So the journey began with a 5 hour mini shuttle bus from El Tunco, El Salvador to Antigua, Guatemala. The shuttle was me, a couple from France and a Aussie. The ride consisted of world travel talk, where to go, where have you been, etc. All three of these people came from South America and all got me pretty excited to go there (If I make it that far)... It was a fast drive, weaving in and out of cars to finally arriving to the border. The border consisted of a few guards, tiny little bridge and no lines. Got my exit ticket / stamp and moved in Guatemala. This was all within 5 minutes, real fast. On the flip side the traffic coming into El Salvador was out of control. Miles of trucks were parked waiting in line as we drove by. Bummer for those guys...we win.
Instantly we started to climb into the mountains. At this point it was dark but a distant thunder and lightning storm lit up the skys for the whole drive. There were some lightning bolts that struck from cloud to cloud shooting a Zeus like football pass across the skys. It was pretty cool.
Finally arrived to Antigua. Rich colonial town, cobble stone and lots of people walking the streets. We didn't know where we were staying but the bus driver said he would drop us off at a hostel. Luckily, the Aussie heard of a joint, so we got dropped off there. This hostel was called Le Tariza. Large, four story colonial house that got transformed into a hostel. Really neat and full of travelers. Instantly knew this place was going to be trouble. Me and James (Aussie) went to book a room but they were full for tonight. They referred us to across the street and booked there for the night. I dropped my bags off and headed back over to Le Tariza to make some new friends at the bar.
Few hours later I'm with a group of 5-10 of us walking around looking for some other bars to party at. The problem is (actually the coolest thing ever), is there is no marketing in this city. Everything is preserved, no real signs for your business until your at the door. Each small building changes from pastel color to color and each with a castle like door to enter. When I own my castle, Antigua will be the place to shop for my entrance door. They take pride in these things. Seriously unreal doors.
Anyways, we found the bar. Inside was dimmed lighting and nooks and crannies around each corner filled with more people. Mellow environment but great atmosphere. Only thing they sold here was Mariskata and beer (some liquor that makes feel all good inside, you know...like tequila. People end up dancing on tables and laughing hysterically. You get the point).
The rest was history and was the first night with new friends.
Next day, woke up at my hostel and packed my bags to move to Le Tariza. Took a shower and headed out to explore the city.
The city of Antigua isn't huge but the amount of walking and driving traffic is everywhere. Tuk tuks drive all around. Similar to the ones in Thailand but they have soft top rain guards over the top when it rains, and convertible Labron style driving when its sunny. All of the roads are cobble stone, horses are walking around, and old colonial buildings are everywhere. It truly puts you back in time. The twist is, once inside a restaurant or store, there updated and renovated. You may be walking around, stumble across a store and it would be a handy store like home depot. Super random but really cool.
Best part about this city is the ice-cream and popsicles. They truly understand my obsession and fed all of my needs. Literally every corner of the city has 2 or 3 ice-cream shops, and all different. My favorite so far is this popsicle that looks like a football but cut in half. The end of it has the popsicle stick, the other end is the fruit. Hope that makes some sort of sense. All of which has 20 or more flavors to choose from. My favorite so far is Zapota. Its some Mexican/Guatemalian fruit. Taste like a guava mixed with passion fruit. Great texture and will be in the future popsicle book. Good stuff!
The city gets really cold at night but doesn't stop anyone from getting there sugar intake and binging on ice-cream.
Around the city is there market. Which is similar to most markets I have been to: full of fruits and vegetables, exact same clothing at each vendur, and lots of people. Easily getting lost around each corner and having a rabbit whole like feeling. I got stuck walking around this place for hours, having no idea where I was. It was great. I bought a large bag of strawberries for 50 cents and probably saw the biggest carrot of my life.
After walking around all day, I found a Spanish school that I signed up for. Four hours a day from Monday-Friday. I'll be getting my Spanish on and hopefully be able to talk to some people.
Day 1 down.
Overall, I see why people get stuck in the city for a long time.
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