El Salvador... San Diego to be precise

for Australia day we got a crew of about 15 of us to go down to San Diego in El Salvador so we could celebrate it by the beach. it was also the opening of a friends hostel there so double reason to celebrate. so early on we packed into the shuttle and drove

from left. Tom, me, Kenny, Steve (another aussie in Antigua) and Bree.


at a pitstop. nice hej

a map of Australia created on a perfectly (well, almost) shaped but of wood we found

Jez smashing a koala piñata we had on first night

and Steve working on it's neck

after a while (all the Australians present had a crack at it) the cricket bat came in for a bit more power

the pool was being filled that day. but just because it wasn't full didn't mean we couldn't enjoy it

Jez doing his best for some cheap laughs

Narda and me. Narda is from El Salvador but i had met her a few weeks earlier in La Antigua

true blue

w/ Carias, Kenny, Tim and Lan

the piñata for second night. a roo but of course

while Maria (also came from Antigua for it) was hitting the piñata her dog, Nymoh, went nuts. thinking it was protecting Maria. check out the evil eyes

finally down Darren went in for the kill. Darren is owner of the hostel, El Roble, along w/ Seka

it was then bbq time

smile

go'n!

some frenchie limbo...

... and shots

me, Narda, Ivy and Steve huddle up

Kenny went for a nude swim so his clothes were promptly stolen. closest thing to the pool he could find was this, Lans dress.

a cup of coffee in the nursery

at Frank's

sometimes we go up to Franks, a friend who has lived in Guate for many a year and owns a local store called Nim Pot (also a sponsor of the Barbas Amarillas, the football team i play in) farm on a mountain overlooking Antigua. it is amazing up there

the view of Antigua from his place

Kenny and Frank picking some chilli's on the farm

view of Volcan Fuego at sunset

and Frank on his porch as the sun sets still

Frank when he bought the land also built a house for a local Mayan family on the property. these are three of the kids, really nice family.

me playing the doublebass after a sauna

Kenny on the electric doublebass, we call it electric because it has lights built inside it

Frank playing the guitar, the only instrument any of us were actually able to play properly

Frank on guitar, Kenny on harp and me on the marimba

Marco on the doublebass

Pedro on the harp

me, Frank and Kenny w/ the Antigua lights behind us. no idea what Frank is doing

w/ Kate and Abby who i met up w/ again on that same night. was great to see them again

as you can see we had lost none of our posing abilities

and back to Zoolander as always.

Kennef Tang was there as well. it was a hilarious night. guess you had to be there.

the hat party and other things around La Antigua

Captain Lignoid at the forefront of mens headwear fashion and me and Henryk (owner of Reilly's) at back



the fantastic two behind the bar

Eduardo, le Marselleise

just two kids, Amadeu (3) and Edgar (5), who come down from Lake Atitlan most weekends to sell some wares. really cool kids and whenever they come by i usually give them a drink (free of course) and they hang out for a bit and rest from selling. somethimes there will be half a dozen or so kids hanging around. drawing or just talking and mucking around. freaked a few people out by giving these two lemonade in two shot glasses as a joke.

Kenny and i were painting a school in Jocotenango when during our break this came by. the heartbreaker (rompe corazones)

and here is Kenny painting the front of Escuela Esperanza (means Hope in spanish) which was started by Dave, a Scottish guy who comes by once in a while.

inside the school, after lunch kids washing their plates. little girl in background is daughter of one of cooks and played around for a while. peek-a-boo and laughing all that was needed

Edgar on another day where he hung out for a while and we drew pics for each other

dress up party at Reilly's

at Reilly's Irish Tavern where i work here in Antigua we have thrown a few dress up parties. mostly organised by Kenny, Jereme, Tim and I and occasionally Shaun (one of the managers) here is one such party

Sam, one of the Frenchies we hang out w/ here in Antigua (or used to as he left a few weeks ago)


Sam, Barbara, Olivier (partly hidden), me, Aurelie, Eduardo and Catou. tape was something I found on way to the creperie (where we usually hand out, a french creperie called Luna de Miel) and everyone got in on the act

Jez

Nancy, Eduardo, Bree and Carlos (amazing local artist who has exhibited around the world)

hands up and table dancing (so far we have broken tables twice and one chair by this practice)

Sam, Jez and I dancing on top of bar while water splashes

view of Volcan Agua from Cafe Sky