when in guatemala...

i find myself in my third week in beautiful antigua, sipping coffee in the courtyard of a lovely cafe.  it's hard to believe that i'm actually here.  it's been a long road to get to this place and i know an exciting journey lies ahead.  i've experienced quite a bit in this process of getting ready for reynosa, and i know there's so much more ahead of me that i can't even imagine.  

i'm going to do my best to keep this blog updated while i'm in guatemala, so you can keep up with my adventures and travels while i'm studying spanish here.  here's a few pictures to give you a taste of life here.

here's the view i see anytime i walk through the streets of antigua (unless it's raining, then i can't see anything!).

this is the volcan de agua...water volcano.  it's beautiful on a clear morning.

this is looking up through the ruins of a cathedral in antigua.  this once was the roof of the cathedral but now is open to the bright blue skies.

this is the volcano i hiked on saturday.  in my chacos...which was probably one of the worst ideas of my life.  i wouldn't necessarily recommend it.  but my feet survived and the view was awesome.  

here i am with my first encounter with lava.  it was rather toasty but an incredible experience.

this is the arch of antigua just before sunrise.  that's the water volcano in the back.

aaaand last but certainly not least: the creepy jesus chair.  i mean, who wouldn't want to sit in that?  and there are several to be bought in the market.  i wonder how many they sell...

my spanish is coming along and i'm getting there day by day.  i'll keep you posted with pictures from my travels.  a friend and i are taking an 11-hour bus to tikal on friday night to see the mayan ruins.  then we're turning around and riding back for another 11 hours saturday night.  it's the cheap way to travel so it's worth it!  more pictures to come...