The Letter of the Day is C

Coffee

Coffee is one of Guatemala's most important exports. How psyched was I when I realized, "Hey, I'm going to Guatemala! I can have bangin' coffee!" Alas, ther is no decent coffee in Guatemala. It's all exported to the U.S. or Europe, and all the locals drink Nescafe.

{By the way, I have introduced the word bangin' to a number of foreign vocabularies.}

Cabs

My favorite people in the last 2 days have been taxi drivers. Last night, Mauricio {albeit for a lot of money} took us around Guatemala City so that I could drop off my luggage before leaving for Tikal & so that we could get something to eat. Unfortunately, because our shuttle bus was late, Mauricio had to take us to Little Caesars {groan} but bad pizza was better than no cena.

And today, from the airport in Santa Elena, I met Enrique, a really cool guy who goes by Qui Qui. When I asked him to take me to my hostel, Los Amigos, he joked that I had just made another new friend in Guatemala. How cute is that! One of the best parts about the taxi drivers is that they speak solely in Spanish, and it forces me to practice! {does that make up for cheating, Sara}

Cafe Uk@

After the hostel, the first place I checked out for bangin' french toast and O.K. coffee. I heart breakfast.

Couch

Walking into Los Alamos is like walking into the 1970s. There are tons of hippies, including the guy on the couch, who's been there for like 2 months and works at a local restaurant. He's German, though, and previously voluntered at an orphanage on the east coast. The people are really cool at Los Amigos, and the price is unbeatable. $3 a night for a dorm and a chill spot, including hammocks and a restaurant. The showers are cold, but that's a godsend right now.

Chicken {+ ham}

There are animal residents at Los Amigos, including 2 big dogs and some birds. There is also a turtle pond, and today, for the first time in my life, I watched a couple of pond turtles eat ham and raw chicken!

Cuevas {Caves}

I toured Grutas Actun Can today, the Serpent Cave. Although there are no serpents at all in the caves, there are a couple of tiny bats. My tour guide was a really great guy, and he spoke entirely in Spanish. There are really interesting formations, and I learned that a stalagtite {or mite} will grow an inch every thirty years. Ther are even some places where the stalagtite and stalagmite meet, which means they're thousands of years old! P.S. I would never go into a cave without a guide, because I'd end up getting stuck in a hole. It wasn't too expensive anyway, about 50 Q {less than $10}.

Calor!

It's really hot here in Flores, much hotter than in Santiago, and sweat is a part of daily life. I got a tuk tuk out to the caves, costing about a dollar, and walked part of the way back to the pick/up, and by the time I was back I was ready to jump in the lake with my pants on. Luckily, Jose from next door was going swimming, so we checked out a dock on the lake and jumped in with the {teeny} fish!

{Little} Caesar

Little Caesar has been mentioned by almost every person I've encounterd who has toured Tikal. He is apparently an eccentric, well/informed guide who does early/early morning tours. It's been hysterical ... everyone says, go to Tikal and ask for Little Caesar. He's not in Lonely Planet.

I've booked a 3 a.m. tour to Tikal, which means we'll get there around 5 a.m. Early, but wise, since it's hard to be outside once it's noon. It'll be awesome, touring the ruins in the early morning, with the birds and howler monkeys!!!