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Published: August 20th 2008
Our taxi journey to Granada was pleasant enough as we had no hostel booked again we chose one from LP (we have never relied on the book so much) and went to see if they had rooms. They had one room left a shared bathroom arrangement but for one night we decided to take it. It was now around 5pm and as we would be leaving here at 8am the following morning we just wanted to see as much as we could in the light. The room was once again very basic set around an outside courtyard. The standard of rooms has really dropped since we arrived in Nicaragua but you just have to knuckle down and get on with it. At this point we had not checked our e-mails in a while so we took 10 minutes to do that before heading out into the town. It was as we sat at the hostel computer that we heard someone shout Tims name. We turned round to find that Haz and Steve had chosen the same hostel and we had a laugh with them catching up with their antics.
Granada has a reputation for its colonial buildings and quaint plazas.
Maybe it was because we did not spend a lot of time here to explore but we did not find it so quaint. It is a little run down and although it feels safe in general it was also not as pretty as we had expected. We went to the main plaza and there were a few nice buildings there. As we walked away from there though the buildings became run down and rough looking. We tried to get up the church for a full view of the town but by the time we got there it was too late as was closed which was a shame. We headed to get some food and found little choice so after a couple of beers we went back to our hostel. The main seating areas here was quite nice although they have closed the bar due to some issue with bad behaviour at Christmas. One of the problems with staying in hostels is the fact that you can get surrounded by kids who have little idea how to behave themselves. It’s a bit frustrating when you are a grown adult but hey ho. The bearded monkey as it was called has very
good food though and we enjoyed quite a hearty meal. We had planned to head back out but found that we were so tired after we had eaten that we just wanted to sleep. Haz and Steve had invited us out so we made our apologies to them and wished them luck with their future travels. They were heading in the opposite direction to us so we knew we would not see them again. However, they are at Nottingham Uni so we swapped email addresses to see if we can catch up when we are home. Granada did not get the best of us and we are both feeling a bit tired and run down at this point. We just seem to have been on the go for days now. After a discussion of what was next on the agenda we decided that our main time here we still wanted to have in Guatemala so we had to keep going at this pace to make sure we got there in time. With that in mind we took to our beds with another early start the next day.
The bus for Managua left Granada at 8am. As we walked through
the streets to the station the bus was heading towards us they stopped and we hopped onto a quite crowded bus. Our backpacks we put at the front behind the driver and as no seats were left we stood for most of the journey. It never ceases to amaze me how many people they get on these buses and by the time we hit the outskirts of Managua there was about 20 people crammed into the aisles. People trying to get off we having to squeeze themselves through the bodies and you have to see it to believe it!! We got off the bus at the last stop and jumped a taxi to the tica bus station. Our bus was not sue to leave until 11am so we had a couple of hours to wait. We still needed to find a hostel in San Salvador and had not had much luck with finding availability the night before. As the bus station had an internet café we decided to make use of our time. After 90 minutes of very stressful activity as we tried every single hostel website and low cost hotel site we realised we had a problem on our
hands as we could not find anywhere to stay. Finally Tim found a hotel that was out of our budget but had a good base for us to see the city from. We made our reservation and even though it was a bit more than we wanted to pay it was a 3 star so we both knew we would have a nice bed and shower the next day!!
Our bus arrived an hour late, getting used to this now and when we got on our seats were taken by other passengers. We had to get back off and tell the bus attendant what had happened. He went on the bus and came back to get us. We ended up with two seats but it was not the two booked. We were just happy that we had seats!!! The journey was supposed to be 5 hours but it ended up being about 7 which is just the way things are. We traveled out of El Salvador, one border crossing and then through part of Honduras, another border crossing and then into Guatemala our third border crossing. We did not get a stamp anywhere as the countries have an alliance,
we were right miffed!!!! We were glad we managed to find a hotel on the internet though as by the time we arrived it was 10.30pm, not good to be looking for somewhere. We took a taxi to the hotel and by the time we had checked in and showered it was almost midnight. What was great though was settling into a bed with pristine sheets. Nice fluffy white towels adorned the very pleasant en-suite and it was a real treat. Shame that we were up and out early again in the morning as we only had one day in San Salvador.
We rose to a very sunny morning and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of eggs and bacon (wow) with very good coffee. AS we were staying in the city we took a taxi to the downtown plaza and had a wonder around. The city is very busy and we soon found ourselves meandering in a market. We both needed to stock up on some more clothes so this was ideal. It transpired to be the biggest market either of us has ever seen and we spent a good few hours bartering for some real good quality clothes. The
changing rooms were a bit of a joke though as they were just so small and with little privacy. I gave up in the end and just hoped the sizes were about right. Tim got some really nice t-shirts and everyone was really friendly which was a nice touch. Good humoured and pleasnt the people laughed and joked with us which made it all the more fun. We are finding the people in Central America particularly gentle and nice. The heat of the day was soon on us though and we were looking for a pit stop to cool down. The market area did not have anywhere to drink so we headed for another area of town which had good restaurants and bars. The taxi got us there in quick time and we settled in to a very pleasant restaurant and whiled the afternoon away chatting and watching our first Olympics coverage. We got quite excited when they started showing snippets of Chinas tourist attractions and we spotted the forbidden city that we had been to earlier in the trip. It is just amazing how far we have come and how much we have seen, we have to pinch ourselves!!
We took a taxi back to our hotel and took a walk into the local area to find some dinner. Settling in a little bar we enjoyed some really nice food and a not so early night.
Our bus for Guatemala was due to leave at 6am the next morning. Having packed everything up we found that the alarm sounding at 4.45 was not very welcome. Another quick shower and dress and our taxi arrived bang on time, bit of a shock!!! We arrived at the bus terminal, just a little office and waited for around 45 minutes for our bus. It arrived on time, another shock and soon we were on our way. The journey to Guatemala was to take 5 hours but another surprise we arrived early and were in Guatemala city half an hour early. I had fallen asleep on the bus and in my half awake state managed to smack my head on the TV screen as we were getting off. That certainly woke me up!!! We had decided not to dwell in the city and had chosen to take a further bus to Antigua. We were approached by a taxi driver when we arrived
and he offered us $30 to Antigua. With a little extra money in the budget we again chose to take it rather than one of the smaller shuttle buses from another part of the City. What surprised us the most was how westernised Guatemala City seemed to be. The trip was only around 45 minutes and the views as we came in Antigua of the 3 surrounding volcanoes were really astounding. Nestled in between these volcanoes Antigua is a very pleasant and quaint town. We expected what we got here from Granada so we were really pleased. Apart from the fact that it took us a while to find our hotel as Tim had forgotten to write the booking down. He managed to get a hotel to let him use the internet and we found we were just around the corner from where he thought. A short walk through the beautiful cobbled streets and we arrived. Our room was very pleasant and we were soon heading off to explore. We had a lot we wanted to do here so we had to get organized quickly. Firstly we booked our trip to the Volcan Pacaya, secondly and more importantly we had
to book another hop over the border back to Honduras to visit the Copan Ruinas and finally we also wanted to visit a lake 4 hours from Antigua so there was a lot to do and we spent most of the day trying to get the best deal for it all. Our first day in Antigua was a very busy one but even so wondering around the various travel agents you cannot help but be taken in by the lovely plaza and buildings. The whole place is very traditional and has been kept oldy worldy which is just beautiful. The streets are cobbled and every shop, restaurant, hotel and even the market looks well maintained and understated.
So our second day in Antigua started with a leisurely morning, we were still up by 8am but these days that is a blessing. We had a leisurely lunch and were to be picked up at 2pm for our visit to the Volcan Pacaya an hour and a half outside of Antigua. The reason we had chosen to go here was because the volcano is still active and you can see the hot lava flowing. This was just too tempting for us
not to go and we packed onto the tiny mini bus. The roads leave a lot to be desired though and it was a bone crunching journey most of the way. Couple that with the fact that it was torrential rain and it was hard going. Neither of us have ever seen so much surface water and in places the roads were like a river. When we got onto the highway we were astounded to find that the hills either side were crumbling under the weight of the water torrenting over them onto the road. A little disconcerting to say the least! Quite surprisingly though by the time we reached the start of the volcano climb high in the mountains the rain had stopped as we were above the clouds, very strange. AS soon as we clambered our aching bodies off the bus we were inundated with kids selling hiking sticks, rain ponchos and various other bits and bobs. We kindly declined as it was only a 90 minute walk. We set off up the steep hill and onto muddy dirt tracks. The views as we climbed were not that special as it was dense clouds and fog but the
surrounding nature was pretty enough. We were both pleased with our fitness after Salkantay 90 minutes is an absolute breeze. We were quite smug when others in the group started to huff and puff. Finally we reached the top and were met by the most bizarre sight. It was how you sort of imagine the moon crater, dense black rock stretched before us. We were warned by our guide (in Spanish a guy had to translate) to watch our footing as the rock is very hard and course and can easily slice you skin. We tentatively followed her as we climbed our way over the rocks. It had got quite cold and had begun to rain so imagine our surprise when the rocks suddenly started to give off quite a lot of heat. Looking into the deep cracks you could see the red hot lava far below. As we climbed over more it got hotter and hotter until the lava was literally right beneath us. We stopped in a spot that had open holes, here you could see the lava a lot clearer and it is truly unbelievable to find yourself standing on an active volcano. We explored more of
the area and watched people toasting, sorry burning marshmellows to a cinder. It is quite remarkable how hot the lava is and it was very very warm up there. We had hoped to see running lava but the volcano was obviously not as active as it had been in previous pictures we had seen taken. Even so it was a great experience and one that we will certainly not be able to repeat that often if at all again. So with our guide beckoning to us and the light fading we headed back down the volcano. The clouds had started to lift and views of other inactive volcanoes in the area came into view, a very beautiful sight. Mother nature at her most fierce for sure!! The rain had stopped and as it went dark we were quite thankful of the torch we had remembered to pack as we picked our way back down the mountainside. Arriving back in the little village all the kids that had sold the sticks were then trying to get them back for free it was quite amusing!! So we all struggled back onto the bus and by the time we were back to Antigua
it was gone 9pm. A quick snack stop and we were back into bed as we had to leave early the next morning for our visit to the lake.
The alarm sounded at 5.15am and we once again quickly showered and dressed. Our pick up was 6am and the trip to the lake would take 4 hours. Lago De Atitlan is situated in the highlands of Guatemala. Once considered a dangerous place for travelers to visit as it is very secluded the tourist police have cleaned up the reputation and it is fast becoming a tourist attraction. Although there has been a gringo population in the local town of Panajachel for years many were forced to leave in the 80´s because of the civil war. We were quite excited about our visit as the write up sounded fantastic. The lake was created by a collapsed volcanic cone and the lake cover 128sq km of the land. Surrounded by a further 3 volcanoes and with small villages set around the edge our expectations were high. Once again the bus journey was a bone cruncher but we made it in one piece. As we took the short ride from the travel
agents office through the town we instantly felt relaxed. Panjachel looks quaint and timeless as we drove down the bumpy cobble streets. We arrived at the lake edge and the adorning restaurants looked both well kept and welcoming. We were taken straight to our boat and clambered up over the railing to bag a seat on the top deck. We set off at a leisurely pace with the sun shining down on us. This is a rare thing for the highlands as they are renowned for their rain. The scenery is just glorious and with a very clear day we certainly felt blessed to be enjoying it, what a sight. Mountains meet volcanoes and hills roll down to the crystal blue waters. The water is so clean it is untrue, like any carribean sea we have seen and with the sun beating hard they also looked very welcoming.
Our first stop was at a small town called San Pedro if I remember correctly. As we pulled up to the small dockside the view was beautiful. Kicking ourselves that we had not planned to stay here we were instantly drawn to a café with a nice decked area overlooking the
views. With hunger in our bellies we ordered breakfast and sat in awe of the mountains. We should really have been exploring the town but just could not tear ourselves away from the view. We had an hour and all too soon we were setting off for our nest stop. I think this town was called Santiago Antitlan. Another small and quaint place we had a good wonder through the streets and I ended up buying a nice handbag and some jewellery from the locals who were once again very pleasant. By this time the sun was very hot and we had both managed to get a bit burnt as we had forgotten to put our cream on. Maybe top deck had not been such a good idea and with glowing shoulders we opted for the lower deck as we traveled onto our final little town. This was a bit disappointing as there was little there so as we were well into the afternoon we chose a small restaurant on the lake front and sank a very cold and welcome beer. By this point I am glowing and I realize I have burnt far worse than I first thought, bugger
we had been getting so good at putting our cream on!!!! We boarded the boat again for the short ride back to Panjachel. It was a shame really because by the time we got back here we had 10 minutes before our bus departed for Antigua. It would have been nice to explore more of the town. In the end we got lost getting back to the travel agents and it became a bit of a panic not to miss the bus!!! We jerked and jugged the 4 hours back to Antigua arriving about 9pm. Again we stopped of for a light snack of nachos in a really nice bar we had found called monkey something or other. Very pleasant normally but for some reason the music had been ramped up and it was a bit rowdy and loud for our relaxed tranquil moods. The lake trip had been well worth the 8 hours on the bus and it was a very successful day. We did not stop long and were soon crawling into bed as we had yet another early start the following morning to get to Honduras………..
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