We suddenly found ourselves in Antigua after literally falling down the side of a mountain, almost brakeless in third gear, trying to contain the gravitational pull on 2.5 tons of landy while charging down a 1 in 6 hill. In fact it was so odd how the road just ended and we appeared in the narrow cobbled streets, that we had to check out a few posters on the walls before we realised we were actually in the former capital.

Antigua is a nice and relaxed place, 1500m above sea level meaning cold nights and no insects at this time of year. We found ourselves a hotel with safe parking and settled in for a fun filled Christmas. The streets are full of interesting sites, tourists and a fair few wicked dorises too, so its a suitable place to spend the festive season.

It was Saturday night so we were ready for a party. We went to the disco Kasbar which, like everwhere in Guatemala, closed at 1am. Fortunately we had fallen in with the right locals who invited us to their big old house for a party. Lots of drinking was in order. Sitting down was important too as there seemed to be an inordinate amount of over friendly guys. One of the more amusing incidents occured when Marco, the local supplier of certain compounds, decided to drive to Guatemala City to get a fresh supply. He returned on foot and bleeding from a big cut on his head. He'd got back to Antigua and crashed into a parked car! Once the party came to an end, T left and spent an hour walking around in circles, freezing cold, before finding the hotel. B, on the other hand, escaping from the various clutches of rampant homos and a fat doris, left the house and needed two hours plus a quick session of unconciousness in a doorway to find his way back, despite the fact that you can walk across the whole town in 10 minutes! Fortunately he took a couple of pics of the volcano as the sun came up.

For Christmas we decided to go clubbing with some plastic golf clubs Ali had bought for Barry. Large amounts of alchohol were consumed and a good larf was had but it was all over at 1am. Apparently new year goes on a bit longer...