Tiff and Brad in Guatemala -- continued

Boy--Did we sightsee today. However the first thing
we did was go find a really nice hotel. Brad kept
looking in at all the beautiful courtyarded hotels in
Antigua and decided we needed to move from the top of
the chicken store--although I kind of liked it.
Anyway I took a picture of the chicken top hotel and
will take a picture of the new hotel )totally
beautiful tomorrow. We have gotten along on less than
$25 a day including transportation so I guess we can
splurge and it is a totally beautiful little old place
with much atmosphere and a private bath and courtyard
for $25 apiece.
We visited a museum--several churches and miles and
miles of ruins. The best was an old convent--mostly
ruins that housed a music school. It was full of
adorable kids playing on every kind of instruement and
at least a billion different tunes.
The ruins here are 500 years old or older. They go on
for miles and remind me of the ruins of Rome and
Greece. With miles of once fabulous ruins--there are
just a few guys with wheelbarrels working on them.
Antigua is gentile poverty. There is no money but
tons of class and respect for the past and all things
beautiful. Guatemala City stole all their treasures
two hundred yeatrs ago.
We visited the chuch of St. Francis. A monk is buried
there. He was a wonderful man who built hospitals and
schools for orphans in the mid 1600s. He was dug up
and put in that church. He was canonized by the Pope
in a trip here in 2002. There are thousands of
pictures, locks of hair and other mementos linning the
corridors of the monastery thanking him for cures.
There are crutches and leg braces and all manner of
medical devices that people were able to shed because
their prayers were answered by this saint. I left his
name in my room but will tell you it tomorrow. On the
street a lady showed me a prescription she could not
afford for her daughter so I could help her a little
in the name of that Saint. It made me feel good. The
people here can go to the doctor but they can´t afford
the medicine prescribed so they have to go to the
churches and hope God will provide.
This is actually a small city, but there are 65
Spanish schools here and no English is allowed.
Everyone has to put up with the gringo Spanish.
The people are wonderful and the town is totally
unique. I really love it. There is much town pride
and spirit.
Going now to a cinema cafe showing a movie about the
Guatemalan Civil War.