After I left Xela, I went back to Antigua and discovered that it is actually kinda boring. The only interesting thing is that I never seem to be able to find a decent hotel quickly. The first time I wandered around for an hour and a half at night before I stumbled upon a very nice hostel called, amusingly enough, Jungle Party.
This time, I headed straight there. One of my main reasons for stopping off in Antigua was that I wanted to unload some of the handicrafts I had bought in Xela and Momo. I already had stuff at the hostel there, so I figured I'd just add more.
However, when I got there, the door was locked, and no one answered when I knocked. I must have banged on the door for at least five minutes when a neighbor funally came out and told me that it was closed and I should come back the next day. I'd wanted to leave the next morning, but apparently that wouldn't be possible. And I would have to find another place to stay! I went to three other places in the neighborhood, but they were all full. Finally a guy came along and asked if I was looking for a place to stay (maybe it was the pack on my back, the guidebook in my hand and the look of desperation on my face that tipped him off?). Usually I brush thse gus off, but I was getting desperate, so I followed him. Three more places that were full or filthy, and then finally he found me a place. And with a kitchen!
When I went back to Jungle Party the next day, it was indeed open, and the woman looked really embarassed that there had been no one there to greet me. But I decided to postpone my departure by a day, because I was having some stomach problems from my dinner the night before. A word of advice: if you're in Guatemala and your chicken tastes funny, don't eat it!