Pacaya

Woke up early and headed over to Casa Paraiso Colonial. There were (I thought) 2 suitcases of stuff to haul back to our house.  Turns out there were 3.  Let me tell you something....I think the marathon I ran was easier than a mile walk on cobblestone with those dumb suitcases.  I thought my arms were going to fall off.  FALL off.  Turns out computer work and running don't build your arm muscles.

Guillermo's brother David picked us up at 9:30 to take us to hike Pacaya!  It's about an hour drive.  I love driving through the countryside here.  It's beautiful and amazing...all of the farms on mountains.

We got to Pacaya and rented two horses.  One for the girls to share and one for Scott.  He has a bad foot and is wearing a boot.  I'm sure his doctor would be ecstatic if he knew he was climbing volcanoes with it.  Last time we climbed it Jake was in a brace because he was recovering from ACL surgery.  We don't let injuries get in our way!!

Apparently climbing volcanoes is like child birth.  You forget how bad it was.  We were huffing and puffing.  Jenn threatened to hit me with a stick if I kept telling her that it was the last hill.  Scott got off his horse because he said riding it was more painful than walking.  But it was worth it.  Beautiful view at the top.  We roasted marshmallows, ate lunch, and stopped at the volcano store!  I had on my house necklace that I bought their last year.  It was good to talk to them again.  They are passionate about their work.  The kids each picked out a necklace or bracelet from the store as wel.  Tim had told them they could get something if they didn't complain about the hike.  It worked well.

We ate lunch on top of the mountain and then headed down.  We got back to town around 3:30.  Everything seems to take longer than it should.  We went to the mercado for last minute shopping for Jenn, Krystal and TJ.  We had a bit of a panic when Krystals wallet was gone.  I think we all had a moment of panic.  I would hate for her to be missing money...but more, I would hate that that would be her last memory of Guatemala.  That she would come to give so much and then someone would steal from her.  Luckily, that isn't what happened.  Things are constantly chaotic here and we just left it on the counter.

We purchased some last minute gifts at the Artesan market and then sent Tim, Scott and the kids home!  Krystal, Jenn, Shelly and I headed to Central Park to pick up some bracelets and scarves.  It was crazy there on Sunday night!  On the way back we stopped at Little Caesers to get some $5 pizzas.  They rattled a bunch off in Spanish and I am assuming they asked if we wanted the special.  They said ''Crazy bread".  I said "Si!!! Pan Loco!!!"  They laughed.  I don't think they were laughing with me.  I think they were laughing at me.

We came back and finished packing.  We did some creative packing with the hammocks in the suitcases.  Jenn's wouldn't fit so she had to take it as a carryon.  They got picked up at 9:30 and headed out.  I'm going to miss them!!!   And I love the photos of them getting home!