This weekend I ventured outside of the city to an oasis called Antigua. A UNESCO World Heritage site, you'd never guess it's only 45 minutes from Guatemala City. Here's how the weekend went:
Harold, another intern from CDC, and I headed out Saturday morning to Antigua. Our first stop: The Black Cat Inn. I've stayed in a lot of hostels over the years, but this place was just so nice. For only Q65 (less than $10), we got a place to sleep and breakfast in the morning (which ended up begin super YUMMY). The Inn had a downstairs yard/patio area (see picture) and an awesome upstairs deck. Overall assessment: awesome! Thank you Lonely Planet and Sarah Stoneking for the suggestion.
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| The yard/patio of our hostel |
Next, we headed out for a little exploration. Antigua is a really walkable city making it a nice break from all the taxi riding in Guatemala City. Our walk took us past a number of ruins, the market, and an amazing coffee shop called Fernando's. Fernando's is known for some of the best coffee in Antigua and homemade chocolate. We sampled the cardamom chocolate and it was indeed delicious!
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| Funny sign at Fernando's Coffee Shop. They make their own chocolate and brew the best coffee. YUM! |
Post chocolate comma, we stumbled upon a free book exchange occurring at some ruins near our hostel. There was also a photo campaign in the courtyard advocating for human rights. And, perhaps best of all, just inside there was a gallery of photos taken by children. The collection was from an organization that provided advanced training in photography for impoverished children and women. The photos were one of my fav things in Antigua.
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| Old and new. These are some ruins located a block away from our hostel. There was also a photo campaign outside promoting human rights for all. |
Post photos and book exchange, we met up with some fellow med school friends, Tara and Sarah. At about the same time, it proceeded to rain heavily for the rest of the day. But that didn't stop us. We went to a wonderful coffee shop near the central park (notice the theme of coffee!) and then headed out for some culture at La Merced. La Merced is a beautiful church complete with cloisters for nuns back in the day. While we were visiting, we saw a wedding ceremony in the church! From La Merced (and everywhere in Antigua), you can see amazing landscape filled with active volcanoes.
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| Tara was feeling inspired by La Merced |
To finish out Saturday, the four of us headed over to a local establishment called Cafe No Se. It was SUPER hipster. The cafe had it's own mezcal bar! I could only handle one sip of their house made mezcal! We also tried a drink called the cucaracha, which is a shot (of what I can't remember) set on fire! And the night continued...
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| Cafe No Se had a separate area where they sold house-made mezcal. According to the bartender, mezcal is the 'grandaddy' of tequila |
The next morning, Harold headed to Belize as Sarah, Tara, and myself walked more of the city. Our day included two cafes, one of which sold the most amazing banana bread. We also saw the ruins of San Francisco, which were even more amazing than La Merced. The ruins included a museum dedicated to Santo Hermano Pedro.
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| Sarah looking at the ruins of San Francisco...definitely one of the coolest places in Antigua |
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| Ruins of San Francisco with some active volcanoes in the background |
All-in-all, it was a TERRIFIC trip! I just want to leave you with some final impressions of Antigua:
1. The food is yummy...everything I ate that weekend was so delicious!
2. There are a lot of gringos...Antigua is home to lots of expats and people from around the world.
3. The city looks like many parts of Europe...definitely showing its Spanish heritage, Antigua could be straight from Europe with its architecture and cobbled streets.
4. It's a cultural center...After visiting three different art galleries/museums and two ruins (as well as passing a number of others), Antigua definitely seems to pride itself on the culture and heritage of Guatemala.
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| A little down time on the streets of Antigua |
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| Market outside some ruins |
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