Antigua Guatemala

Thought I’d just give a brief update of where we are now.  I recently started a blog post of our travels up to our current location here in Guatemala but it is not finished yet.  I will have it finished soon, I promise.  Currently, we are in Antigua, Guatemala and have been here for a total of three weeks now.  We have a tiny little apartment about four blocks off of the main plaza which we have rented until the end of June.  Our main reason for remaining here is so I can learn some basic Spanish.  Milton has been the main communicator since our journey began and I want to be able to understand, read, and communicate with others.  I have just completed three full weeks of Spanish at Maximo Nivel and, some days, I think I have made very little progress and then on other days, things seem to be clicking in my head and making some sense.  When we leave here, I will have had a total of six full weeks of Spanish so hopefully, I will have some basics down by then.

Our days in Antigua, besides school, consist of going to workout at the Antigua Gym and studying.  Just shy of two months into our journey, we realized that we had to start taking care of our physical selves more so now we try to find a gym in whatever town we are spending the night in and get a day pass, week pass, or month pass if needed.  I definitely feel stronger and can notice some physical changes. Milton has had more significant changes from his workouts, but he often is working out twice a day while I, with my Spanish, can only get one per day in.

Antigua is a beautiful city with amazing ruins right in town and it is easily walkable so our bikes often remain parked and we walk everywhere.  The local market here is thriving and the fresh fruits and vegetable are delicious.  

It also has some wonderful little restaurants that serve fresh delicious salads where we have become regulars.  It does not have as much street food as there was in Mexico, which I miss, but it is probably way healthier for both of us.  One of my favorite meals here is from a little cafe called Samsura Cafe, located at 6 Calle, 7 Agenda #33, and is their Quinoa/Avocado Salad.  

It’s a great meal after a workout at the gym, which is right across the street from the restaurant.  They also make some amazing tofu tacos which are so delicious.  Another little cafe that we have come to like is the Rainbow Cafe located at 7 Avenida Sur #8.  The food is not quite as good but they have great music on Tuesday nights from this local musician, Gustavo,  who plays the guitar and I absolutely love his voice.  On Tuesdays at 5:30 they also have local NGO (non-governmental organization) groups give presentations which is how we got hooked up with the children in San Andrés Itzapa.  I uploaded some more pictures to our Motodawgs Facebook page with an article with a  great description of their organization for those interested in finding out more.

We have made some friends here locally and have even began to get hooked in with community groups and  participate with some local events/fundraisers for local spay and neuter organizations and local kids.  Being stationary for a period of time allows us the freedom to do that and I love feeling like I am being a contribution to this community rather than just a sightseeing tourist.

Sometimes, I am just completely amazed that we are here and, at other times, a tiny bit of fear creeps in, just for a moment, and I wonder what possessed us to sell our house, quit our jobs, and just go.  I don’t know the answer to that question, I just know that something out there was calling and we just had to answer.