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Published: February 12th 2009
Tim Version:
* Went through Guatemala City, found it to be dull and dodgy as the books say, but it was only a bus change so no biggie!
* Completed my mission of finding a good hostel for Christmas and NYE, checked out Antigua just a little and found it very damn comfortable.
The version on the hunt for a little piece of back home:
As usual my timing for when I wanted to catch a bus didn't coincide even closer with the easier buses, so I left Rio Dulce on one heading out of town and switch at the same intersection that I used on the way to Rio Dulce. The second bus I caught from there was pretty luxury which was a wicked surprise, and made the cruise into Guatemala city very easy going!
Guatemala City was unfortunately as I kinda guessed and expected. Everyone had told me it was a big, sprawling, pretty ugly bland place, and from what I've seen it meets all those expectations and more! There are always hidden gem areas around, but near the buses just doesn't seem to have a personality of any type! No matter, I wasn't
The central yellow arch
With numbers on its shoulders, ready for the countdownhere for the scenery nor social life, so I tried to find my way to the buses to Antigua... heh another interesting thing. They leave from a bus terminal with no name! So how do you ask for it? You ask for buses to Antigua... but as they criss cross around town, each person you ask may point you to a different spot, and none have names nor do the people know where it is on a map of Guatemala City usually so unfortunately I ended up having to hop a taxi to it! The ride showed me other parts of town, a bit of a sprawling urban planning nightmare with identical looking concrete cubicles built on top of one another. Arriving at the terminal a bus was leaving so I hopped on that without it stopping and was off for Antigua with what turned out to be one of the fastest drivers I have ever seen! He managed hairpin turns and a full bus of passengers at breakneck speeds all the way to Antigua - a bit of an adrenalin rush in spots with the bus tilting at some slightly scary angles!
The entry into Antigua itself though
slows all to a snails pace due to the bumpy as hell cobblestone streets - very pretty, not very practical! The place feels a little claustraphobic at first but there are a few open spaces such as the bus terminal and Central Parque that open things up. WIth many earthy coloured buildings and surrounded by volcanos and mountains, it has a very... mountaines natural feel to it. I like it. For a visit yes, but to live no.
A whiled a few days away in Antigua just chilling and looking at all the hostels and markets as my main aim right now was to find and book a place for Christmas. The towwn was ramping up for it with decorations around the place and at night little christmas processions. A place called Jungle Party Hostel caught my eye with a TV and good movie selections, breakfast included, and a good friendly feel to it - just the gringo homely non travelling break type of place I was looking for! With bookings made I was set. Its easy to walk all the hostels and hotels in Antigua, and it took me about 3 hours to check out and research the
Something a little different...
A rounded cross, haven't seen to many built in this way majority of them while giving a nice tour of Antigua. Just doing some reading and relaxing I headed off from Antigua within a couple of days... I'll be back though so more descriptions and photos then.
Pretty much its as unreal as expected, not like other places in Guatemala, but after trekking for a while it can be a welcome break for all the expensive comforts and foods and brilliant coffee that I have come to miss and appreciate much more! If you like churches, its also the place to be... there seems to be about a 1/1 ratio of churches to people.
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