JAN 14, 2016 – I took a night bus from Flores to Guatemala City and a so-called “chicken bus” to Antigua. These buses are very common in Guatemala: Old school buses from the United States are exported here and colorfully repainted to serve as public transportation. Of course the benches, designed for children, are left unchanged. As soon as I arrived in Antigua I was greeted by a Spanish teacher, and after a tour of his school, I decided to take twenty private lessons spread over four days. I had planned to do that a few days later in San Pedro, but my impression was that Antigua would give me good options for half-day trips too. The school’s offering was quite convincing, with lessons for USD 6 per hour and the option to stay in the same building, where a host family provided three meals a day for a fair price.
Besides learning Spanish, I hiked to two volcanoes (see following posts) and visited a carneval-like event in the nearby village of Pastores with my teacher. We also prepared an international dinner with some of the other students.