The Last Day...

Our last day on the official itinerary - about half the team is leaving tomorrow starting with pre-dawn pickups at 4:00 AM and continuing through the day, and the rest have scattered departure dates until the end of the week.

It was a free day for all in the lovely town of Antigua. Some chose to sleep in, but most of the group woke in time to have breakfast and some more of that fantastic hot chocolate. Various amusements then included a walk up to Cerro de la Cruz for views of the volcano and city, shopping, visiting with new friends, more shopping, visiting a museum, Spanish lessons, and at least one well-needed massage.

John and Eileen discussing directions

We all met at 7:00 PM for our last meal at the five-star Casa Santo Domingo in Antigua, a very impressive establishment with a chef who won the right to participate in the Bocuse D'Or competition in France in 2011. The location was in a restored convent with lovely grounds, rose petals in water, lots of candles, and our hostess was even dressed in a convent attire. The meal was superb - although there was a bit of a delay while they finished growing the wheat for Eileen's pasta dish. We finished off with our final round of 'one good thing, one bad thing, and one thing we learned'.

back at the hotel, there were some last-minute t-shirt signing, a bunch of hugs and well wishes, and some final forays into the late-night establishments of Antigua City. Day is done.

Hosta Luego!!!

 

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Packing Wrapup

After our final round of 'one good thing, one bad thing, and one thing we have learned', Eileen suggested another round of comments related to packing - to cover what we would bring next time, what we would leave behind. Here are some of the replies that I was able to capture:

What at least one person will consider bringing next time:

• soap
• a smaller suitcase
• a bigger suitcase
• less clothes
• more clothes for each day - to leave behind
• a brush
• more running shoes (size 13)
• cheap work socks
• rain pants
• safety goggles
• vitamin C and echinacea
• another sweater
• a pillow
• heating blanket
• parka
• another set of earplugs
• Sharpie permanent pen
• Kleenex to the closing ceremony

What at least one person will consider leaving at home next time:

• far too many clothes
• thousands of face wipes
• shaving supplies
• second pair of boots
• second book
• phone
• pre-conceived notions

Other comments included:

• It was good to move the volcano hike to the beginning of the trip to take advantage of the known good weather, and also because everyone would have been too tired at the end.
• It would have been nice to be able to do more for the families, although everyone understood why it had to be like that.
• It would be nice to have a hotel with consistent hot water.
• Our team was AWESOME!