GB and I spent some time in Marina Chiapas paying attention to The Fox, with general cleaning, 
replacing the fridge's thermostat, and repairing the toilet in the head. Toilet repairs should always be rewarded with a nice trip, so we planned to end 2014 and ring in 2015 with more tourism: a visit to Guatemala.
We'd originally hoped to see Guatemala by rental car, the better to visit 
the ruins of Takalik Abaj, an ancient sister city to Izapa. Plus, we'd intended to drive across Guatemala to visit the Mayan ruins of Copan in Honduras. But alas. Due to logistical and bureaucratic difficulties getting in, across, out, and back in, across, and out of Guatemala, we soon concluded it would be a much easier trip to just hop a bus in Tapachula and stick with visiting Guatemala.
I'm not sure if there have been any changes in Guatemala's officialdom since 2015, but back then we experienced some, ahem, complexities at the Mexico-Guatemala border. We learned that Guatemalan Customs had recently closed all their offices along Guatemala's borders, due to a combination of reduced budget, increased governmental disarray, and border crime. Meanwhile, some of the remaining Immigration officials had been selling their uniforms and ID badges to, let's say, local entrepreneurs who worked their hardest to separate travelers from their pesos and quetzals. All this made our bordertown crossing somewhat of a Wild West free-for-all but we survived and pressed on. Rode past the steaming Volcan de Atitlan. Switched buses in Guatemala City and soon found ourselves in the beautiful city of Antigua, cool and high, surrounded on all sides by active volcanoes.
GB and I didn't realize how heavily touristed Antigua really is, until we saw that prices in all but the smallest shops were shown in US dollars instead of the national currency, quetzals. All the restaurants' menus followed the same practice: prices in US dollars at US prices, menu items in English. I'd assumed I'd be able to pick up some cool jewelry made from beautiful Guatemalan jade, but no. I'd have had to sell a kidney to buy any of THAT action. Instead, I had to settle for jewelry for myself and female relatives that was made out of beautiful Guatemalan amber. And that, dear reader, is a First World Problem if ever there was one.
Nevertheless and notwithstanding, the historic old town was a delight to 
explore on its cobblestone streets, some of which were being repaired in the Old Skool way: by hand. (P.S. We stayed at comfortable, quiet, conveniently-located Hostal Las Marias in Antigua. Recommended.) Riding a tuk-tuk taxi over them there cobblestones was a blast. See how out-of-focus that pic there is? It's because tuk-tuks have little in the way of shock absorbers, so passengers and driver alike get the full cobblestone effect. If you visit Antigua, you absolutely must ride a tuk-tuk.
We strolled through Antigua's main cemetery, reminiscent of ones in New 
Orleans. Except Antigua's cemetery had a gardener with topiary skills and a strong sense of whimsy. His bunny tree was our favorite. We found an open crypt on which the inscription at the front was printed upside-down and backwards — you know, so that the tenant can comfortably read it while lying down. We're talking either zombies or vampires, people. Do not visit a Guatemalan cemetery after sunset.
We tiptoed through the ruins of churches battered by centuries of volcanic 
earthquakes, and visited other, fresher ones that are still holding together. Wherever we went, we occasionally looked over our shoulders to keep an eye on Antigua's volcanoes…sometimes quiet, sometimes steamy….
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