Our final country was Guatemala, the San Cristobal bus from San Salvador efficiently took us across the El Salvador, Guatemala border and into Zone 10 in Guatemala City. From there, while there a frequent buses to Antigua, they are not always easy to find in Guatemala City, so we decided to take an Uber the 40 or so kilometres to Antigua. Uber is generally very efficient all over Central America and the journey cost us GTQ 325 (circa USD 40) plus tip for the 90 minute door to door journey. Traffic in Guatemala City is however pretty gruesome, so it takes quite a while to get out of the city.

Antigua is a beautiful old colonial city, though in the past has suffered a lot from various earthquakes and in many ways, being so close to the capital city, is where most visitors choose to stay. Our hotel, Hotel Convento Santa Catalina, was set in the old cloisters right next to the famous Arco de Santa Catalina, so couldn’t be in a more perfect place. The hotel also had a decent restaurant where you sat in tables in the convent courtyard.

Surrounding Antigua are three volcanoes, Volcán de Agua, which sits to the South of the city and is the volcano that makes the classic photograph through the arch. To the West side of the city are Volcán de Acatenango and the still active Volcán de Fuego which can often be seen giving off clouds steam. All three volcanoes make an impressive skyline to the city.

There are many old churches, but numerous earthquakes have taken their toll on a number of them. The Catedral San José which sits in the main square is located in part of the original cathedral that was destroyed by several earthquakes, and still makes an impressive dominating site. Two other churches are particularly worthy of visiting:

• Iglesia de la Merced just North of the Arch, has been beautifully restored, both inside and outside, and has some ornate carvings on its external stonework; and
• Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande, with its shrine to Santo Hermano Pedro and its artisanal market in the surrounding cloisters

Antigua has a large artisanal market to the West of the city next to the bus station and also the main market. There is lots of competition between the numerous Mayan stall holders for textiles and other artisanal products. Much of the textiles are made by hand in the nearby village of San Antonio Aguas Calientes. Many of the Mayan villages and towns in Guatemala each have their own distinctive pattern and styles for textiles, which are always full of colour, especially reds and blues.

Antigua has a number of good restaurants and bars. The Antigua Brewing Company serves some excellent artisanal beers and also has live music too. We also enjoyed the steak at the Casa Escobar Antigua restaurant.

There is a small walk up to the Cerro de la Crux from where there are excellent views of the city and the surrounding volcanoes.

From Antigua we took the shuttle bus to Panajachel on Lake Atitlán. Often it is easier to take shuttle buses between the main tourist towns in Guatemala, especially if you have luggage, as you get taken door to door and don’t have to worry about having a big bag on a crowded chicken bus often with standing room only.

Panajachel is very much a tourist town, but is a good base, with restaurants, bars and hotels from which to explore the beautiful Lake Atitlán, which has to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. essentially it it the remnants of one large exploded volcano, which has flooded and today there are now three volcanoes on what is the remains of the old volcano: Volcán San Pedro and the twins Volcán Tolíman and Orqueta Volcán Atitlán. From the lakeside at Panajachel all three volcanoes make a picture postcard perfect backdrop to the lake.

We took a full day boat trip around the lake that stops off in three different lakeside towns. First off is nearby San Antonio de Popolo, from where the views of the three volcanoes are probably the best on the lake. In San Antonio the trip included a visit to one of the local potteries. Here we were shown how they make all the patterns on the pots, essentially using a variety of tear drops to make images of quetzals and other patterns. The techniques they used were enhanced in the past by an American emigree who introduced them to new glazing techniques which today make the characteristic blue and tear drop shapes.

Also in San Antonio there is a small church up the hill from where the views are particularly good.

Second up we crossed the lake to Santiago Atitlán, the largest town on the lake. Santiago Atitlán sits between Volcán San Pedro and the twins Volcán Tolíman and Orqueta Volcán Atitlán, has a busy market and is probably less touristy than Panajachel. Dominating the centre of the town is the Iglesia de Santiago Apostol, which like a number of churches in the region integrates traditional Mayan beliefs with Catholicism. Also in the church there is a shrine to an Oklahoma priest who served the local community. The tour also visited and artist studio to meet one of the local artists who paints some one the particularly brightly coloured local paintings of the lake and Mayan people.

The final visit was to San Juan la Laguna, here the tour took us to a women’s textile co-operative. There they explained how they make the various cotton threads and also how the colours and dyes work. The weaving by hand takes quite some time to complete.

On Thursday’s and Sunday’s nearby Chichicastenango has its regionally famous market. We took a trip to Chichicastenango along with a number of other tourists, but the market is so large and forms an important part of the local Mayan community that it doesn’t feel like a tourist trap. In the centre of Chichicastenango is the Iglesia de Santo Tomas, which of probably all the churches in the area combines most clearly the traditional Mayan and Catholic beliefs. On the steps leading up to the church are traditional musicians and also the burning of straw and other traditional materials which makes quite an atmosphere.

In the streets and squares all around the church are traditional stalls sell both artesanal products as well as everyday household items. There is also a covered food market nearby. The traditional clothes and textiles are not just for the tourists, but also for the local Mayans. The women in particular all wear traditional dress, with embroidered colourful blouses and often darker dresses. Also their belts are used to keep safe that most important modern item, their mobile phones. Some men on market day also wear traditional dress, but for the most part they are in more modern dress.

We found a small restaurant next to the market for a late breakfast and sitting on the first floor balcony we could observe a lot of what was going on. Of particular interest was a stall nearby, which had some stock, but was clearly managed by one of the middle men who was deciding what materials to purchase, checking on the quality and giving instructions to individuals as to what to make.

Our final destination in Guatemala was the capital Guatemala City. Often most visitors skip the capital city altogether, which is a shame, because in recent years it has been cleaned up dramatically and safety improved. The old centre Zona 1 has a large central square with a large cathedral and also government palace. Guatemala City is much larger than all the other cities outside of Mexico in Central America and also probably has a bigger history too.

We stayed in Zona 10 which is very modern, full of nice restaurants and hotels and the full range of modern shops. In particular there is good choice of restaurants in the Fontabella Centre, which was right next to the lovely boutique hotel, Meraki Boutique Hotel where we stayed. Also next door was an excellent artisanal bar called Cadejo Brewing Company.

Cadejo Brewing Company

The other reason why for me it was important to go to Guatemala City, is that my grandfather used to live there and is buried in the British Cemetery area in the main City cemetery. We found his grave in amongst around 70+ British graves. Some of the mausoleums for the local families in the cemetery were absolutely enormous.

Dates: Wednesday 14th February to Thursday 22nd February 2024