Peteanddee's travel blogs:
|
|
 | |  |
Antigua
Entry 1 of 9 | show all | print this entry |
|
We flew from Quito to Guatemala City then jumped straight into a shuttle heading for Antigua, about an hour away. After our first night in Central America we explored the beautiful town of Antigua which is surrounded by three volcanoes. Cobbled streets, multi-coloured historic buildings and a lovely central park make this a special place. After lunch we got in the van for our tour to Volcan Pacaya.
Volcan Pacaya (2552m) is the only active volcano near Antigua. It isn't just a bit active, this volcano has molten lava pouring down the side of it constantly. We met our guide and began our ascent of the volcano. After an hour or so of steady uphill trekking we saw beautiful views of a hydro-thermal lake and three neighbouring volcanoes, one of which were emitting large puffs of smoke every few minutes. We came across a large lava flow that happened about 6 months before and had to scramble over the brittle volcanic rocks to get to the new path on the other side of the lava flow.
It was getting dark as we neared the top of the volcano and saw our first glimpses of the fiery red lava. Lots more scrambling was required for the last 500m as we had to climb over the lava field which was still smoking in some places and through the cracks you could still see the molten red lava just below our feet. The sun set just before we reached the newest lava flows and it looked completely amazing in the dark. There was a river of molten lava only metres away from us, pouring slowly down the mountain. We climbed a little higher and another lava flow branched off a few metres in front of us and headed towards us. It was intensely hot and after a few quick pictures it was time to head to safety. We didn't get to the top of the volcano as the lava was pouring out the side, about 400m from the summit; but getting that close to the lava flows was an incredible experience.
The next day we boarded a shuttle to Panajachel, a nice little town on the shores of Lago de Atitlan. The lake is surrounded by several volcanic peaks and has small settlements scattered around its many coves. A beautiful sight! After only one night in Panajachel, we packed up our stuff and boarded the shuttle to Chichicastenango. The markets at Chichi were absolutely fabulous. We spent several hours exploring the lively markets and bought some clothes, electrical stuff and presents. The local ladies wore very colourful outfits and it was good to see them haggling over the price of a live chicken. After lunch we bargained down the price of another shuttle and headed off to Quetzaltenango (Xela). We spent the night in Xela and went exploring the town the next morning, spent ages trying to buy some bus tickets and made a frantic dash on a chicken bus to the hot springs at Fuentas Georginas. We got off the bus at Zunil and jumped into the back of a local ute for the 8km drive uphill to the hot springs. Time was against us as we had a long distance bus to catch, so we only managed 20 minutes in the hot springs but it was absolutely worth it as they are supposedly the prettiest natural spa in Guatemala. The pools are surrounded by cliffs covered in lush tropical vegetation and overlook a beautiful valley. Dee was asked if she could have her picture taken with a bunch of locals, which was quite amusing! Then it was into the back of the ute again for the frantic dash down the mountain, luckily our driver had agreed to take us all the way back to Xela. We grabbed our bags from the hostel, jumped a taxi and made it to the bus stop with only a few minutes to spare. Onto another rickety old bus bound for Guatemala City, a quick bite at Maccas then boarding an overnight bus to Flores to see the wonders of Tikal.
After another crappy overnight bus journey getting woken up every half hour we caught an early morning shuttle to El Remate for some R & R on Lago de Peten Itza. We stayed in an 'ecological bungalow' which didn't have any windows or doors. It was basically a hut with hardly any walls, but a nice view over the lake. After a much needed kip under the mosquito net we went for lunch and explored the lake shore. It was then up early again the next day for our shuttle to Tikal, the grand daddy of Mayan ruins. Tikal is a truly wonderful experience. The temples are massively constructed up to 60m high and are spread out through the dense jungle. There are thousands of ruins at this ancient Mayan city and it takes several hours to explore the highlights of the site.
The Great Plaza is the centre piece, flanked by the Temple of the Grand Jaguar (Temple I) and Temple II with the acroplolis del norte on one side and the central acropolis on the other. The view from Temple II was great and left us wanting to climb more temples, so it was off to climb Temple IV with a spectacular view of the jungle canopy with the tops of four of the temples standing tall and proud above the tree tops. We explored as many ruins as we could, climbed all of the temples and wondered what life was like in this city more than a thousand years ago. We went into one of the small museums on site to see the original stelae and altars which were intricately carved, detailing the life and accomplishments of the various Mayan kings. We were very tired after all the climbing and walking more that 10km around the site so were glad to jump in the shuttle back to pick up our bags at El Remate and get dropped off at Flores. Once again, it was onto another bus, this time bound for Rio Dulce.
At Rio Dulce we went to the famous Finca el Paraiso, a boiling hot waterfall an hour on a chicken bus from Rio Dulce. The waterfall was fab and it was great sitting under the falls getting brutally massaged by the naturally heated mineral water pounding our backs. The pools above the falls were so hot that you could only stand ankle deep in them for a few seconds before getting cooked. We were told that the bus back to Rio Dulce was coming past at 2pm but unfortunately it was more than an hour late so by the time we got back we didn't have enough time for our jungle cruise. Up very early again but it was raining so we had to miss out on the jungle cruise and hopefully see something like that in Costa Rica. Onto the bus again heading for Copan in Honduras and after changing buses, hoarded into very cramped shuttles and taxis we finally made it through the border to Copan Ruinas.
More thumbnails ...
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries by peteanddee, from Guatemala or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
1 vote 
