volcan.

Day 1

So much for Guatemala city. Some Trip Advisor Forums and my neighbor Chris’ sentiments about Guatemala City’s safety swayed our decision to stay in Antigua for two nights instead of one. We were only going from Friday to Sunday anyway, so trying to explore Guatemala city would have been a reach. It’s funny that every time I mention that I went to Guatemala for the weekend, people instantly give me crap about being a jetsetter. It seriously isn’t like that – airfare was only $200 and Bridget couldn’t take any more days off. Plus, our friend Bonnie was studying medical Spanish in nearby Xela with a bunch of other med students.

We took a 2am flight out on Friday and arrived in Guatemala City at about noon. My first impression was unexpected; the airport was modern and clean. There were no immediate signs of the city being dangerous. We were trying to make it to Antigua so we made our way to the exit. Just as our guidebook preached, we were swarmed by a bunch of mini bus operators soliciting services. I played it cool and just kept walking through the crowd. Finally, one caught up to me and showed off his ‘official’ badge for operation. Whether or not it was legit, who knows? He could have printed out and laminated it at someone’s home the night before and I probably couldn’t tell the difference. We just went off the fact that another foreign traveler walking beside him so that eased our concerns. We made into the mini shuttle, as did the other traveler, and we chatted her up a bit. Amy, a young Englishwoman, had just come from Cuba (and Guatemala before that), and was returning back to Antigua for her last night. I’m always fascinated by other travelers, their stories and anything helpful from their experiences that we could use. She said Antigua was only about 45 mins away and mentioned we would love our trip up Mt. Pacaya, the active volcano we were scheduled to climb the next morning.



I slept most of the way to Antigua. The flights were a drag and I didn’t get much sleep. The 4 hour layover in Mexico City didn’t help either (except for the $23 spent on a Mexican Playboy, chilaquiles and café con leche for breakfast). From what I did see before I passed out was GC was actually quite clean, kinda closer to Costa Rica clean as opposed to Panama dirty.

I woke up to sounds of the wheels rolling over cobblestones and knew instantly we were in Antigua. The surroundings were quaint; all of the blocks looked like a row of connected pastel ranch houses interrupted by a 16th century ruin here and there. Antigua used to be the former capital of Guatemala until a series of earthquakes devastated the region. Consequently, the capital moved to where it is today in Guatemala city. Now Antigua seems to be a getaway of sorts, a retreat for the Guatemalan elite and tourists alike.



We were dropped off at Outdoor Excursions (OX) Adventures which is who operated our tour as well as the home of the Base Camp Hostel we were staying for the night. We were greeted by Sophie, the office manager, and Victor, part owner of OX. After filling out some paperwork, we were brought to a room full of bunk beds. We had initially booked a private double and the other four in our group booked the 6 bed dorm. It turned out to be a mishap on their part and they let us stay in the dorm for $5each/night. It actually worked out for the better since all 6 of us could occupy the whole dorm. Can’t beat that.



We made our way into town with our first stop being the Parque Central, which was the central square of the town. It was the common hub for office buildings, churches, banks, tourists and spoiled Guatemalan teenagers. The square seemed like a garden oasis with an ages old fountain at its center. The backdrop to the South was picturesque; Volcan Agua rose like a metropolitan skyscraper.



Our first stop was Café Rainbow, a recommendation by our fellow traveler Amy. Café Rainbow was part second hand bookstore, bar, live music venue and restaurant. By that point we were famished from traveling so we quickly sat down to eat. The surroundings were very lax and artistic. The walls were turned into murals and the setting seemed like something out of Alice in Wonderland. The menu was very much Americanized; Cajun Chicken Sandwich, Hummus Avocado Sandwich, Nachos with Cheese, Salsa and Guacamole – all of which we ordered. Overall, this is a must stop if you’re in Antigua. Everything we ate was delicious and the setting is about as unique as you'd get out of Guatemala.



We made it back to the hostel to meet up the rest of our group. It was getting kinda late and the sun had already set. We started to get concerned that they were going to find the place alright. Plus, as a spoiled American, my expectations of street lights on every corner were quickly dashed. Fortunately, Bonnie and the rest of her med school buddies arrived shortly after. They settled in and soon we were back out on the streets looking for a place for dinner. We ended up at La Fonda de Calle Real which is a restaurant recommended in my guidebook as a place that served typical Guatemalan food. The setting was magical, the tables were enclosed within a second story courtyard with lanterns running across above you. If you looked up, you can see the faint hints of light that were the stars and the weather was in utter compliance. You could hear the sizzle of the wood burning steaks behind us and smell the wondrous spices that filled the room. It was a good time to connect with our newly found friends. Much so that in the middle of a city called Antigua in a place called Guatemala, we had a 30 minute conversation about an American based television show called ‘Jersey Shore’.



After waiting quite a bit for our food (which we realized is quite commonplace here), our waiter arrived with our feasts. Bridget and I shared a steak, chorizo and another local sausage, plantains, slice of some sort of white cheese and pureed black beans. Overall, I was under whelmed by the meal except for the steak (I’m not a big fan of chorizo sausages anyway). Next time, I think I will try some of their typical stews. We finished up dinner and a couple of us decided to head back to Café Rainbow to grab some drinks. When we came in, a man was serenading patrons with his guitar. The patrons looked foreign which made the place seem more like a tourist hangout than a local establishment. Either way we cozied up to a shot of tequila and a pint of Gallo beer.



To our surprise, the place closed early. Local laws dictate that bars close at 1am in Antigua. In our case it was only about 11 so we made it back towards our hostel and chanced upon a place called Café No Se, which I had read about. We made our way in and recognized the charm right away. The place was dimly lit and cozy like a cabin in the woods. In the first part of the bar, a local musician strummed his guitar to a pleased crowd. Towards the back was strictly conversation and inebriation going hand in hand. The ratio was 60-40 of locals to foreigners. Overall, you had a mix of every type of person; politician, artists, tourists, expats, musicians, etc. We ordered more pints of Gallo and chatted away. They offered free heavily salted popcorn which we loaded up on (8 bowls shared by four people). We weren’t the only ones full with popcorn; the local bar dog must have subsisted off of popcorn as patrons would feed him on every pass.

Towards the end of the night, we ordered shots of mezcal, which apparently is different to tequila (but is equally, if not worse, disgusting to consume). John ordered a ‘smoky’ tasting flavor while the rest of us had ‘hickory’ flavored. I sipped both his and mine and concluded it was not so much differentiating between tastes as it was more a matter of how much each burned your palette. In this case his won hands down. The bartender told us mezcal was for sipping. Well, we tried that method and it didn’t fare too well, so we decided to take a half shot. I looked over to my left. Bridget had taken the whole thing. I understood exactly why as the liquid when down my throat. Who would want to reenact this experience twice?

Soon after, we decided to head back to the hostel and call it a night, only after Bonnie climbed her way on top of a car and as sensually a half asleep drunk person could look, took a picture laid across an old VW Bug.



Day 2

Today was the day of our big climb up Mt. Pacaya. I wasn’t too sure what to expect climbing a volcano, and an active one at that. I mean, I’ve had hiking/climbing experience (or more aptly put, torture) by climbing Mt. Fuji. But Mt. Fuji didn’t have the extra danger of dodging lava or falling volcanic rock. I do know that the altitude change wouldn’t sneak up on me like last time and I was better prepared with gear, ibuprofen and energy supplements.



We left Antigua at about 2pm with Sophie, our guide, in tow. I took the 1 hour drive as another opportunity to reenergize my body. Fortunately, I wasn’t hung over from the night before but my body could sense it was a little tired.

We made it to base camp and instantly our van was surrounded by peddlers offering horses and packs of children with four foot long sticks. Once we got out of the van we were hassled to buy these commodities with the locals employing every English vocabulary they knew. We politely declined and walked over to Sophie who had already made arrangements to retrieve our walking sticks (5Q each).



After making a pitstop at the washrooms and small café, we started our trek upwards. After about ten steps, I thought two things 1) If the incline (about 45 degrees) was going to be like this the whole trip, it would be a very very long day and 2) If the horses that were trailing us followed us up the whole time, either the horse or one of us would fall off the mountain. Luckily after about 10 minutes of intense climbing, the incline subsided and the trail was much more manageable. The horse and its peddler, on the other had, continued to be a nuisance. Sophie explained that these peddlers would follow with the hope that at a certain point, one of the hikers in the pack would resort to needing one. That was fine and dandy, but to the person who was at the back, sometimes they would have to share the path with the horse, with some of the paths being extremely narrow. This added another dimension to being careful, especially when we passed the massive holes in the path that locals dug up to prevent rainfall from washing out the path.



After a while and constant refusals for service, the peddler finally took a hint and went away. The trek was going pretty well. We were going at a pretty quick pace and were definitely breathing hard, but it was nothing that was too excruciating. We finally made our way up to a ridge that revealed the most amazing view of the valley below as well as the monstrous peak of Pacaya in front of us. It was a surreal experience. Turning 180 degrees was a tale of opposites; the valley was a picture of serenity, the darkened charcoal gray path ahead of us seemed like a corridor of doom. A few seconds later, a layer of fog enveloped the whole mountain that Pacaya was no longer to be seen.



I guess this is it. That’s all I kept thinking. Soon we made our way off the ridge and were rudely introduced to monstrous chunks of volcanic rock. The strenuous hike through the forest now seemed to be a cakewalk. We started making our way through these jagged boulders and realized one wrong move could prove fatal. It was a different concern than Mt. Fuji. Mt Fuji was really high, so if the length didn’t beat you, acclimating to the altitude would. Plus, Mt Fuji had man made paths. Mt. Pacaya had paths only as a result of trekkers who’ve tread previously and the rocks here would not only create bruises but also were jagged enough to pierce through.



Soon, our walking sticks started to become more of a hazard than assistance because they would get stuck in the crevices of the rocks. After a certain point, Bridget and I stopped to put our $1.50 Walgreens bought gloves on to prevent any more scrapes we were accumulating by holding onto the rocks as leverage.

After what seemed like ages, the boulders turned into smaller stones which made the path much less hazardous. We were now starting to see other tour groups make their way up the mountain. I asked Sophie how much longer it would take to get to the top. Her answer: “I don’t know”. You don’t know? What do you mean you don’t know? “It depends on where the lava is flowing.” This concept was so foreign to me. You mean the lava doesn’t come out of the top? Apparently, the locals who are on the mountain everyday know where the lava is flowing and that determines the paths tour groups taken on a given day. All of a sudden, in the distance, we saw glowing red, and our spirits and energy rose. The extra adrenaline pushed us through that last leg and the next thing you know we were in front of smoking gleaming volcanic rock. Utterly amazing!





Here are some other notables from the trip –

Currently the exchange rate is $1 to about ~8 Quetzales. If you can, just bring your ATM card and take money out at one of the local ATMs (There are two in Café Barista off the Parque Central). The rates are comparable to exchanging money at a local bank and much better than the airport.

They have one of the biggest Pollo Campero’s I’ve ever seen.

At the shops, bargain, bargain, bargain. I was able to get a couple of Guatemalan wooden folk masks for 75 Quetzales each where other places were charging up to 150 in Antigua and 200 at the airport.

Mini shuttle (minivan) from the airport to Antigua is $10 and takes about an hour. The mini shuttles are located right outside the exit. They can drop you off at your hotel.

For breakfast, definitely go to Café Condesa, a perfectly situated restaurant in a courtyard of a 16th century colonial mansion. If you are lucky enough to be there on Sunday, they have a brunch buffet that starts at 9am for about $10.

When booking from Antigua back to Guatemala City airport there are a couple of travel agencies right off Parque Central. It ranges from $5-$7 each for what I presume to be a mini shuttle. Plan at least a day in advance as we tried to book the day off and had to resort to a private taxi for $25 total.

There is a $3 airport tax fee before leaving the country. You can also pay in Quetzales.

The second night we stayed at Hotel Casa Rustica for about $65/night. Save your money for the hostels because many of them are clean, secure and generally cost between $10-20/night!

You can climb Mt. Pacaya for about $10 ($7 for a local guide and $3.50 for the park entrance fee). However, we ended up paying $49 each for a private group tour that included a perfect English speaking guide, transportation to the volcano, park entrance fee and food (sandwich and marshmallows to roast). Our guide, Sophie, was awesome and entertaining, so much so that we ended up hanging out with her after the tour. She was also able to bring us down paths where other tour groups weren’t so we didn’t have deal with all that traffic. Definitely recommend going with OX and the private tour. Ask for Sophie and ask her about those crazy Asians!