Antigua, Saturday

1645 Sitting in hostel garden - it's overcast and gloomy and a bit cool but seems better than sitting in my room for now.

Felt OK this morning, not really rough. Got up about 930 and had breakfast here.

Went over to Cerro de la Cruz; I had come within 50 metres of the stairs up the other day, if only I'd known. I managed to get some details on the web before heading out.

I didn't count the steps but I think the sign said 333. The walk up was fine, I saw a few police and it wasn't a big strain. Pretty warm - I was wearing long sleeved T-shirt and no fleece - but occasionally a very refreshing breeze came on.

View from top very nice; I hung around up there for maybe 30-60 mins, partly lost in (pleasant) thought before coming back down. It was very sunny and warm, though a few clouds which meant I couldn't see the peak of Agua. Might go up there earlyish one day at some point - probably on a subsequent visit to Antigua.

I then went to see if I could find the free art gallery recommended by guide book on IIRC 4a oriente. I couldn't, but I was very politely accosted by a Guatemalan chap called Mario as I looked for it. He said he was a teacher in a small school in a rural area and had come into Antigua for some sort of subsidised dental treatment (he did have terrible teeth, all at weird angles and with big gaps; I didn't ask why). He had been in the US for 4 years so spoke excellent English. Said he was 48. I was a touch put out by all this, but we were in reasonably busy streets in the safe central area. Anyway, he took me over to the San Francisco church and told me about St Pedro. We were going to go for a coffee before he had to get his bus at 3 but - not totally unexpectedly - he asked me to give him some money to help him out instead of buying him a coffee. I felt slightly played but TBH the prospect of a touch had been at the back of my mind all along, while I did half hope he was telling the truth when he said he wanted to practice his English at the start of our conversation. I offered him Q50 but when we got near the main square a bit later it turned out I only had Q45 and a 100 note, so I gave him the 45. At which point he asked me to help him out further, and I quite firmly said I couldn't spare any more. He said some stuff about how he wasn't a beggar (not angrily) and I said some consolatory stuff and we parted amicably.

For all I know he is a regular site on the streets of Antigua telling this tale; insofar as it matters I am inclined to believe him. I sort of figured the conversation and the mini tour guide stuff was worth 45, for all that's not a negligible sum. I can't be sure but I think we spent an hour or so together.

We mostly spoke English but we did do a bit of Spanish when I told him I had been studying it; he was very complementary about my Spanish (and he said I looked about 35), but then he would be if he was after money, wouldn't he?

After the I bought a bottle of diet orange drink in a hole in the wall shop and wandered around vaguely hoping to find that library with the textile or ceramic exhibit; I had found the address earlier (maybe last night) but had forgotten it. I didn't find it, though I didn't try that hard. I was keeping an eye out for a cheap eatery; I eventually decided to go for the menu al dia at El Faro, and had a pretty decent portion of grilled chicken with rice, cooked vegetables and a couple of tortillas and some still red soft drink I couldn't identify (I wasn't given a choice, and the waiter may have told me what it was but I didn't catch it) for Q25, which was very reasonable - I made it 35 with tip which was perhaps excessive, but WTF, still cheap. (My current tipping function is max(10%, Q10); I may possibly ask Spanish teacher for advice on this.) Was motivated to go cheap partly to offset the expense of giving away that 45.

I then wandered over to a slightly strange supermarket I'd seen on Google Maps on the street 'behind' Casa de las Mixtas and bought 4 rather ratty looking bananas and a 600ml bottle of diet coke for about Q8. I think about Q6 of that was the coke. I have been eating some vegetables with the meals but I thought the bananas might be a good idea to notch up more fruit & veg consumption. When I say the supermarket was slightly strange, I mean it seemed to sell a surprising amount of 'hardware store' stuff and not as much in the way of food as I'd have expected. I toyed with getting a big bag of crisps but decided to be healthy; I'm sure there will be lots of other opportunities to dine on crap like that in the future.

Was disappointed to be charged Q0.20 for a plastic bag; I'd hoped this nonsense wouldn't have made its way over here. The only consolation is that I did semi-need another plastic bag; despite bringing quite a few I was finding myself slightly short of them when shuffling stuff round in my bag.

Came back to hostel and spent a bit of time in room. My plan - formed this morning in bed - is to have a quiet night in, sort out a hostel in Panajachel and just surf the web a bit. I will probably go to Snug/Travel Menu tomorrow evening - Jason told me there's live music 4-9 Sun which is very good, I think guide book mentions this and says it is in Snug but I can't seriously believe any musicians would fit. That way I won't be overdoing my visits there, my liver can have a bit of a rest and although I felt fine this morning anyway the fact I have to check out Mon morning will help avoid any temptation to drink too much.

I hope - I think not in vain - that I can get a shuttle to Panajachel at more or less any time. It's about 2.5 hours to get there, so if I leave at midday ish (I think checkout is midday here) I can have breakfast at this hostel, pack without rushing and be at the hostel in Pana before dark. I think the shuttles offer a door to door service; I could probably save money getting a 'chicken' bus, but a) I'm reluctant to do that on safety grounds, though I get the impression it's probably fiene b) I happened to note when reading up on Pana in guide book just now prior to seeking a hostel that you have to get a bus to some junction and change, which sounds a bit of a faff c) I will probably experience a chicken bus at least one out of semi-necessity, perhaps on a day trip when I'm not taking all my belongings and feel correspondingly bolder d) given my general safety wussiness the door to door service sounds good. The shuttle will probably cost about 11 quid which isn't terribly expensive; I am trying to keep costs down but I also don't want to compromise too much to save a few quid here and there.

If the laundry opposite is open tomorrow I may take a load of clothes in then; I don't know if I'll have a private bathroom in Pana but for the money involved I might as well get everything cleaned 'properly' while I have this trusted and cheap laundry right opposite.

It feels a bit of a shame to spend Saturday night in my room, but now that I see it's possible to meet people etc after last night (there's obviously an element of luck, but still) I feel a bit less pressing need to socialise, and I don't want to wear out my welcome and my own 'interest' in Snug/Travel Menu by going there three nights in a row. Yes I could wander round and see what else I can find, but I want to save money and my liver and *if* I spend a significant amount of time in Antigua later I can investigate other bars then (Jason mentioned something about one place which has several bars under one roof; can't remember name but obviously there's guide book and the web and good old serendipity, which is how last night worked despite the place being in the guide book) and if I am only back here for a few days I can either try looking for something else or go to Snug/Travel Menu as a decent known good option without it being boring.

In some sense it was of course 'obvious' that I could meet people in bars, but I think I needed to have it confirmed by experience before I could really 'believe' it - it's been over 4 years since my last trip and maybe things had changed (e.g. due to me being older), unlikely as that seemed to really be the case.

It's 1720 now incidentally and been writing this - on Priv, of course - mostly continuously, so that gives an idea how long it takes me to write this stuff.

I have what is probably a mosquito bite on my upper right arm where even a short-sleeved T-shirt would cover it (I can tell because of the mild sunburn...) This is mildly worrying; I had hoped clothes would protect from bites, but presumably this is a downside of breathable fabrics, or maybe I got this bite while I was in bed T-shirtless. I am generally not putting insect repellent on - I do a bit sometimes but I am not vey consistent. I don't really think I'm taking insane risks here, and it's not like I am getting a lot of bites - unless properly applied repellent stops *all* bites, I am probably not increasing my risk of getting something nasty by carrying on like this.

1741 Still in garden, though going in shortly as getting dark. Have booked a private room with bathroom in Panajachel for Mon-Thu nights via booking.com - slightly deceptive price quoted didn't include 22% of various taxes, but I think it works out about £12/night even after that, which isn't too shabby. I am paying about £11/night here with a shared bathroom. I should probably have booked earlier, I couldn't help feeling pressured by the 'only 2 rooms left' sort of shit on the booking site. I mean worse comes to worst I will stay in a dormitory or have an expensive room or whatever. I didn't see any option for a cheaper private room with shared bathroom. I checked hostelworld but they only had two places with private rooms and both were more expensive than this place on booking.com. Mildly confusing that when you type in panajachel on booking.com it offers several different places to choose in the drop-down, all in Guatemala, so I wonder if maybe I missed out on some places due to them being filed in a different city in the db, even though they're all really in same city.

But it's fine. I don't need the absolute best deal on accommodation, I need something cheap and decent and I think I've got that.

I did wonder if four nights/three full days in Pana would be excessive, but apart from trying not to hare around too much, there is always the possibility of paragliding and I think there will be lots of tour operators etc so I can probably do a hike of some kind from there. Guide book says most people move on fairly rapidly, but I don't think staying there for four nights is really too long. I'd only have cut it down by 1 night at most, and it's not worth getting overly exercised about a single night.

I could have had a dorm bed (since I didn't click through I don't know how many beds per room) for under £5 a night. Call it £4 and so let's say I'm paying roughly £8 a night extra for the luxury of a private room; over the 70ish day trip, that's £560 extra. That doesn't sound too extravagant, and while I may be missing out on some forced socialisation as a result (and I may just experiment with a dormitory once or twice, but I don't know) it does make me feel a hell of a lot more relaxed.

I will withdraw some more cash tomorrow. I need approximately Q500 cash to pay the hotel on arrival, and I want to have enough in handy for a day or two's expenses as well in case I have ATM troubles.

Cleaning out my pocket, I find the supermarket is La Bodegona, coke was 6.50 and 0.87lbs of banano criollo was 1.70.

1833 Altitude of Pana is a hair under 1600m; Quetzaltenango is 2300mish. So probably neither of them will help much re acclimatisation, but particularly not Pana. Not a problem as such, but noting it while I have the figures in my head.

Poking around briefly on the web - it's hard to know what you can trust, of course - it looks like once you go above 1500m there is an effect from reduced oxygen in air, so being at 2300m probably does help acclimatisation. Acclimatisation takes 3-6 weeks IIRC.

Oh, while I remember, Mario did recommend some sort of very Guatemalan turkey stew dish called something like Kikik. I will keep an eye out for it anyway.

2246 In bed. Sort of tired. Watched some stuff on Youtube. Half-decent jazz coming quite loudly from somewhere nearby but not tempted to go out and try to find it.

FWIW my mum was able to call me on the Three mobile number earlier - this had not worked the day I arrived. I wasn't able to return the call though.

Antigua, Friday night

2338 Back at hostel. Things worked out astoundingly well, all things considered.

Went to Mono Loco. Very US Sports Bar esque. Probably my fault for ordering draught but had a Wrought Iron IPA - nice enough - and they charged me 44 quetzales. I nursed it while watching some incomprehensible baseball and feeling I ought to leave a tip I shoved 5 under the menu before I left.

It was raining so I went into Sin Something next door. 30 for a bottle of moza which I nursed while watching a grainy analogue ESPN feed otherwise identical to what I'd seen in Mono Loco.

Wandering round the corner I stumbled on some pretty decent live blues at Travel Menu. I went in, sat at the bar and a Californian guy called Jason had a brief chat with me - nothing major but he instigated it and I was grateful. Stayed til the music finished about 2230, during that time bar owner Rory (Irish, but been everywhere and married to a Guatemalan) chatted with me and mentioned - as had Jason - the related Irish bar Snug next door. So I went over there about 2245ish. It was truly tiny,  but pretty cool. Had a brief chat with Jason, spoke a bit with Rory and a Guatemalan guy called Josue (*not* Jose) married to a Kansas woman was nice enough to speak to me in Spanish.

The cops raided the place about 2315 - I had read in guidebook the law said close at 0100 but various people had told me 2300 was significant - so we had to leave. Rory told me about a bar open late across parque central which was very official, but no one else was going there and I was/am pleasantly drunk so I said I'd leave it. Walked home and there were a few people on streets and it felt OK. Spoke to a few ppl tonight re safety and although a bit inconsistent advice seemed to be that up to about 0030 a bloke who wasn't staggering around pissed was safe.

So right now I'm a bit pissed but not terribly so. Will probably go back to Snug tomorrow 7-8ish and assume it's friendly enough I can have a chat, and Jason said Travel Menu has great music 4-9ish Sun so prob go back then. In some ways maybe I was/am a drunk idiot but nothing terrible and it's nice to have conversation and feel there's somewhere to go next time I return here.

Antigua, Friday

1349 On terrace at Casa de las Mixtas, just met my Spanish teacher, which went well. Am going to hang on here for another half hour or so then go up Cerro de la Cruz; she says it is safe, there are police along the route (up to 4pm) and she goes there a lot. She also confirmed what the receptionist told me about not being safe to work in las orillas but here is OK.

Incidentally I just got a diet coke and it seems here the diet coke bottles (well, Light) are red. I thought I'd got a full-fat one at first. So maybe I did get a diet one in Travel Menu the other day too. (Maybe it's red in the UK too, but I think it's silver/grey.)

Other things I asked her about or which came up:

- her daughter went up Volcan de Agua the other year with a group of about 20, accompanied by six soldiers (a sort of favour from someone who had connections with the army, I think), but it is indeed not generally safe. I asked about the bandits and they are 'poor bandits', so to speak, robbing the few groups of (probably in large part locals) kids who go up there as a kind of way to survive, not making a lot of money from it.

- the 'police' I had seen on street corners with collecting tins are actually firemen, which is mildly more reassuring

- it is a low-ish season for tourists here, it picks up in December and it gets busy in January

- local school/university "long vacation" starts now-ish or November-ish (this presumably being the analogue for the UK summer vacation in August-ish)

- I should try to copy the other person's use of usted vs tu, there is no harm going in with usted in general

- I should reply to 'que tal' with 'I am good, que tal' - it does require an answer (albeit a standard one), not just repeating the question back

- it's fine to say 'disculpe, senor' or similar after bumping into someone on the street, some people are rude and wouldn't say that but some would

- 'buen dia' is correct but so is 'buenos dias' and the latter is more common, it is very rare to make an equivalent shortening with tardes or noches, so I'll just stick with buenos dias

- she is a keen follower of news and hadn't heard about the incident the guy in The Londoner (I walked past today and finally remembered its precise name) which is reassuring; she said she'd see if she could find anything about it.

My arms are mildly sunburned from yesterday (I was too lazy to put cream on them when I took my fleece off; I had done my head before leaving the hostel) but not too bad. I am wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt today anyway; mixed feelings on whether it's good for comfort, in part because my arms hurt a little bit from e.g. contact with table due to the mild burn.

I might come back here to eat after I come down from CdlC. They shut at six, but if I need to be off the hill by four that's fine. I'd quite like to try eating here and they are shut on the weekend (which is strangely charming) and although I'll almost certainly be back here for a few days or longer later I am leaving on Monday so this is my last chance to eat here this time. I think they're quite cheap and I happened to see some reviews on Google Maps when checking location of the place this morning and the reviews suggested the portions were biggish.

Two people just passed me and said 'have a good meal'; slightly odd as I'm not eating and didn't know them, but whatever.

Feel a bit jittery but I think it's the two coffees and the diet coke.

Woke up before my 0925 alarm; was awake for a while before checking time and I think then it was about 0830 so I woke up fairly early but stayed in bed til my bladder dictated otherwise (one of the downsides of a shared bathroom). So had breakfast at the hostel about 930ish - there was one other group eating there today - before hanging around a bit before coming out to meet my teacher. Was thinking yet again that I need to relax and just take things easy.

1541 Back at Cdlm. Ordered plato mixto, a bit pricey at 50 but OK. Comes with chirmol which wasn't in dictionary but I asked and it's some kind of tomato salsa, but it's on the side so I think that will be OK. I tried to go to CdlC but although I saw the lookout point and the cross from below, I couldn't find the path up - I asked one woman but she told me to go down that way and ask someone else. I got a bit edgy in case I was wandering off the tourist path and might be at risk, so I ditched it. I'll have a poke at the guidebook and/or the web and give it another go tomorrow.

Went for a bit of a walk, taking in more of the centre - I'd been very constrained before, for no really good reason, so not a bad afternoon in a relaxed way. Did go past Mono Loco, it didn't look super inviting but I'll probably go over there anyway 6-630ish and see what it's like. If I just have a few beers there or elsewhere (a bit like last night) and go home 9 or 10ish no big deal.

1753 Been back at hostel a while, we had some modest rain but seems to have stopped now. Dinner was pretty good, 55 for the food and a coffee, I made it 70 which is perhaps OTT but never mind. Plan to go out shortly so will send this now.

Had a shower, as always the suicide shower doesn't seem to do more than take the chill off the water but it's OK, it's not as if the weather is particularly cold. Temperature seems to be hovering round about 20C in general, it's pleasant verging on overly warm when the sun's fully out.

Antigua, Thursday night

1920 In Txirrinta. Went to that London bar in 6a Norte. Got charged 27 for a draught gallo (speaking English; seems to be that sort of place) which apart from being pricey didn't agree with any of the prices shown on the big price list (it was more). Live music was on but I didn't feel comfortable sitting there at the bar listening on my own. Dug phone out, as I obviously am here, old habits die hard.

Eavesdropped on conversation of possibly Canadian guy up the bar who had lived here 1.5 years if I got it right - he started in English and switched to Spanish - telling how he had been robbed at gunpoint by three guys who pulled up in a car when he was 50 yards from his front gate. TBH not sure if this was here in Antigua or GC. It wasn't clear. Maybe I should have used this as an excuse to horn in on the conversation but I wasn't sure if that would be appropriate.

Apparently they had robbed three or so other foreigners but he was the only one willing to press charges.

Anyway, just charged 15 for a draught Moza here. Possibly smaller but still better.

Oh, it's pissing it down. I came out *anyway* because I have to get out a bit or I'll go nuts. Thunder, lightning.

Might try some other bars another night. Obviously Thursday may not be a great night - this place is empty except for group of women and the London place was mostly a few people who all seemed to know each other sitting at the bar. Meh. I'll crack it eventually.

Place next door had quite lively live music but I was reluctant to dive in through the door out of the rain when I have no idea what sort of place it is. In my head it feels like midnight, but of course it's still very early. Women just left, think it's just me and barmaid for the moment.

I thought I had a glasses cleaning cloth in my pocket but I can't find it. May have left it in room when I swapped trousers for laundry. They're not expensive, but it always annoys me how quickly they get lost out of my pocket, and I only brought one.

It wasn't lost on me when I decided to abandon the London bar that this place is en route to the hostel. Not saying I won't go back to that bar, but I'd prefer not to be paying near London prices and I'll try some other places first. I did actually see two other people who might be guests at my hostel this afternoon - shock! - but I don't hold out much hope of getting into a chat there.

Ah, cheery. Just noticed a photo on the wall with a banner above it saying: "How to smash neoliberalism: A photo exploration of life in Guatemala". I don't know if I'm actually a neoliberal - frankly the 'neo' prefix seems more pejorative than anything anyone would actually describe themself as - but this plus the anarchofeminism poster gives me a sort of feeling this isn't quite my kind of place. OTOH except for being deserted it seems quite a nice place, and while I have a low tolerance for being harangued by ideologues I'm not really all that political a person.

It's vaguely tempting to try some other bar but I don't fancy wandering round in the pouring rain chancing my arm. I had these two bars half scoped out from previous wanderings during the day. I think I might have one more here then call it a night. I have no super pressing plans for my remaining time here - I am meeting my Spanish teacher tomorrow afternoon, I would like to walk up Cerro de la Cruz if it's safe (will see what she says; also may go Sat afternoon when I'd hope it will be super busy) and I need to book a hostel and transport to my next place - probably Pana, for maybe 3 nights to start with and then I can see if I want to move on or extend my stay - but given I am booked here til Monday morning this is hardly an overly full schedule, so I can afford to spend an hour or so seeking out other bars tomorrow afternoon.

Maybe I'm wrong - I can't quite call it bravado - but I can't help feeling if I were mugged at gunpoint (or, I suppose, with no gun) I'd regret the loss of my phone more than the incident itself. But on the other hand I'm glad I didn't succumb to my inclination to leave it back at the hostel tonight. Yeah, playing with it is bad for being open to meeting people, but tonight hasn't felt like there was much chance of that anyway and I'd have been sat around like a chump without it. Then again, maybe I should do that, just for the hell of it, and not worry about looking like a chump. On the third hand, there have to be other people around before you can meet them, a criteria this bar singularly fails to meet and I'm a bit dubious there was much potential in the London place. In hindsight I should probably have butted in on armed robbery guy; if he'd told me to fuck off not the end of the world. OT4H, I sort of didn't want someone filling my head with more disturbing shit.

Oh, I did stumble across a library earlier which seemed to have some exhibition of - and I appreciate this undermines my declaration of interest - neotextiles or neoceramics or something like that from today for n weeks. I should try to check that out while I'm here.

You know, I'm going to leave here after this beer. I'll try to us their bogs, then if I spot anything even remotely promising on the way home I'll dive in and chance it - I can't be ripped off too heavily for one beer, I guess. And if I don't see anywhere it's more I can drink another night anyway.

2015 Back at hostel. Saw one place that looked mildly lively but while I was dithering trying to decide if it was a restaurant or a bar I collided with some people on the pavement and decided to give it a miss. Saw quite a few other places which looked empty and can hardly believe they were open. Meh. If it's not happening it's not happening, cut my losses and save myself for another night. I may steel myself to check out some of the places recommended in the guidebook tomorrow night. I half wonder if it's a bit 'low season' now and while there's no shortage of tourists exactly, maybe the numbers are low enough that they're spread thinly over the bars.

Guidebook implies locals from GC visit here at the weekend, which might be good for liveliness but probably isn't helpful for prospects of a chat as I'm sure they come in groups. But hey, at least I made an effort tonight and it was good to have a couple of beers.

Oh, there were 'goodnight white pride' and 'antifascista' stickers on the mirror in the bogs in Txiwhatsit. Again, not really my cup of tea. (It's not so much that I'm in favour of what these things nominally oppose, as that a certain arsey opposition to these things rubs me up the wrong way in itself.) Also, unless I have vastly misperceived the demographics, I find it hard to believe 'white pride' is a serious issue in Guatemala - maybe it is, but this feels like a tedious importing of US-ish social concerns because they go with a certain political frame of mind. Meh.

I probably exaggerate when I say pissing it down. It's raining and moderately heavily but I'm not soaked to the skin or anything. Can hear it on roof of my room but not unpleasantly so.

It's too damn early really but given the early start I may just go clean my teeth and go to bed, or at least bed-ish.

I have frequently considered and dismissed the idea of bringing a second semi-disposable smartphone with me. TBH it has renewed appeal thinking about the mugging thing. I wouldn't need to have a SIM in it, so I could leave my valuable UK SIM in the main phone back at hostel - I could still call 999 equiv from semi-disposable and read offline books etc. It's not like the weight would kill me either. TBH the biggest objection right now seems to be the potential for shit with customs on arrival; I didn't pay that much attention, having only one phone, but ISTR something about one phone per person on the Guatemalan customs form, for example.

I remembered in the minibus today that on the way over from airport to Antigua, as I struggled to dislodge the seatbelt from the back of the seat, the metal buckle thwacked rather violently against the window. Luckily it didn't shatter but I spent a fair few minutes during the journey thinking how fucking awkward it would have been if it had.

It's 2052 but WTF, let's sort of go to bed. Fingers crossed I can be up for breakfast tomorrow.

Antigua, Thursday

1509 So I did the 'wake up early and lie in bed wondering what time it is but not looking at phone to see in case I don't like the answer' thing this morning, but I woke up an indeterminate amount of time before the first alarm went off at 0525. I did have to go get the chap from the garden to let me out so it's a good job I asked yesterday.

On bus over to Pacaya noticed one town with what I assume to be a storm drain down one side of the road, and all the houses had a little bridge across it to get to the road. Wemmick would have loved it. :-)

Pacaya was actually pretty cool. The sign said it was a 'medium' difficulty; that might be helpful if I ever see the difficulty of anything else. I think we started from about 1900m and walked up to 2300m-ish; I was heartened to see it was sub-2500m as I understand you don't get proper altitude sickness below that.

When we set off uphill I felt a bit strained - probably just the normal "I am walking uphill" feeling, but it worried me briefly. It wasn't a trivial effort to do the walk but nor did it feel ridiculously challenging, which was good. I did feel a bit tired with all the walking up and down, but just kept plodding on and it was fine.

A bit hot but overall I think we were lucky with the weather; it wasn't wet and there wasn't too much cloud, though cloud levels increased a bit over the few hours we were there.

The physical high point had great views of the actual volcano cone (Cono Mckinley? I have a photo of the name but can't be sure I have remembered it correctly) and the three nearby volcanoes (Agua, Acatenango and Fuego, IIRC). You could see smoke coming off the sides and - though it was pretty subtle - thin red streaks of lava making their way down. We then walked down into the area below where ash and volcanic rock had collected; in many ways the view of the cone from there was more impressive.

The rocks were very loose and sharp and care was needed not to fall over; I had a couple of iffy moments but apart from a tiny cut at the base of my right thumb I mostly escaped unscathed. As you got nearer to the cone the rocks you were walking on did get noticeably warmer; I thought it was the weather getting warmer at first.

We did the toasting marshmallows over the hot rocks thing; there was no actual red lava there but the guide said there probably would be a few metres below, as this stuff had only come out of the volcano about three weeks ago.

Incidentally, I asked the guide about Agua; he said it's dormant but it is not a national park, there are no trails or guards or anything and it's dangerous because of bandits (not nature). This confirms my researches the other day. I do wonder exactly what these bandits *do* - can there really be enough people to rob there? But I didn't ask that.

Kept nodding off on the bus home. We seemed to go pretty fast at times, not terrifyingly so but the idea of an accident did cross my mind.

I tipped the two guides Q10 each; not sure this was necessary but they seemed decent enough chaps and didn't want to be unnecessarily cheap. It was a pretty frugal trip all in, at 60 for the bus and 50 for entry to the park, with the guides getting paid out of one of those.

Came back to hostel, had a shower and took some clothes out to laundry opposite - I was a bit of an arse and asked if they could wash at 30C and not dry them at a high heat (cos I'm worried about shrinking them) but we'll see. Q12.something, which isn't bad, and I can collect at 5:30 today apparently.

Went out to have some lunch/dinner, stumbled on a place called something like Sol de Oriente just down from hostel. A bit put off by MoS coming out to tout, but the price looked good - Q35 for the economy menu. I had pollo asado (grilled/roast chicken - hard to say which, maybe grilled) with cooked vegetables, a bit of rice and some tortillas. And a glass of non-sparkling lemonade, which was very nice. The portion wasn't that large but all in all not bad. I tipped Q10, wondered if that was excessive but meh, still cheap-ish.

When I got back to hostel just now I asked the woman on the desk about safety. She said (paraphrasing slightly) it was OK to walk in the central bit, but not the suburbs ("orillas"; I am assuming my translation is good without checking). So I think I'm OK to walk to those more-central-than-the-hostel bars a few blocks away, but if I wanted to go - not sure if there is anything there - to some bar out further from the centre walking would probably be foolish. Of course I may get mugged anyway but have to give it a go.

Plan is to head out 6-630ish, try a couple of places that might have live music (always fun and something to 'do' which isn't fiddling with my phone), have a few but not loads of beers (I may want to go out Fri/Sat too) and if I can strike up a conversation with someone that's a valuable bonus.

Antigua, Wednesday

0922 Slept surprisingly well. Woke up and it was light and I wondered if the alarm hadn't gone off, but decided not to force things and if I'd overslept sod it. Lay awake for what felt like ages, then my optimistic 8:45 alarm went off and I was surprised. I felt tired then, of course.

Didn't want to get up and face the awful chores of breakfast and sorting out some kind of trip, but I did. I'm in the hostel garden where there is a kitchen out the back waiting for the free breakfast; I have the entire place to myself except for staff, so no social difficulties. If I'd known the breakfast was in the garden I'd have worn my fleece - I just have a T-shirt on - but it's not really cold.

In theory am meeting my Spanish teacher at some point but WhatsApp isn't playing ball in terms of allowing me to contact her - I suspect some international-ish glitch with the phone number she gave me. Think after breakfast will go back to room and have a brief read up on web/guide book re the least demanding of the nearby walks and then steel myself to go out and talk to a couple of tour agencies. Finding one isn't hard, you can't throw a stone without hitting one, but I just find this super-disagreeablee for reasons I am struggling to articulate.

Notwithstanding the 'what exactly am I going to do' and 'I have to talk to tour companies' feeling I feel OK. Not super energised or excited for the opportunities ahead, but hey, it's something. Feel surprisingly unhungry after not eating since the flights and that in the last 24h being primarily 500g of fruit and nuts - yes, in raw calorie terms that 500g is more than enough for a day, but I might have expected to feel hungry anyway. Not complaining, just noting.

Need to bear in mind my "don't rush myself" rule. If I get sod all done today it's OK; I probably will get something done anyway. Only if I do nothing for a few days do I need to worry.

OK, breakfast pretty good. You have a few choices, I picked the one named after the hostel as it didn't have beans. :-) (I wonder if these are maybe refried beans, not baked beans, but not chancing it just now...) Coffee, bread roll, few slices watermelon, Mexican-style scrambled eggs (my name; they just say 'eggs') and a pancake with syrup. Not enough to live solely off the breakfast but certainly good for being included with room. Will loiter here with second cup of coffee and start reading up on tours and safety.

Right. The actual guide book says fuck all about visiting any of the three adjacent volcanoes, beyond really naming them. I think I will try to memorise their names (so I can distinguish walks up them vs trips to other places on the signs outside tour agencies), have a quick check of the safety advice then go wander out and brave the agencies. I'll just do a couple and refuse to buy anything straight away. I'm virtually certain at least one of them is - safety permitting - a half day up and down job, based on stuff I read before I came, which seems an acceptable place to start.

1039 Re-read F&CO site and it seems a touch less scary now.

The three local volcanoes are Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. There is also Pacaya which is nearer to Guatemala City but is (we're not that far away) sort of local. According to wikitravel (not sure how much I trust it but have to start somewhere) Agua is very dangerous (due to humans) and no reputable companies go there. Acatenango is a stiff one-day hike or you can overnight there, which allows you to (sometimes) see the active Fuego volcano at night. I couldn't see it stated explicitly but I assume you can't go up Fuego as it's too active or at least at risk of being active. Pacaya is the 'easy' one.

As semi-confirmation of this, there's a sign in English advertising numerous tours and transfers here in my room and it lists Pacaya and Acatenango but not Fuego or Agua.

There is also Cerro de la Cruz on the edge of town; I'd want some confirmation but wikitravel says there is a police presence there during the day so I could probably trog up there solo. Maybe worth paying attention to when looking for tour agencies.

Further poke around leads to highly confusing advice on CdlC; sites seem to disagree whether there's a periodic police escort or that's discontinued and replaced by regular patrols. I am not going up today anyway, I may ask eg at the hostel desk (but not until I've sorted Pacaya as I don't want the hostel selling me a Pacaya tour until I've had a chance to shop round).

I may do Acatenango but definitely best to at least do Pacaya first. Maybe there's even an element of acclimatisation which would make it better done after I've spent time in a higher part of the country - I've obviously only been here a day and it's only 1500m (maybe less, can't remember precisely) here anyway.

1232 In Txirrinta (on 7a Norte??) having a Moza beer (dark, draught). Q15 for one, 25 for two - as it's day and I'm on a tight medical alcohol budget just having the one. Looks bigger than a half pint but not a pint; they didn't say a size and I didn't ask. Tastes OK.

Passed that London bar on 6a Norte; they have live music from 6 today so maybe they will tomorrow. If I can crack the taxi home/walking home safety option that might be a plan for Thursday night.

Went into a couple of tour agencies near hostel. Very limited fuss. Q60 or Q80 for half day tour to Pacaya, choice of 6am or 2pm. Am toying - came in here to sit and null - with 6am tour tomorrow. Spanish teacher will probably meet me tomorrow so could do it after.

Yawning my head off all morning; not sure why since it's not late in UK and I slept well. Meh.

Not planning to go out tonight given a) yawning b) possible 6am tour. This also puts overindulgence off for another day.

They do Hoegaarden here at Q30, menu says draft is Q15 with a star, indicating that's happy hour 3pm-7pm. Doesn't say how big the standard beer is, or how strong anything is.

Can't remember if I used usted form with barmaid (who, not that it usually guides me, looks my age ish), which I am trying to do but not sure if right. Perhaps ask Spanish teacher about this, though I never seem to get a clear answer. Maybe using tu comes across as refreshingly informal from an obvious foreigner, though equally it may come across as rude or unthinking, or maybe no one cares from a foreigner.

Let's stop writing this shit and mull over the 6am tour so I can go book. I am assuming there's no strong price-quality correlation and they are all just reselling a few underlying tour services. There's a Q50 charge to get in as well, but both the ones I asked had that. Something on web said you don't save money going on your own anyway as regulations require you to have a guide and their fee is the same for 1 or 12 people.

Ah, sign on the wall has Moza at 5% but says Q18; I might guess that's a bottle, but let's assume the draught is the same strength. Still no idea what size this glass actually is.

There's a "conservatorio" (discussion group?) on anarcho-feminism and punk here Saturday from 4:30-8. I'll have to go along.

I noted on the ads in GC yesterday and see again here the health warning on beer ads here just says (translating) "the consumption of this product causes serious damage to health" . No "excess consumption" or "abuse" here; it is simply damaging. Let's party!

Oh. I wandered round what I think was Templo de la Merced as I was passing. Quite an impressive building. A sign in the entrance says that brides and "quinceaneras" (debutantes as a rough translation?) are not permitted to pose for photos in the church. And you're not allowed to light rainbow candles in the candle-burning-stand-things. I also learned the difference between the doctrines of virgin birth and immaculate conception. Who says travel doesn't broaden the mind?

Was sure I was going to mention something else but can't think of it now.

Oh yeah. Having today paid attention to the travel agent signs and picked up a leaflet or two at those places I spoke to, while it's not necessarily the best idea, it looks like you *could* use Antigua as a base and see quite a bit of the country. I noted two-day tours to Flores/Tikal, which I had been a bit worried about in terms of safety, so while I may or may not go and may or may not go alone, this is always an option. Similarly, while I think I will move over to Pana and Lake Atitlan from here and stay there for a bit and see what I can do in terms of activities, it is possible to get tours leaving from and returning to here.

This does make me think that (not saying this is entirely a sequitur...) what I might do in terms of Spanish schools is travel on for maybe three weeks total without worrying about it. If I find somewhere I like - and I'd really rather not study here in Antigua if I can help it, rationally or otherwise - I can stay there, but if all else fails I could spend 2-4 weeks here in Antigua studying while getting in some tours so see some other bits of the country.

Nearly finished this beer, would quite like another but for reasons noted above I will go - will have a few beers Thu/Fri/Sat evening if things work out to plan.

Right, booked the 6am tour. I have to be outside the hostel 15 mins before. So we're probably looking at getting up at 5:30. I'm sure it will be fine, I feel so tired it won't hurt to go to bed early and it rules out temptation to go out for beers tonight. Not that I yet have the transport situation resolved. Txirrinta is about five minutes walks tops from the hostel. I can't even see that you *could* get a taxi in the street outside; maybe it's different at night. I always read stuff about getting the bar to call you a taxi, perhaps it's just failure of imagination on my part but I can't see that happening. Maybe I'll do some web searching on that tonight. It's 1324 now and I've popped back to the hostel. I did feel a tiny bit drunk when I spoke to the tour agency but WTF.

Not really sure what I will do with the rest of the day. Probably try to buy some nuts to sustain me tomorrow if necessary, otherwise the only 'must do' is to get something to eat before it gets dark and I can't be on the streets. I guess I will wander and maybe withdraw a bit of cash and see how it goes.

Oh yeah, I noticed outside the tour agency this morning a photo (of, I think, some other tour) showing a young woman holding a massive black spider. I thought I did well just looking at the photo. But cross that bridge (running and screaming, no doubt) when I come to it. I appreciate the things may not be common even wherever that was but frankly I don't want some fucking guy coming round offering photo ops with one of those...

1400 Completely unable to connect with Spanish teacher on Whatsapp. Of course, because it functions by magic ('add the number to your contacts in your phone, then refresh the contacts list in whatsapp and they will magically appear if they are using whatsapp themselves') it is impossible to debug. I have given her my full internationalised phone number (both the regular number which I think is right, then the temporary number I have the SIM for in the phone now) and she can't find me. She gave me her number in local form and that doesn't work, and nor did it when I tried to internationalise it. So so much better than e-mail - being able to say to someone "my address is foo@bar.com" was just way too simple. I really fucking hate this smart-arsed shit, because when it *doesn't* work you're just fucked.

It occurs to me - as it did earlier - I could possibly have done the tour at 2pm this afternoon. It is sunny right now, don't know if it will last. But I had some vague idea it rains less in the morning. And by the time I got back it would be getting dark and then I'd be trapped at the hostel without being able to go out for dinner. Yes, I'm being a bit bitter because I'm feeling a little bit pissed off at the shitty, inconsistent advice. How the fuck am I meant to call a taxi? I'm a tourist, MY PHONE DOESN'T WORK. Surely this is normal? Mobile phone operators are a bunch of shitty chiselling shysters the world over, aren't they? Not to mention the linguistic issues with booking a taxi over the phone. No one actually seems to say it's not safe to take a taxi from the street, but I am not sure I have actually seen a taxi yet. A few tuktuks (which *someone* did say was maybe not safe) but not loads of them either. And the idea of calling a taxi to take me two minutes round the corner rankles, rationally or otherwise. Plus the idea it's safe to get into a random car just because it has a taxi number painted on the door (unless out-of-service taxis are securely melted down instead of being sold secondhand) whereas it's not safe to walk seems fucking insane.

I also feel a bit bored. What the fuck am I supposed to do this afternoon? I can't do anything I want because of fucking inconsistent safety advice.

One website says I can get a taxi at the central park. But that's (admittedly in the opposite direction) *further* to walk from eg that bar I was at this afternoon than my fucking hostel would be.

Can't help regretting signing up for the 6am thing given the weather seems so nice (verging on too fucking sunny) now. But then again I'd just have been milling around all morning waiting for the 2pm pickup, and it would have stopped me eg going to that bar at 6pm for the live music, if we assume for a moment there is in fact a solution to the transport home problem.

1534 At Travel Menu, ordered chicken curry and a diet coke. Authenticity be fucked. Just ordered in Spanish from a woman I am sure is actually American (she keeps talking to other people) but I am not going to crack first. Got a full fat coke instead of the diet I asked for but fuck it. I'm in a bad mood, I am hoping food will help. I tried to withdraw some more cash. One machine (tried yday too) just didnt work. Another was in a little alcove and some pseudo-homeless guy was calling mildly abusive terms ('estupido' was about the only one I caught) at me so I cancelled transaction without entering PIN. Another machine in a chemist took the card, I dithered too long over amount to withdraw and it timed me out. And then refused to recognise my card at all on multiple reinsertions. Just hope the fucker hasn't been cloned. Guidebook or some random source of half-baked shit advice on the web, I can't remember any more, implies credit cards might work better in ATMs here than debit cards. The problematic one is debit, but it did work at airport. I have both but would prefer to use debit for various reasons if I can.

Just meh to the whole fucking business. Lots of Beatles songs playing here. Sign says live music here, not sure when but FWIW.

Oh, there's ice in the coke. I think I was asked and I think I said to put it in. It's probably fine and I just don't want to be so fucking paranoid. It's in the fucking guide book, I'm sure the ice is sanitary.

I don't feel terrible or anything - apart from yawning - so it's not super obvious my bad mood is due to lack of food, and I don't feel particularly hungry, but I do need to eat today and it will be dark in a few hours etc.

1627 Back at hostel. Still not in a great mood TBH. Curry was OK though could have done with a bit more rice. 57 including pre-calculated tip, in London I would always pay the precise amount if they pre-calculate the tip but I didn't (perhaps because in London I'd be paying on card) so left 60. Not ridiculously expensive or anything but not ultra cheap either. Woman did say something to me in English or I did, so one or both of us cracked. I was vaguely tempted to ask her about the fucking night transport system but she didn't seem overly inclined to stick around and chat and I was a bit worried she'd think I was trying to chat her up.

Found another bank on way back and my card worked. Got 1000 out, partly to see if the fee would go up in proportion; I am not sure it did, but hard to tell. Then stopped into hole in the wall shop to get peanuts on the way back, MoS was chatting to mate at counter and I felt super awkward, I asked if they had any big packets of peanuts and I ended up paying 15 each for two 80g packets. This is actually fucking shite value, I though four and a bit quid for half a kilo in Tesco was pricey, but hey, I've got the fucking things now to shove in my bag to try to avoid being ripped off re food on the tour tomorrow. Of course I had a hundred quid in my pocket so didn't want to get my roll of notes out so I had to hand over a 100 note I pulled out blind; I couldn't check the fucking change and that pissed me off but the guy did give me the right change now I am back at hostel and could check. I suppose at that price he doesn't need to shortchange me.

For second time today someone just tried to come into my room but didn't react when I said 'hola' (and had gone when I opened door earlier today when it happened).

It's way too fucking early but I really don't feel in the mood to wander round the streets and it's a bit late to e.g. pop into some church or museum or something.

I'm just in a bad mood but I'm feeling a bit of a fucking prisoner, not being able to go out after dark. OK, last night I wanted to go to bed early and tonight I semi-want to (am still yawning intermittently though unless bad mood counts I don't feel actively tired) and semi-have to because I signed up for the 6am tour but it's still getting to me. And this is fucking Antigua! What the fuck's going to happen anywhere else?

I have to say that while I don't exactly fancy being mugged, I suspect it's relatively rare and if I just left my phone and camera back at the hostel I could possibly shrug off a mugging without too much pain. This feels a bit desperate, and I'd rather not be out without my phone - though since it can't make calls and I wouldn't really want to be stood in the street checking the map on it maybe it has no real value as such. Meh squared. Just gonna shut the fuck up, might go sit in the garden and read or something while it's still light. Need to remember to have a shower before I go to bed but will do that after dark.

1656 In hostel garden; wish I'd brought my fleece out and a bottle of water but not going back to room just yet. It's not cold, just cool. I note a sign by the kitchen hut saying a litre of Gallo for Q25. It's shut now, maybe that's only for breakfast. :-)

(No one else about. On the one hand I would like to scrape acquaintance with someone, on the other I'm hardly at my sparkling best right now.)

1855 Sunset was about 1745 according to phone, stayed in garden til maybe 1755 - it wasn't all that dark then but came in. Do wonder if I am the only person staying here, actually.

Anyway, in a rare burst of foresight, I just went to check at the front desk I would be able to get out for my tour. Usual woman not there but a chap there said if there was no one at the desk there would be someone in the garden cleaning up from 5 onwards who would be able to let me out. I am a tiny bit apprehensive about this - it's not sunrise til nearly 6am so surely no one is going to be in the garden - but WTF, done what I can and maybe I didn't quite understand - and as I wrote above "*if* there was no one at the desk..." so probably be fine. Worst case is I lose the Q60 I paid for the tour and sort of lose the day, though TBH I could always do a 2pm tour same day.

Need to think about onward travel in a day or two but can leave it for now I think. Not read up much but gut feeling is that I will leave Acatenango with its nominally desirable overnight camping until the end of the trip. I may or may not visit GC but I could easily imagine stopping here for a few days before going on to GC or to the airport and by that point I might be more acclimated. I dunno. On the other hand my last night in this hostel is Sun, I could conceivably leave on Mon for an overnight trip to Acatenango and then move on elsewhere on Tue. Am a bit nervous about the whole camping thing - especially given I am on my own, would they find some poor sod to share a tent with me, I suppose I could ask - but it's not necessarily ruled out. Certainly lots of the tour operators I saw said they supply tent and sleeping bag and I did bring my own sleep sack thingy so that's not necessarily too icky. Meh. Something to think about. I should read up on just how hard and how high it is. I've not had altitude sickness before as such but I was a bit short of breath in La Paz and so forth and maybe hiking is not such a good idea without being acclimatised. OTOH can it really be that hard? I read that young people are actually more likely to suffer from altitude sickness (and I have heard anecdotal evidence to back that up). I should probably just not even think about this kind of stuff and just do it.

Do find myself wondering if I should waste fresh clothes on the trip tomorrow morning, but I suppose in reality it's only an extra T-shirt and set of underwear and I don't know if the laundries will work weekends so I probably want to be taking some clothes in tomorrow afternoon anyway. All my stuff is 'wash at 30, no tumble dry' and I expected to be hand-washing it but I guess I'll just have to chance it; if it shrinks I'll just be fucked.

OK, just done quick Google. Actually found a thread which seemed semi-helpful re Acatenango. Incidentally some mention that some people struggle with Pacaya, but just have to see - that's so vague that you don't know if they're all massively overweight or unfit or something. Anyway, apparently 'most' people feel some altitude sickness on Acatenango trip, key thing is that your tour company doesn't camp at the peak but 3/4 way up and at least one person who seemed to know what they were talking about said they were glad they'd done a lot of hiking eg round Lake Atitlan first and suggested leaving Acatenango til the end of the trip. Or, perhaps, in my case, until I've been at relatively high altitude for 2-3 weeks (making these up) but am about to go somewhere lower for a while and don't want to lose my acclimatisation. I think if nothing else I want to see how Pacaya goes - I half wish I hadn't read some people struggle, but meh - and it's probably prudent to see what happens round Pana/Lake Atitlan and then maybe have a bit more of an informed decision. (Informed about my own capabilities, primarily.)

So Acatenango is ruled out for my current six day stint in Antigua, and now I can plan accordingly.

2051 In bed. Not necessarily going to sleep straight away, but as the mood takes me sort of thing. Feeling OK in general, no longer actively in a bad mood but also not high on life. OTOH I suppose all I've done since I got here is wander round a bit, recover from the flight and prepare to do more interesting stuff. Tomorrow should at least be more actively interesting. (Not that wandering round Iglesia de la Merced wasn't quietly fun, but not the same thing either. It didn't take all that long either, even reading the stories associated with the various statue-sculpturey things round the walls.)

Antigua, Tuesday

1509 Doing what I said I wouldn't and sitting in a cafe (Cafe de Las Mixtas) round corner from hostel and blogging. But it's OK, I'm just killing time before going to bed. Bit tired but not too bad.

Seems quite nice here, Q5 for black coffee and no pressure. Waitress said they have a terrace but it's drizzling so sitting just inside on ground floor. Lots of other places looked a bit fancy and had uniformed waiters etc, one even tried to entice me in from across the street.

Passed some sort of 'London' pub round corner (6 norte?) which might be worth a try if/when I fancy a few beers and try for a chat. Will focus my social and touristic energies on activities first though.

Had big struggle to get cash. Had to chat with one bank online but they had no trace of the failed withdrawal attempts so they say it's the ATM, even tho I tried several. But that's reassuring. I brought different card out and it worked in second ATM, so I have (slightly too much, til I go back to hostel) cash now, which is reassuring too.

But I am glad the ATM worked at the airport; it meant I could pay the hostel bill without any fuss, which takes the pressure off a bit.

Might eat here today or tomorrow, quick poke at menu suggests it is cheap and unpretentious. Especially given desire to get to bed early to make up for flights, I do hope to force myself up by 9ish to have the supposedly good hostel breakfast. That will be economical and keep the spend down and I just may get a chat on with someone as a bonus.

Snapped a few casual photos as went round. It is pretty pretty, and it's cool and weird to have these mist-capped mountains in front of you whichever way you turn on the grid streets. (I am sure it's not that regular, 4 mountains in the 4 directions, but it feels like that from my casual and geographically undirected peregrinations.

It is drizzling but it's OK really, while I think there's more of it, it's like those light London rains that don't really get you very wet very fast. Wearing non-waterproof fleece over a short-sleeved T-shirt and don't feel overly wet or cold or hot.

Music here is sort of ballady Spanish language stuff. It's OK, the language is clear and I can mostly understand, so this is helpful practice in a small way.

Music might be local radio statio Globo Antigua? Just worth checking out if it has a web stream perhaps.

Intermittently reading guide book on phone. This place is in there, it is Casa de las Mixtas. (They do actually have their entry photocopied on the wall, but it's too far off for me to read; however I assume it's same as text in my ebook.) I also see there's tandem paragliding in Panajachel; might be an insurance issue but worth considering.

1604 Slightly bored. Thinking of Ralph McTell's "Streets of London" : "each tea lasts an hour, then he wanders home alone". I've got through two cups in a bit under an hour; my lingering skills are decidedly subpar.

Aha! Data when roaming was disabled - a sensible default but not for the Go Roam case. So while I don't think phone calls work, I do now have mobile data. To be used with care but potentially useful, e.g. this should give me WhatsApp out and about to coordinate with Spanish teacher.

1641 Fourth and I think last coffee. Place shuts at 6 but I'm feeling a bit caffeinated and while I want to be kept awake til 9ish I don't want to overdo it.

1706 Back at hostel. Feeling jittery, I think it's the coffee but it still feels like a kind of nervous feeling. Meh. Q20 for four coffees, I made it Q30 as it seemed cheap and I got change for a 100 and I did loiter there for ages.

2048 Been Youtubing it up. In bed with phone, plan is to sort of try to drift off to sleep shortly. Not sure how well I will do getting up in time for breakfast but we'll have to see.