7 Feb--Back to Antigua

Tues, 7 Feb Panajachel back to Antigua ... Eddi and i got ready, still with no water :( ... so we used the bathroom in the 'garden area'. about 7:30am the hammering and pounding began, i assume they are working on the water situation. packed our bags and went to the corner to sign up for shuttle service to Antigua. after several miscommunications, we had our tickets and were ready to go. we went back to the hotel to check out and 'haggled' over the 'fair' price to pay for a room with no hot water the first night and no cold water, the second night. she gave us a discount, Jolene and i didn't think it was enough .... but Eddi thought it was ok. this was our normal stand for the entire trip ...Jolene is a GREAT bargainer .... and Eddi just doesn't believe in it, except to the minor 'expected' extent. we said our goodbyes to Lonnie and Jolene, and thanked them for a fantastic perfect time. they took such good care of us and we really enjoyed ourselves! ... Great Friends ! ..... ironically we saw Carlos from San Marcos on the street; and then Bill stopped by on his bicycle as well. we had a good send off. the mini-van was almost full when it stopped to pick us up at 9:30.... but we both managed to get a 'real' seat and not the 'jump-seat' this time. the 2 hour ride wasn't as bad, but it is definitely travel through the mountains, much like the Rockies. we had no room booked, but a girl in the van was the manager of a Hostel in Antigua, so we decided to get off there and see if we could get a room. it was fully booked, but they let us leave our bags there while we walked around the streets looking for a room. the first recommendations i had (from Judy at Madi's) was a special deal of US$70/night .. usually US$98 ... or something .... NOT ... next ... was about the same price; but when we declined, she asked us how much we wanted to pay. they had 4 hotels and 1 hostel in Antigua. we found one in our price range... US$27 for the room with private bath. it was a nice room, with more room than the one in Pana. we found our way back to the hostel where our luggage was, grabbed a Tuc Tuc and checked into our room. then we took off down the street, trying to do a better job of orienting ourselves to Antigua than we did the first time. hoping not to get 'lost' again. i finally got it ... face the big Volcano Agua .. the market is on your right, and the central park is on your left. we were good to go. we walked to Eddi's shuttle agency to make sure she was set with her shuttle to Guatemala City and then Flores. then i had to decide how i was going to get to Copan. i decided to splurge and take the Hedman Alas bus service rather than the normal 'shuttle'. i used Hedman Alas last year in Honduras, from LaCeiba to San Pedro Sula; it's a nice professional bus service. the ride from Guat City to Copan is 5hrs ... and i knew it would be grueling in one of those 'mini-vans' ... the price was US$23 vs US$41 ... plus i feel that the Hedman Alas bus is safer going into Honduras. maybe that's naive to think, but i promised my Mom and Dad i would not take any chances and be extra careful .... :) the bus left at 3:30am and 6:30am. Eddi's bus leaves at 6pm in the eve ... so now my decision. do i want to do the Volcano tour in the morning? if we do then i will spend another night in Antigua after Eddi leaves ... extra expenses, not a big deal, ..... i was miserable trying to decide. i hate it when i can't make decisions. i thought i really wanted to go to the volcano ... but ...... i finally decided that if i wanted to go to the volcano that bad, it wouldn't be a hard deciison. ... so i decided to skip it, and make my way to Copan in the morning. i may regret it later, but .... i'll live with it. Eddi and i walked around and ended up at the Central Park again this time we decided to tour the old Cathedral. there was a sweet little man standing in from of the Church. he had great English, and offered to be our tour guide; ..... an UNofficial tour guide. this is the front of the present day Saint Joseph's Cathedral the original Cathedral which is around the corner and in the back, was constructed in 1545 with rubble and covered with tiles. after numerous earthquakes, it was eventually demolished in 1669 and rebuilt by 1680. several earthquakes followed, 1717, 1751, and finally the 1773 earthquake seriously damaged much of the building. at this point the capital was moved from Antigua to Guatemala City, and it was never fully repaired. although it remains a beautiful place to walk around. it was laid out with 3 aisles and 16 arches with bays off the side aisles containing chapels it was the largest and most lavishly furnished in all of Central America the most recent earthquake in 1976 brought more damage, including this pillar the bishop and later archbishop's palace was built along the north side of the cathedral ... this is the entrance i love these old churches and ruins ... i get carried away with my photos :) walking around here reminded me of Pompeii the original colors remained quite distinctly he took us down to the catecombs i had to use timed-photo for this ...there were no lights then to another underground cavern, and showed us how the dead were separated: Mayan's were buried on the left and the Spanish were on the right. the bodies were buried behind a wall that was there; then after 5 years, they were dug up and burned (cremated) behind this structure ... looks kind of spooky, huh ... like a mouth that opens and swallows you up ??? we walked around for quite awhile, and had the place to ourselves; .... and as we were leaving a 'real' tour group entered ... about 25 people ... glad we got there before they did ! we finished our tour in the present day Church, which was rebuilt in a small portion of the original Cathedral as always, we should have negotiated our price with our tour guide prior to engaging his services ... we knew better .. we paid him what he asked ... i think it was a bit much ... but i'm sure he needs it we had to pee and followed the "Sanitarios" signs ... only to find they wanted 3Quetzales ... they had to have some way to pay for this lavish entrance to the toilets ! we decided to save our money for something to eat where we could pee for free :) some of the cafes are on the streets; but many of them are inside a courtyard of a larger building. ...its quieter in there, but you are still in the open air; they are all very inviting. .......we got something quick and cheap at this brightly colored one in a courtyard. then walked around a little more ... this is how they designate where motocycles can park ...pretty classy ! beautiful tiles remain in many of the buildings window ledges from the colonial Spanish times and found another wonderful Chocolate Shop, then took some photos ... this is kind of a famous photo that everyone takes of the Volcano Agua set between the Arco de Santa Catalina ... so i had to do it too :) as the sun sets in the evening ... it lights up the Arch dramatically i had to go down the block to one of the 'sister' hotels to use the WiFi, to send an email about possibly meeting up with the woman, Cristina, we met in San Pedro, who was supposed to be going to Copan the same time as me. ..... it would be nice to have someone to share a room and tour around with. then back on the street to go to the Ceviche place we ate at the first time we passed through here. it was closed ... whaaaaaa :( ...everything was closed and we were told that we wouldn't find Ceviche this time of the day anywhere :( so we ate questionable food at a questionable little cafe ... Eddi's knife was dirty. .....when the girl came over, she handed it to her showing her it was dirty ..... the girl wiped it off with a towel or her shirt? .... and handed it back to Eddi ... we just looked at each other ..... ah,,,, the joys of traveling. checked email again, Cristina's plans had changed and she was not going to be in Copan. ....so ... i'm on my own. ..... i got on line and found some names of 'modest priced' hotels in Copan. .... we'll see how this goes tomorrow. i asked for a 5:45am "wake up call" ..... (or knock on the door), took a nice HOT shower and washed my hair ... who knows when i'll see hot water again ....