Asked the previous night for an early morning call, so that we would have plenty of time to go up the volcano. Not unexpectedly, it didn’t arrive, + we weren’t able to rouse ourselves till 9. Also, it was a pretty unpleasant morning, grey + damp, so we decided to postpone our trip by a day. Antigua is a very difficult place to leave – the atmosphere grows on you, so that you feel more + more at home. We decided to go first to the tourist office in town, + then visit the hot springs a few miles out, but by the time we roused ourselves, + had the splendid + extremely cheap breakfast that the posada provides, the tourism office was shut, so we sat around in the square for an hour or two, until it opened at 2, planning to take in the hot springs in the afternoon. The guy in the tourism office was friendly, but not really encouraging about the springs, warning us to be very careful about thieves. This warning didn’t deter us from going, but did persuade us to leave our camera behind.
We went to the bus station near the market, + were directed onto a minibus, which took us out to San Luis, a small village near the springs. This left us with a short walk, but it was by no means unpleasant, with some beautiful scenery. The springs themselves were rather surprising, since they’d been organised in an efficient, tho’ hardly natural fashion, with private baths, as well as a swimming pool. The water was only warm, + a bit on the dirty side, but we had a pleasant ten minutes or so swimming. My swimming is improving, but I still find it a rather boring activity, + I think Val thinks much the same, so we didn’t stay long. We decided to walk back – it was quite a way, but the weather had improved much, so very nice. Ah! I knew I’d forgotten something from our morning. We spent much of it in the market, spending a small fortune on a large blanket, 3 pairs of cotton trousers, a pair of sandals, + a hat (the latter 2 for Val.)
In the evening, we ate yet another marvellous meal, this time at the Posada, + spent the evening in the Galeria (where else?) playing cards + backgammon till very late.
No photos of the hot springs, for the reason identified above, but a contemporary photo of our Guatemalan blanket, still used on a regular basis. And another relaxed, non-travelling day, enjoying the familiarity and home comforts of Antigua.
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