My 1st trip to Guatemala...

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Thurs 29th Dec 2011 - Miami to Guatemala

Having survived La Cucaracha experience, it was time to survive Le Runway's dodgy breakfast. A short trip to the car rental and we were all set for Latin America. American Airlines was distinctly average and not as good as BA and even SouthWest which is supposed to be budget!
The airport in Guatemala City was fairly new and my 1st impressions were better than I'd expected - I'd set my expectations so low that this was almost inevitable. Expecting our taxi from the airport to be held, ambushed and hijacked, I was again pleasantly surprised to make it to the old capital Antigua in one piece. The journey there was exhilarating with our driver Juan, having clearly learnt his trade in America, driving like a lunatic in and out of the traffic all the way there, which was up and over one of the many humungous mountains in the country. Antigua seemed to have been moth balled for the last 100 years with its' bumpy cobbled streets, ruined churches and no sign of any new buildings in a very long time. Guatemala City had felt like the typical modern day conurbation you'd expect to get in a developing country but Antigua felt more like something out of an old film. I can only hope there are other places like this in Latin America.
Our hostel appeared very good on 1st sight, Villa Estella, with it being basic, clean and traditional. Our hostess, a Dutch lady called Danielle, had made this town her home for the last 7 years and you could immediately see why someone could arrive and never leave this enchanted place.

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Photos

New Years Eve
With Jon and Liz