by Dr. Julie Wilson
We have had a quiet first day here in Antigua, Guatemala. This is the view from the 3rd floor of our little hotel. This is the Volcan de Agua, which is not active. The Volcan de Fuego, the active one, is just as close and beau

tiful as the this one, spewing smoke this morning.

Hopefully more pictures will be posted on the AAEP Equitarian Facebook page or I can send a picture tomorrow if it is not in the clouds. The gentlemen with me in the picture are 2 of the veterinarians on our Equitarian team, Dr. Chris Brasmer from New Mexico and Dr. Craig Niblett from Texas.Other members of our team include Drs. Tammy Vretis and Rob Franklin, veterinary students Clay Whitten and Scott Fleming, from Texas, Dr. Keith Latson from California and vet tech Cecilia Mink from Texas.

Some of us went to a lovely Catholic church for the 9 AM contemperorary mass this morning – great people watching and cultural opportunity as well as a chance to reflect

on all of life’s blessings. We then walked around the center of town which is lovely, with lots of colonial architecture, bringing back many childhood memories of Spain. We were besieged

by opportunistic vendors peddling lovely woven goods, musical instruments and food. We had our first meeting with Des Bridges, our World Horse Welfare team leader, over a very tasty lunch of local foods in a nearby restaurant that is run by an interesting Dutch Indonesian woman and her daughter, who used to live in Houston. Tonight we will explore more of the fine local cuisine. We start off early tomorrow morning at a village up in the hills. Wish us luck!