To market, to market

One of our favorite purchases, napkin rings, bought at the Mercado Central in Guatemala City
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Our flight out of Flores left 10 minutes early and we were surprised to be on a big 747 instead of a little puddle jumper again. The flight was quick--too quick for the crew to serve drinks. But so what? Great! Off the ground at 6:40; back on the ground at 7:15. Way to go, Taca! :) It was much cooler, too. 65F and breezy instead of 95F and humid. That felt really good.

Mike's dad Steve met us at the airport in Guatemala City. He and Kitty had arrived the day before and stayed at Hotel Dos Lunas as arranged. We met up with Victor to drive us to Dos Lunas and told him about our enjoyment of his hometown--Flores. Kitty and Steve had tales to tell of their travel from San Diego, California. Their seriously red-eye flight with a long layover in Mexico City meant that Steve could leave the terminal (in Mexico City) for a quick train ride and walk while Kitty monitored their luggage. Kitty had packed food to share with us but had to surrender most of it at Immigration and get lectured on "jeopardizing the health of Mexican agriculture." But the scanners missed an avocado--probably because it was packed in a box of cherry cordials! We sure enjoyed that smuggled treat! Ironically we could have picked up the same variety of avocado in Guatemala City and it would have been much cheaper and less bruised. ;) Interesting to note that "California" avocados are originally from Guatemala. A United Fruit scientist, Wilson Popenoe, whose restored colonial home is in Antigua, Guatemala, is known for bringing the avocado growing industry to the U.S.

Kitty got lectured on "jeopardizing the health of Mexican agriculture" because of the food she packed.

A topographical map of the country
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This was technically our second night at Dos Lunas and this time we had a nice room on the second floor. Steve and Kitty had the room next to us and had a private bathroom. Mike and I shared a common bathroom with other guests on the floor. The upstairs common living/gathering area suited us very well. It was a lot like being in one's own home. In many ways, Dos Lunas is more like a bed & breakfast than traditional hotel.

Mike and I tried to sleep late the next morning but found that we couldn't. So we got up and had breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit (a complimentary staple of Dos Lunas) then went for a neighborhood stroll. We found a small city park, blooming Jacaranda trees, and a neighborhood tienda--the Guatemalan version of a convenience store. We revisited the tienda several times--for fresh, hot tamales and a newly discovered green hot sauce that we liked very much.

Chaotic and buzy, at lot goes on at the market
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Steve and Kitty were familiar with Guatemala City from previous visits and wanted to revisit familiar places, so we all got on a city bus to the centro (downtown). The bus became very, very crowded and it became comical, trying to look at the things Steve and Kitty were shouting at us about from across the aisle, while trying to see things out our own window.

After about 45 minutes we arrived downtown and made our way to the plaza mayor. There we made arrangements to meet up with Steve later on while Kitty, Mike and I shopped Mercado Central.

The market was awesome--literally--three floors of wares and foods (veggies, fruit, dried beans and spices, fresh meat, etc.). We bought a bag/purse for Andrea and a wallet for David. Also Mike found a neat set of wooden napkin rings painted like different fruits and veggies for our friends Ann and Dan. We also bought a few small magnets for our "magnetic" fridge back home.

After meeting up with Steve, we ate lunch at the Panamerican Hotel, a classy, ritzy joint back in the day, now bypassed by the tourists who avoid the hectic downtown. It was an interesting and elegant place to have lunch. Steve and Kitty had stayed their umpteen years ago.

Braving the congested streets (people and vehicles), we hired a cab to take us to to see the relief map of Guatemala. It's a wonderful concept and we enjoyed finding the signs marking places we had been and others we would see in the days to come. Sadly, the map's execution lacks color and didn't photograph well.

Steve and Kitty could have gone sight-seeing for hours yet, but Mike and I were dead tired and sore from climbing monuments and stairs. We called it an early night, as we had to meet Terry and Roland at the airport at 5:30 the next morning.