Relaxation in Antigua

I spent the last days in the beautiful colonial town of Antigua (Guatemala). ☺️
After an almost sleepless night in the overnight bus from Flores, I was happy that I had made a mistake with my hostel bookings: I had booked one night to early in the „Casi Casa“ hostel. So, I was able to check-in as soon as I arrived at 7 am and could go to sleep 😴 for 2-3 hours in my incredibly cozy bunk bed. Quarter to 10 am I got up again so that I do not miss out on the included breakfast. It turned out that they serve a fantastic breakfast 🥞 there which was on par with the best breakfast I had in other hostels in Central America (e. g. in Oaxaca or Valladolid). Then I enjoyed the sun laying at the hostels pool which looked nice from outside but due to the cold temperatures at night, the water was pretty cold as well 🥶😅
In the afternoon, I spent the time with Hyesun (who I surprisingly had met in Flores again and also went to Antigua) just walking around and exploring the town. Antigua reminds me a lot of San Christobal in Mexico - it is only much more tranquil. We took an Uber and visited the “Cerro del la Cruz” to enjoy the view of the town with the „Acatenango“ volcano 🌋 (one of 3 volcanoes surrounding it) as a backdrop. Initially I wanted to do a volcano hike - like many people who come to Antigua - but I realised quickly that this hike would be nothing I would just do along my journey through Central America. Antigua is “only” 1500 meters above sea level. The base camp ⛺️ is already at 3600 meters and the peak is at approximately 4000 meters. It is normal for most people to experience some form of altitude sickness (dizziness and difficulty breathing) during the hike. There is apparently some medication 💊 against these effects but I didn’t have some. Timing-wise it would have been pretty tough as well because I would have had to organise everything on the day when I arrived in Antigua so that I could do the hike and fly to Panama on the day after; leaving only very little time ⌚️ to relax and enjoy the town. Moreover, my sprained right middle finger needed recovery and hiking at those heights didn’t seem like the right thing to do in that context. 😩
For dinner we went to the restaurant „Toko Baru“ in the eastern part of the town. They serve delicious Indian/Asian/Middle-Eastern fusion food 🥙 and even have German and Belgian beers! Only days later I found a blog post from an expat living in Antigua and realised that we have apparently stumbled upon one of the most underrated food places there (see https://www.josephnance.com/journal/expats-guid…). 😋

On the next day, I continued my stroll through the town. I visited the „Monastro y Templo Santa Clara“. ⛪️ It was founded in 1700 and inhabited by nuns of the Second Franciscan Order of Saint Clara who originally came from Puebla, Mexico. Two years later an earthquakes 🫨 struck and caused severe damages leading to repairs by Architect Diego de Porres who established one of the best examples of Baroque-Style architecture in Antigua. At first I didn’t realize it but there are many well-known western brands in Antigua (e. g. Starbucks and McDonalds). They are not that noticeable because their buildings keep the colonial style of the town. Most of them have also a really nicely decorated patio inside - that way even a visit to McDonalds feels like visiting a really relaxing Café ☺️ I also made a brief stop at the „Mercado Central Antigua Guatemala“ that and was amazed by the countless old-school busses 🚌 at the bus terminal behind the market.
I wanted to go to an Italian restaurant for dinner and was lucky to briefly talk to Guila (from Augsburg) before I left the hostel.
She recommended „La Pasta Nostra“ - another great place recommended by the expat’s blog post, that I have mentioned above. ☝️

In the morning of my last day, I took my time and got up relatively late. After my morning coffee, I had a long phone call ☎️ with Stephi (who I still knew from Valladolid). Then I went for another walk through the town and had lunch at the restaurant „La Cuevita de Los Urquizú“ which I had noticed already on one of the days before because many people - especially locals - waited in line for getting in.
In the afternoon, I had an entertaining conversation with Guila in the hostel over a coffee. ☕️ She is in the middle of a sabbatical and went to Mexico, Belize and Guatemala - almost the same route I took - but now travels 🧳 further to Nicaragua and eventually Colombia.
In the evening, I met Mikkel and his girlfriend Johanne (who I already knew from my little accident in Flores) for dinner in the “Antigua Brewing Company”. According to their website, you can enjoy their artisanal beers 🍺 „only at [their] brewpub, where [their] beers are brewed fresh every week, always unfiltered, and served on tap straight out of [their] bright tanks.” (see http://www.antiguabrewingco.com/). The beer was indeed very tasty 😋 I could not stay too long though because I had to take the airport shuttle at 4 am on the next morning. However, it was nice to see Mikkel and Johanne again that evening and share my last moments in Guatemala with them. 😊

My main reasons to visit Central America were the Maya Ruins and all the good reports of friends about Mexico 🇲🇽 After traveling 5 amazing weeks there, I felt also drawn to Flores/Tikkal and eventually Antigua in Guatemala 🇬🇹 Overall I was in that country for only a week now and I bviously this was way too little time for a proper visit but I have already recognised that it’s a beautiful country and its reputation of being extraordinarily dangerous is not really justified (it’s not worse than Mexico). Thus, I am sure I will come back to Guatemala in the next couple of years again and dedicate more time 📅 to it than I had now.Read more