What a blast!

Chichicastenango market
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En route from Panajachel to Antigua we stopped off at the sprawling Chichicastenango market - row upon narrow row of stall-lined aisles. Although I wasn't really in the mood for shopping, it was a wonderful experience - sitting on the steps of the central church, watching the comings & goings of the locals. There were all kinds of things to see, including men carrying baskets full of chickens on their heads, as well as a pig market.

From Chichicastenango we headed on to the beautiful colonial city of Antigua. Our first day there we were up early, ready to go & climb an active volcano (which seemed like a sensible thing to do at the time we booked it!). It took us about 2.5 hours to hike up to the summit of Volcan Pacaya - the last hour of which was one of the most arduous of my life... Being a scree slope it was like trying to ascend the Gladiator Travelator - two steps up & one step back. Thankfully Rod was there to goad me on & up the slope - otherwise I'd have caved in, for sure! That said, it was WELL worth effort. Being able to look inside the crater of an active volcano is an experience I won't forget & the rainbow-coloured rocks surrounding the crater - a reaction to the noxious fumes/chemicals, I guess - were beautiful (reds, yellows, oranges, whites etc.). I would definitely recommend the trip to anybody going to Guatemala.

All kinds of corn
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Following our hike up Volcan Pacaya, most of us headed off for a well-earned massage. Just what the doctor ordered - sort of (I had most of my bones cracked in the course of one hour - ouch!).

The next day was far more relaxing. We spent the morning doing a spot of sight-seeing around the city looking at various church ruins (not very exciting), the river (which was dried up so also not very exciting) & the city museum. Then we met up with a couple of the girls for lunch. We found a really nice cafe with a courtyard out the back where we chilled out for a couple of hours. There was a fountain in the courtyard which closely resembled that in the town square i.e. statues of women with water shooting out of their boobs. Nice.

Chicken in a basket (a whole new meaning!)
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In the evening we went out for a free salsa lesson & 'mastered' four basic salsa steps. Not sure I'll ever get the hang of the hip/bottom movements, but it was fun all the same :o)