Tuesday started early for everyone. We had to have our bags out to the car by 5:00 a.m., so all of us girls got up at 4:30 to make sure we had everything and get them out there early. After we got our bags out to the van, we headed back into the rooms and cleaned up. We made our beds, swept the floors, and generally tidied up. It actually didn't take that long to clean, so by about 5:30 a.m. we were in the car on the way to Antigua (that's Antigua Guatemala, not the island in the Caribbean).
The drive to Antigua was pretty uneventful. The first half was quiet cause all the kids were asleep and half the adults were too. Things didn't really pick up until we got to Sarita's for breakfast.
After eating breakfast at Sarita's, we got back on the road to Antigua. After breakfast everyone was a lot more awake, including the kids. The rest of the drive was a bit more lively because of this. I'm not sure what we talked about, but there were plenty of conversations and Will kept telling jokes. Bad, bad jokes. He eventually discovered that Stacy liked grammar jokes so he looked up several that she and I both enjoyed.
We finally arrived in Antigua at about 11:00 a.m. After we got to the hotel, Stacy and Alex got everyone signed in and we figured out what rooms we were in. Jillian and I wound up in Room 3 by ourselves. We were also the only ones in that hallway, so we were kind of away from everyone else, but not too far, since everyone else's rooms were just down the next hallway.
After finding out our room numbers, we went back outside to find our bags. While traveling to Antigua, all of our bags had been tied to the top of the van. While Jillian and I had been checking out our room, the guys had gotten the bags down. When we got back to the pile of bags, mine was there and Jillian's wasn't.
To her credit, she recognized the joke as soon as it happened. It was only at my insistence that Jillian asked about the bag, allowing the guys to get the full effect of the joke on both of us. They got a kick out of fooling both of us into thinking that Jillian's bag had fallen off the van, but really it wasn't that surprising that they'd done it. It was only to be expected after a week of teasing Jillian.
We were told we were going to have an hour at the hotel, but that turned into about 30 minutes. Because we thought we had more time, Jillian took a shower, but just after she got out, it was time to leave.
While Jillian took the aforementioned shower, I went out and took some pictures of the hotel. It's probably one of the nicest places I've ever stayed. It reminded me a bit of an Italian house/village with the way it was colored and the décor. During my walk, I came across Hugh and Heather also taking pictures. Then Hugh found the hammocks and and he and Heather settled in to enjoy them for a while. Before they could properly enjoy the hammocks, though, it was time to leave again.
We left the hotel at noon to go to the marcado (the market) and do some shopping. Everyone left together, but when we got close to the marcado, we split into two groups. The guys went to a restaurant to watch the soccer game, while us girls, the McIntyres, and Nancy headed toward the marcado.
Before we could go to the marcado, we had to make a stop at McDonald's because the kids needed food. The McDonald's we went to was probably the nicest Mickey D's I've ever been at. The interior was pretty typical, but outside they had this awesome courtyard that had really nice seating around the edges and a big fountain in the center. Heather, Jillian, and I had fun sitting out there and relaxing for a bit before our shopping excusion.
We finished eating just about the time Stacy came looking for us. She said that Daniel and Alex were going to stay with the kids while us girls (including Brandi and Nancy) got started at the marcado. We all agreed and headed out.
The walk to the marcado was short so soon we got to start shopping. Even if I tried, I'm not sure I could really describe the marcado. It apparently had a number of sections and I only saw one, the Artisan section.
When we got to the Artisan section, Stacy and Heather and I split off from Nancy, Jillian, and Brandi so we could cover more ground. We started on the exterior of the market and both Heather and I found a number of things pretty quickly. Eventually though, we moved to the interior of the market, which consisted of several connected courtyards with stalls stationed all around the exterior wall.
We shopped for something like 3 hours. My legs only lasted for about 2 ½ of those hours. Eventually, after I had gifts for my family bought, along with a few things for myself, I found a bench and waited for everyone else to finish. They eventually did around 4:00 and it was time to head back to the hotel.
To get back to the hotel, we decided to get tuk-tuks. A tuk-tuk is a little three-wheeled car that can only hold about three people and drives really fast over the cobbled roads. Jillian, Heather, and I wound up in one together. I got the middle while they both sat on the outside, hanging on for dear life in fear that they would tumble out of the shower-curtain door. I thought it was a lot of fun.
Back at the hotel, Heather went and grabbed her stuff and brought it over to our room. Originally she was going to room with Nancy, but some some stuff happened to change that and she wound up coming to stay in the room with Jillian and I.
Back at the room, us girls just hung out and talked while we waited to leave for dinner. It was nice just chatting with Heather and Jillian. We all got to know each other better and I feel like we really connected on a deeper level than I have with anyone in a while.
A little before 6:00 p.m. it was time to go to dinner. The guys were meeting us there, so the rest of us climbed into the van and headed to the restaurant.
We ate dinner at a place called Las Palmas. It was a pretty nice restaurant not far from the hotel. They had set up this nice long table for us in the front room. Right after we got there, John told me I had to take my camera and go to the roof. So Will offered to lead me up there. John was right. The view was spectacular. You could see two of the active volcanoes that are near Antigua and part of a church we'd walked by earlier that day.
I took lots of pictures, and at one point, one of the volcanoes started puffing smoke, which was pretty awesome to see. After taking all the pictures, we headed back downstairs to eat dinner.
For dinner, we had our choice between four entrees. I got the chicken, but I could have had steak, fish, or a vegetarian fajita instead. After ordering, we talked. Food eventually arrived and we ate, all exclaiming about how good it tasted.
After we'd finished dinner, John got up and said a few things to Brandi and Daniel, thanking them for letting us serve with them and mentioning that Summit had a gift for them. I also insisted on getting a picture of them with their family.
After that, it was pretty much time to leave. So we gathered up our things and headed toward the exit. Only, we could quite leave because the computer system was having trouble processing Alex's payment. So we wound up sitting around for a while talking some more. Eventually the payment went through and we could head back to the hotel.
The evening wasn't over yet though. Once we got back to the hotel, John wanted to have a debriefing with all the adults. So everyone dropped off their stuff (and children) and headed out to the outdoor living room. It was a little chilly, so we asked a hotel staff member to start a fire, then we started talking.
John asked us all to answer two questions: What was the most surprising thing about God that we'd seen this trip and what was something we wanted to see God continue working on in our lives when we got back home. We all took turns answering. Some people were more comfortable talking in front of the group than others, but eventually we all shared our thoughts. It ended up being a nice time of connection with the group and a good way to end the trip.
After all that sharing, it was finally time to go to bed.
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