Antigua and Volcan Pacaya, Guatemala

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Intro to Antigua

Nestled between three volcanoes, Antigua is almost impossibly cute... cobbled streets, mustard- and orchre-colored houses with colonial fittings, the leafy central park... did they get somebody to do all this stuff? Most hotels have an "everybody in by 1am" policy, too. Antigua's profusion of language schools and drinking holes has made it a magent for half-assed language students and serious cocktail swiller alike, and there's always a sizable gringo population. Some people love it, some hate it, but you'd be silly to miss it. Antigua is cold after sunset so bring warm clothes. Antigua residents are known by the nickname panza verde (green belly), as they are said to eat lots of avocados, which grow abundantly here.

History

Antigua was founded on March 10, 1543, and served as the colonial capital for 223 years. The capital was transferred to Guatemala City in 1776, after Antigua was razed in the earthquake of July 29, 1773. The town was slowly rebuilt, retaining much of its traditional character. In 1944 the Legislative Assembly declared Antigua a national monument, and in 1979 Unesco declared it a World Heritage Site. Most of Antigua's buildings were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the city was a rich Spanish outpost and the Catholic church was ascending to power. Many handsome, sturdy colonial buidings remain, and several impressive ruins have been preserved and are open to the public.

Our Experience

We left Coban at 1PM on a large greyhound-esque bus headed for Guatemala city. It was a four hour bus ride through the mountains. The bus was (as usual) quite full. Our seats reclined a little and I spent the majority of the journey reading a novel I brought with me, stopping periodically to look out the window.

We arrived in Guatemala City around 5PM. Compared to what we have been seeing, Guate was very urban. Our bus even drove on mini-freeways of sorts with overpasses, etc. Some buildings could even be considered small skyscrapers. The city is sprawling to say the least. There isn't a central bus station in Guate - instead, each line has its own small terminal. We were dropped off at one station and took a taxi to the station for Antigua bound buses. Our cab driver positively beamed when he informed us that Italy won the World Cup. He said Italy is great because they make such great food: lasagna, pasta (pizza, I added).

The bus we took from Guate to Antigua was an old US school bus, but this was no ordinary old US school bus with a monochromatic paint job - this bus was seriously tricked out. It was bright red and green with some yellow trim and lots of chrome. It even had rim-esque things covering the wheels and mudflaps with the silhouette of a sexy woman. Inside, the stick shift was wrapped in red and gold plastic and had a clear ball on the top with Jesus on the cross inside. It was really an incredible thing. It reminded us of some semi-trucks in the States. Along with being fantastic to look at... our driver was completely loco! He drove like a maniac! Seriously. I had to hang on for dear life. He just floored it along the narrow streets in Guate and once we hit the curvy mountain roads it just got crazier. I think the poor old guy next to me almost cracked his head open when the driver slammed the on the brakes. It was really insane, but fun. The kind of bus ride you would have loved as a kid. Where was this driver when I had to take the boring old school bus?

When we arrived in Antigua it took us a little while to get oriented. Like I said, there is no central bus station (anywhere, apparently) so we never really know exactly where we are going to be dropped off. Eventually we got pointed in the right direction and headed towards a hostel our guidebook recommended. We checked in and then headed off to find something to eat. The restaurant we found was wonderful. It was an Italian place (called Da Vinci something or other) and the food was good. The inside, however, was spectacular. It is one of the most interesting and well appointed places I have ever eaten. An interior decorator's dream. (Judson - if you are reading this blog... this place was soooo cool!) It was just so full of ambiance. We ate there twice. The first night we ate in the courtyard and the next evening we ate inside. Lots of candles, mirrors, pieces of art work (many were copies of works of Da Vinci, naturally), funky light fixtures, solid wooden tables and chairs, pretty table cloths, all inside fantastic rooms complete with columns and large golden colored angles hanging from the corners of the ceiling. Pictures do not to the place justice.

After dinner we tried to book a trip to Pacaya (an active Volcano near Antigua), but it was late and all the local tour offices were closed. We had seen a sign earlier and knew that the tours to Pacaya left at 6AM and 1PM, so we resigned ourselves to booking the 1PM trip the next morning. Then we went to bed... totally exhausted. It may seem silly, but spending the day on a bus is almost as tiring as exploring a city or town.

The next morning we booked a tour to Pacaya and the next few hours (prior to the tour) exploring Antigua. It is a beautiful, colonial city nestled between three volcanoes. I accidentally left my towel in San Ignacio, Belize - so the first thing we did was head to the local mercado (market) to find a towel. We found one... it is great. Bright, bright orange-yellow. Joe likes it. Then we had breakfast, which was quite good and quite cheap - but it was sort of a disaster for me personally. I made a total idiot of myself and asked for "juego de naranja" instead of "jugo de naranja." Basically I insisted on having a "game of orange" instead of "orange juice." The waitress rolled her eyes at me. I think I would have rolled my eyes at me too, if I had been her.

After breakfast we walked towards the Parque Central (Central Park, duh). And, on the way, we found a McDonalds. There were lots of little shops along the road from the market heading towards Central Park. I decided to do some shopping and stopped inside almost all of them. There were lots of neat touristy items, many of which where handmade by locals. After Joe had his fill of shopping (about 20 minutes) we split up and agreed to meet back at McDonalds for lunch. I walked past Central Park and explored some cathedrals, etc. Joe walked around a bit as well and then sat down in Central Park and relaxed. We met up at McDonalds and had a yummy lunch. McDonalds is really, really good overseas. Really good. After lunch we headed back to our hotel and packed for our trip to Pacaya.

A minibus picked us from our hotel at 1PM, and we, along with 5 other tourists (three Aussies and two other Americans from Pennsylvania). It took us a little over an hour to drive to the Pacaya parking lot. There we met our guide who explained the hike up to the summit was about 3 kilometers and would take us about an hour and twenty minutes.

Joe's Side of the Story: Ok. Now the guy we met in San Ignacio said this thing was a cake walk. He was from Austin, Texas so I figured "cake walk" meant that it was pretty darn easy, because there are no mountains near Austin that I know of. WRONG. I consider myself to be in decent shape. I go to the gym a lot, I do some cardio (except I haven't done any cardio since before Germany... I am sure that did not help). This was NOT easy. It also did not help the situation that the Aussies were in marathon running shape and bolted up the mountain. They set a pace that even our guide was annoyed with (I think).

Lila's Side of the Story: The hike was no joke. It was really tough. And, the Aussie's were amazing. They said something about having to walk everywhere in Australia. Is that true Roger? If so, I'm definitely moving to Australia :o) However, when the Texan said the hike up was nothing more than a walk I had my doubts. Thanks to a summer in Yellowstone, I am absolutely aware that as Floridians any incline is a serious incline. So, yes the hike was definitely difficult. But, hiking - by definition - is difficult. And, in my limited experience, as tough as this hike was, it was slightly difficult but VERY short. Note to all my fellow Floridians: you will never, EVER "walk" up a mountain. Ever. :o)

Joe's Retort: Think Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings without Orcs.

Lila's Retort: Except that it was lush and lovely. Nice temperature, etc. Like a pretty Mt. Doom - which, as we all know, is an oxymoron. (Joe clearly has an active imagination.)

Anyways, after requesting that the group "take a break" several times, we made it to the top of the volcano (well, as far up as our tour would take us) in a record 40 minutes!!! Remember... Normal time: 1:20... our time: 0:40!!!

We never actually went to the summit. Hello... this is an active volcano. That would be... shall we say... DANGEROUS! However, we got really close. Close enough to see several rivers of lava oozing their way down the mountainside. We even got to walk out on the lava bed directly above flowing lava. It was really hot. Our guide poured some water into a crack in the rocks and it instantly turned to steam. The hair on one of Joe's legs actually got singed off! While we were standing on the hot rocks it began to rain and the entire mountain began to steam. It was a truly incredible sight to behold.

The flowing lava we saw was not nearly as liquid as we imagined it would be. Several members of our group threw large stones directly onto the lava stream, and they bounced off the lava river like it was made of concrete. It is really strange to see something clearly flowing... moving... but at the same time extremely solid (and very, very hot).

When we walked out on the lava bed (igneous rocks) they made an eerie, echo-ish sort of sound. The rocks sounded almost hollow. We got to watch a lava stream made up of large rocks consume a tree and the sound of the rocks breaking off and tumbling down the slope was awesome. Difficult to describe, obviously, but really awesome.

After hanging out on top of Pacaya for about and hour we headed down - again, in record time. Those Aussies positively ran down the mountain. For, as Joe says (and I agree) - no good reason. The walk down could have been scenic and enjoyable, but instead those three blitzed to the bottom. Insanity. We actually had to run to keep up. Run. Down a volcano. Ugh.

We said goodbye to our guide at the parking lot and our driver took us back to Antigua. He dropped us off at the Parque Central, and we decided to take advantage of the cheap international phone rates and call our parents. I got a hold of my parents on my Dad's cell, and Joe managed to track down his Dad via his cell too. It was nice to call home.

As I mentioned earlier, we ate at Da Vinci's again and had a great Hawaiian pizza and a couple of Diet Cokes. Then we crashed. The hike definitely kicked our butts. Big time.

The next morning we got up early. And, I promptly threw up. (I won't be taking any medicine on an empty stomach again.) So, while I laid around drinking water and eating Oreos (excellent cure, eh?), Joe did everything! He bought our tickets to Quetzaltenango, got money from the ATM, and bought me some Orange Juice (and... I should also mention that he retrieved a jacket I left at Da Vinci's the night before). We left Antigua on a shuttle - aka minivan - bound for Guate and then caught a bus to Quetzaltenango, called Xela (pronounced Shay-la) by the indigenous population (and practically everyone else).

Up Next...

Xela.

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