Guatemalans really love firecrackers!

Stereotypical or not, Guatemalans have a soft spot for anything that goes boom, pop, or kaboom. Klay and Gabby, the hostel owners, decided to help us celebrate the new year in style. They provided us all with mojitos, which were very tasty! After that, Brian and Matt skipped down to the market to bargain for a ton of fireworks, after which we proceeded to set off in the hostel and street. They even found an Osama! Unfortunately, that one didn’t do much except set off a bunch of car alarms.

When it came closer to time, we headed to the park for the countdown, fireworks, and a live concert. I think people were a little drunk at that point.

After rocking out to some Guatemalan band, we headed back to the hostel to finish setting off the rest of the fireworks, totally terrorist style. I mean, everyone just got a little crazy, throwing lines of black cats by cars driving in the street. This was topped off by a giant mortar and a bottle of Champaign.

It was a completely different experience than back home where we probably would have gotten the cops called on us, especially for the fireworks. I’ve come to the conclusion that this country just likes to party, which was definitely evident in the fact that firecrackers are going off everyday still!