Date of Entry: January 27th to 29th 2017
Date of Writing: February 13th 2018
After a long day of buses to San jose to catch my evening flight to Guatamala city I hop straight into a shared van transfer to Antigua. Most backpackers skip Guatamala city because it’s hectic, dirty and somewhat dangerous. If i’d had longer than the short week I spent in Guatamala I would not have done this, it feels like a cool place to explore, but time restrictions being what they are I did like most others and headed straight to Antigua where I am warmly welcomed at my amazing hostel Wicho and Charlie’s which has just opened and has homemade pod beds and friendly owners as well as good wifi and a great location. It’s late at night but still I head out and walk the few blocks to the main plaza where I’m thrilled to find a wendy’s open. Not typical central american food, but delicious and I do miss such things living in Brazil. From Wendy’s I head back for a good night sleep with the plan to explore Antigua for the next few days.
Waking up I realize that nighttime masked Antiguas true dynamic location, just utterly surrounded by volcanos, many of them active. The town itself is also stunning, countless colonial buildings mostly well kept up, some amazing churches, local mayan people dressed in all their spectacular colours (only some of them for tourism purposes), and a strange mix of western businesses inside those colonial buildings.
One thing was already clear from my first night here, and only becomes more clear as I wander around town, the people here are generally quite poor. Guatamala has a lot more poverty on show than the first three countries of this specific trip. It’s hard to see and makes me reflect on how to help. Brazil has this poverty too of course, most of the world does in one way or the other, but in Guatamala it’s a bit harder to ignore.
I keep wandering through some ruins of an old church which has been destroyed but the open ruins inside have been turned into various technical schools teaching trades and other things to Guatamala’s young people. A super cool project here.
As I keep wandering I also notice some smoke floating up out of one of the volcanoes too and find myself almost hoping for an eruption. I don’t have the time and am borderline on the physical fitness part to hike up one of the volcanoes, but I hope to come back one day and spend a night on one of the summits with the hope of seeing some volcanic activity up close and personal.
As I wander back to the main square and eat some more guilty pleasure wendy’s in the main plaza I snap some photos of the life carrying on all around me. I also find an actual bagel shop which I can’t even say how much I’ve missed here in Brazil. I think I need to learn how to make them this year, since I can’t seem to find them anywhere in Brazil.
From the main square I head over to the local market, with a huge portion of it dedicated to souvenirs for the countless tourists in Antigua. I’ve only been in Guatamala a day and a half at this point but I’ve already fallen in love with this colourful country, and knowing that things are cheap it seems the perfect place to buy some souvenirs. I also notice more and more western businesses in colonial buildings and it remains very strange to my eyes. This time around I just window shop and take some photos then get a frozen yogurt and head back to my hostel taking lots of pictures of the locals.
I spend another fun night in Wicho and Charlies and head to bed early then spend the next morning still wandering the streets, in the afternoon though I choose to hike up to a viewpoint of this beautiful city nestled in a valley surrounded by volcanoes. It’s a short hike but were at 1500 meters above sea level and I’m out of shape so I’m breathing hard and a little sweaty when I make it to the top with the giant cross and this truly beautiful city sprawled out below it.
I spend a while up there just enjoying the view, (for lazy people, or older people, or just people with more time than money you absolutely can take a taxi there.) before heading back down the way I’ve come, through the forest and back into the city where I wander to different corners of the city and find new places including vibrant flower bushes and amazing view points of the sun setting behind a cloud shrouded volcano painting the sky a gorgeous muted golden colour. I also stumble upon another incredible pastel yellow church that is beyond beautiful even if the mass going on is quite intense for me.
Outside the church I find a little street stall serving up pure deliciousness, it sort of seems like the closer to Mexico I get the better the food gets. I can’t describe all the flavours and how the play with each other on this thing which cost less than 1 USD so I’ll just show you a picture and let your pallet imagine the flavours exploding in your mouth. Then I move back to the sky, where the sun and clouds are almost the colour of fire. In the distance I also notice some tantalizing mini explosions of lava from one of the peaks, and find myself hoping it keeps going into the night when I’ll be able to see it better.
I get back to the hostel and meet up with the same awesome people from earlier in the day that I did not mention, Jefferson and Brittany from the U.S. and Lennox a young and adventurous backpacker from the U.K. We chat for a while in the courtyard area of the hostel before we head down the block to a cheap local taco place that turns out to be the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in a long time. This place makes me wish I had more time in Antigua and while I will get to go back once it’ just not enough. If you’re in Antigua make sure you go and eat at taqueria Dona Lupita, good for your wallet and your belly.
We head back to the hostel and chat more about everything and anything under the sun, exchanging travel stories, discussing politics and lives back home. It’s fun and something I’ve missed very dearly about travelling, you meet so many incredible and interesting people from all over the world and get a window into different cultures, beliefs and views of life through various countries and age groups. Plus you just meet some really cool people. At the end of the day that in itself is awesome and is one thing missing from my more normal life I’ve been building (at least for a while) here in Brazil.
Our conversation is interrupted by one of the hostel owners who comes running in and tells us to get out into the street right now. No were not being kicked out of the hostel, but something has kicked off outside, a volcanic eruption. We flood the street and watch in awe, even from over 100 km away this natural spectacle is truly amazing and there’s a lot more lava bubbling up than I’ve ever seen before thinking back to my experiences in Chile.
The power of it, the sounds, the way the molten rock dances and flows like a burning ocean crashing into rocks, is nothing short of miraculous. And it doesn’t stop. We watch from the street and I take what pictures I can in the darkness, but once it keeps going we decide to head out together to a rooftop bar Jefferson tells us about searching for better views of the eruption.
The bar does provide a better view and is quite crowded for obvious reasons. The only downside is a loud american who is explaining to a lovely german family why obama care is evil and Trump is the saviour of America. Of course he’s welcome to his opinion but he doesn’t let anyone else speak unless it’s to praise his opinions and it just becomes almost funny to listen to. He also shifts to immigration at one point not in the below videos to the best of my knowledge, and this seems quite insensitive considering the country he’s in and the stance he takes. Still we enjoy quietly mocking him.
We also meet a nice Canadian Indian family with teenage kids watching the eruption beside us. And of course the star of the show is the eruption which keeps going for what seems like hours. I take a few videos which don’t capture the scope or energy of it, but at least give you some idea. And below there are some pictures of Brittany and Lennox in their most serious model poses possible.
