Today was a good day. We got to sleep in until 7, and we walked to breakfast at Cafe Escolonia Nursery, which happens to have a Cafe inside. We shared some stories and goals we all had, and it was nice to see how many of us here actually compliment one another’s skills. We then headed to the Antigua Market and Artisan Market where we did some shooting and felt like we were in totally another world. The fruit and vegetables here are as vibrant as many of the textiles you see here. We had a friend call us over and give us fresh papaya, and when I saw him later in the day, he was sure to jump and wave, Hola! Buenos Dias! These people here will be hard to leave behind. They wear all their kindness, gentleness and passion on their face. After leaving the market I came across an old man sitting alone, and asked him in Spanish if I could take his photo. He was flattered and happy to let me take his picture. When I was done, he gave me a huge hug…in a very sweet way. We held hands and showed great amounts of gratitude for one another. In less than a two minutes, it seems we had shared a special moment and had a special admiration for one another, much like a grandfather and grandchild. I feel blessed each time I encounter moments like these with these special people who take the time to look you in the eye, smile, and want to show you love just because they have so much of it to give.
We left for the Santo Domingo Hotel, Restaurant and ruins for lunch, and explored there, then off we went to the Policia for escort to the Antigua cemetery. Apparently you don’t visit the cemetery without police due to crime and danger that happens in that location at night. Beautiful crosses there. few are posted in day two blog posts. It started really raining hard while we were there, so I put a bag over my camera and kept shooting. The guards/policia were very accomodating and followed us around as we went through the giant stones and crosses. My Mayan/Spanish is getting better every day. While others were headed to Cafe No Se, I wanted more than anything to Skype with my amazing family, so I got dropped off at our house and we unanimously decided to eat in tonight and edit photos and have a critique session Up early tomorrow for Panajachel. Our shuttle arrives at 8:30 a.m. We’ll return to Antigua on Sunday night. Here’s a few pics.
