Guatemalan Hospitality

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Well the long awaited arrival in Guatemala City finally came! We landed and were greeted by a young guy who looked too young to drive, got into a van with a man smoking what smelled like apple shisha and tore away into the night. We drove, the air thick with the smell of keroseen, unfamiliar and exciting stopping on route for petrol. Our driver didn't even turn off the engine whilst refilling the fuel! A guy with a massive machine gun stood in front of the petrol station looking threatening.

We turned and looked at each other and gulped, what have we let ourselves in for?! We raced on through the night and eventually came to a quiet calm streetlamp lit colonial city, Antigua. Antigua is a spanish colonial city nestled in the central Guatemalan highlands, filled with beautiful Baroque architecture. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After rounding a corner we came up to a pair of large carved wooden doors in a high wall. We paused and the large gates of Quintos de la Flores swung open to admit us. As we stepped out, the silence of the cool evening air broken only by the gentle sound of trickling water greeted us. As a young man came forward to take our bags, the van swept out leaving the large secure gates to clunk shut on the rest of the city. We had found an oasis of peace and calm in this new, scary but exciting country.

We were shown to our cabin and given the lateness of the hour went straight to bed. Little did we know we would wake up to the best breakfast and volcanic views we could hope for!

We ventured to the market, visited Maximon, the revered but michevious saint and generally soaked up the atmosphere of this interesting place. We got a very strong coffee in the town square then make our arrangements for transport to our next destination. We are to stay here for 2 nights only until we venture on to Lago de Atitlan.

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Photos

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Local transport

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Antigua

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Masks at Antigua market

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Breakfast, delicious guacemole and blackbeans

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Just after a humming bird left us at breakfast

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In the grounds of Quintos de los Flores

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Local transport

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Maximon or San Simon the michevious saint who like cigars and liqour

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Quintos de las Flores

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Quintos de las Flores