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So right now I'm in Antigua which is very pretty if a little over run with gringos... I feel like I can legitimately say that now without feeling like a hypocrite as one of my guatemalan friends so rightly pointed out "you're not a gringa anna, you're a hooligan!"
Since Xela I've more or less had a lazy week. On the way here I stopped in Guate City with some friends and watched a rojos v super chivos football match (that's guate v xelaju). We had to quietly support Xelaju due to the fact we were in the capital stadium surrounded by guate fans! ...as ever with football matches I wasn't really too fussed who won! I was just happy to pick up a few new spanish swear words!
I arrived in Antigua on Monday with a couple of friends from Texas and we've spent much of the week napping and moping around in coffee shops and wot not! Such a hard life! Although yesterday we did hike Volcan Pacaya an active volcano which was fun if not a little terrifying for me! The hike was very easy but as we approached the volcano and the giant streams of solidified lava our guide was explaining to us how recently these glacier like rock formations came about... as recently as February this year! As we started to climb the volcanic rubble towards the flowing lava he assured us that they have high tech equipment to tell them whether the volcano is about to errupt. We didn't have much choice but to take his word for it! As we crambled further up the volcano over the spiky black rocks we started to be able feel great wafts of hot air coming up and hitting us from below. The rocks sounded hollow as you stepped on them which was quite disconcerting especially as we got closer and closer to the streams of lava ahead. When we came up close it was quite exciting. As you can imagine the heat it packs out is pretty overwhelming. For rock to become liquid it's got to be a bit bloody hot right?! I soon got the fear though as my feet started to slide out from underneath me and I scrambled my way up onto more solid ground away from the molten rock. I stumbled and fell over a couple of times on the way which was none to pleasant as the rocks and gravel were hot and spikey and I cut my hands a little. We sat for a short while at a distance from the lava that I was happier with! It was amazing to see rivers of rock flowing from giant blisters in the earth... it made you think of dinosaurs and a land before time (not the cartoon!)...
Tomorrow I'm off back to Guate after which I'll part ways with my friends and head up to Coban for a couple of days before heading up to Tikal... I'm really gong to make the most of that as I've spoken to so many guatemalans who've told me that it's their dream to one day visit Tikal... It's good to remember how lucky I am to be able to do these things.
That's all for now. More pics and bits soon.
Love from me x
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