I started questioning my decision to switch hotels last night when at 11 pm the courtyard was loud and lively. The coffee shop and bar were still open and children were playing. My room faces the courtyard so there was little chance of sleeping. I went out to find everything open, the streets and plaza full of adults and children wide awake and having fun. It was an odd scene, festive but with many dressed in mourning black. I was tired so at midnight I put brown noise on my speaker and went to bed, only to get woken up at 1 am when the procession passed in front of the hotel on its way back to the cathedral. For more than 7 hours it had been winding its way all around the center of town. That’s a serious celebration.
By contrast, today felt like a ghost town. Virtually all shops and many cafes and restaurants closed. I found a well stocked supermarket and bought enough food to carry me through in case nothing is open tomorrow. I’m hoping to teach a hotel in a town about 50 miles away, which isn’t a given so I’ve got enough for breakfast in case I have to camp. I’m finding it difficult to calculate my range with not knowing if I’m going to end up walking the hills. 50 miles is on the very extreme end of what I think I can do, so being prepared to camp means I don’t have to worry it it’s too far. Subsequent days should be shorter. I’ve worked out a route that gets me to Antigua in about 4 days, with a view of Lake Atitlan. I’m refreshed and ready, head in the right place.
There are two cats at my hotel. A yellow one wanders about but this guy never leaves his chair
A sign on my bathroom wall says the bucket is to be used to hold the water that runs while waiting for it to get hot. Ok, but it came out immediately fully hot
