Guatemala had long been on my list of places to visit, and being so close to Florida, you would think it wouldn't have taken me so many years to cross off. The issue was that Guatemala required at least two full days. With the Delta flights timed the way they are, it would require a 3 day weekend for me to visit. Every time one of those weekends arose, I would end up in Europe or deep South America. Well, Europe and South America were all full so it was time for Guatemala over MLK weekend.
Day 1
Like every trip it seems, the trip started with an early release from work and straight to the airport to head up to Atlanta.
The Boeing 757-200 taking us down to Guatemala City this evening.
After an uneventful 4 hour flight in Comfort +, welcome to Guatemala City! At this point, it was roughly 10PM, so we requested the Uber to take us out to Antigua.
We ended up making the drive in just under an hour considering the lack of traffic at that time of the night. ***Remember this*** <foreshadowing>
We checked into the Hotel Casa Cristina just before 11:00PM local time. Not bad for ~$25 USD/night. No AC needed as temperatures were rather comfortable overnight due to Antigua's elevation.
Day 2
Hotel Casa Cristina the next morning. The property was located very centrally and down a very quiet side street.
I had planned on waking up for sunrise, but when my alarm went off I checked out the weather and saw completely overcast clouds. Back to bed... Luckily the clouds had all cleared out by about 9:00AM. Stunning view from our hotel's roof.
The plan for today was to walk around and just explore some of the sights of Antigua before our 1PM pickup for our sunset volcano hike. We started off with a short five-minute walk to the Santa Catalina Arch. If you've ever seen a picture of Antigua, it was probably of this arch. Unfortunately, our schedule didn't afford me any good picture opportunities of the arch, so I'll just have to live with this midday backlit photo.
Some of the buildings in Antigua reminded me a bit of Havana with their level of decay and historic appearance.
A coffee to keep me awake.
Before it got too hot, we decided to hike to the top of Cerro de la Cruz, which took a short 10-minutes.
Cerro de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross) offers a great view of Antigua. The landscape is dominated by Volcán de Agua, towering 12,340 feet above sea level. It hasn't erupted for tens of thousands of years, but that's not the case for other nearby volcanoes.
Where 'Cerro de la Cruz' gets its name. Antigua, the entire city, has been deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Chicken Busses are popular throughout Latin America, including Guatemala. Having started life off as a school bus in the US, many have made their way down here to be decorated and operated throughout the region.
Chicken bus.
Rincón Típico became a quick favorite for us in Antigua for cheap and delicious Guatemalan food.
A plate of wood fire grilled chicken, a salad, potatoes and a Coke running ~$3 USD.
Motorbikes.
At least this place has a sense of humor.
The next stop was Antigua's largest market. Outside there are mostly souvenir stores, but inside seems to cater completely to locals.
Inside the market.
Dried chilis.
A busy market.
Vegetables.
Meat.
Fish.
Vegetables.
After an hour or so in this van, we arrived at the trailhead for our sunset volcano hike. The weather was looking pretty abysmal at this point, but the guide assured us it would clear up at the top.
We were a group of 15. Roughly 3-4 sprung for the horses to walk them up the mountain initially.
The hike up wouldn't have been too strenuous at sea level, but at ~9K feet ASL, it gets to you. The hike took about 90 minutes to complete. About half the participants were on a horse half way up.
Still cloudy but at least the sun is visible.
Finally! I'm proud I made it and oh, what a view.
Volcanoes were visible in all directions.
After a few minutes at the summit, we headed down into the lava rock field.
A little gimmicky but still cool to be able to roast marshmallows in the ground.
They were more cooked than they look.
Not paying attention, I ended up having to sprint back to the top to get the sunset pictures I wanted of the volcanoes. This was the sun just prior to me reaching the top.
Volcán de Pacaya is the dominating volcano in view from here and has been constantly erupting since the 1960s.
We were told that active lava flow is only visible about 50% of the time. It was quite mesmerizing, especially considering we were close enough to hear it.
Looking back the other way, (right) Volcán de Agua is the one most visible from Antigua. Volcán de Fuego (left - smoking) recently erupted in June 2018, killing at least 190 people, making it Guatemala's deadliest eruption since 1929. Ashfall caused the Guatemala City La Aurora International Airport to be closed for 2 days. A reminder of just how powerful these things are.
After a tiring hike and a one hour ride back into town, it was time for dinner. We started off with some chorizo queso.
Not as cheap as lunch, but still, an excellent burrito.
Day 3
Another cloudy sunrise meant we finally got out of the room around 10AM. On the way to brunch, this small shop caught my eye.
Brunch
Cobbled stone streets of Antigua. The plan for the day was to walk around and hit the main attractions and explore.
New and old.
We took a 20-minute Uber ride to San Juan del Obispo, south of Antigua, to get some in-house made chocolate.
The establishment was small, but they were informative and the chocolate was excellent.
