Door to door, that being Holbury to the door of the hostel in Antigua via Colombia was a coooool 32 hours travelling. The journey was smooth right up until touching down in Guatemala city where it seemed (from the view of the bus window at least) that tragedy had struck in every direction. In one 45 minute bus ride we saw 1 dead body in the street, one overturned car plus a 3 car pile up - all seperate incidents mind, promising start..
On a brighter note its worth mentioning that Ellie avoided any incidents on route, arriving uninjured in Guatemala, a massive triumph vs her previous record sheet.
Putting aside the the fatal traffic collisions the city was abuzz, children running through the streets flame torches in hand, cars and parks lined with flags and music coming from speakers tied to the back of each and every ford pick up truck in town. It turns out we had arrived just in time for the biggest festival of the year, a 3 day independence celebration! This meant lots of horns, parades, partying and local festival food - we couldn't have planned it better if we tried. Something tells us we're going to like it here.
If I had free reign from Ellie to design my own town, Antigua would be darn close to it. A multi coloured colonial town, plastered with flags, surronded by picturesque (but very much active volcanoes) all serviced by brightly painted chicken buses. This would be enough in itself let alone the seemingly unlimted supply of fresh ceviche, tacos, limes and avacados.
Parades were the real highlight here and the Guatemalans went all out, we'd never seen anything like it, kicking off with the big drums at 6.30am for some reason was not frowned upon by locals which meant bright and early starts for us.
Not only early starts in fact, no booze and 2 days of 20km walks - early signs that we might be able to kick those bad habits we picked up in Espana after all.
Tomorrow we ride our first chicken buses (aka rollercoasters of doom) across country, travelling the 5 hours to Xela. Apparently travellers are torn with these due to the number of robberies & kidnappings on board as well as the inherent danger of racing giant buses over volcanoes and so typically opt for private shuttles. But at a tenth of the price we certainly know how we'll be getting there, thats 7 extra tacos saved!
Ellie also looks pretty tough in her new decathlon fleece so I think we'll be safe.
GuatemalaAntigua14°33’16” N 90°43’47” W
GuatemalaAntigua14°33’16” N 90°43’47” W