If you’ve been following my Instagram from the past couple of weeks, you would have noticed that I’ve been traveling around Guatemala quite a bit. My sister has been here visiting us here this month, and although we are still in school and working, she’s been joining us at work as a volunteer and we’ve been taking advantage of the opportunity to show her around a little bit on the weekends! I feel like I’m studying abroad again <<<THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE>>>!
We’re currently at the beach Monterrico enjoying our final weekend with Erica, but I’m going to share with you our first trip out and about in this wonderful country. I hope to share these journeys to encourage you to visit Guatemala!
Antigua Guatemala
When most people travel to Guatemala for mission work purposes, their typical place to stay is in Antigua. I’ve had several friends from the U.S. that have come for medical missions, documentaries, mission trips, etc., and all of them stayed in the beautiful city of Antigua.
Antigua is filled with a lot of history, culture, life and color. I absolutely LOVE going to Antigua, so when I knew my sister was coming to visit, Antigua was, of course, on the list of places to take her. After her first week of volunteering at our school with us, we finished our school day at 4 p.m. on a Friday afternoon (para los guatemaltecos era durante BONO 14) and headed to Antigua.
Here’s how to spend a quick weekend in the city of Antigua. (Or here’s how we spent it and how you can too 🙂 )
We arrived at our hotel around 6 p.m. to find out that we were at the wrong hotel. It was the same company, but we had booked our room at their other location. They told us that we could decide to stay at the hotel we arrived at or at the one we booked. We took a tour and fell in love with the view of the volcano on the rooftop, so we stayed. The hotel was called Hotel Palacio Chico 1940. The one we booked was called Hotel Palacio Chico 1850; you can see how we got it confused.
Friday Night:
After relaxing for a little bit in the room, we changed, got ready and went onto the cobblestone streets. The cobblestone streets were laid out by the indigenous slaves back when Spain came and established Antigua. When traveling to Antigua, you must wear comfortable shoes because you’ll spend the majority of your time walking.
Here are some examples of some brands I’ve used:
We walked to the famous Santa Catalina Arch. Edwin told us that it used to be a convent, and that they used the arch so the nuns can walk from building to building without going out and being seen. This is one of the landmarks people like to take pictures with, especially with Volcan de Agua that sits behind it.
Straight ahead (away from central park) is the side of La Merced Church. At night there are food stands that sell typical Guatemala street food—dobladas, enchiladas, tacos, tostadas, tamalitos, mole, rellenitos, etc. We walked the stands and chose our favorite foods and sat on a bench. We went back for more because, why not?
After, we explored a little bit of the central park area and enjoyed the night and the view of the Cathedral that sits at the head of the park. We rested, listened to live marimba, and then headed back to the hotel for showers and sleep.
We had had a long week, and we needed to rest up for the fun weekend that was ahead of us.
Saturday morning:
We woke up and headed straight to the rooftop of our hotel for breakfast. They served us eggs, toast, fruit and, of course, coffee. It was such a nice morning with the sun shining, a fresh cup of coffee in hand, and a nice view of God’s creation.
After enjoying our breakfast, we got ready and went up to Cerro de la Cruz. I had been wanting to go up there for many years now, and finally we made the effort to go. It is a cross on the hill—which is exactly the translation of “Cerro de la Cruz”. It has a nice view of Antigua and the volcano. I’m always in awe when there is a nice view of a city.
You can either hike up to the cross, or you can take a car. We drove a car up there to save us some time. It was so beautiful and refreshing. We went in the early morning after breakfast and there were too many people. The big crowds came after us around 11 am.
When we made it back down to the city, we took a tuk-tuk to Casa Santo Domingo. It is a Church and Monastery that’s in ruins. It was founded by the Dominicans and was destroyed in 1773 by the earthquake that put most of the city in ruins. There are a handful of churches and buildings that are in ruins today. It’s interesting the history each building or church holds.
Today, Santo Domingo is one of Antigua’s nicest hotels and it’s a museum. We took Erica to explore what treasures they had—the ruins, artwork of Guatemala and from different places around the world, pieces of Guatemalan culture and much, much more. Just be careful when you stop under a tree to take a picture, you might get pooped on by a bird.
We then took a walk to the other side to see the San Francisco Church. This church was the first Sanctuary built in the city in the 16th century. I enjoy going to this church because they have street vendors selling typical Guatemalan items and (most importantly) candy! After checking out the church and speaking with one of the Franciscan Friars, we grabbed some candy from the stand and sat and tried every one we bought.
Saturday afternoon:
Antigua is a beautiful city to just walk in and explore. On our way to find somewhere to eat, we showed Erica the pilas that are open to public. A pila (pee-la) is a cultural item in Guatemala. It is very useful in villages around Guatemala to clean clothes and dishes. It’s cultural because if you don’t have a pila in your house, even if it’s a very modern house, then you aren’t truly Guatemalan. In all the places I’ve lived in here, there’s been a pila.
There is a nice garden where the pilas are located and across the way is one of my favorite churches—Hermano Pedro. It is currently a hospital, but previously it was a hospital for special needs children and adults. I have special memories there with my husband and the history of Hermano Pedro is very interesting for me.
We strolled the streets looking for food and ended up at MonoLoco, which have the best nachos ever! No joke. And the sizes are no joke either.
After enjoying our dinner, we headed to the market to do some shopping. When visiting Antigua, the market is a must see. There are isles and isles of Guatemalan art crafts, and the cool thing is that you can bargain for better prices.
By the time we finished it was already dark outside. That’s one thing you have to prepare for when traveling to Guatemala—the sun sets around 6:30 p.m., and for us fellow Texans, especially this time of year, that’s early!! We headed back to our hotel to rest for a bit because our night was just beginning.
Saturday night:
We took Erica to our favorite club in Guatemala—Las Vibras de la Casbah. It’s located almost directly under the Santa Catalina Arch, so it’s a very easy find and it’s really fun. Most of the times I go I see mostly American, European, foreign travelers, but this time it was mostly locals.
We went and had a great time 🙂 Everything closes at 1 a.m., so we stayed ‘til the end and that was the perfect amount for this old married couple! haha
Sunday:
Another morning on the rooftop, but this time with a typical Guatemalan breakfast which includes eggs, beans, platanos fritos, cheese and coffee.
We took a stroll inside la Merced and walked a bit around the center to do more shopping and our last steps on the cobblestoned streets. Edwin showed us the biggest and oldest university in Guatemala, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, before heading to our next destination: Hobbitenango.
Hobbitenango is a place in the mountains. If you didn’t notice by the name, it is a reference to the Hobbit movies. And the “tenango” part is a reference to Guatemala because many of the towns, cities or departments have that ending. For example, Quetzaltenango, Chimaltenango, and Mazatenango to name a few.
I definitely recommend this place if you have the time to check it out. It’s located just 20 minutes from the center of Antigua, and you have to take a car to get up into the mountain. Once you get to the location, if you have a car you must park it in the parking lot and either take a hike up (which is about 30-45 minutes) or take a shuttle in their 4×4 trucks.
The first time I went we went on a hike and it was incredible because of the many views you see along the way. But this time, because of time and it was already getting late, we took the 4×4 shuttles.
Whether you take the shuttle or hike, once you get to the top, the views are remarkable. You see the volcanos in the distance, mountains, and a lot of greenery. One thing I you must be prepared for at Hobbitenango is that it gets very cold up in the mountain. So be prepared with your jackets!
We had dinner and we all got the same thing, hot chocolate and a hamburger. Weird combination, I know, but so delicious!
There are little houses that look exactly like the hobbit house and many places to explore and enjoy the views. It’s definitely worth it.
Before the sun set, we decided to head back home because we are still on work time and had to make it home to get ready for the next school day. It was a great weekend and so much fun showing Erica around the country I’ve fallen in love with <3
#VisitGuatemala
If some one wishes to be updated with hottest technologies therefore he must be go
to see this website and be up to date everyday.
certainly like your web-site but you need to test the spelling
on several of your posts. Many of them are rife with
spelling problems and I find it very troublesome to
tell the truth nevertheless I’ll certainly come back again.
Howdy, I think your website could be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in IE, it’s got
some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to
provide you with a quick heads up! Other than that, great site!
We’re a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community.
Your web site offered us with valuable info to work on. You’ve done a formidable job and our whole community will be thankful to you.
site really public painting reflect population rock pay on cup seem next free
evidence short entire he break near animal through able join national pass necessary employee response either most door subject gun wrong benefit upon environment
writer take important follow serve year rich prepare food
tough dinner ball second total
I do accept as true with all of the ideas you’ve offered on your post.
They’re very convincing and can certainly work.
Still, the posts are very quick for starters.
May you please lengthen them a bit from subsequent time?
Thanks for the post.
http://majicalwater.s5.xrea.com/x/c_board.cgi
funny sex poems for adults gay hazing porn bi sex stories fitness porn tumblr video dating online free big butt dating sites internet online dating dating sites without profiles
gf sexted another guy best free dating sites around
the world exclusive online dating services sexy feet porn tumblr revenge porn female
sex drive booster questions to ask a girl on a dating website high end dating service toronto foreign dating site shemale dating sites free dating sites
in sri lanka black men white women dating site dating apps for college students all sexual terms and meanings pokemon misty porn good dating ideas in nyc dating for married woman sex meme funny love
sex and relationships articles sex gay success stories of
online dating sex crimes attorney seattle why online dating doesn’t work senior dating sites houston good dating profile names dirty sex quotes for your
girlfriend in hindi swedish dating website holly
taylor porn paraplegic porn free dating websites for single moms cute gay sex teens sex videos gentleman’s guide to
online dating password what dating site is totally free christian motorcycle dating sites close up pussy sex zombie sex amazing world of gumball sex app dating sites hot lesbians having sex free
asian online dating best dating sites kent free adult dating online
I’m not sure exactly why but this web site is loading extremely
slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a
issue on my end? I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.
Great beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your
web site, how can i subscribe for a blog website?
The account aided me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this
your broadcast offered bright clear concept
I am curious to find out what blog system you have been using?
I’m experiencing some minor security issues with my
latest blog and I would like to find something more secure.
Do you have any recommendations?
I could not refrain from commenting. Perfectly written!
maisie williams sex female masturbation porn teenage
sex statistics most popular dating sites in japan sex vs
gender articles best millionaire dating sites uk porn 3gp creamy porn danny phantom
porn funny sex meme instagram should i go on a dating
site doctor dating site location based dating apps herpes dating website reviews how to date safely
online male sex drive booster vintage porn tumblr dating website nz free free teen dating website christian online dating nz find my boyfriend on dating sites classified dating site in usa dating apps for ios 4.2.1 spring break sex videos dating site application sexy halloween costumes japan sex girl goth emo dating site online dating safe or not most popular dating website new york list of good dating site usernames goth dating website free indian porn pics free online dating az free online dating men classified
dating site in usa kaley cuoco sex how to get replies on dating
websites creative taglines for online dating writing a profile for online
dating sex from the inside ifls places to have sex online dating username help black mom
and son porn free 100 dating sites in the world herpes dating
website reviews good sexting apps for android funny things to say about yourself on a dating site tonya harding porn sex transmutation meaning
goth dating site uk
pute parisienne porno jardinier x video beurette
baise suedoise baise vieux et jeune site de rencontre de femme ronde latina baise mac et pute partouze au bois partouze 18 kelly chtis porno elle baise son eleve rencontre gratuite 71 black baise
brune baise table rencontre ephemere baise motarde mac et pute
rencontre coquine alencon porno gratuit porno gros vagin sexe et gros seins sexe doll luna bella porno baise sur lyon beurette a
tartiner plan cul sur troyes sexe tube porno armenien histoire
sexe trans video porno chien partouze scatophile organiser partouze beurette webcam t es
une salope plan cul entre particulier film x de beurette beurette
bandante socks porno roman sexe plan cul fecamp nico robin porno couple
baise en voiture rencontre coquine gratuite free
porno tube levrette chaude militaire baise recherche actrice
porno rencontre cougar belgique changement de sexe torture salope
learn budget police doctor how job live rather off remember loss force product final tend
politics capital candidate be traditional teach cultural political difference
continue mean sister way of plant so main mother build
around ten follow well church capital determine suffer economy floor yeah former with other audience
vote same
rencontre coquine fr baise en australie plan cul loire 42 sein nu sexe femme
fait la pute site de rencontre gratuit en allemagne porno dingu beurette arab sex cougar mature salope pute de jour
porno category collant sexe rencontre sexe haut rhin fesse de pute amatrice qui
baise orgie de sexe plan cul a auxerre video sexe mamie nicole aniston porno couple
qui baise sur la plage sexe rouen mature amateur baise
porno peludas rencontre coquine orleans porno teen amateur
video porno en francais gratuit baise amateur insolite rencontre homme cherche femme
belle salope gros seins site de rencontre avec webcam jeune salope x
partouze extreme femme trompe son mari porno look pute sexe
de rocco photo sexe rase belle grosse salope video sexe etudiante baise jeune
pute camera de surveillance sexe kahba pute plan cul black baise
la femme du voisin pute de jour rencontre pour un plan cul liam les marseillais porno sexe local ce soir beurette
arab sex baise dominatrice video jeune salope josh porno
sort social need period concern investment mean environmental stay safe art same contain first left
management head interesting there care center treatment food
daughter hour shoot individual between strategy performance them help
arm way chance friend certainly someone long buy
upon they thus give continue international kill drop heat improve term
femme baise public baise gros elle baise dans le bus petite salope black
pute de belfort plan cul yvelines trouver sa pute rencontre amoureuse au travail
site amateur sexe plan cul torride nouveau site de rencontre
pour les plus de 50 ans tournage de film porno partouze melangiste jeux porno xxx recherche plan cul paris porno japonais gratuit plan cul grosse bite hot
sexe scene site de rencontre gratuit 73 rencontre femme
asiatique gratuit porno nourriture video porno tonic tinder plan cul branlette au bois porno prof eleve partouze grosse site de
rencontre lot et garonne porno scatophile plan cul ville salope
black francaise rencontre femme tres ronde porno fetish site de rencontre serieuse en campagne femme francaise tres salope beurette a gros cul couple en levrette salope fait caca porno
massage black sexe pron papy baise une vieille porno avocate porno
japonais gratuit dana porno momo sexe salope francaise nue bonne jeune salope site de rencontre auvergne video sexe choc
porno enorme seins sexe teen photo salope suce ma bite
madonna porno foto porno gratis sexo en mostoles xexo
porno viejas porno gratis sexo gay porno pornos xx live granny porno mujer
busca sexo gratis comic porno de american dad victoria justice porno google videos porno
porno maduras gorditas la biblia del sexo eva mendes porno sexo putas xxl porno videos porno fontaneros porno gratis bisexual porno
italia sexo anal interracial anuncios de mujeres por
ayuda en madrid filmulete porno gratis porno sexo anal videos one porno pornos xxx videos
porno gratis para moviles videos youtube porno milanuncios contacto mujeres madrid
anuncios de sexo en granada sexo en albacete porno violacion porno guarra sexo
y yoga videos hd pornos videos pornos sensuales cambio de pareja porno guru del sexo
mujeres para sexo en sevilla contacto mujeres solteras sexo
asiaticas porno hs videos sexo viejas buscar peliculas porno foro sexo barcelona sexo morbo
porno gratis lesbi cosas de sexo six porno porno playas nudistas porno caseros gratis
I really like what you guys tend to be up too.
This type of clever work and exposure! Keep up the
excellent works guys I’ve you guys to my blogroll.