front of the house to set off noisemakers, shooting stars, spinners, flaming cones and sparklers. For fifteen minutes the sky was filled with colorful fireworks in every direction. It was AMAZING! Afterward, Angela's two daughters' families joined us in the house for an exchange of gifts followed by a comfortable and familiar turkey dinner. Zach and I headed back to the hotel just after 2 AM, but I suspect the family continued their festivities for some time into the morning afterward. I was thrilled to have an opportunity to join in with my host family for this special evening. Many thanks to Angela and Duilio for continuing to make me feel like part of their family, even after I moved from their home!

Christmas Day -- GVI hosted a potluck Christmas dinner and secret-Santa gift exchange for all the volunteers. We arrived around noon to began preparing food and sat down at a collection of tables in the courtyard for an enormous dinner around 2 PM. Following dinner, volunteer John Wosley came out dressed as Santa to hand out gifts. We took a bit of a break to clean up and some folks went for a swim in the condo's pool. At 5 PM we sat down again for dessert and Fiona's Irish coffee. After dark, Dom and Rufus set of fireworks in the driveway -- with a few spinning their way back into the crowd of spectators causing MUCH excitement and a few singed feet (sorry Fiona!). We migrated back indoor for dancing, drinking, and charades. Some of us left around 11:30, but I understand Rufus entertained the rest well past 2 AM, finishing up two full days of revelry for the Christmas holiday!

Boxing Day -- (...Or whatever else you might call the day after Christmas.) On my last day in Guatemala I wanted to finally get into a guided tour of the city and learn a bit more about Antiguan history. We joined up with a 3-hour Elizabeth Bell Walking Tour. Elizabeth Bell is a California transplant who has lived and worked in Antigua since 1969, and has earned top listing in all the guide books. (That's not surprising, since she's written many of them.) The tour stated in Parque Central, took us into city hall to learn about modern politics and to meet the mayor, then to the Cathedral to learn about Mayan religion and attempt to Catholicize the nation, then up to a Jade museum and workshop to learn about education, poverty, and indigenous issues (as well as about Jade in Mayan history). We finished with a paseo tour of the museums and ruins of the monastery of Santo Domingo. though the entire tour was well worthwhile, I would highly recommend a trip to Santo Domingo for ANYONE visiting Antigua. On the grounds of the city's only 5-star hotel, the Q40 admission price gains you access to several distinct museums and archeological areas. My favorite museum combined the display of numerous Mayan artifacts alongside modern glass art. For example, an 8th century Mayan urn with jaguars would be paired with a 21st century A-List artist's representation of a jaguar. The pairings are beautifully done and this gallery is not to be missed.

After the tour we stopped for lunch at a "tablecloth restaurant" called Welton. On our first weekend in Antigua six weeks ago, Maya, Aviv, Aaron and I agreed to have our final dinner at this very fancy restaurant. As our final day approached, we realized that most volunteers who wanted to see us off wouldn't be able to afford a very fancy restaurant so we made dinner plans for a more accessible venue. Nonetheless, Zach and I went for a leisurely lunch in a courtyard surrounded by flowers, fountains and wind-chimes, and enjoyed exceptional food and service for a final fancy meal together before moving on. In the end, the bill was an extravagant Q600 ($77) for the two of us, compared to our dinner at a local tienda a few nights before totaling Q24 ($3). The contrast was pretty amazing and so was my realization of relative satisfaction . Both places have great food and I was equally happy at both -- they just had a different approach. In retrospect, I'm glad we went for the "tablecloth restaurant" just to have had the experience, AND I'm also glad that we didn't press to have the whole GVI group spend so much money for dinner.

After six weeks in Guatemala, I've learned that the difference between what I need to survive and what I need to be happy is much smaller than it used to be. I'm curious to discover how much more that gap will close after living for awhile in much less affluent towns in Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Peru!