Guat's up? Volcanos and Views in Antigua

 

I had no real expectations for Guatemala, to be honest. It was a volcano to climb, a ruin or two to look up, and a country to pass through on my way further south. But that was before we arrived in Antigua mid-December, and now we're having a hard time bringing ourselves to leave!

The first thing I noticed about Guatemala? The bathrooms. They  had toilets that flushed - at least most of the time. This was a huge improvement over most of Mexico. 

Second thing I noticed? The many, many auto "love" hotels on the highways, with names like "jardin secreto" (secret garden) or "toro fuerte" (strong bull). These usually had hearts all over, closed garages where you could hide your car from view of prying spouses, "promises of reliable wifi, and some very reasonable hourly rates. 

One of the many auto love hotels on the highway

Ivan's favourite urinals in Antigua at the Hub

Sadly, the third thing I noticed was the masses of migrants, mostly Indigenous, making their way through the highlands towards the Mexican border. I'm not sure I would have noticed if Ivan and I hadn't spent the last 18 driving hours listening to a book on tape about the immigration crisis in central America.

I have no photos, as most people don't like their pictures taken when they are at their lowest, but there were hundreds of people, many in their beautifully coloured and embroidered traditional clothes, weaving on makeshift looms by the side of the litter-lined road while camped down amid the plastic McDonald's drink cups crumpled chip wrappers thrown by passing cars. Their children would stand at the side of the road in clusters waving at passing motorists. They had with smiles on their faces, trying to look friendly and (I guess) flag down drivers. Which made me so sad, especially having just learned that less than 1% of the few Guatemalans who make it to the US will actually receive asylum - or at least that's roughly what the statistics were a few years ago. I can only imagine that the odds are even less in their favour now.

stock photo of Guatemalan Indigenous clothing

(Sidenote: Throughout our idyllic stay here we've also met several Guatemalans who had recently been deported back, some who had lived in the US for years. It's one thing to read about the crisis in the news, another to see it for yourself. For anyone truly interested in this issue, I encourage you to read Everyone who is Gone is Here: the United States, Central America, and the making of an American Crisis by Jonathan Blitzer.)

Speaking of books, fun fact: for fans of Le Petit Prince, the author crashed in Guatemala in 1938 and spent several months recuperating here. Legend has it that it was this ancient city of Antigua, surrounded by volcanoes, that inspired the Prince's home, asteroid B-612. If you'll remember, he swept his planet daily - much like the street sweepers still do here in Antigua, given the amount of volcanic dust that settles here every day. And I know this is true because I was often woken at 6 am by the sound of cane brooms sweeping under our Air BnB window.

With that image in your mind, let's get into some highlights from our time in the fabled city of Antigua, where Ivan and I have been staying this past month. 

Recommendation: Play Guatemalan Sunsets in the background to get ready for the spectacular Guatemalan pics to come...

Living in a Fairy Tale

The town is indescribably gorgeous - and (thanks to the diligence of street sweepers) remarkably clean. Unlike elsewhere in Guatemala, where we saw people throw bags of garbage out of their windows while driving (I'm looking at you, Lake Atitlan), the streets here are cleaned all the time. The gardens, too, are constantly  and carefully tended. Everywhere we went we were blown away by the beautiful tropical blooms and cacti, with Olly and I having to stop all the time to try to identify them. 

(Ursula - this series of photos is for you!)

Nopal

Parrot flower - largest flower in the world

Hanging lobster claw

Golden Shrimp Plant

But beyond the forever-flowering vines and trees, Antigua has got the absolute best views. Situated in a high valley, the city's rooftops yield vistas of green hills, blue and purple volcanos, rolling columbous clouds, and  - best of all - erupting Fuego. At night, you can even see the lava light up, a bright red and orange flame, when Fuego explodes.

Fuego volcano erupting behind me at the Hub brewery rooftop patio

Ivan looking at Agua from another bar rooftop, Sky View

Our Air BnB rooftop view. We saw all three of the top volcanoes: Agua, Fuego and Acatenango - while sitting on our patio chairs.

Our sunset view - yes, every day was this beautiful

The Ruins 

The flowers are gorgeous. The volcanoes are stunning. Now throw some ruins in there - actually, throw them EVERYWHERE - and you have the fantastical, Disney-like Antigua aesthetic that makes you feel like you are living inside a fairy tale.

 

Most of the ruins are colonial buildings destroyed in the 1773 earthquake, which was so big - magnitude 7.5 - and so devastating, that Spain moved the capital from here in Antigua (which was then called Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala) to it current location at Guatamala City. And yes, knowing this fact did make me nervous every time I heard Fuego erupt, which is pretty often.

Colonial ruins abound in this city. They're behind the basketball court, inside the resorts, over the fence, under your feet. I've lost count of all the ruins we've seen so far and still, every day, we discover another. Here's just a selection of a few of them. 

The famous Antigua Arch

The streets by the square with Acatenango Volcano behind

A seventeenth century cathedral ruin

Amid the rubble

A former monastery I think. To tell the truth, it's hard to keep track

An old school and hospital - and popular picnic spot

My favourite store selling herbal remedies

Fountain in town square

The old church by the basketball courts and outdoor gym

A month of visits!

But the best part of our time in Antigua has been all the visitors we've had. We're approaching four months on the road, so it was a joy to see Cohen for Christmas. Then came Ivan's brother Olly and his partner, Amanda from Australia for New Years. Our friends, Marla Segol and her adult children Goldie and Orry, joined us early in January.

Cohen packing for our hike

Merry Christmas in Antigua!

Olly and Amanda

The Bolliger Boys and Amanda

Ivan with (from right) Goldie, Orry, me and Marla with Pacaya volcano in the back

Now onto some of the amazing adventures we had with everyone!

Adventure 1: Climbing Volcanos

After a week acclimatizing, Ivan, Cohen and I took the "adventure" package to hike the famous Acatenango volcano where you treck an arduous 1,500 m to stay overnight near the peak. At camp, you can watch the adjacent volcano, Fuego, spurt lava. 

(There's a livecam that runs 24/7 if you want to see for yourself. As one of the most active volcanos in the world, you're likely to see something if you wait long enough - eruptions are every 5 - 15 minutes. The guides told us it was most active between 10 pm and 3 am, though I can't think why a volcano would be affected by sun and could not verify that fact.)

The hike (operated through Trek) was close to six hours, and we reached almost 4,000 m above sea level. Unfortunately for us, the day we booked a storm was heading towards Mexico and its winds were passing through, making it too windy to walk the ridgeline that would have brought us even closer to Fuego. 

Also, having chosen the non-glamping "adventure" version meant being in a nylon tent on the exposed side of the mountain as opposed to being snug in a canvas tent on a raised cot. The winds were so strong the night we stayed that one tent collapsed and Ivan and I kept getting woken up by the tent slapping our heads. The wind and sleet were coming at us almost horizontally in the early hours. 

Then, to top it all off, despite the training Ivan put me through running up the nearby hill for a week in preparation, I still got altitude sickness and had a rough, insomniac night unable to feel my pinkies followed by a headachy descent and a day prostrate in bedm rehydrating. 

But it was a total blast (literally). My only regret is not getting the "glamping" package. That and not drinking another litre of water. Lesson learned.

Ivan and I - note the tree leaning in the wind behind...

Fuego erupts! The whole point of the hike.

Ivan in the cloud forest

Our guide and a well deserved rest at the top

Ivan saving a fellow hiker locked in the bano with a machete

In the could forest

Passing 3,500 meters

Fuego the next morning - clouds cleared and winds gone

Descending in the calm morning

The next volcano we climbed was Pacaya with Marla and the younger Segols. You used to be able to see lava flowing all the time at Pacaya, which suddenly became active in the 60's. But the lava hasn't flowed in recent times. A private geothermal company has been generating energy in the region to sell to Mexico and elsewhere, which  locals suspect may be hindering Pacaya's activity. So, we still roasted marshmallows in a lava oven on the lava fields, but they weren't really roasted so much as warmed. But everything else was amazing - especially drinking hot chocolate and watching the sunset above the clouds.

At the top of Pacaya

Our local guide, a 62 (or 72 - my Spanish isn't great) grandfather of six who hikes Pacaya at least 3 times a week

Me and a wet horse in the middle of a cloud

View from the peak of Pacaya

The Pacaya lava fields

Sunset begins...

Descending Pacaya after sunset

The Segols, readying to descend

Sunset from Pacaya

Antigua Holiday Celebrations with Family

Being able to celebrate with family was the best gift I got for Christmas this year! As I wrote a few posts ago, it is VERY noisy and busy during Christmas season here, so we all kind of adapted our usual traditions to where we were.

Cohen got seriously into tortilla making (and all things Masa) during his time in Antigua. He is perfecting his form back in Hamilton. Here he is presiding over our Mexican-inspired Christmas dinner.

Christmas dinner: Mexican Christmas Salad; homemade tamales; spicy sweet potatoes; mango pico de gallo; salsa verde; and creamed swiss chard. For dessert, my favourite cake - Carlotta con Limon!


We celebrated New Years with Amanda and Olly following a Guatemalan tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight, one for each ring of the church bell. We did it an hour early so we could hit Antigua town square.

Antigua square at New Year's Eve. At first we were confused - it was the only time we didn't hear fireworks and the crowd was relatively tame, until... 

Ivan, myself and Olly ready for the fireworks...

BANG! Antigua did NOT disappoint on New Years.

More fireworks - it was crazy loud and fire cracker dust was raining from the sky. Madness!

Then the lights of 2025 went out, and those of 2026 turned on, and suddenly it was the new year.

Short Visit to Lake Atitlan

We did not stay long at Lake Atitlan. Only one night, as a matter of fact, which is definitely not enough. To be honest, I wasn't super excited to go there. I mean, I'd heard it was beautiful but I thought that was all hype. Until I got there. 

Wow. 

The lake is surrounded by volcanos (more volcanos!), including the Cerro de Oro, which many say was the inspiration for the shape the Little Prince draws representing a boa constrictor swallowing an elephant. 

Panoramic of Lake Atitlan, with the Cerro de Oro centre

View of Cerro de Oro from the hot tub

Evening on Lake Atitlan

Fisherman using a cayuko (flat-bottomed boat carved out of a single log) to fish

Ivan and Olly in the hot tub

While there we enjoyed one of the best meals I've ever had in Guatemala, sat in a hot tub under the stars, sauna-ed, kayaked the lake, and ended it all with a visit to the local market where Marla got tapped on the butt by an elderly woman who chastised her for blocking traffic. Gringos, beware and keep moving - abuelas don't have time to waste on Sunday when there's dinner to cook.

We also accidentally walked into a gang club house, but that's a story best told in person.

Monterrico Beach

It's pretty cool, temperature-wise, in the mountains and Antigua. So before we sent Cohen back to snowy Canada, we decided to drive the rather treacherous three hours to the coast and hit the beach.

We stayed in one of Guatemala's top beaches - Montericco. Think hot black sand, sudden drop offs, crashing waves and miles and miles of views. Not to mention ATVs. All day, all night, teenagers riding up and down the beach on gasoline-guzzling, exhaust-exuding four-by-fours. So not a place for relaxing exactly, but great people watching and wave diving and especially sunset ogling. 

The day we arrived, the storm front was still making its way up up the coast. In the sunset, we could see the storm funnel pretty clearly, as well as flashes of lightening bolts in its centre. 

Playing pool at our beach "resort", the Hotel El Delfin. Think cots with mosquito netting hanging from the ceiling, padlocks for room locks, and communal bathrooms. We're pretty sure this is where Cohen and I caught our brutal illness, which hit us both hard the next few days.

But this made it all worthwhile.

Here you can see the storm funnel  I was talking about 

I'll leave it there for today. I have a lot more to share - market going, street food, concerts, campground living and (if I play my cards right) maybe even salsa dancing. But the temperature's just dropped and the Ivan's making me vegan sausages on a charcoal grill, so got to go.

Wishing everyone a happy January and hoping you are all well!