Days traveling: 6
Spanish fluency: (5%) or dismal
Overall feeling: antsy
We are leaving Antigua today for Panajachel and I couldn´t be more anxious to get out of guatemala´s version of disneyland. The city of Antigua is beautiful, but unfortunately it caters to tourists so much... I feel like I´m somewhere very familiar. Many people speak english and prices are much higher for things than in the city. I was super freaked out at the thought of staying in Guate City for a few days but my fears basically disappeared when we were greeted by our couchsurfing friend Willard at the airport. He showed us the best damn time we could have ever had in the city. Breakfast at his house included french toast, pancakes, fresh juice, and our afternoons were filled with museums, good food, Gallo (guate beer) and good conversation. Willard made our initial impression of Guate a very good one.
Climbed a volcano a couple days ago, but I wasn´t really impressed, maybe because I was dying the whole way up because my ass hasn´t had a workout in 5 months. The hike wasnt bad, maybe 2 hours, and we only stayed at the top for about 30 minutes. In that short time frame however, I managed to cut up my ankle pretty bad falling off a rock :/
We are budgeting for US$20 a day (Q140ish) and it´s been SUPER easy to do. Couchsurfing = no accomodation payments (not that it matters because the hostel we stayed at in Antigua (Posado Ruiz 2) costs only US$2.80 a day. Sure it has the occasional roach, crying baby, and manic canine but at also has great fellow backpackers, a hot shower (only shower #3), and a very chill, non-douchebag vibe, as Evan put it.
Basically I feel like the city gave me a better taste of guate than antigua did, so I can´t wait to head somwhere else. Oh and the food. THE FOOD! It´s soo good. Everything is fresh and cheap and delicious. My favorite street food thus far is pupusa: a tasty little tortilla pocket filled with cheese or chorizo or whatever you want, smoothered with cabbage and a mystery sauce that makes it the perfect snack food for a walk around the block. yuuum. Guatemalan tacos are yummy too. A cross between a hard shell taco and a flauta, these fried pieces of heaven are going to ruin this whole diet plan thing I had organized.
Hey Alisha! It's Sarah Geggus.
ReplyDeleteone word: Aquacates.
Pretty much my staple when I was in Guate. SO GOOD. I liked Panajachel a lot better than Antigua (how about that bus ride?!), but don't expect the tourist-catering to lessen there. It's worse, if anything. Take a boat across the lake to the smaller villages if you want something more 'authentic'. I think I went to Santiago, which has some interesting religious stuff, if you're into that.
Safe travels!