El Salvador | Guatemala

Day 17 : Antigua, Guatemala

Back in Antigua for a few days. With 2 days left we get to explore a little more and are taking a Volcano hike  - a first of both of us. 

Upon exploring Antigua we ran into a little slice of home - and  the McDonalds here is nothig to be believed. No golden arches allowed. A nice tastful sign and an interior that looks ..well NOT like a McDonalds. They have waiters. Their "patio" is like a courtyard garden complete with shiny plastic Ronald McDonald sitting atop a wraught iron bench. Supposedly Fast food joints here are a treat. Fancy town. Prom, weddings, large family events. All held at fast food joints. They get dressed up and they have wait staff. No ordering at the counter here! We were told only the well to do eat at fast food resturaunts, that is a luxery most cannot afford. Anyway - we didn't eat at McyD's but we did have some amazing food. A little too much actually. 

If you like Pina Coladas and bus rides in Antigua….

Back in Antigua. Towards the market district. Iglesia de La Merced Arch.
Yup, And this is the fanciest McDonalds we've ever seen! They have table service. haha
ok, so we are walkin along and we see this - McDonalds. Are you ready for this?
McDonalds outdoor seating in their private court yard. Complete with Ronnie himself.
Our favorite little grocety where I got my yummer cookies.
Outside the church in Antigua.
Insoide the church.
Just a little exploring at some ruins in Antigua.
Mmmm - mooojjiittoo.
Venders outside the church.
Well, no need to say who these two are.
Monkey arm shot of the Cowles having lunchy snack.

Bucket list volcano hike - check.  Volcan Pacaya. To much disappointment, however, no flowing lava, but still cool nonetheless. The mountain side still erupts almost daily and lava pools steam and pour heat and smoke into the sky.we just hikes and saw some hot things - nothing too exciting.

Decided to do a hike up the active lava flowing volcano - Volcan Pacaya.
On our hike up Volcan Pacaya.
Us in front of the Lava flow or or a giant cow patty. Its always flowing, but not always running red - bummer..
Still pretty hot in a lot of spota tho - careful where you walk.
Just leaving the trail head which is in a small village. We had some kids follow us up for a while on their horses.
from our trail you can see Volcanos like crazy - so why did we come here again?
Still burping ...about every 15 minutes.
On the way down.
Hey everyone, meet Hank. He was on our hike and we got to talk with him a lot. Hank is driving all over central and South America on his touring bike. He's From Texas and offers tours to other Touring motorcycle guys (and girls).

Sometimes when you wander around with the sole purpose of finding a lively place to drink booze, you find great treasures. Last night we went into a Hostel lounge to fins the place overrun by youthful Antiguans gearing up for a serious costumed-affair. Word on the street is;  tomorrow is a festival (no idea which one) but there's a lot of dancing supposadely. 

Sometimes when you wander around with the sole purpose of finding a lively place to drink booze, you find great treasures. Last night we went into a Hostel lounge to fins the place overrun by youthful Antiguans gearing up for a serious costumed-affair. Word on the street is;  tomorrow is a festival (no idea which one) but there's a lot of dancing supposadely. 

We still have no idea what this was all about, but it was great to watch anyway...

As a very welcome and perfectly timed wedding gift, we were given a night in a super swank bed and breakfast in Antigua. Bill Clinton himself (the first and only US president to sleep on Guatenalan soil) stayed in our very room. Alone??? We'll never know. Thank you again Jen, Ali, Sue and Leo for a thoughtful gift. And baby Z...It could not have come at a better time.

Our fancy wedding gift hotel. Here come the dirty backpackers. The living room is to the right - half open and the pool which is open to the sky -
Seriously - We got the only roof top room?!
Giddy up...Our kick ass room, can you just picture Bill here?
From our patio, looking down into the pool/living room and some of Antigua behind.
Oh, so this is what is it like to travel in style! Big difference. Thanks Olivers!
The private stairway up to our room. We get a whole wing to ourselves.
Our Room and pretty excited about it.
The roof has a patio lounge which has great views of the city
Yup, and we spent a few hours in this bad boy!
hIts early and we are headed home. A little obsessed with the giant almond cookies and coffee...not gonna lie - made the cab stop by our grocery so I could get one more on the way to Guatemals City - "a la aeropuerto pour favour".

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