2006 Day Three: Free Day in Antigua

Having shut down the medical and dental clinic in El Hato yesterday, today was a free day for the team members to explore the city of Antigua.

Antigua was the former capitol of Guatemala, until the late 1700's; nestled in a valley, the city is surrounded by three volcanoes and was nearly destroyed by a series of earthquakes. Throughout the town lie ruins from ancient buildings demolished in the earthquakes, such as the original Cathedral built in 1545. Behind the cathedral that dominates one side of the city's Central Park sits the skeleton of the old cathedral; for under $0.50 anyone can climb around the remains.

While most of the team members spend the day wandering the streets and sites of Antigua, four did return to El Hato. Leroy, Mike, Dr. Allen and Verity all seized the down time to seriously organize the dental equipment. By separating out the tools into separate, labelled containers and packing everything into clearly marked boxes the set-up time for future uses -- such as tomorrow, when the team moves to another village -- should be drastically reduced.