Antigua, Guatemala
Report from Day 1 in Guatemala:
I made it to Guatemala so can give you some first-hand impressions now. I got to the airport on time and was through customs and out of the airport pretty quickly. However, it turned out that on x-mas day almost no shuttles (collectivos) were running that I was counting on (usually there are supposed to be many). So I ended up taking a taxi from the airport to Antigua by myself.
The taxi wasn’t a bad deal, though. Normally, it’s supposed to cost something like $35 for a taxi ride, but due to some negotiation before getting in the car (with the assistance of a travel dude outside the airport whom I paid a $1 “commission” to), it cost $20.
Considering how dangerous I read the country is, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw and how I felt so far. I feel quite comfortable here. Guatemala City really looked no worse than any other big Central American city I’ve been to, and not a far cry from, say, Oakland, CA for that matter.
Antigua feels especially low-key and safe with less people than I expected. I went to an indoor ATM at Bank of America Central (BAC) by Central Park that had an armed guard pacing inside; no chance of getting robbed in here.
After I got some cash, I bought some yummy street food including crunchy tacos made with beets and bread filled with chicken. A street was closed off by Central Park where a bunch of fireworks went off (they are still going off)—however, they were fireworks not in the air, but on the street.
The kids here also have a thing for throwing “mini-grenades” (marble-sized things that spark and sound like a bb-gun when you throw them on the ground), including right in front of the airport.
I am leaving here tomorrow morning to San AndrĂ©s Itzapa (30 kilometers west of Antigua; I mistakingly wrote earlier it was 30 miles south), but could imagine coming back to Antigua for New Year’s. We’ll see. It’s a nice town.
Update 8:00 p.m., same day: Ok, the fireworks are definitely in the air! They are still going strong and their “bang” continues to reverberate against the walls of my hotel room. I did go outside to take a look, and they seem to be north of the city. I can sort of see them but buildings block their view most of the time.
Word has it that firecrackers are totally unregulated here.
![Mountains (volcanoes?) beyond Antigua.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10.jpg)
![In Parque Central in Antigua.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10-1.jpg)
![Santa Claus was at Parque Central.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10-2.jpg)
![A carriage pulled by a horse in central Antigua.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10-3.jpg)
![Lots of motorbikes!](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10-4.jpg)
![The Naked Veggies Vegetarian Restaurant was right around the corner from my hotel. Too bad it was closed; I would have loved to have tried it even though I eat meat sometimes.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10-5.jpg)
![My hotel (Casa Cristina). Notice that every residence and business has wrought iron window- and door-guards.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10-6.jpg)
![La Iglesia de La Merced was right around the corner from my hotel, too. Here I tried to jump into the shot after putting my camera on timer mode.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10-7.jpg)
![La Merced.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10-8.jpg)
![Lots of people (including myself) were eating food from venders outside La Merced.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/images/a/antigua10-9.jpg)
![Lights and ground fireworks by El Arco, just north of Parque Central on x-mas day.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/a/antigua10-10.jpg)