Guatemala

So it's been awhile, internet, since you've heard from me.  Well - not the internet as a whole, but the whole blog thing kind of fell by the wayside.  What prompts me to write again? The obvious - travel - and my incessant need to share every thought that crosses my head which is thwarted by the high price of texting from here... :-) I'm in Guatemala for three weeks - 2 working and one vacationing afterwards. My new organization (started there in February) is hosting a conference in Antigua, Guatemala from May 10-12th, and I am one of the lucky who got to come down early to work on preparations on the ground. 

I am staying at the Casa Santo Domingo, in Antigua - an old convent, now a museum, which houses a 5 star hotel. It's a bit like the garden of Eden, I expect - magnificent crumbling stone walls, fountains, flowers, scarlet macaws, hummingbirds.... It's amazingly beautiful. From my stone and wrought iron balcony I can see volcanoes, orchids, a stone fountain, gardens, etc. My room has a vaulted ceiling with large dark wood beams, stoneXstuccoedXwalls, and Mayan textiles on the beds. When I arrived on Friday night, the stone corridors, open to the gardens through stone arches, were lit with candles and candelabras. Very peaceful, soothing, beautiful. My first morning I ate breakfast in the garden with Guatemalan coffee and read the newspaper in Spanish, feeling very lucky.

I am here to work, and have been, but I have had time this weekend as well to see a little bit of Antigua for a few hours each afternoon. I love Central America - I love the painted stone walls and bright colours and the smell! It smells warm and mountain-y, with hibiscus and other flowers... Yesterday I wandered the streets and then the markets, mesmerized with all of the colour of the weavings and other textiles, the wood carvings, the fruit and other wares. 

Last night I worked late on the website, eating dinner in my room - my first time with room service. :-) I took a few hours in the afternoon while it was nice to wander around Antigua, with the promise to myself that I would do my work hours in the evening. It worked out perfectly, as when I got back to my room around 4.30 pm it started to rain very hard, so I sat with my balcony doors open, working on the website listening to the rain and thunder until around 10.30 pm, smelling the delicious smell of rainy gardens. There are worse ways to work.

This morning I had breakfast with my colleague, Ana, who is wonderful, and the also wonderful woman who will be photographing the conference. It was a lovely breakfast in the garden. Afterwards we toured the spaces that we will be using for the conference, evaluating many details, and then Ana took us for a tour of the town, pointing out essentials like the printing/copy shop, cell phone dealer, medical clinic. It wasn't all business however, and shopping ensued. We spent a couple of sunny and relaxing hours wandering the streets and markets and getting acquainted with the city. Ana is a wealth of information about secret gems - the best coffee, the best places to buy things, the store with the amazing natural cremes and lotions, the best shrimp, and the best margaritas. The combination of having lived in India and being a native Spanish speaker makes her an Olympic champion bargainer to boot... 

I'm back in my room now, resting a bit, and waiting for the verdict on the big change-over from the old website to the new... So far it looks - in transition.

I'm going to rest a bit today, as I know starting tomorrow it will become very intense.