This day dawned a little more overcast than past days with temperatures again in the high 50s. We ate breakfast at the house because there were several guests who were leaving this weekend and it would be our last meal together. The huevos rancheros with tortillas were superb–complemented by fresh fruit which is rapidly becoming an early morning habit.
We met Esteban in the park at 9 am and walked to the special restaurant he and Faustina had planned for breakfast, but it is only open weekdays. So we walked back to the park and on to Dona Luisa’s panaderia (bread shop). The shop and restaurant are in an older converted house, with a first-level courtyard, and second floor balcony which overlooks three sides of the courtyard. In addition, there is a large dining room on the second floor. The Sunday before we had bought some pan de banano (banana bread) at Dona Luisa’s, and the whole wheat toast we enjoyed this morning (enough for a second breakfast) was equally delicious.
After breakfast we walked to the Municipal Market where Esteban has a leather shop inside the market. He sells shoes, sandals, belts, hats, billfolds, purses, and several other leather items. I selected a black belt and Jan a beautiful pair of unique sandals. When they invited us to go see their house, we accepted gladly, and after a 10 or 15 minute taxi ride, we were in San Juan del Obispo with a beautiful overlook of the city of Antigua, at the base of Volcan de Agua. At their house we sat on the patio and talked about a variety of things, enjoying some ice water.
A walk to the museum in that little town revealed that the museum would not open after lunch until 2 pm, still 45 minutes away, so we decided to return to Antigua for lunch. We took the bus on the return trip, and there was more walking to get to places away from the bus route. After lunch we went back to the mercado because I wanted to take a picture of the leather shop. We bid farewell by around 3 pm and walked back to the house, promising to make a contact one afternoon next week.
Jan wrote some homework exercises and I read and studied, reviewing my thoughts for tomorrow’s sermon. About 6 pm, we walked to the square and ate supper at Chimino’s, a restaurant we knew from past visits. The evening special was chicken on the grill with rice, salad, and soup, and we sat longer than normal enjoying the delightful atmosphere and conversation. Upon exiting the restaurant we saw that the church and the palace were both fully lit, and so we walked through the park and sat on a bench for a few moments, taking in the scene and watching the night activity in the park with many visitors, some vendors still trying to complete sales, and numerous family enjoying an evening stroll. The night air was becoming cool after a day that was warmer than usual, highs perhaps near 85 (30 Centigrade).
Tomorrow will be another full day–we are looking forward to the Lord’s Day and our return to Milpas Altas to meet with the church there. Esteban and Faustina seemed sincerely disappointed that we already had a preaching appointment and would not be about to worship with the church in Antigua.