familiar

Well, I didn't leave for Tikal today...however, I did buy my ticket so that I could start my 10-hour bus trip at 7:30am tomorrow morning. Having this unrefundable slip of paper has me more excited than I could even begin to tell you. Knowing that I'm traveling well over twice as far as I've traveled yet, knowing that I'm going to see some of the best ruins and most beautiful jungle in the world, and knowing WHEN that's going to happen has a permanant smile plastered on my face.

My yesterday in Antigua ended up being the strangest sort of Guatemalan reunion for me. At an internet cafe, I ran into Kanako (my chess-playing roommate at Cesar's house) and made plans to meet up at my old school later for a small party they were having. Not a couple hours later, I found myself at El Monoloco after a few exchanged emails sharing a beer with Javier (one of the three people I spent time with/played kings cup with my first night in Monterrico). I love how easy it's been to stay in touch or meet up with people here - this country feels so incredibly small sometimes as I just keep running into the same faces. It's certainly taking away that edge of anonymity that I was enjoying my first couple weeks here, but it certainly helps raise the comfort level of being here - I'm starting to feel that I can go anywhere and be taken care of if I need it.

After a few beers, Javier and I went to meet up with Kanako and dance a bit at the school - though I'd only gone there for a week, a couple of the teachers there recognized me and let me have the free beer that was there for the students. The party itself reminded me of a high school dance, with a strobe light and hardly any people there, but again, it was nice to be in a familiar surrounding. Once we started dancing more though we all felt the urge to do some real dancing...so we were off to La Sin Ventura. I have fallen in love with salsa music - we took a few breaks but kept finding ourselves pulled back to the dance floor. When we got there we met up with Bryan and Wendy (the two others from Monterrico) and I ran into a group of people who were staying at the hostel with me. Small small wonderful world.

The one thing about Guatemala is that the bars all close at 1am...however, as I learned for the first time last night, there are places that open up when the bars close for 'afterparties'. There wasn't much too it...a place to buy more drinks with a cover charge really and a chance to watch a great deal of drunken people making a mess. However, it was nice to finally stay out longer than 1am and spend some more time with Bryan and Javier (as they were the two left of the group by that point). A calming end to a crazy dancing night. They gave me a ride back to the hostel, and I will say, it's difficult trying to change into PJs and find your bed at 3am in a dorm room, but after being woken up the last two mornings by people with 6am buses, I feel no sympathy for the noise I make coming in.

In spite of (or perhaps even because of) my comfort right now in Antigua, I'm ready to hit the road again. I found a great website this morning for a hostel in Flores (a lake island near Tikal) where the owner listed their favorite hostels in Guatemala. This certainly helps me feel more relieved in travling, knowing some good spots to stay for cheap. My tentative plan right now is:

*get up to Flores tomorrow about 6pm
*book my room and hang out in town for the night
*go to Tikal on Sunday
*see about renting a tent and camp in Tikal
*get up early and explore the morning wildlife at Tikal (which I hear is the best)
*possibly spend more time in Flores
*very slowly make my way down the Atlantic Coast, stopping at Rio Dulce (a pretty river/port) and Livingston (a rasta town right on the beach, only accessible by boat)
*fly home

We'll see what happens though - there's a lot I feel like I'm missing (namely, Semuc Champey, the place where you can swim through the caves) so if I have time I'd like to try and fit more in...but on the same hand, it might be nice just to allow myself extra days on the beach and not worry about seeing it all. Not to mention, we've seen what happens when I try to make plans. :D