It was dark when we took our transport into Semuc from Lanquin, so we hadn’t seen the scenery of the bumpy road we took down into our hostel.  When it was time to leave for Antigua in the morning, we not only got to experience the bumpy road again, but we got to see what was in the dark the night before.

Fifteen of us all stood up in the back of the transport bus and we soon learned to use our legs as natural shocks as our hands got tired of clenching the bars so as not to lose our balance. For thirty minutes, we got to see some of the most green hillsides we’ve ever experienced, but the ride was just as bumpy as the previous night. When we arrived in Lanquin we appreciated how close we had been to Semuc Champey.

It was time to board the bus to Antigua.  This process is a crapshoot it turns out.  This time came up aces for us as a huge bus that could have fit 25 people had about 12 of us, the back seats full of our bags as we departed.

A nice couple in front of us offered us pineapple and other snacks once they realized we hadn’t brought anything with us for the 8 hour bus ride.

We eventually went through Guatemala City and I’m glad we didn’t stop anywhere.  We didn’t even want to take any pictures as we drove through, it was that rough.  Antigua, as it turns out, is only about a 45 minute drive outside of Guatemala City, so when we pulled into town without a place to stay, I was…concerned.

Our lonely planet guidebook had a few suggestions for hostels and we passed one of them, but they were booked when we checked, so we walked across the street and found a place that was cheap at only $21 a night.  There was mold on the walls, and the hot shower we were promised when we walked in was non-existant.  We left the next day for a place around the corner that had a shared bathroom, free breakfast, and no mold for the same price.  We learned an important lesson.  Shop.  Around.

I don’t want to speak ill of Antigua because it’s a cute city, but it felt like if you had walked down one of their million streets, you have seen the entire city.  Tiendas (small stores that sell water, beer, and a shit ton of pringles) are every ten feet.  We found a few cool bars and restaurants and this is where I found out how to say “straw” in Spanish for Mandy..(Pajilla if you care).  There was a huge cross at the top of a hill you could climb, but you were encouraged to employ a local tourist police since muggings were a common occurrence and since neither crosses, nor muggings appeal to us, we decided against that.  You could also hike up the three volcanos around the city.  We knew we were headed to Nicaragua to slide down the most active volcano in the world, so we decided to save our money for that.

In the end Antigua was a city we were glad to have visited, but also glad to have left.  Unfortunately, we would be back on the cobbled streets of this Guatemalan city sooner than we expected.