In England, the eight hour bus journey from Lanquin to Antigua would probably be over in less than two hours however the road out of Languin is more like a farmers track than a road, single lane, made of uneven stones and clinging to the side of a mountain. It’s a miracle the mini bus can make it across this terrain and even more miraculous that the trucks can make it, as we have to stop and slowly reverse backwards to allow them to past.
As we hit the paved roads the bus picks up speed but barely goes above 40mph. I call it a road but I’m being forgiving. Perhaps Mario Kart would be more appropriate. The driver is clearly well practiced in avoiding the inherent dangers, ranging from landslides which cover half the road, simple pot holes to craters 10 meters long and the width of the road. Dogs sunbathe in the road and refuse to move for cars while drivers use both sides of the road with little regard for oncoming traffic.
The road passes through remote villages, winding up and down through mountains and tropical forest until we hit the monolith that is Guatemala City, dirty, big, bustling, and chaotic. The roads here are quite possibly the worst, slowest and heavily polluted we have encountered on this trip. The air is thick with exhaust fumes, well to call them exhaust fumes would be incorrect as clearly having an exhaust is not a requirement here. After dropping off some passengers the bus slowly escapes the manic streets as we head on into Antigua.
Antigua is Guatemala’s flagship tourist town and a hub for international travellers who use it as a base to explore the rest of Guatemala or stay for weeks and learn Spanish at the cheapest prices on the planet. Once the colonial capital of Guatemala, Antigua was abandoned after an earth quake and the capital was moved to Guatemala City. It now stands nearly 500 years old as a snapshot in time, this is Guatemala’s answer to York or Bath.
The cobbled streets are lined with crumbling colonial style buildings which are painted in an array of pastel colours. All this is set against the dramatic backdrop of four glorious volcanos, Pacaya, Agua, Acatenango and Fuego. It is the latter of these, which name means fire, which surprised us on our first night in the city. From our hotel we had clear views of this active volcano as it spewed lava and shot clouds of ash into the air. An amazing sight.
There are a number of museums and historical sites in Antigua as well as numerous Spanish schools. All the standard tourist stores exists selling a whole range of souvenirs and useless junk that we can’t or just won’t carry in our bags. Although many are put off by the tourist vibe of the city we found it a pleasure to spend a few days relaxing and enjoying the wide variety of cuisine available. Everything from BBQ meat, Indians, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, and of course Guatemalan, can be found. After being so far from civilisation for so long this was welcomed and we used it as a chance to recharge our batteries before taking on the challenge of a lifetime and ascending the nearby volcano Acatenengo.
