Antigua, Guatemala: My beginning and ending point.
Like many travellers, I chose to avoid Guatemala City as much as possible, as it has a reputation for being crime-ridden and just generally sounded uninteresting to me. Instead, I took a tourist shuttle to Antigua, which is about 45 minutes away, across a low mountain ridge. Antigua used to be the capitol of Guatemala, but it has been razed by earthquakes so many times they finally moved the capitol. The city rebuilt, however, and today it is a vibrant town and makes a great tourist destination (for Gautemalans and gringos alike). It's a great intro to Guate, with nice eateries, markets, language schools, and outfitters for volcano climbs. I spent 3 nights here--two at the start, and one before I flew home, and I enjoyed this town very much. I found it easy to navigate, safe, and very interesting, with enough local color mixed with tourist services to be a great jumping off point. I would not hesitate to come back here.
 |
| Flying into Guatemala City, which spreads in the foreground. Beyond lies the ridge that separates Antigua from Guate, and the 3 volcanoes that dominate Antigua. |
 |
| Antigua lies in the basin below the 3 volcanoes seen here: Volcan Agua on the left, Volcans Fuego (active) and Acatenango (the one I climbed) on the right. |
I stayed at the very relaxing and friendly Yellow House Hostel.
 |
| My room viewed from the patio. |
 |
| Day 1: Checking out the rooftop terrace and breakfast area. Real coffee served here! |
 |
| Pretty rooftop terrace. Beyond was a view of Volcan Agua, one of the 3 major volcanoes that shadows Antigua. |
 |
| View from the hostel roof. Note the Yellow Church in the background--this park and landmark was only two blocks away, making my hotel easy to find. |
No comments:
Post a Comment