La Ronda & open market

Today has been a busy day. Got up early to get breakfast (plate of eggs, beans & fried plantans for $2), then went off to La Ronda, the coffee plantation. It was pretty cool to see how the beans are grown, hand picked and processed. Guatemalan's are very prideful of their coffee, since during harvest time, all hands are on those trees. They pick each individual berry, leaving the unripe ones on the vine to continue to ripen. I had never seen true coffee beans before. I was quite surprised at the bright red color. We also toured a Mayan musical museum, and tasted some wonderful local coffee. Starbucks has nothing on Guatemala grown coffee!!
We went to lunch afterwards, only to find out that the restaurant's stove isn't working, and had to order items that could be cooked on the grill. The food was ok... but NOT the fajitas I was craving...
Afterwards, we went to the open air Mercado and bought some frutas & vegetables. The prices are crazy cheap, one huge carrot was 1 quetxales (about a dime). nuts!
Some of us headed back to the hotel to rest, and others went on to continue shopping. I chose the first option, and the stoopid shoes I brought with me made blisters on the heels of my feet!! grr...
I hung out, got to know my colleges better, then headed out for dinner and this place that Dr. Sapiens loves. I had this thing called Pupuas... mmmmmmm soooooo gooooodddd! It's like they took a tortilla, injected it with queso fresco and grilled it. Sorta like a grilled cheese sandwich, but wayyyy better!!!
Finally, we went to check out El Mono Loco (the crazy monkey). It's apparently the club that past students would go to. I wasn't planning on staying (stoopid shoes), but ended up having a Mojito afterall. It was fun until a couple of creepy guys were trying to distract one girl, while the other guy tried to go after the purses in the corner of the room. I let everyone know to get their purses, and then sorta felt like leaving... kinda creepy feeling...
There are a lot of thieves here, and they target Americans. I guess I'm paranoid enough for everybody here. oh that, and I only had ONE drink ;-)
Thats all for now. I'm sleepy & sticky... shower time!