A Day Full Of Culture

To start our first adventure of the day, we “hiked” up El Cerro De La Cruz where we were able to get a perfect view of the less active volcano . The upward hike was a bit exhausting seeing how I was not as in shape or athletically inclined as the others, but I still considered it to be an experience I enjoyed and would be able to share with others. During our hike back down the hill and through Antigua, I noticed more and more how there were a high number of stray animals, mostly dogs, on the streets. Following our hike, we were able to sit down to eat and rest at a local restaurant in town called Rainbow Café. 

            




Adding onto the excitement for the day, we were able to freely roam around Antigua to visit and shop at the many businesses gathering gifts for others and learn more about the social side of Guatemalan culture and tradition. As we ran out of free time, the scavenger hunt for our self-cooked dinner began. I enjoyed being able to visit their local food and clothing markets and seeing how everyday activities were carried out. It gave me a bit more appreciation of how things were managed back in the US, especially for how our meat products are processed. But over all, it was fun and a great experience to have.

            





After shopping for our dinner items, we made our way back to the meeting point and eventually back to san Miguel where De La Gente was located along with our sleeping quarters. Emma was able to bring in a professional weaver to show us first hands how clothing items were made and all the hard work that was put into it. It’s amazing that they have such skill and patience for this. We then went through a first-time process of preparing dinner by ourselves the Guatemalan way. This included making a meal literally from scratch and although we ran into a few issues cooking, it still came out great and was a great way to bond with each other. During the walk back to our sleeping quarters, we were able to view just a bit of volcano activity coming from Fuego.

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