Antigua chills and thrills

Oh people, how sweet life is in Guatemala! Well, for a traveller that is, I suppose. For a country that has suffered 36 years of civil war and only has known a little bit of democracy since 1996, I don't think it's the case for all the Guatemalans. Just driving through dreadful Guatemala City shows it all. But nevertheless, if you put aside for a moment the idea that you're just the next tourist (and not visiting the garbage belts where some people here live on), you can't be nothing else than charmed by this country, certainly by a beautiful city such as Antigua. This former Guatemala capital is just a village compared to Guatemala City (the Spanish moved the capital overthere after the great 1773 earthquake that destroyed most of Antigua), but it's all the more a town with character and history. Just like other colonial towns such as Campeche or San Cristobal in Mexico, it has very colorful streets and pittoresque churches, and very good food and drinks. So it is a great town to hang out and chill for a day or two. Like in San Cristobal, there is a big student scene here, with movie clubs and the like. The Maya Moon Hotel, where I am staying, even has a choice of 5 films a day! So I saw Amores Perros, Buena Vista Social Club and Todo Sobre Mi Madre with a beer and my feet on the couch, just like I would do at home! There are also very cheap comedores and restaurants all over the place, some even serving authentic Guatemalan coffee! Might sound obvious, but it isn't. Some of the world's best coffee is produced here, but it's all for the export. So you guys back home probably drink more of it than the folks here. They have to settle with the yuckie Nescafe instant stuff, which they ironically have to import! Luckily, some of the independent producers sell their organic coffee here as well, and it tastes like heaven. The setting of the city is also amazing : wherever you walk in the city, you see a volcano rising up. And they're active! Volcan Fuego even erupted last week, apparently you could see the red lava streaming down at night. Arriving here, all was left was merely just an innocent white wimp of sulfurous fog rising out of the crater in the far. But it was impressive allright. So impressive that I made the day trip to Volcan Pacaya, that erupted big time in 1961 and again in 2000, killing a couple of tourists that were near the top at the time. The trail up the mountain used to be pretty dangerous, with bandits robbing tourists, even murdering a couple. But nowadays, an armed guide goes along (ours was very friendly with his machete) so we didn't experience any troubles. But it certainly wasn't a walk in the park either! It was darn cold on top, and windy as well! And I have noticed I have gotten out of shape, drinking too many Gallo beers at night! But the view was all worth it, walking on lava rock also is quite an experience : if your hands get cold, just dig a little hole in the earth and put your hands on there... Aaaaahhh!! Natural heating. So you can imagine that sitting down and warming up my cold ass, having my lunch after the 2h walk and ponder on the mysteries of Mother Earth was quite relaxing as well! They say there're steam baths at some of the volcans in Costa Rica, so that's something I am going to get my girlfriend Leen to for sure when she gets there!Well, I am off to the Sky Bar, a real nice place for good night views around Antigua. You meet people here all the time, so I hooked up with Tom, a Canadian police officer from Vancouver (yes imagine!) who also lived in Germany for a long time. We're going to Lago Atitlan tomorrow, so we're putting together some more travel plans over a beer or two.Mucha suerte to all those working or studying for those horrible exams. No stress!¡Hasta luego!