Love Those 'Taxis'

Antigua has a new feature that we do not recall seeing before: mini-taxis that look like glorified golf carts. We've seen them all over town, and they travel pretty quickly on the cobblestone here. They also are easier to maneuver through the concrete posts in several of the streets here that are designed to keep buses off the roads.

Dad talked about hailing one of the taxis more than once the past few days but never did. Kimberly and I did today, though, when Dad and Mom let us venture out on our own again. We walked to the silver shop I saw yesterday to see if it had any Guatemalan coins. It's a long haul to that store, and when it wasn't open, neither of us wanted to walk back. We caught a taxi, and after negotiating a ride back to Hotel Antigua for $3, we hunched forward (so as to avoid banging our heads on the ceiling) for the bumpy three-minute ride. We arrived jostled but safe, and we loved the ride.

As for the coins, we could see some in one of the glass cases through the barred and padlocked door, but the store clearly was not open. A man in the jade store across the street told us the owner lived next door to that jade store and we could knock to ask him to open the silver shop. But no one answered next door, either. We're going to try again tomorrow.

I'm beginning to give up hope on finding any fairly priced coins, though. I did find another one yesterday, a silver peso from the 1800s much like the one I bought Elli for $25 three years ago, but the lady wanted $77 for it. As a collector, I know a bit about the value of coins, even Guatemalan ones, and they really try to gouge people here. I don't mind paying a bit more for the pleasure of knowing that I actually bought a coin in Guatemalan -- sentiment is worth more than silver to me -- but three times the actual value is unacceptable.

We'll see if I can find a better deal tomorrow.