Antigua

Antigua is the boutique destination of Guatemala. There are taco bells, papa johns and other american chains set out surprisingly tastefully amongst the old churches and squares of the city. There seems to be a nice mix of young and friendly Guatemalans, and holiday makers (mostly from the US) giving the city a safe feel (though still be careful after dark). And, with things like farmers markets and art galleries dotted around you won't run out of things to do very quickly.

Getting There

As had been the standard for us in Guatemala we caught a shuttle bus (this time for 90Q). They are safer than public buses, and it's less likely your things will get stolen. They are also in theory more direct, though sometimes if the bus is full that is anything but the case.

Where we stayed

We stayed at the Doozey Koala for 225Q a night with a shared bathroom. It was relatively clean, though it was extremely loud and not particularly secure due to a window that wouldn't lock. The atmosphere was really friendly and everyone who worked there gave some great advice and made us feel welcome. There were also lots of events put on so you wouldn't get bored.

Journal

The shuttle from Lake Atitlan was about three and a half hours, it was a packed shuttle and we ended up sitting next to an older couple who we talked to some of the way. Half way through the journey we hit some heavy traffic, after 5 minutes of going nowhere we suddenly veered off the paved road and on to a dirt track. Everyone on the bus exchanged glances, this definitely wasn't the approved route! We bounced around the shuttle for about 45 minutes before joining the paved road again and apparently beating the traffic. Anything goes in these Guatemalan shuttle journeys it seems.

We were staying at a newly opened hostel called "Doozy Koala". It had just opened a few months prior and consequently wasn't even on hostelworld or booking.com. That also means that most of the drivers didn't know where the hostel was. Luckily we knew the hostel was opposite one of the churches (though our driver had some trouble finding that too). We eventually found the hostel and immediately found out why it was named "Doozy Koala"; It was run by and therefore full of Aussies! They were all very nice and showed us to our room which was out back.

The room was adequate, though it was pretty noisy compared to those we'd stayed in previously. It wasn't until later that we also realised there was no lock on the window so it was insecure too. We took to keeping our valuables with us or in the lockers provided. There was a bar onsite, and they had things going on every night. It was definitely on the side of being a party hostel, though again most of the nights finished by 11:30.

It was four-ish in the afternoon by this point and we hadn't eaten since breakfast. We were very, very hungry. We were exactly sure were we were going but we went out to have a look. The city was crazy busy and it turned out it was Armed Forces day so everyone was out for a party. The weather was great, the sun was out but it wasn't too hot. We eventually walked past a bar called Lava that had a roof terrace that looked nice. We popped in and decided our stomachs couldn't wait any longer. We both ordered burgers and then spent the next ten minutes wondering how they'd identify us as they hadn't given us a number or flag or anything. Eventually we got bored of propping up the bar and moved outside on to the terrace. Our food was a long time coming and we had to ask a waiter a couple of times saying we were waiting. Possibly that's the ordering system where they match up what has been cooked to what someone has asked for. Either way we got our burgers. They were average but did the job.

Getting a drink (and waiting for food) at Lava Bar - great view and atmosphere though!

After that we did a quick tour of the main square and grabbed a couple of very delicious ice creams. We dipped our heads into an art gallery which was very cool, but closed almost immediately as we walked in (at least it was free!). We headed back to the hostel after that.

Day 2

The next morning Kate wanted to go and give a local yoga instructor a go. It was an hour long session and was free (though you had to buy a smoothie for 35Q, so it was actually 35Q with a free smoothie). We weren't sure we wanted a smoothie, so they said it was OK just to get a coffee instead which was nice. The session was outside on the grass in one of the squares and it was run out of Union Cafe, which is where you can get the smoothie. I'm not massively in to yoga so I spent most of my time either wondering what I was supposed to be doing or pulling a muscle of some sort.

After yoga we went back to the hostel to sort out doing our washing (we needed a big load doing and doing well). We decided to give it to the hostel which had someone who would do laundry for them. The load ended up being pretty much half our clothes! We asked if it could be done before the end of the day as we knew we might need to be up early to catch our next bus. While we were sorting that out the hostel owners asked if we had any plans for the day, we said we were just going to explore the town and they suggested going to the Coamba farmers market which runs on Saturdays. As we hadn't eaten yet we decided to go and give it a go.

We googled the market and found that they have a free shuttle that goes from the main square. We thought that we be better than paying 30Q for a tuktuk. We went down to the main square and after asking a few people who had no idea what we were talking about we got a 20Q tuktuk. We got to the market and were immediately impressed. The quality of all the produce would rival many markets around the world. It was relatively small but there was live music and a great food cafe serving amazing pizzas, salads, sandwiches and they all looked amazing. Out the back there is also a huge garden where they are growing all kinds of veg and there are a few pens with chickens and sheep in. They are almost worth a visit in themselves!

We got a very late breakfast there, in the form of a pizza. Then we walked around the market and got a few tastings of bread and cake, and bought some of the cake. After the tuktuk ride to the market we knew it was actually pretty close by and we walked 20 minute back in to the centre of town along some very pretty streets. At this point we also picked up our shuttle to Coban, our next stop. It was 150Q for the 6 hour trip, and would pick us up at 8am. We then headed back to the hostel from there before heading off on another walk up to a view point where they apparently have sculptures dotted around and it had come highly recommended by a few people.

The walk to the viewpoint is slightly out of town and up a big hill at the Santa Domingo Cultural Centre. We walked there which turned out to be pretty strenuous and wasn't great for our knees that were still recovering from the Quetzaltenango trek. We later found out that you can take a free shuttle from one of the hotels at the bottom of the hill. It was about a 40-50 minute walk (though at a slow place because of the hill), and there wasn't really a foot path so most of it we had to walk either on the road or the gutter (if there was a car coming). Every five minutes or so there is a sculpture at the side of the road to show you're on the right track and to whet peoples appetite a little.

Eventually we crested a hill and found a load of people at a viewpoint taking photos next to a helipad. We took a photo and then noticed the road continued up the hill. It was another 10 minutes up to the top where we found a big car park. We followed to the end of the car park where we started to be able to see the sculptures. There was a few of a volkswagen beetles and then a little more of a track and then a few big buildings, one that looked like a giant circus and appeared to be closed, and another that was a resturant. We looked around a little more and found a few more sculptures but mostly found the best sculptures were on the road outside! We went up to the resturant to find they were in between lunch and dinner, and dinner started in an hours time (6:30). We walked around for another five minutes, found a small art gallery that appeared to be closed, a very nice viewpoint over Antigua, and and exotic bird cage. There was also a zip-lining assult course that looked to be the most interesting thing there, though that appeared to be both expensive, and more importantly, closed.

We decided that it wasn't quite what we had expected - it was kind of like a botanical garden without the garden - and went off to find the shuttle bus. As we got to the expected stop we saw the shuttle bus pulling away and had to sit down to wait for the next one.

Waiting for the shuttle from

We were minding our own business when I noticed the first mosquito fly by, we both stood up ready to put up a fight. Unfortunately we were both in shorts and had no DEET, so this meant it was back to the old tried and tested method of clapping and slapping. I got the first one, it was on Kates leg and left a rather bloody splatter which put an end to that game and started a new game of dance and run in circles. We played this for another half an hour by which point we had started thinking perhaps the shuttle was done for the day, though there were still lots of cars in the carpark and the resturant and some of the other venues did stay open late. Thankfully one came round the corner shortly afterwards and we gladly jumped on and were transported back to town.

Getting the Santa Domingo Shuttle - escaping the mosquitoes!

For dinner Kate wanted Italian again, however I vetoed her request in favour of trying Guatemalan cuisine which I was slightly embarrassed that we hadn't tried yet. There was a place opposite the hostel that had been very busy at lunchtime and looked like a Guatemalan buffet - what's not to like?! We headed there and I got some BBQ chicken with salad and Kate got a beef stew. Both were very nice though I was slightly worried when I saw the chicken being put in the microwave and realised it had clearly been left out for hours at a balmy 25 degrees. As I'd already ordered it however I felt I needed to eat it, and it was indeed very tasty! Afterwards our tummies felt a little funny but it was probably just another day of skipping breakfast... We went for a walk to get some money out as we needed to pay for the hostel and washing so we could leave early the next morning. We also grabbed another ice cream of course.

We headed back to the hostel to find they had another night on (Christmas in July the most Aussie of traditions), we were hoping for an early night as we had another early start. Luckily the night closed down around 11, though it was still a little later than we were hoping for. In the morning it was a 7am start to make sure we were ready for the shuttle. Overnight I'd started to feel a little rumble in my tummy, something didn't feel great. Kate also felt a bit funny so it was most likely our foray into Guatemalan buffets that was the cause.

And so, we boarded our 6 hour shuttle to Coban with some very ominous rumbles in our bellies...