mish&grey: Antigua - very un-Guatemalan

We travelled by minibus from Coban to Antigua. As luck would have it, when the minibus arrived to pick us up it was being driven by the same maniac driver that had taken us from Flores to Coban. I cried a little bit. Grey laughed. This time, the tour company had also overbooked the minibus – it had 12 seats, but 18 people needed to get on it. Instead of calling in an extra bus, we all squeezed on. People were sitting on upturned buckets in the aisle, and everyone got to know each other pretty well. I was happy because I got a proper seat, and I think the extra weight slowed the driver down a bit.

Antigua is beautiful. A little grid town, mostly single-level houses coloured yellow, orange etc, the odd ruin and church, lots of cute restaurants and a pretty plaza. A giant, extinct volcano overshadows the city. Very much like Oaxaca in Mexico, except for the volcano.

Ruins around every corner

Chicken bus taking a corner

Main square

Street picture

We stayed in a cute hotel called Casa Rustica. The hotel had a big courtyard/garden area where the owner’s 4 dogs hung out. One of the dogs had his leg in a crutch and a big bucket around his head. The owner said that the dog had been outside the hotel on the pathway a few weeks back when someone had driven past and shot him. Absolutely horrible.

Poor thing! Shot in the leg

The highlights:

Eating breakfast at Café Condesa on the main square – beautiful coffee and amazing cheesy quiches and omelets!
Walking around the city and checking out the ruins, houses, artisan markets, parks, restaurants, shops etc;
Running up Cerro de la Cruz to check out the city from above;
Shopping at the markets and buying beautiful vegetables for 2 cents a piece and cooking dinner in our hotel kitchen;
Drinking at bars around the city – There is a big traveler scene in Antigua so it’s really easy to meet new people. We had a big Saturday night out at an “Irish Pub” (although there was absolutely NOTHING Irish about it) followed by a restaurant/bar full of Guatemalans singing and dancing to a big band on stage;
Hiking up Pacaya Volcano. We went on an afternoon hike up this active volcano that last erupted in May of 2010. Our bus had to change a tire and run a few extra errands on the way to the volcano so we started up the volcano a little late. The view at the top was amazing, and we walked across the now dry lava flows and toasted marshmallows in the hot bits. The sun went down just as we began our descent and it got dark very quickly. Our guide asked the group if anyone had a torch … No, we don’t. So everyone began walking/running/sliding/falling down the volcano (the surface was steep and covered with small pebbles). It was pretty crazy and I feel a few times. By the time everyone got down most of us we covered in black ash. Dirty!
Sunday lunch at La Cuevita de Los Urquizu, a Guatemalan Institution. Pots of stews and other food sit out the front of the restaurant and you pick what you want before heading in. Yum!
I bought a guitar!