450 pounds of luggage

hi, everyone, we made it all safe and sound, and we didn't even lose our luggage or most of our minds. you grammarians should start getting use to irregular punctuation from us because we already can't figure out these keyboards and the hazy screen is making me want for bifocals. ah, just the beginning of frustration.

so far, guatemala, or guate, is treating us very well. the sky is blue and the volcanos are huge. we are staying in antigua, this amazing collection of colonial buildings, cobblestone streets and gardens and ornate churches previously felled by earthquakes. Today we went to Convent Cappachino and in the interior basement was a circluar room for chanting. Matthew crooned out a quirky home tune and the sound just moved all around you, reverberating up, circling you and escaping out into the free open air. And to think this was built in the 1500s

the bus ride, or chicken bus as they are called, into Antigua was an exciting adventure, and so far we've only been greviously overcharged by the taxi from the airport. what can you do when you are standing there with 450 pounds of stuff.

We´'re here until Sunday and then we will attempt to grab a bus to Xela where we will be studying Spanish. One thing travel does to you in a land of foreign sounds is humble and stumble you right away. We're doing ok and Antigua is completely manageable, but can't wait to start conversing beyond a single noun and verb combination.

So far it's not as cold as we thought it would be, but at night we did grab out wool hats. The day kissed us with a sweet sunburn today and we're headed out now for a mojito and a cuba libre. The town is quite hopping at night. Hopefully, I won't need to use my earplugs for a sweet slumber.

Hasta luego!
Matthew and Heather