The Pacaya volcano tour is one of those “must do’s” while in Antigua, Guatemala. Pacaya is one of the most active volcanoes in the world with it’s most recent eruption (as of June, 2014) in March, 2014. When you reach the top you can toast marshmallows over the (natural) steam vents. [Read more…] about Picking our way up Pacaya
Lolligagging in Lago de Atitlan
A short shuttle drive from Chichi landed us in the town of Panajachel, the gateway of sorts to Lago de Atitlan (Lake Atitlan). Lake Atitlan is a gorgeous lake created by a massive volcanic explosion. It was nominated as a wonder of the world, but didn’t quite make it. It should have! The pics just don’t do it justice. [Read more…] about Lolligagging in Lago de Atitlan
The Mayans and the MONEY!
Chichicastenango in Guatemala is a popular tourist destination due to the twice weekly massive market; but, it is not just a market town. There is so much to see! After we had our fill of the market at Chichi, we found a guide, Oscar, who offered to give us a two hour tour of the local Mayan culture for Q300 (quetzales) (about $45 for both of us). It was more than we wanted to spend, but since his English was pretty decent, we decided it was worth spending the money to get a good explanation of what we were looking at. Our stroll began at the pig market, a little space off the main road where they sold, what else, pigs! [Read more…] about The Mayans and the MONEY!
Market Day in Chichicastenango (“Chichi”)
The wild ride on the chicken bus came to an end at Chichi. Phew! As soon as we got off a man came up to us asking where we were staying. He spoke English pretty well and was wearing a vest that said “guida autirazad” (or something like that) so we decided he must be trustworthy. We told him we did not have a room, yet, so he grabbed one of our bags, “come, I show you nice place” and began walking away from us.
[Read more…] about Market Day in Chichicastenango (“Chichi”)
Chicken bus to ChiChi
Oh Dios mio! What a ride. Within about thirty seconds both Carrie and I felt a sudden urge to vomit. At 2:00 we boarded a packed shuttle headed to Lago de Atitlan (Lake Atitlan). There were 12 others on board and we were the only crazies who planned to jump off early at Los Encuentros. Marco had booked the trip for us and he told us to make sure to “get off where the roads meet.” Apparently the roads met at a Texaco because the shuttle driver suddenly veered off the road and dumped us there. We were no more than a few feet down the street when a man came up to us saying something about “ChiChi.” [Read more…] about Chicken bus to ChiChi
Monterrico es muy bonito!
I heard Carrie’s alarm going off for about fifteen minutes so finally I dragged myself out of bed, gathered my shower items and clothes and stumbled into el bano. After a nice hot (finally) shower I nudged Carrie, “Wake up! The shuttle is coming within the hour.” Groggily, she replied,”what time is it?” It is 7:15 a.m., I said, as her hand swept the floor looking for her phone. “No it isn’t! It’s only 5:15 a.m.!”, she exclaimed. Oops! Her phone alarm woke us up at the right time….if we were catching a shuttle in New York!