if i were a travel writer... i'd write of places near or far... of places i've arrived to by plane, bus, train or car... and along the way, i'll take some photos... and so, here my story goes...

There were three weddings in Antigua on Saturday. One, of course, was Kate and Andres... another was the owner of this Irish bar here called Reilly´s... and another was a couple from California who recently moved here and somehow got over 200 people from the West Coast over to Central America. It was hard to miss the flood of blondes and dudes from California come into this colonial city, especially when I was hanging out at the gringo-filled Mono Loco and No Sé Cafe the night before. I still was impressed by how this California couple got so many people to attend their wedding here in Antigua. It was funny though, when I said I was in town for a wedding, people immediately thought I was part of the ¨Reilly¨ party at the Cathedral or the ¨California¨ party. Instead, I was part of the wedding that would take place on a park bench in Parque Central. I have had my share of wedding experiences.... I have been a guest... been a bridesmaid (more than three times)... and been a maid of honor (twice)... but I have never had the pleasure of taking on the role of ¨wedding photographer¨ or the honor of being the sole ¨witness¨... that is, until Saturday. I also thought I had met the calmest bride ever at Michele and Dillon´s wedding last year in California. Not to say you two aren´t still the chillest of all couples, but I must say Kate and Andres were extremely calm and relaxed about the whole thing. I mean, I have seen Kate in a totally different place, living with her in Manhattan only a year ago, and seeing her go through the drama of those ¨relationships¨ we all so easily seem to fall into in a city like New York. And now, here she is, completely ¨tranquila.¨ I actually went to a coffee tour in the morning and rushed back because Andres and Kate were meeting me at 1:30pm at Kafka (my hostel) so we could walk over to the park and meet the lawyer who would perform the civil marriage. There was a little delay, but eventually they met me - Kate dressed in a teal & ivory floral dress that I forced her to buy for the special occasion, holding a bouquet of vibrant bright flowers, typical of Guatemala. I walked behind them, taking photographs, asking them to stop at certain points, until we arrived at the Park. I swear, it is difficult to take a bad photograph in Antigua. The setting is absolutely beautiful, with cobblestoned streets and houses painted in these beautiful colors - blue, yellow, red - but not the typical ¨Crayola¨ blue, yellow or red - it´s this extremely vibrant hue that blends with the stone and creates this energy but with an antiquey feel. I don´t know if that makes any sense, and I don´t even know if the pictures will do it as much justice, but I´ll try to send some over for you to see. Anyway, the abogado arrived and sat with Kate and Andres on a park bench under this beautiful tree, with the fountain and cathedral in the background. He went over all the documents and responsibilities of a husband and wife, and they exchanged their, ¨Sí¨ and we signed - the bride, the groom, the witness (me) and the abogado... and Kate was officially, Mrs. Kate Berrio. Andres went to the store to get 4 beers and we had a toast in the park, and then some of Kate´s friends from her volunteer job and some of Andres´ friends from the Cuban restaurant came by to congratulate them. We walked around a little more, taking some more photographs, and then Kate and I took some other photographs and we made our way back to their apartment... as it started to rain... and all we could do, was sing ¨it´s like raaaaiiiin, on your wedding day...¨ Yeah, a gringa bride and her friend singing Alanis Morrisette in the rain. I´m sure it was a sight to see. So, the wedding day continued with Andres making us dinner (the three of us and two of Andres´ friends). Since it was raining, we moved the Rooftop Reception down into Kate and Andres´ apartment, which is comparable to a very small NYC studio. We had dinner, cut the wedding cake, had Kate and Andres feed each other the cake, and got ready for a night of dancing at the Cuban salsa club where Kate and Andres first met in December. Honestly, for an ¨untraditional¨ wedding, we did get "it" all in - Kate and I went for manicures/pedicures the day before, we took the typical wedding photographs, they exchanged vows and then kissed, a toast, dinner, cake, dancing. I mean, sitting in her apartment, watching Mr. Berrio cook dinner for his wife and friends, I thought - ¨this is a pretty cool wedding and I am so glad I am a part of it.¨ Not that family wasn´t missed - as soon as we left the park, we did run to the phones and call both Mr. & Mrs. Buckholz in the US and Andres´ family in Colombia - but having a small wedding really helps you to focus on what it is that a wedding really is. Not that I have any idea =) but I have observed many a wedding, and have been through the moments prior to a wedding with a lot of good friends. So, anyway, we spent the night with some salsa dancing... and yes, if I ever need a husband, I´m sure you will all be relieved to know that there´s a Cuban drummer/singer that is "esperando para mi", however long it takes. We stayed at the cuban restaurant/bar after closing (after party!) and the owners made us cuban sandwiches and yucca... and it just seemed like the perfect ending to what I thought was a pretty perfect wedding day. The next afternoon Mr. & Mrs. Berrio invited me over to the apartment for a traditional Colombian dish, sancocho. Fortunately for Andres, it also is known to be a good cure for hangovers. Anyway, it was delicious - it almost made me want to start cooking myself, almost. I left their apartment around 1pm and made my way back to my hostel (I finally know my way around!) to leave for a trip up the Pacaya Volcano, which is (I think) the most active volcano in Central America. The hike was pretty tough but I´d like to think the hills of San Marcos prepared me a bit for it. It was so interesting to feel the terrain under my feet change from cobblestones, to this dense dirt, to little rock pebbles, to the lava from the volcano. Getting up to the top at sunset was beautiful. Along the way, there were horses and of course, the dogs that just followed us all the way up to the top. We roasted marshmallows (have you ever had a strawberry one? not my favorite) and just marveled at the fact that we were standing on top of a bunch of lava. Sometimes you´d just be walking from one ¨rock¨ to another and would feel this immense heat, only to find that there was active lava right under you. I thought again about the lack of rules here - I mean, I didn´t sign any waiver or anything to come up here - and yet, even the guy who climbed all the way up there in sandals, was fine. The walk down, unlike San Marcos, was not as bad as the walk up... maybe because I had a walking stick this time, a fine one. And as it started getting dark, we were all prepared with flashlights which the ninos and the bottom of the hike tried to take anyway from us - ¨light for me?¨ they would ask. I gave them my stick, and kept my luz. So now, I´m minutes away from getting on a bus to Rio Dulce - how sweet does that sound? It´s a bit of a trip - leaving here at 9am and only arriving there at 3pm... and it´s only for a noche, but I wanted to try to see as much as I could while I was here. I will be back in Antigua on Tuesday evening for my last night before my flight back home on Wednesday. I can´t believe I have only been here only a week. It is like time doesn´t exist here, in a way. And I know I didn´t write much about San Pedro. I went out for dinner (and a movie) but woke up in the middle of the night to what sounded like someone was gargling. Realizing that it was my stomach making all the noise, I spent most of the night vomiting and just being sick. At least it was the one night I had a private bathroom in my room. There´s a time when it is not fun to travel solo - when you feel like you´re going to die and you realize you are completely alone in some random village. But by sunrise, luckily, I was able to eat some pan and be on my way back to Antigua. And so, it goes...