Bigfoot

Antigua, Guatemala

Antigua is a city full of colonial ruins located just outside of Guatemala City. The city center has all the markings of a tourist town - tour companies, hotels, bars, etc. City codes regulate that no building can rise more than two stories high, and power lines run underground to clear the cityscape of modernity. Recognizable companies like Dominos and McDonalds cannot fly their bright colors, as another city code requires all buildings to be painted a shade of dirt.

Katie and I stayed at Bigfoot Hostel - a party hostel that blasted latino dance jams (especially Des-Pa-Cito) 16 hours a day. We had an outrageously large room to ourselves though, so the party hostel vibe was tolerable. Unfortunately Katie had contracted tourist diarrhea and I had come down with stupid-guy-drinks-too-many-beers hangover sickness.

During the middle of Katie's sickness, the water service in Antigua went out for about 24 hours. Which meant no showers, no prepared food, and pretty expensive toilet flushes.

Guatemala in general has massive infrastructure problems due to government corruption and organized crime. The roads and sidewalks are awful. Extortion is so widespread that even tiny tortilla shops have shotgun-wielding security guards. Apparently the water service is touch and go as well.

We did make it out into the city and the volcanos beyond by the third day. But mostly Katie curled up in a ball on the couch in the TV room watching The Two Towers (a different group of people wanted to watch it every night, inexplicably) and I played British rules pool with hip Europeans to the tune of Despacito.