Vacation: Antigua, Guatemala

The trip from Tacuba to Antigua was super long. We caught an early chicken bus to Ahuachapan, where we stood on a street corner waiting for our next bus for a while before realizing that the bus we wanted actually went to a different location... then had fun asking for directions and wandering through the market trying to find the right spot. From there we hopped on a turismo (more like a mini-bus than a school bus) to the Guatemalan border. We walked across the border and jumped on a chicken bus on the other side that said they were going to Antigua. Turns out they weren't... just to Guatemala City (Guate) where we'd have to switch buses. We had a bit of a hiccup because we didn't have enough Quetzales (Guatemalan money) but they accepted part of it in US$. Unfortunately the buses always take off before you pay so we would have just been dumped somewhere on the side of the road otherwise. When we got to Guate all of the locals got off but before we made it down the aisle of the bus it took off. The driver tried to shake us down for more money, but when he realized we weren't going to pay any more he dumped us off somewhere in Guate (no idea where). We found a bank and exchanged some money, then opted to take a cab for the 1 hour drive to Antigua rather than try to find another chicken bus. Our driver ended up speaking English and it was a pretty excellent trip to Antigua from there.

When we got to Antigua we headed for Casa Santa Lucia Hotel, which was recommended in the book for having comfortable rooms with a private bathroom option for a really cheap price. The place was so good we stayed here on our way back through too!

Okay, so Antigua is surrounded by several volcanoes: Fuego, Aqua, Acatenango, and Pacaya.... I think one more as well, but I can't remember it's name at the moment. This is the view from our window, looking towards Volcan Aqua south of town.

View of Volcan Aqua from the streets of Antigua... Antigua is a beautiful colonial town with cobbled streets. We didn't think we'd like it because it's kind of a touristy city, but it's relatively quiet, feels safe, and it makes an amazing base of operations. There's direct connections with Guatemalan beaches, the ruins around Hue Hue in the north, Copan in Honduras, volcano hikes, mountain bike rides, etc... even direct shuttles to Playa El Tunco (which is how we got back to the beach at the end of the trip!). Next time we'll probably just fly into Guate and be based out of Antigua.

We had access to the roof of our hotel - which was one of the tallest buildings in town and had amazing views. The volcano erupting on the left is Fuego, and Acatenango (the biggest in the area) is in the middle... can't remember the name of the one on the right.

View of the city from the top of our hotel. Volcan Aqua is the big one on the left (closest to town), Fuego erupting in the middle, next to Acatenango. I don't think you can make out Pacaya in this shot.

This is a chicken bus... and I suspect the reason that the hotel is so cheap for what you get. There's a bus stop on the corner outside our window so we were woken up every morning around 5 am by the bus people yelling "GUATE, GUATE, GUATE". Everybody yells down there... it seems to be the main form of advertisement. On our way back through we stayed at the back of the hotel where it is MUCH quieter.

On this visit to Antigua we snuck in a bike tour with Old Town Outfitters. Our guide Pancho didn't speak much English, but we had an interpreter with us and there's not much talking required for a bike ride anyway. Apparently Pancho's in training for the PanAmerican games... very cool.

We opted for the Intermediate ride since we didn't have our own bikes or pedals. Bikes were mostly in good shape although gear shifting wasn't as smooth and the bikes were heavier than mine. The trail looped through farmer's fields (growing avocadoes, beans, and corn mostly).

We also got to see Maximon. This is one of the local saints worshipped by Guatemalans. There are two incarnations, one seen below and one in one of the towns around Lago Atitlan. You're supposed to bring rum and cigarettes or cigars as offerings... then the priest beats you with leafy branches and spits rums all over you to chase out the evil demons. Tom thought this was a pretty sweet job, but we both decided to keep our evil spirits and continue biking. It was a great ride and I'd definitely recommend riding with Old Town Outfitters (in fact we did again on our way back through).