Forty Eight Hours in Antigua Guatemala

We were due for a Sunday arrival at Casa Vieja Lodge, so as committed vacation maximizers we had to find something to do with ourselves on the Friday and Saturday immediately before that. We couldn’t just sit at home and watch reruns. Fortunately, we learned that if we could get ourselves to Antigua, Guatemala, Casa Vieja would pick us up and transport us to the lodge on arrival day. We had heard people at the lodge talk about going to Antigua for a one-day excursion, but we always zip in and zip out, spending as much time fishing as possible. This time, we had the luxury of 48 hours to explore.

Upon arrival to Guatemala City our driver, previously set up through the hotel, had a sign with my name (always dreamed of that happening) and he was waiting for us right outside the airport doors. He spoke as much English as we speak Spanish (and when I say “we,” I mean Pete) but his driving was superb and he drove us right to the front doors of the Camino Real Hotel.

Our Home Away From Home

Casa Vieja Lodge had recommended the Hotel Camino Real for good reason. The grounds are beautiful, the rooms are spacious and comfortable (Netflix included), good bathroom accessories including robes, a small pool to take a dip, a weekend brunch (we added breakfast to our reservation for pennies more) that was as good, if not better, than the restaurants we chose.

A huge shout out to the front desk personnel who were so friendly and helpful with giving directions, making reservations and recommendations. The city of Antiqua was founded in 1543 by Spanish conquistadors and was the capital of Guatemala until 1776, when it was severely damaged by the Santa Marta earthquakes. The survivors rebuilt the city, but subsequently prohibited modern construction -- what was left was restored and new construction in recent years needed to follow the “Antigua Style.” The 16th century Renaissance grid pattern was kept and the Baroque style buildings, the cobblestone streets, plazas with fountains and all domestic architecture was restored as best as possible. The city’s historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Once we dropped off our luggage and changed our clothes, we were off to explore the historic city. The cobblestone streets are so bumpy. If I lived there, I would open a suspension shop or auto repair business. Walking the sidewalks is your best way to get around.

Like I previously mentioned, the city is laid out in a grid, but don’t go without your paper map or Google Maps on your phone -- not every right or left squares off (sorry Pete, I think we walked an extra few miles because of my mistaken turn down 5a Calle Oriente).  All things considered it is pretty easy to get around.

Day One Exploration

I was hangry so our first line of business was to find Hanna something to eat. We settled on a restaurant that had Guatemalan parrillada grill. The menu was in Spanish and between the waiter and Pete we ended up with exactly what we thought we ordered. It was good, not great, edible and filling but I always want to be wowed.

We walked off our food, stopping in and out of all the shops. Some stores are small and then some stores you walk in and it’s like a maze that goes on forever, a big market with vendors every which way.

This city has the most magnificent doors. I’m not sure if I took more fish or door pictures on this trip. I’m hoping one day to build a home of our own and maybe I’ll be able to find someone to make me a set of doors that reminds me of Antigua.

By the time we made it back from exploring and my wrong turn we found ourselves back at the hotel around dinner time. We asked the front desk things to do the following day in time to make it back to clean up before dinner as we were meeting our fishing partners upon their arrival in the afternoon.

We settled on hiking the Pacaya Volcano, one of their three active volcanoes among the 37 total in Guatemala.

We navigated to the room and decided that dinner would be a protein bar and a bag of nuts (I am always prepared) while watching a chick flick but fell asleep long before it was over. That 3 am wake up call to get to the airport and all that exploring had these old folks plum tuckered out.

Hanna Versus the Volcano

The volcano excursion cost $185 USD (which actually came out to be $111.15 per my credit card statement) through the hotel. We might’ve been able to find it for less, but we didn’t want to have to investigate and take a risk on another operator. It was reported to take about 6-8 hours door to door. We also  needed to pay a $15 person entrance fee to the park and a tip to our guide. The park doesn’t take credit cards and was almost reluctant to take USD so if you go, bring some Quetzales to pay and avoid any hassles.

We were out the door and ready at 6 am in front of the hotel to meet our driver who would take us to Pacaya volcano about 19 miles from our stay. It was nice to see our same driver, perhaps the one and only in Antigua? We did find out that he was born and raised in Antigua.

After the hour and a half drive from the hotel our driver dropped us off at the parking lot of the park where we met our guide, Eduardo who sometimes climbs this volcano twice a day. We’d been told that all ages and walks of life could do this trek -- perhaps they make a commission on the sale of each trip because this was harder than expected. It took us 3 hours to get up and down, climbing 2500+ meters (8370 feet), walking on volcanic sand paths. The wind was whipping that day. I now know why we had locals with horses following us for the first 15 minutes of the trip. It was very tempting to jump on (extra cost, of course) but we were determined to use our OTF gym habits and make it to the summit.

Thankfully there were scenic views so we could stop and take photos and catch our breath. Altitude is no joke! At one point Pete and I both felt slightly nauseous and we realized later it was from the altitude. The scenic views were of other volcanoes, Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. At one point you could see all the way to Guatemala City, that’s how high up we trekked.

We made a few more stops as my asthma kicked in and the wind got to both of us. We asked our guide how long it takes him to get to the top, without clients holding him back, and he said 20 minutes. Eduardo never seemed to be winded, was raring to go and his prize at the top of the summit was a cigarette he bummed from his friend before we took off.

Upon getting to the summit, Eduardo showed us the difference in the looks of lava rock, the petrified lava from a 2010 eruption and then that from 2020. He remembers the 2020 lava rolling close to his town.

Our prize was toasting marshmallows on old lava flow and Pete found a dog he wanted to fly back home with us. You can feel the heat come off of the rocks and we actually dipped down behind one of the rocks and the warm moist air rose up behind us. Of course, once we stood up, we felt kind of wet and it was cold and windy but worth the little bit of discomfort (suck it up, Sally).

Climbing out and back to the path down to the exit was all on lava rock. We didn’t bring the right shoes. Remember to wear hiking shoes if you plan to do this. Gym shoes are doable but they got terribly dirty and the lava rock could have done more damage to us or the shoes if we weren’t as careful as we were.

It is a must-do and make sure you push yourself to the summit. It’s worth your while. How can you resist a pink or blue toasted marshmallow?

We were Eduardo’s only clients for the day and both Pete and I wondered if he would trek up once for “the heck of it” since he had nothing else to do.

Eduardo and I exchanged WhatsApp numbers and he sent me amazing pictures that he took, at sunset, when the volcano was more active in 2020.

Our driver drove us back to the hotel and we were back to do more exploring just after noon, 6 hours from our departure time that morning.

Saturday Afternoon and Evening in the City

The box breakfast the hotel provided before our departure wasn’t too appetizing to me, so cleaned up as best we could and went searching for lunch options. Since I can never make up my mind we ended up walking here, there and everywhere and stumbled into the largest Starbucks coffee shop we had ever seen.

Coffee is one of Guatemala’s exports so why would anyone go to Starbucks? Nevertheless, it was packed. And yes, they had all the same types of drinks like at home – half caff, one pump, whipped, frap, blended or stirred. I am not a coffee drinker so I have no idea what I am talking about. I guess it’s not so surprising in a place where people sit and linger, a coffee shop encourages this and if I was a coffee drinker I might have stayed all day. I understand that because of the climate, the coffee of Guatemala is the best in Latin America. I’ll leave that for you to judge.

We ended up eating at a café right across the street from the Starbucks and had a nice light lunch as it was mid-afternoon and we were meeting our friends for dinner at 7 pm. I had a terrific warm salad encased in a red pepper and Pete had pizza with prosciutto. When the bill came the connection to the credit card company wasn’t going through so Pete had to promise his new friend Elsa the waitress to come back and pay later. He left our hotel name and room number so she had a way to get back in touch with us. We weren’t getting out of Antigua with a free meal, that’s for sure.

The one picture I needed to take was of the Santa Catalina Arch and we took several, not only at this time but since you seem to pass it when walking the city streets, we took pictures each time we passed it. The Arch was built to connect the nuns between corridors to avoid being seen. I bet 95% of the people that take pictures of the arch have no idea of this fact. You need to come with us next time to get your own picture.

We walked around a little more and decided to go back and finish watching the movie we fell asleep to and then get ready and meet our friends for dinner. It’s not like us to sit and relax.

The hotel had made our dinner reservation and it was even confirmed, with a call to our hotel room -- that’s service. Not only did we get that confirmation but Elsa called to make sure Pete was coming back as their credit card machine was up and running. Told ya we weren’t getting out of town with a freebee.

Our friends arrived on time, and we met them at La Fonda del la Calle Real, which serves Guatemalan and Mexican cuisine. The drinks were really good but the food was just ok -- maybe I am getting to bougie or picky in my old age. The conversation was terrific, even though we had just met Joshua for all of 10 minutes at another resort and this was the first time meeting his wife Jen. It was like meeting up with old friends, so much in common and we all hit if off. Thank goodness, you just never know.

Headed Out to Casa Vieja

After dinner we went back to our respective hotels and made plans to meet for pickup at Camino Real at 2 pm the following day. We slept in -- or Pete slept in -- and then we got ready and headed to the weekend breakfast buffet. I’m so glad we walked the volcano and only went to breakfast one time over the weekend, the selection and size of the offerings was nuts. They had a huge assortment of fruit, breads, sweets, made to order eggs, sliced meats (hot and cold), a taco bar, homemade salsas of every flavor and spice/heat, smoothies and more.

Before the food coma set it we were back out on the streets to see if there was anything we missed and more to be seen, including our friends who we found wandering the streets looking for items to purchase for their daughters. Believe it or not, Pete and I didn’t purchase anything but we will be back and I am sure we won’t let that happen again.

Our 48 hours was up. Two o’clock came fast and the Casa Vieja van picked us up and drove the hour and fifteen minutes to the lodge and got us there just in time for appetizers and drinks (we’re no dummies. Robbins family motto: “Never miss a meal”). As much as we explored there was still things to see. In November 2024 we are going back to Casa Vieja Lodge (hint hint) and then on the back end we will be going back to Antigua.

I would be interested in taking a walking tour to learn about the history of the city. I’d also like to take a tour of the Jade factory and museum, I guess I would go for a coffee tour to please others and since Guatemala is considered the birthplace of chocolate I bet I could get others to go and make our own chocolate.

And one day, once we train a little harder for it, I think we’d both like to climb Volcano Fuego, which takes all day. You sleep in tents overnight and then wake up and finish the walk to the summit and then walk on down. Who’s in? Kristine Salazar, one of the CVL owners did it – she’s my inspiration.