Daily Life in Antigua

The last couple of weeks have been fun. I’m really ready to take another trip though. Several of us had planned to go to Monterrico, a beach resort area with black sand. We ended up canceling the trip for various reasons so I was pretty disappointed.

I’ve had some good meals. I loved the Sunday Brunch at Santa Domingo. It is one of the nicest hotels in town. We had lots of bacon and sausage, yummy! Epicure Restaurant, and Rainbow Café are two of my favorites. We also had a couple of spring rolls and rice at one Phillipino Restaurant and the local Pupusau’s, (stuffed hand made tortillas) at another place.

I’ve had three weeks of cooking classes now and really enjoy it. We made a sautéed tilapia and stuffed chicken breast with spinach and ricotta cheese with a Tamarind Sauce. One class we made a Crème Brule and a Flourless Chocolate Cake. They were excellent. I’ve had some personal fun with the chef too! Woohoo!

Antigua has its own Curry Club. It’s a very selective club with prominent people as members. I can’t believe they let me in. hehe You have to buy a membership form an existing member. The price ranges from 13 cents to $20, a one time fee. You have to contact their call center in India for membership details. Hehe. We had good company and a delicious meal at one of the two Indian Restaurant’s in town. They meet twice a month.

One bad thing about living in a touristy, expat town. You make friends………… then they go home. We are constantly attending “goodbye” parties!

There is a lot going on at the Puppy Palace and they will be moving locations in a few months. I may return after my trip to India to help as a volunteer coordinator and start a spa business around the “dog rescue theme”. The owner is trying to get a reality TV show going about her work. She is truly a passionate and eccentric lady. I adore her! I haven’t made my flight arrangements back to Houston or my trip to India just yet. I truly live life day to day. They say expats are running away from something and you can be anyone you want to be in a foreign country.

One of the cutest things I see in town is a guy walking his three goats door to door selling fresh goat‘s milk. Now that’s some fresh milk! You just don’t see that in the states.

My neighbor and I visited an orphanage just outside of town. They are a young couple we know from church. It was fun to take seven kids out for ice cream.

My neighbor and I hired a car and driver to take us into Guatemala City for the day to do some shopping. We went to a real upscale mall. It reminded me of the Galleria in Houston, or Cherry Creek Mall in Denver. It's a total different class of people there. We even visited the new Walmart, more to my budget. I was hoping to find some typical American stuff but didn't have much luck there.

I had my teeth cleaned by a local dentist. I had never had my teeth sandblasted before. They did an okay job with some old-fashioned pick cleaning too. It was about $45, a little pricey for Antigua, but much cheaper than in the states.

I went to a Guatemalan Birthday party outside of town. They told us to be there at 6:30 Pm. Typical Latin American culture, dinner did not start until 8:45! We thought there were 8-10 people coming but almost 50-pople showed up! What a fun group of people. Trying to comprehend what people were saying in Spanish for 4-hours was exhausting for me.

I enjoy my workouts at Hotel Porta Antigua and my yoga classes. I get a massage once a month as part of my membership. I had a “Middle Eastern Aromasoul” consisting of a foot ritual, a full-body scrub and a massage. The oils used were Oregano and Basil. I smelled like a big pizza! My ulnar nerve in my pinky is acting up again. It makes my finger numb because of the compression in my neck. One reason I stopped giving massages was from the headaches and the inflammation. Not sure what brought this on but it is painful. Speaking of the gym, it’s time for my workout.