Hanging out with Mormons and visiting catholic churches

This title seems appropriate since Marie is Catholic and I am LDS. Our interfaith friendship, which began in high school, has seen us through many adventures including hiking the Juan de Fuca trail, biking the kettle valley and camping on the beach near Forks, WA. The latest installment of The Adventures of Jade and Marie finds us backpacking through central America navigating new countries with our limited Spanish and our limited budget.
We first arrived in Guatemala City last Sunday and were greeted by my first companion from Temple  Square and her mother. (My mission continues to bless my life by offering me friends and places to stay throughout the world.) It was so nice to have locals take care of us the first few days. Sister zepeda's mom showed us around Guatemala City the first day and another former sister missionary Amelia Lopez volunteered to take us to Antigua on Tuesday.
In Guatemala City we visited so many cathedrals I almost lost count, though I think there were six. Most were very ornate with several chapels and statues, candles and worshippers. We also visited the. National palace and national theatre and had tours of both.
In Antigua - a beautiful colonial town with cobblestone streets and beautiful colorful buildings- we saw some more churches. In at least two cases, we visited the main restored chapel and then explored the ruins left from earthquakes years ago which gave us an idea of the enormity of the buildings pre-earthquake. That was fun - I always like a chance to explore ruins and touch really old things.
So far we have visited four cities: Guatemala City, Antigua, San Salvador and Copan, Honduras. Each has a central park or main square with a government building and, of course, a Catholic church. We visited a few churches in San Salvador and today in Copan we got to experience the old church as more than a museum when we attended mass. Though of a different faith, I appreciated the hymns and the love these people had for their Heavenly Father, so found common ground despite language barriers.
It's only been a week and there is so much more to share, but I'll try write more when I can and add photos when I have a computer instead of an iPhone.