Antigua, Guatemala

Curry, comfort and a colonial cosmopolitan.

Antigua Guatemala is not to be confused with the island of Antigua in the Caribbean, for those of you with a sharp memory. We're still in Guatemala, very much so.

Antigua was once the capital of Guatemala and is located just a short ride from it's predecessing capital, Guatemala City - a now buzzing metropolis in the south of the country. Antigua is what I imagined Havanna to be and has delivered on all fronts.

It's a United Nations World Heritage Site, situated in the Guatemalan highlands between towering, hazy volcanoes and steep lying coffee plantations. The streets are cobbled, impressively maintained and buildings low rise, wonderfully coloured and trimmed with cast iron grills and art deco sculptings. The WHS title lived up to at every turn. The town is a perfect grid, and streets numerical in both directions, distinguished in orientation as Calles or Avenues - a navigators dream!

We spent three nights here at Hostel Matiox, which I highly recommend! These nights were split up by a night on a Acatenango (see seperate footprint) but the days just disappeared as we wandered around town, nibbling on delightful treats, shopping in the markets, preparing for the hike and knocking back delicious coffees.

We stumbled across a delicious curry house, Toko Baru, which we had to repeat-dine at. Huge plates of curry with all the sides and sauces for $8 NZD. We had some delcious italian ice cream at the recomendation of our hostel, and a cheeky name drop saw us get it free! The bakeries also on point with their bread and sweet treats.

We also made an effort to cook dinner one night, and sourced all our ingredients from deep within the massive local markets, speaking only spanish or more often just pointing. It was good fun deciphering what was what and interacting with friendly and funny locals. Despite the hectic crowds and midday heat.

Cat and Char are keeping our spending on track with an app called Trailwallet. It's quick an easy to use and an excellent way to prove we drink too much beer. We've been making progress on the planning for El Salvador and beyond, with countless hours on the hostel wifi and bean bags.

We've now got a week in San Pedro at a live-in spanish language course, so you mightn't hear much from me until I graduate. We also go a man down today. Scott is pulling the pin and heading home for some family time. It's been four months on the road with him - a good long spell! A shame to see him go but hopefully he eludes any real work for some time yet. Perhaps it will give the northern hemisphere lobster species some much needed regeneration time. Hasta luego Scott!Read more