My Birthday in Antigua

I'm pretty overwhelmed by the number of birthday well-wishes I've gotten.  It actually brought tears to my eyes -- no small task !

So ... keeping it very brief ... what does a guy do to commemorate his birthday, in Antigua, Guatemala ?

I'd love to say I slept late, but ... not so much.  Got a fairly early start, headed to Fernando's Kaffe (about 25 feet from the hotel).  Had a cup of Guatemala's finest (with a shot of espresso thrown in) and a sort of breakfast parfait -- all homemade: yogurt, granola, bananas, strawberries, and blackberries, served with a plate full of watermelon, papaya, mango, and pineapple.

I walked to the Northeast and Southwest corners of town.  It was warm and sunny with all three volcanoes in full view.

Eventually, I made my way to Parque Central, chatted up a few locals, and caught some sun before heading back to the hotel for a bit.

Ran into Donald, back out on the streets.  Hearing that it was my birthday, we stopped for pie and coffee, hung out at the park some more (it's what you do), and caught up a bit.

I spent part of the afternoon on the sun porch, saying a quick "Hello" to a couple of new hotel guests, then caught up on international TV news.

In the late afternoon, I took another fairly long walk, toward the Southeast part of town, just in time for a pretty big downpour to start.  I ducked into a restaurant called Angie, Angie.  Okay.  I'm here.  I'll buy myself a nice birthday dinner.

A couple of Cabro beers, an ensalada caprese, ravioli with mozzarella cheese and mushrooms, and a couple of scoops of the vanilla, nearly swamped with chocolate sauce.

Y'see: I have a few extra Quetzales (Guatemalan currency) to spend before I leave on Saturday morning :-)

The rain finally stopped, and I walked home.

It was a very good day.  Thanks to all of you for thinking of me :-)

On Saturday morning, I'll hop a first-class bus ride ... for fourteen hours (no typo) ... to Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  I think it's a pretty deluxe bus, with plus seats, lots of amenities, and room to move around.  Not particularly worried about the long day's captivity.

I know very little about Tegucigalpa, other than -- as I keep saying -- I like its name.  I think it's about 1M people, probably moderately dangerous, should have all the big city amenities and a nice Parque Central.

I'll hang out there until it's not cool anymore, and then move on.  No plans, yet.  I spent 10+ days scuba diving in the Bay Islands, off of Honduras, years back.  I'm honestly not sure if I can dive ... without contact lenses (which I don't have/can't wear).  Can't whip up an express prescription mask.  Can't make my Rx swim goggles do double duty.

Could I fit the goggles under my mask (wear the mask over them) ?

Stay tuned.

It's fairly early, but the rain's started up again -- fun to listen to, but not so exciting to walk around in. I think I'm in for the evening.

Because -- candidly -- that's the kind of wild bitches we really are ... here ... in The Gulag.