Yesterday I found out there are no busses to Antigua on Sunday and today is Sunday. I found a shuttle with Magic tours and they are terrible. The 9.30 shuttle arrived at 10.10 to pick me up and we still had pickups to do. Consequently the 9.30 shuttle left at 10.25. Little did I know I had to go back the same way as yesterday to Los Escudios then hit the highway to Antigua. In hindsight I could have done it in a chicken bus for a fraction of the price and waited on the highway for a bus to Antigua. In saying that the shuttle cost $12 so no big deal. Half way here it started raining so old mate had to stop the truck and tarp up. All our luggage was on the roof, and he didn't seem to happy doing it. Just after he finished it stopped raining. Haha. Then he stopped at someone's office here in Antigua and said "finish" and we all had to get out. The others all expected to be dropped off at their hotel and me at Parque Central? That wasn't going to happen but at least he showed me the way.
I went looking for a couple of hotels I had been looking at on the net and got lost. Eventually I found one of them and as I was walking towards it a guy approached me to see if I was looking for a hotel. I said yes so he lead me in and showed me a room. It was ok but overpriced and not what I was looking for. He said they have another place around the corner and we walked there and he showed me another room almost exactly the same. I ditched him and went looking. I spied one I thought would be out of my price bracket but tried it anyway. The place is beautiful, spotless, nice courtyard, hot water what more could you want. I booked the penthouse then negotiated a discount for tres notches. (3 nights) Bloody luxury.
Stone block footpaths, cobble stone streets, old buildings and a couple of volcanos near by. No wonder this place is the number one tourist destination in Guatamala. Even the guatamalans come here for the weekend. You are going Ito get sick of seeing pics here, everywhere you look is a postcard.

I booked a coffee tour yesterday and the girl came to my hotel this morn to tell me it was off. She said it is a holiday here and they not working today, "do I want to go another day?" Well I can't so she gave my money back. I spent most of the morning looking for another tour and couldn't find one. The n I went to book another tour for tomorrow and got a coffee tour as well.
The coffee tour was supposed to start at 1.20 and the bus (truck) arrived at 1.45. Seems in Guatamala a tour time is what time I have to be there and they will show up when they fel like it. We had to pick up some more people, so in the end we spent the first hour of a 2 hour tour either waiting for or in the bus (truck) I thought here we go again another tour ripoff all talk and no substance. Well give them their due we still got the full 2hr tour. It was pretty interesting and I did enjoy it and really found out lots about coffe growing. At the end of the tour we were given a shot to taste. Well I thought it was poison. Even 2 sugar in a shot it was still not drinkable but the coffe drinkers seemed to think it was ok. These coffee wanders are just like wine wanders. " oh this is a great roast, I'm getting subtle flavours and no bitterness" seemed like bull to me it was just poison.
I am going to get some pics of the buildings lit up tonight and put them on later. I am going to climb a volcano tomorrow, Pacaya! (Puk-Eye-a)
On the way back tonight I was looking for tomato juice for breakfast tomorrow cos I leaving at 6am so I went to Tienda (7/11) and had some fun with the old bloke. Told him I was looking for "juice,jus even jugo but he didn't understand. Then I spied it behind him and pointed to it so we had fun with him teaching me the name "marinero". I think it is brand name not "tomato juice".

Today I did a volcano tour. I had to be ready by 6 and thought they would pick me up whenever like usual but today they were 10min early. Lucky I was ready, unlike most of the people we had to pick up. Most weren't ready, some we had to go back for. We just got underway and stopped cos the late ones asked to stop for coffee. We waited 1/2hour while they got breakfast and coffee.
We finally arrived at the trail head and had to pay entry fee. There are signs all around to say 'keep away from caldera, pay attention, there are gasses and hot lava, etc' there are about 20 kids all hanging around with their horses trying to get people to take a horse. Of course they homed in on me, the oldest and most unfit. For the first couple of hundred metres they surrounded me. It was like lions trying to seperate the weak one so they can pick him off. I complained to the guide and he made them get behind me and I told them I would NEVER take a horse, if I can't make it to the top I will walk back cos they ****** me off.
I was way behind the others, but kept going. A couple of the girls took a horse. I kept taking pics cos I didn't know if I has actually going to make it to the top. Eventually I got to where I thought was about 1/2 way, just at the start of the lava field and I had to stop and wait for the others. Six of the others walked up behind me about 10min after I got there? They had been somewhere but I was the only one who couldn't speak Spanish so I couldn't find out where they been?
Pacaya exploded in 2010 and blew lava and ash 3km in the air. It closed down Guatamala city for 5 days. It also erupted again in 2014, so there is 2 different lava flows. We were allowed to walk through the lava field and over the other side if you moved a few rocks and formed a hole you could roast marshmallows. No lava, no caldera, this was as close as we were going to get.
The photos are pretty good but I will haVe to wait till Nicaragua to see lava.

tomorrow I am on the shuttle from here to El Tunco, El Salvador, but I am going to try to get off at El Sunzal.