Highlights from our second week in Antigua:
- Santo Domingo del Cerro museums and zip line course
- ChocoMuseo chocolate class
- Pool time with friends
- More great food
Santo Domingo del Cerro
We visited this cool art museum last Saturday, a series of small galleries in separate buildings surrounded by beautiful gardens, sculptures, and mosaics, all on the top of a hill overlooking the city. We learned about Efrain Recinos, "the Picasso of Guatemala", who created most of the work permanently exhibited here.
Side note: Are you getting sick of the iMovie "Magic Movies" yet? I am, but not so much so that I'm willing to spend the time to edit stuff together on my own. ;)
After we explored the grounds and galleries, we found the zip line course. We did the hour-long short course of 8 zip lines and 2 hanging bridges. Zadie said it was scary at first, but then "super fun after the first one". I was a little surprised both a) that she made it through the course (she says she's afraid of heights) and b) that they let her do it. She's short enough that they had to lift her up to click her onto each line. Aside from having apparently no age or height restrictions, the course seemed as safe as any others we've done, and wasn't too high/long/scary. Ruth was very excited beforehand and loved the zip lines. We had a great view of the town, gardens, and water below us, and could even see coffee plants and koi in the pond while speeding along. (See FB for pics.)
ChocoMuseo
Last Sunday was our 23rd wedding anniversary! We spent it as a family, first taking a chocolate-making class at ChocoMuseo. They took us through the entire process of how chocolate is made, starting with eating the raw beans right out of a cocoa pod (tasty sweet slimy goo around the slightly bitter beans). The beans are fermented and dried - they skipped past those parts since they require time - then we got to take the beans through the remaining steps. We tasted the dried beans (so bitter!), then all helped to roast them on a large round griddle. Next, we each had to shell beans, then used those shells to make a cocoa tea sweetened with honey. We ground our beans into a paste with a mortar and pestle, which was pretty difficult. The teacher kept inspecting them and then telling us to keep going until we finally got it to the appropriate consistency (Ruth had to help me and Zadie with our batch - thanks, Ruth!). She made a traditional Mayan hot chocolate by combining all our ground cocoa paste with hot water and spices like chili powder and black pepper. We then put other beans through a hand-grinder to make more paste (much faster and smoother) for an old Spanish-style hot chocolate with milk, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom. Here's what Zadie thought of every drink we tried:
In addition to all the chocolate drinks we made and tried there, we also got to make individual chocolates to take home. Zadie chose mini-marshmallows and rainbow sprinkles for hers, while Bill, Ruth, and I used more of the nuts, coffee, and spices.
After the class, we headed to another location of a local brewery, Antigua Cerveza El Bosque, for lunch. El Bosque means "The Forest", and true to the name, there was a forest and garden in the middle of the city inside an unassuming door. There were a couple restaurants inside around the outdoor taproom (Raleigh folks, kinda like Lynnwood), a central fire pit, a trampoline, and several outdoor games. Great place to spend an afternoon.
Pool Time
The girls swim almost every day. The weather forecast always looks scary:
...but in practice, that means it's beautiful every morning through mid-afternoon, then might rain for a while late afternoon or overnight. We typically go out in the morning when it's nice, then return home by early-mid afternoon for pool time before it (potentially) rains. We've lucked out with a few beautiful warm, no-rain days in a row this week, and the unheated pool is finally warm enough for me. It's going to be tough to return to NC summer temperatures after this trip!
Swimming was even more fun last week after the girls met three sisters from Wisconsin, two around Zadie's age and another about two years younger than Ruth. All five girls played together in the pool and trampoline for three or four afternoons in a row until the family left for their next destination.
That family had taken a traditional weaving class, and they gifted us the materials afterward (too bulky for their carry-ons). Ruth hit YouTube to figure it out and was soon weaving like a pro.
Food
We've been eating out daily and trying a mix of local and tourist places. We've also made a few popular local dishes at home, including some new-to-us veggies and fruits. More to come!