Soaking up the atmosphere in Antigua

I decided to take a few days to relax in Antigua. To ensure I made the most of this downtime, I checked in to a hotel with a pool for a few days. Well it isn't really relaxing if you don't have a pool now is it??

This place also had amazing bed linen ... well it was probably just basic 'nice' linen but I've been sleeping in such dodgy places for so long I'd forgotten what nice linen felt like. Oh, and the bed was so very comfy and so were the pillows. A few nights without lumpy rock hard pillows ..... paradise.

Antigua was founded in the mid 1500's and was the capital of Guatemala until it was devastated by the 1773 earthquake. The town was slowly rebuilt with much of it's original character retained. The town has been declared a national monument and is also a UNESCO world heritage site.

I spent my mornings by the pool or in the pool as it was bloody hot, and wandered in to town in the afternoon when the weather started to cool.

There are many Spanish language schools in the area so there is a constant stream of travelers hanging out. I probably should have checked into language school as my Spanish is really non-existent but decided my miming skills had done ok up until now so why spoil a good thing.

The influx of travelers in Antigua has led to a load of westernized restaurants and cafes opening. Now I'm all for eating the local fare but it was great to have a change from rice and beans.

I did indulge just a little in the great coffee and may have tasted key lime pie and chocolate cheesecake with my friend Senait. Well we needed to eat something while using the free wifi.



Wandering the streets there are some beautiful buildings and some crumbling ruins.

The streets in the centre of town are cobble stones .... large and very uneven cobble stones. I stumbled along not looking where I'm going, admiring the locals in traditional dress. Some of these people are dressed for the tourists and try and sell all kinds of tat, others are living the traditional life and love to have a chat with an English speaking crazy person (aka me).

These dudes aren't in traditional dress, they are just random street performers who really weren't at all entertaining.

The town sits at the base of three volcanoes, Acatenango, Fuego and Agua. I didn't climb any of them ... I preferred to admire the view from my poolside sun lounge. Well with views like this, who could blame me?

More photos

Guatemala - Antigua

Small group travel .... boozed up abroad

I'm not sure if I've told you, but I decided to do a small group tour through Central America. I'd met loads of travelers full of horror stories of being robbed, held up at knife point etc. I wanted to travel on chicken buses but I also wanted to remain alive.



Also my very poor (read that as non-existent) Spanish would impede my ability to travel from Mexico to Panama .... if I wanted to find a room, book a bus ticket or eat that is.

The six week tour I was on can be broken up into 3 x 2 week trips so I've had a few travel buddies with me since Playa, with others coming and going.

All was going well ... I'd met some amazing people and made some good friends. The basics trips with intrepid are usually made up of like minded people who often travel independently and like to have a bit of fun.

 

 

 

Then we picked up a few new people in San Jose.

A very random, mumbling anti-social mid 50s woman joined Vic and I in our room. I thought she was odd but tried to chat to make her feel welcome. My attempts were unsuccessful, but I thought whatevs.

During the night she had a bit of a screaming fit then early the next morning was mumbling 'don't throw me in the river' when Vic turned the shower on. I had a bit of a giggle but didn't think too much of it. I was also just a little bit disturbed by the aroma she was emitting but she didn't see the need to shower so who am I to judge.

We headed to the station and boarded the 6am bus bound for Puerto Viejo. Just my luck, I had to sit next to the unwashed one. I pulled out my iPod and settled in for the 4.5 hour trip, trying desperately not to breathe through my nose. At close range she smelt like a homeless, very unwashed wino .... kinda like the dudes living on the streets around my old neighborhood of Kings Cross.

All was going as well as could be expected when I noticed she was had started sipping out of a cask of wine .... then she started skulling loads of booze. At this stage it wasn't yet 8am.

Picture it .... it is really, really humid, the road is windy and the great unwashed one has turned into a mountain of jelly. Every time we went round a corner she ended up nearly on top of me. I was slightly disturbed.

We finally arrived in the amazing beachside town of Puerto Viejo and I scrambled off the bus. I thought the drama was over .... but the best was yet to come.

The great unwashed one was so drunk ... her eyes were glazed and rolling around in her head and she had trouble standing. She stumbled down the steps of the bus, pushed through everyone then toppled over as she tried to get her bag. She then stood in the path of a moving vehicle before being rescued by our group leader.

We headed down the sandy road to our accomm. We'd gone about 2 minutes when she bit the dust. Sprawled on the road she was helpless. She was so pissed she was a rag doll ... poor Mong had to use all her energy to try and get her on her feet.

I kept having a giggle .... well you need to keep your sense of humour or life would be very sad.

We got to the hotel and the great unwashed one fell into a chair, rolled her eyes and promptly went to sleep.

The bonus was she was in her own room ... there's no way I'll be bunking down with her again.

The last I saw of her she was walking around the hotel in her flowing leopard nightwear wearing a headlight on her head!?!

It is very sad really. I only hope she can pull herself together and she doesn't injure herself ... or one of us for that matter.

OMG the next two weeks are going to be interesting!


Update ... It's the next morning as I'm writing this post. She's been out for a walk. Mmmmm, seems she found the liquor store. Oh dear, she's now the proud owner of another stash of wine casks.

Please note: The people in the photos above are generally normal or only slightly crazy and are only found drinking at 6am if they haven't been to bed yet. There is no photographic evidence of the great unwashed in action as this would be uncharitable.

It's my birthday!

I woke up at 4am on Christmas Eve to my phone ringing. I couldn't find it in the dark but it was so nice to know that friends from Australia were calling me for my birthday ... thanks Helen x

My roomie Sarah wished me a sleepy happy birthday, I sang 'Happy Birthday to me' and prompty went back to sleep.

When I did wake up properly I was excited. We were heading to Rio Dulce for a few days.




My fabulous travel buddies surprised me with a birthday gift of a pinata and a bottle of tequila. Apparently the tequila is for every time I miss the pinata. Oh hell!

 We piled into the mini van for the 4 hour drive. Maria (the pinata) took a spot on the back seat. We arrived at a crazy busy town where everyone seemed to be in a Christmas panic. Seems like some things are the same all over the world.

We stocked up on booze and loaded all our gear into a very small boat for our trip down river. Such a beautiful place ...

Maria really enjoyed the ride.....

Our accommodation was amazing ... the perfect place to have a birthday celebration. I felt like I was sleeping in a tree house.

I donned my tiara, matching jewels and wand (thanks Sar and Eb) and settled in for a fun night. After blowing out the candles it was pinata time.

I'd never hit a pinata before so was very excited, but that feeling soon disappeared ... Maria was tough to break and I must admit it took a few tequila shots (on my part) to finally break her.

I made sure I finished her off, then fell into exhaustion.

I woke the next morning with a surprisingly clear head, it was Christmas.

We donned our santa hats (mine was a fancy one with flashing lights) and spent a day relaxing in yet another piece of paradise. The day was finished off with a turkey dinner. Who would have expected that in Guatemala!

Merry (belated) Christmas xx

Guatemala - Rio dulce