runs a shuttle service direct to Antigua, pausing at the border for
passport stamping. It was glorious compared to our chicken bus
experiences of late!
Antigua is similar to Granada in Nicaragua - an old brightly coloured
colonial town, now a Unesco World Heritage zone, surrounded by huge
looming volcanoes. The setting is incredible. Antigua runs shuttle
services to anywhere and everywhere. You could definitely fly here and
shuttle back and forth to all the top places in Guatemala without
having to deal with the crazy public transport systems. We shared the
shuttle with two Aussie surfer lads. Staying in a decent little hotel,
complete with resident pushy tour operator - skinny, scarf around his
neck, pops up constantly asking us where we're going...we slammed the
door in his face and still he persists!
Our first trip was to the active volcano in the region, Pacaya.
We left at 2pm on a mini bus and drove about an hour to Pacaya
Volcano, it's about 2800 metres or so. Our tour guide named our group
of 14 people, Toucan. He proceded to blow his whistle and yell
'Toucans' non-stop for the rest of the evening!
We hiked up the dusty volcano path for about an hour and a half,
trailed by horses - the 'natural taxi' for those who struggle with the
climb. As we neared the lava flow field we could hear the volcano
hissing and spurting, just like a steam engine. We were about the
clouds, overlooking 3 other volcanoes as the sun set. As we watched
Pacaya's peak we could see lava spurting out the top. Everyone was
totally mesmerised. We clambered over the old lava flows to a hot spot
where people were roasting marshmallows. In previous years the lava
flows had been very active, coming down the volcano, but the day we
went, the only lava was the stuff spurting out the top. As it got
darker the lava was brighter. We had to head back down in the dark,
mighty bright to the rescue again. Our tour guide had a nightmare
trying to round us all up to return down the volcano, blowing his
whistle non-stop, toucanssssss let's gooooo. He must have this problem
every day! Our path down the volcano was lined with glowing fire flies.
Definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far, cannot wait to
upload photos when I get back to London next week!
Today we chilled out and walked around this beautiful town. We just
sat in a cafe, bagel barn, and watched a really depressing documentary
called 'When the mountains rumble' about the terrible history of the
Guatemalan people and the injustices of civil war :(
Tomorrow we fly to Miami.
Sent from my iPhone
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