Antigua – Guatemala

Our devastation at leaving Utila was not aided by our long and tedious journey to Antigua. With almost all travellers agreeing that Honduras is not a place you want to linger in, we did what most others do and booked a shuttle. Transporting us from La Ceiba on the mainland to Rio Dulce in Guatemala, we had a long leg of driving and sleeping. Only allowed to get out at gun-laden security-ridden rest stops, we were constantly aware of the exceedingly poor conditions around us. But arriving at La Dulce was only the first half of our journey. With Guatemala facing similar difficulties in road crime, our stop at La Dulce was only an overnight pit stop to avoid driving at night.

We expected our accommodation to be basic (the shuttle company pay for hostel) but we hadn’t quite grasped quite how dire it actually would be. Driving around from hostel to hostel, our drivers only job was to find a hostel with enough spaces for all 10 of us. Driving further and further out of the town, we finally came to the uniquely named ‘Backpackers Hostel’, a building built on stilts above the lapping river, made mostly out of planks of wood nailed together. Reminding ourselves that this was free accommodation, we gritted our teeth as we were led to our 20 bed dorm. Not only was it open air meaning mosquitos were rife, but the toilets at the end of the room had thin plywood sheets and were essentially the unfriendly neighbour of whoever was unlucky enough to get the end beds. Thankfully this wasn’t us as we managed to get the two beds closest to the door which was a small victory even if it didn’t feel like it. The bunk beds themselves looked like they had been constructed similarly to the hostel itself, with a few planks of wood nailed together here and there. I’m not even exaggerating when I say I could have done a better job.

📷Our seriously poor sleeping conditions

However, as we reminded ourselves for the umpteenth time, at least it was free. After convincing the receptionist that we in fact did not have pillows or sheets (something it took a very long time to convince), we were finally given the apparently precious bedding they were so reluctant to part from. Keen for the day to be over, we went to bed early. Thankful for our 13 months of training, we managed to fall asleep quickly and deeply, meaning our 5am rise was warmly welcomed as it meant we could leave ASAP.

Despite having booked the next leg with our shuttle company, our driver admitted that they don’t drive us to Antigua. In fact, they simply gave us money for a bus and told us we had to make our own way there since our hostel wasn’t in the centre of town. Too tired to argue, we simply resigned ourselves to this being another typical backpacker trap we all seem to fall into. Grabbing a tuk tuk to the bus station, we didn’t have too long to wait until our very shabby, run down bus came to pick us up. Simply glad to be getting out of La Dulce, we hopped on for another long leg of driving.

After what felt like an eternity of driving, we finally made it to Antigua. Dropped off at the main square, it seemed something was finally going right for us as our hostel was only a 5 minute walk away. After the stuffy and busy dorms of Utila, then the hell like dorms of La Dulce, we picked a fairly upmarket hostel to spend our next 3 nights. Lemon Tree Hostel is a bit rough and ready but is one of the upandcoming hostels that try to make their customers stay a bit more ‘luxury’. Comfy beds, privacy curtains and masses of high quality showers and toilets are but a few ways that your stay in a hostel can be much more enjoyable. As you can imagine, this was a welcome relief after our 2 day journey and we collapsed into bed for some relaxing Netflix, showers and a good, long sleep.

📷 Beautiful Antigua – the new mixed with the old (and crumbling)

Antigua itself was a bit of a break for us. Backpackers that are in the early stages of their trip aren’t too keen on it as they don’t feel it’s the cultural heart of Guatemala. I can relate to this as Antigua in it’s beautiful architecture and cobble stone streets is a tourists dream. As such, it is over run by -you guessed it- tourists. This means that most of Antiguas companies and shops are aimed towards tourists and as such you get an altered view of real Guatemalan life. However, we were slightly ashamed to admit that we found the ease of this town very welcoming. We also found that we were lucky to be in Antigua in the lead up to Easter Sunday. This meant that most of the tourists were in fact Guatemalans, flocking to this small town for the incredible easter parades that take place in the streets of Antigua every night. This meant we got the ease of a small, beautiful and tourist-orientated town, but still got to see the bustling Guatemalan life that others feel is missing.

📷 Exploring the incredible ruins around the town we’re a key part of our time here

📷 Exploring the town always led us to gorgeous restaurants and cafes, where we were always more than happy to sample the menus

📷A gorgeous town

The main activities to do when in Antigua actually all occur outside of the town itself. Tour companies dot the streets, offering endless tours to volcanoes, lakes and whatever trek your heart desires. Unfortunately for us, we had very little money to play with by this stage and any kind of tour was out of the question. This was actually quite freeing in its realisation as this meant we were free to really enjoy Antigua itself, wandering around the streets and taking in the incredible buildings and ruins that are dotted along every street. Stopping in at delicious restaurants and cafes, we spent our days wandering around, eating and drinking. Still aching for Utila, even we could recognise the nice change of pace from a full schedule of diving to having endless leisurely walks if we so felt like it. We also made the most of our hostel, enjoying our lie ins (there’s no need for alarms in this beautiful place) and catching up on some Netflix series (something that becomes a treat I assure you).

📷 Our favourite dive bar

📷 Falafel anyone?

Having befriended almost everyone at our dive school in Utila, it was strange for us to find that there weren’t many people to meet in Antigua. Soon realising that our hostel was mostly a stopping point for big tour groups, people came in fleeting time frames and mainly seemed to have huge schedules accounting for every minute. This actually meant the hostel itself was beautifully quiet and rather than feel we were lacking company, we enjoyed spending some time just the two of us, something that hadn’t been possible for at least a week by now. Additionally, the huge throngs of pilgrims all coming together for Easter Sunday meant one could never feel alone. In fact, trying to make your way down the street after 6pm was more like an olympic event meaning had we felt we were missing company of strangers, Antigua would have been a quick remedy.

📷While the streets were crowded, there was always good reason for it. My favourite was this lantern display arranged on spices and powders by hand to form a carpet-like effect

In total we stayed for 3 nights, a long time for our usual schedule, and we definitely felt like we had needed the rest. Keen to get going and see new things, we were also torn as we knew we would miss the simplicity of this small, beautiful town. However, as with everything, we knew it was onwards and upwards and we set about planning our next route, making our way towards Flores.

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