Guatemala

10Q = 80p.

After breakfast we went for a wander around the town to stretch our legs and then hung out in the hostel until midday. A shuttle van arrived to take us to Antigua, Guatemala ($25). We shortly arrived at the border, got our stamps quickly, changed our last few Lempiras into Quetzals and carried on our way up the single lane, windy roads, frequently getting stuck behind slow lorries. We stopped at a garage to fix the breaks! and then were back on the road. Shortly before Guatemala City the roads turned into 3 lane highways but we couldn't go too fast because of the pouring rain. Then we hit GC traffic which took a while to get through - why they time it to hit rush hour I'm not sure.

The shuttle had no headrests and wasn't overly comfy for our 7 hour journey but it was half the price of the Hedman Alas bus. We were accompanied by a kiwi guy, 2 Lithuanian girls who seemed a bit snooty, and 2 ladies, a Brit and a Honduran, who both lived in Utila, plus a little dog. They were hilarious and had lots of funny stories which kept us entertained once it grew too dark to read our books.

We arrived in Antigua at 7pm. The others hadn't booked anywhere and were turned down in the first place they tried. They tried ours but it was also full. Thankfully we had booked in at Hotel Las Piletas ($28) and were greeted by a lovely guy who showed us to our small, but nice room.

We dumped our stuff and headed to the main square to get cash out. There was some sort of celebration going on with lots of people, fireworks and lanterns being lit. We didn't stick around as we were starving. We headed to a place we'd seen on our way to the hotel, Toko Baru - cheap and full of gringos which is always a sign you've stumbled onto something good. I had falafel which was good and far too much, but the humus wasn't great. Anna had tandoori chicken which was lacking any tandoori but was still tasty (78Q). We went back to the hotel and had a lovely hot shower and an early night. Antigua is at 1,400m so it's a bit chilly - jumpers required at night - and we have blankets for the first time in ages!Read more