Gringas’ Getaway to Guatemala

Another year, another trip! I wanted to start off 2022 with a quick sisters’ getaway. It had been a crazy year for both of us, so this moms’ getaway (sans kids) was well overdue. Since we both only had a weekend to spare, Guatemala came to mind for its proximity, low cost, and non-stop flight time and availability. We only had 3 full days but with all of the activities we did, it felt more like 3 weeks’ worth of adventures! Want to know how we squeezed it all in? Keep reading!

First, the logistics: after looking up the entry requirements, we made sure we had our COVID-19 vaccine card, a negative antigen test (taken within 72 hours before departure), and our passports. With these documents in hand, we were good to go for our 5am flight. Yes, you read that right… the flight left bright and early at 5am on a cold winter morning. The worst part about a 5am flight? It meant a 2 o’clock wakeup call so that we were at the airport by 3am. The best part about a super early flight? We arrived at 9am, still having the entire day to explore!

Once we arrived, we breezed through immigration and customs then made our way outside to find our taxi driver, Byron. He charged $35US to get from the airport to Antigua. We had some difficulty finding him so connected to the free airport Wi-Fi to send him a WhatsApp message. Once we found him, we thanked God we had the good sense to only bring a carry-on bag because the car was SMALL (like almost everything else there…lol). Honestly, small doesn’t even adequately describe how tiny the trunk was. It was so small that only one of our carry-on bags could fit.

Anywho, after about an hour drive to Antigua from Guatemala City, we arrived at our first hotel Mesón Panza Verde around 11am. It is a luxurious, boutique hotel with only 12 rooms and a beautiful courtyard.

Their checkout time was noon so not surprisingly, our room wasn’t ready when we arrived. Without wanting to waste a second, we stored our luggage at the hotel and immediately set off exploring. Although the hotel was on the quiet end of Fifth Avenue, it was only a few minutes walk from the main square. With my makeshift paper map in hand, we found a cute little handicraft market selling everything from fruit to souvenirs to clothes. We also passed Iglesia y Convento de la Compañía de Jesús, a religious complex that was built by the Jesuits in the late 1600s.

From there, it was a short walk to TaCool Taco Shop for lunch. Despite some language barriers with our waitress (which we soon came to realize would happen everywhere we went), we kind of figured out the menu and what we wanted to order. We got the pulled pork, shrimp, and carnitas tacos, as well as guacamole and chips. The cocktail menu was limited so I had a local beer while Shev had a mango margarita that was really really good.

Next, we headed to Rooftop Antigua since I read that it was a great place for drinks paired with a spectacular view of the volcano. All around, it was a bit disappointing. First, we had a hard time finding the place because it was actually located in what looked like a liquor store. Then, when we reached the rooftop, the view of the volcano was partially blocked by a ton of flowerpots. And then on top of it, I ordered a mojito that took forever to come and then tasted like absolutely nothing when I finally got it. Needless to say, it wasn’t worth it.

By this time, we were running late to meet our tour so we hustled to the meeting spot in Parque Central. We had booked the Volcano Pacaya hiking tour through Get My Guide who then booked it with Marvelous Tours. It was supposed to be a Spanish speaking guided tour but I paid extra ($30US/pp) for an English guide. This turned out to be a rip-off because the guide barely spoke to us (much less in English!) the entire tour.

Anyway, it took about an hour to drive to the volcano. Good thing I brought quetzals with me because when we arrived, we paid $7US/pp (50 quetzals) for the entrance fee, 10 quetzals for a walking stick (which saved my life a couple times so would highly recommend getting one), and then another 100 quetzals to get a horse since we got tired halfway up. Despite the original $29 tour price, the cost for all of these “extras” surely added up quickly once we arrived!

The hike up is about 1.5 miles which doesn’t seem bad at first but between Guatemala being at a higher altitude and the volcano being steep and uneven, the climb turned out to be a bit more arduous than we initially thought. So much so that Shev requested a horse after 10 steps…lol.

And, I wasn’t too far behind in requesting a horse!

My horse’s name was Princesa and I was terrified of her (especially after my experience in Costa Rica…check out that blog post to understand why!). However, I also was too tired and out of breath to hike anymore so it was the lesser of two evils.

After a certain point, we reached terrain that the horses couldn’t walk on, so we continued on our own two feet. We saw different aged lava, some from 7 months ago, others from 7 years ago. The volcano had been steadily active in 2021, with two strong eruptions in March 2021 so it was really fascinating to see the difference between “fresh” lava and older lava.

Even more interesting is that there are tons of hardened lava caves all over the volcano, turning it into an underground kitchen of sorts. There is even a man (García Mansilla) that carries sixty pounds of ingredients on his back and makes/cooks pizzas on the volcano. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there the day we went (and I didn’t realize you could make reservations via his Facebook page or WhatsApp number +502 5743 0259). However, we did have a chance to roast marshmallows!

After spending some time enjoying the view and bonding with our fellow hikers, we started to head back down. Since the sun sets around 6pm, it started to get dark quickly on the hike back down . Even though the hike down SHOULD be easier and less strenuous, it was actually really slippery. So slippery in fact that I slipped a few times and sprained my wrist. As such, I would highly recommend wearing some sort of hiking boot, not sneakers like I did.

Alas, we made it back safely to the bottom and headed back to the hotel for a much-needed shower. All in all, the tour end up being about 5 hours (including 2-hours’ worth of driving) but definitely well worth it!

Between the flying and hiking, I figured we would be exhausted so had made reservations for dinner at the hotel restaurant. There was live music from 7pm-9pm with a 35 quetzal cover charge but since we were guests, we didn’t have to pay. They set up a cute little table for us right next to the pool. We ordered the pork belly, soup of the day (carrot and sweet potato), and tuna tartar to start, and it was all exceptional. So much so, that my sister ordered a second bowl of soup! For the entrée, we had the salmon with risotto to share but after a couple of bites, it was inedible. It was extremely salty so we unfortunately had to send it back. However, the meal did end on a good note, as the pear mille feuille (layers of pear cooked with a crème anglaise and sauce raspberry) that I ordered for dessert was absolutely divine!

After a restful night with the fireplace crackling (no one has heat in Guatemela so instead there was a fireplace), we were ready for our full day tour to Lake Atitlan. Named “the most beautiful lake in the world” by Aldous Huxley, Lake Atitlan is the deepest lake in Central America and surrounded by three volcanoes: Volcan Atitlán, Volcán San Pedro and Volcán Tolimán. We were originally going to spend a night at Lake Atitlan but since it was such a short trip, we decided it wasn’t worth it. However, if we had stayed, my top choices for hotels would’ve been La Fortuna, Tzampoc Resort, Lush Atitlan, and El Picnic Atitlan.

I knew I wanted to do different activities throughout the day, so I booked a custom, private tour with Los Elementos Adventure Center so we could go at our own pace and pick and choose what we wanted to do (vs. an organized tour where you spend a set amount of time in each place). Our pickup was at 5:30am so we had another day with an early start. It ended up being a two-hour drive to the lake (much shorter than the 3 hours that I thought) but it went by quickly (probably because I was fast asleep the entire time). The driver let us out in Panajachel, the gateway to all of the small villages that surround Lake Atitlan. We were supposed to wait there for 10 minutes for the guide but more than 20 minutes passed and still no one came so we called the tour operator to figure out what was going on. Long story short, our original guide had an emergency so a new guide was being organized for us. At this point we were starving and since we had to wait anyway, we decided to go to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. The food came out pretty quickly and it was really plentiful and delicious. We had plantain (that came with Mayo strangely), eggs, French toast, and bacon…all for less than $5/pp including tea, orange juice, and papaya juice!

As we were finishing up, our guide for the day, Juan Diego, finally joined us and we were on our way. It was not how I wanted to start a custom tour for which I paid extra money but that frustration quickly dissipated as we walked through the Panajachel streets to the pier and caught our first breathtaking view of the lake.

Lake Atitlan is home to numerous villages of indigenous Maya heritage and each village has unique characteristics. Since we only had a few hours, we planned to visit three villages: San Juan, San Marcos, and Santa Cruz. Tip: it is chilly in the mornings (and even colder on the lake) so bring a jacket or sweater so you don’t freeze!

After a 30-minute ride across the lake, we arrived in San Juan. It was a really colorful, artistic village with a vibrant vibe.

Since tourism isn’t as developed here as in other villages around the lake, it felt like a much more authentic experience in Mayan culture. In San Juan, the weavers use natural dyeing techniques (using pepper, achiote, coconut shells, tree bark, and many other natural products) that have been passed down through the generation. They demonstrated the process from raw cotton, spinning the thread, dying it with natural dyes, and then weaving…and also had an opportunity to join in!

We continued walking through town, seeing textile, painting, and art stalls lining both sides of the street. We visited a local market, art gallery, and oohed and ahhed at all of the bright colored artwork adorning the streets.

We also passed some young boys freestyling. I have no idea what they were saying but somebody needs to come and give them a record deal!

We then hopped back on the boat for five minutes to get to the next village, San Marcos. This village had a very hippie vibe…think yoga retreats, meditation, holistic healing centers, and shamanic readings. We saw a lot of “gringos” (foreigners) when we first got off the boat since all of the expats that moved to Guatemala settle close to the water. However, when you walk inwards, you start to see more locals.

As we were heading to our next village, we saw one of the platforms people use to “cliff jump” into the lake from San Marcos. Of course, this was right up my alley, but I passed this time because the day was already cool, and I didn’t want to get even colder by jumping into a freezing lake!

We sailed for about 15-20 minutes from San Marcos to Santa Cruz. With Lake Atitlan located 4500 feet above sea level, we had already been huffing and puffing walking around the other towns. And, since Santa Cruz is even more steep and hilly, we grabbed a tuk tuk for 10 quetzals to take us to Cafe Sabor Cruceno where we had lunch. Run by local students learning to cook traditional Guatemalan dishes, the restaurant offered spectacular views of the three volcanos. We had pre-ordered the prix fixe menu and I had the tamalitos to start, Guatemala’s national dish “pepian” (a spicy meat-based stew) for my entree, and then an apple tart for dessert…all washed down with a drink called Balam made with pineapple, chia, and ginger. Shev had the tacos to start, a chicken dish, and the chocolate cake for dessert. The entire meal was less than $15/pp and we were beyond full!! Easily our best meal from the entire trip. They also offer cooking classes but since we were short on time, we didn’t do that.

Our final stop was back in Panajachel. It was the one activity we had been waiting for the entire trip: paragliding!! It was $90/pp with an additional $10 for video. Since the activity is very weather dependent and can only operate if the weather, including the wind, is in our favor, we had to see if we would be able to do it. Luckily, we were blessed with gorgeous weather and perfect windy conditions, so we were a go! The best time to go is usually between 11am and 3pm (which we were right on the cusp of!). Thank goodness for our guide who talked the pilots into letting us skip the people who were already there because we had to be back by 4pm to catch our driver back to Antigua.

First, we had to take a 30-minute ride up the mountain. However, it didn’t start to feel “real” until we were being strapped into our harnesses, looking at the group before us take off. I was ready to back out but my sister convinced me that I had already come too far to turn back. Before I knew it, I was in the air (and screaming loudly)! My guide didn’t speak much English nor did he give good (actually, he didn’t give any) instructions so I didn’t even realize when I was supposed to start running. I was ready to land as soon as we were up in the air. I think I held my breath the entire time because I was so scared out of my mind. Given how different we are, I was not surprised that my sister had the complete opposite experience, saying it was relaxing and exhilarating.

After a rough landing (because my pilot didn’t tell me to hold my legs out), we quickly grabbed a tuk tuk to the meeting point to reunite with our driver and were on our way back to Antigua. Like the drive there, it was a 2 1/2 hour ride back with us getting to the hotel around 6:30pm.

We had dinner reservations at Sobremesa so quickly showered and dressed to go. It was within walking distance to the hotel but definitely was a little scary walking there. The downside of the hotel’s location on the “quiet end” of the city center was there wasn’t much light in the nighttime making it a bit sketchy so I would recommend just take an Uber instead.

When we finally arrived at the restaurant, it definitely wasn’t what we expected. It was a lot smaller than I thought and there was a patron toward the front that looked like they were in their home clothes. Overall, the restaurant wasn’t as nice as it looked in the photos but since it received such rave reviews, we stayed and had dinner. I had a “sangria con booze” that had absolutely no taste (and should’ve been our first sign to leave). For appetizers, we had the prosciutto and spicy avocado crostini which were both really tasty. We also ordered the octopus salad that tasted a bit too acidic and rubbery, and the tomato soup that tasted like straight warm marinara sauce. Since they didn’t have the duck entree that had originally enticed me to the restaurant, I had the steak risotto…which was extremely bland. My sister had the squid ink fettuccine with clams in a white wine sauce and not surprisingly, that too had no taste. It was our most expensive meal (about $80) since we had been there and by far, our least favorite!! The complete opposite of our cheap but delicious lunch earlier in the day.

I did like that the owner Alex came over and asked how everything was going and then when we left, he saw us crossing the street and asked again (though it was a little creepy the second time since we didn’t recognize him at first with the mask!).

For our last full day, we started off by walking to the Santa Catalina arch. Located on either side of the arch are two convents, the Convent of the Virgin and the Convent of Santa Catalina. In the 1960s, cloistered nuns lived on one side of the arch and taught at a school on the other. Since the nuns had taken vows of seclusion and had to avoid all contact with the outside world, the arch was built to join the school and the convent. It had a hidden passageway allowing the nuns to cross the street without being seen. Pretty cool, huh? I need something like that for my own house 😉

I wanted to get there for 6am but my sister didn’t want to get out of the bed so we arrived “late” (around 7:30am) and while there was a sprinkling of people there, it was nothing like the hoards of people we saw later in the day.

We had an 8am Covid test appointment so had to hurry back to the hotel. We had the hotel arrange for someone to come to our room for $55US since the clinic we had planned to go to is closed on Sundays. The other option was a place called Blue Medical but there were no available appointments for that day (and I didn’t want to waste our final day waiting in line the entire day).

After we received our negative results, we were starving so we walked to Posada de don Rodrigo for breakfast. The restaurant is in a hotel which had a cute little garden area with an abundance of lush foilage. For breakfast, we had a traditional Guatemalan breakfast consisting of eggs, sausage, black beans, cheese, plantain, tortillas, and then also ordered a side of hash browns. The food was super filling and soooo good for a reasonable price of 85 Quetzals. There was also a band playing music which was a nice touch.

Because I’m extra, we checked out of our hotel and checked into El Convento Boutique Hotel. Unfortunately, when I booked, they only had availability for one night, otherwise we would’ve booked our entire stay there. The other hotels we had our eye on in Antigua were San Rafael and Las Mil Flores. Guatemala is filled to the brim with so many cute boutique hotels.

Although it wasn’t far, we didn’t want to drag our suitcases through the cobblestone streets so we took an Uber for $1. And, I’m so glad we decided to stay there for even one night because it was soooo cute!! It was bright and airy inside, with greenery everywhere. I would highly recommend staying there if they have availability.

Again, our room wasn’t ready since check-in wasn’t until 3pm, so we went exploring. We picked up some souvenirs, and also passed Iglesia El Carmen, a church made up of beautifully ornate carved columns.

We also passed a woman selling fruit and even though we were on our way to lunch at Frida’s, that didn’t stop my crazy sister from getting something.

We finally made it to Frida’s for lunch and since we were still a little full from breakfast, we had a couple of drinks and light bites consisting of shrimp ceviche, tortilla soup, and ceviche tostadas. The food was really good, the drinks were refreshing and strong, the vibe was lively, and the decor was eye-popping and colorful. Overall, I would definitely recommend.

Our final activity started at 2pm so we walked over to Simoon Rentals for our ATV tour! Luckily, we were the only ones scheduled for the tour so we were able to customize it a bit! Our first stop was Cerro de La Cruz, a large cross statue made of stone, dedicated to the city’s patron saint. The scenic viewpoint provides magnificent views of the city with Volcan Agua in the background.

We were supposed to go to Tambor restaurant but since I wanted more time at Hobbitenango, we headed straight there. We drove the ATVs on the main road up a mountain around curves… needless to say, it isn’t for the faint of heart. We drove the ATVs as far as we could, then jumped in the back of a pick-up truck to take us the rest of the way up. Our guide purchased our entrance tickets and then we continued to drive even further up.

Hobbitenango is an eco-park that has 26 areas and attractions, including archery, axe throwing, mini golf, and the largest tree swing in Central America. There are also hobbit-styled hotel rooms and restaurants/bars so you could definitely spend the entire day there if you wanted. We were excited to try the axe-throwing and archery so did that first.

Tip: go straight to “the hand” and/or swing when you first arrive and make an appointment right away. We arrived at 4pm and the next appt time for the hand was 5pm.

We continued to explore the park, taking photos at the cute installations that were set up and the hobbit-style houses (inspired by the Lord of the Rings movie which I’ve never seen). We then found a bar where we had shots and fancy drinks.

When we went back to the hand at our 5pm appointment time, there was still a 30ish minute wait in line before it was our turn on the hand. It is the most popular attraction so I wouldn’t expect anything less. Note: there is a photographer that can use your phone to take photos and she is actually pretty good! Also, there is a giant hourglass timer so that no one stays on the hand for hours on end.

By the time we finished, it started to get really cold (like it did every evening) so we headed back down and drove the ATVs back…in the dark…around a mountain….with cars behind us. Yeah, it was just as crazy as it sounds!

We were famished when we returned so for our final dinner, we took an Uber to El Refectorio. It was an open air restaurant so it was a bit chilly but they brought a heater over when I asked for one. The ambiance was romantic and intimate. Unfortunately, the actual food didn’t match expectations. We had the prosciutto crostini, black ink sea bass, steak, pumpkin ravioli, and gnocchi. I found what looked like plastic in my sea bass ceviche so they gave me a free tiramisu (which was actually the most delicious item that we didn’t even order!) but still tried to charge me for the sea bass dish!! The vibe felt a bit stuck up and pretentious so definitely not a restaurant I would return to. Clearly, we struck out with all of the “fancy” dinner places we tried.

On our final day, we went straight to the airport. Our flight was at 10:20am so we had our driver pick us up at 5:30am, Even though the airport was only an hour away, it took us 2 1/2 hours to get to the airport because of the ridiculous amount of traffic in the morning. Of course when we finally arrived at the airport, we found out that our flight was delayed two hours so we found a restaurant to grab breakfast, got a few items from the duty-free shop, and bought a sandwich for the plane ride. Guatemala wasn’t on my radar before but would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a cheap, adventurous weekend getaway!

Tips:

• Few people speak English outside of the day staff at the hotel so knowing even some basic Spanish is a must to be able to communicate at restaurants, etc.
• Change your spending money into the local currency (quetzals) at an ATM. You’ll need change for tips, the public bathroom, etc. The exchange rate is $1US to 7.5 Quetzals.
• The weather in Antigua, Guatemala is really comfortable and springlike year-round. However, it gets really cool in the evenings so walk with a sweater or light jacket.
• In line with that, no one has heat! All of the hotels that we visited have cute little fireplaces to warm up the room. Many of the hotel restaurants are outdoors or open air so dress accordingly (and ask for a heating lamp, if available).
• There are a lot of stray dogs (which means dog poop everywhere so watch your step). One of our guides said that a lot of families get puppies but because their homes are small, they abandon the dogs when they get too big because there is no space for them in their home anymore.
• Guatemala is not the country for you if you are afraid of heights. I feel like we were always driving up and/or around a mountain. Also, beware of altitude sickness, we definitely got winded climbing up the Pacaya volcano, at Lake Atitlan walking up the various villages, and even at Hobbitenango.
• There are locals constantly setting off firecrackers so prepare yourself accordingly.
• Although we only had a weekend to explore, there are so many great places to visit in the country, including Tikal, Semuc Champey, and Chichicastenango.