This is it! The day we leave for Guatemala is finally here. This is a day I have dreamed about and planned for since the day I went home from my first trip here, two years ago. People look at me strangely when I tell them about how I fell in love with Guatemala on that first trip - but that was my inspiration for organizing this trip - I just had …

It's 4:30 am on a Saturday morning in Antigua - and we're both awake. (Of course, in Puerto Rico, it is 6:30 am already - which is our normal getting up time.) We try to fight it and go back to sleep but by 5:00am we're dressed and out the door to take photos of Antigua in the early dawn.

The light is beautiful and we really see a lovely sleeping …

We all ended up getting up early despite our tiredness and intention to sleep as late as possible. We’re all on a different time still. Gerry and I were awakened by our neighbor shouting into his cell phone at 4:41am. I tried to be serene just lying in the dark and thinking about the day ahead, so we actually didn’t get up until …

("Panas" means "buddies" in Puerto Rico ... and Pana is the nickname for the town we're staying in - Panajachel)

Gerry and I got up at about 5:15 this morning (we are really having trouble sleeping in) but fighting it just doesn’t seem worth it once it starts to get light outside. We went outside to a beautiful morning …

This morning we got up early again, though not as early as other mornings, and went out to watch the sun rise. We had breakfast on the upper terrace, outside, just enjoying the volcanoes in the sunshine.

We checked out of our hotel in Panajachel at about 9:00am and began a slow trip back to Antigua. Just near the summit of the mountains …

(The antiques of this title are the members of our group...)

This morning, finally, I slept until a decent hour! All the way until 6:20! Gerry was awake and working on the computer as I opened my eyes. Boy did I feel rested. I got up and showered, waiting to use the computer to download my pictures and check my email.
Breakfast, for some …

The early morning looked like we were in for rain, but actually it warmed up as soon as the sun broke from the clouds and we had our first real t-shirt only day. After breakfast, Vinicio and Antonio picked us up and took us for a tour of the villages at the base of Volcan Agua. This is where the Spaniards erected their first capital (Ciudad …

We’re up early again, packed and ready to go, so we linger over our last breakfast at the Hotel Aurora. We’ve been switching tables each morning, today surprising the people who have always sat at this one! (Why are we such creatures of habit anyway?) All paid up and in the van, we’re on our way to Guatemala City. It is just …

Marshall, Juanita, Gerry and I leave for the airport at 5 am via taxi. We decided to take a taxi because we were told that we needed to be at the airport an hour and a half before our 6:30 flight. We knew that leaving at 5:00 on the shuttle (which had to make other stops and may or may not leave on time) was going to be a huge cause for stress, …