Antigua, we will return

Unfortunately we didn’t allocate enough time in Antigua. It’s the previous capital of Guatemala with a thriving language school and tourist population overlooked by Volcan de Agua with Acatenango, Fuego and Pacaya volcanoes very close by. After previously travelling through Antigua on our way to Lake Atitlan a couple of weeks earlier, we now had five days to chill out and try and hike or bike in the surrounding countryside, at least I did! Tripadvisor had good ratings for Holistico Hostal, ranked number 2 out of 44, we reserved a private room without a bathroom – we normally wouldn’t do this, but we read such good reviews we forgo the private bathroom. The room was $20/night + breakfast. I think it’s one of the worst places we’ve stayed on the trip. I felt the bed was dirty and room wasn’t much to be desired. The hostel also seems empty. There was no atmosphere like other hostels we walked by in Antigua.

Whilst Andrea sat in the hostel courtyard and worked I went out to play. I did two half day mountain biking adventures, both booked through Old Town Outfitters. This place came highly recommended, once again on Tripadvisor, and was definitely a good setup with the American owner having mountain biked in this area for around 14 years. After my big wreck in Costa Rica back at the beginning of November, I’m still cautious about fast gravel descents. I still decided to sign up for two intensive rides, a volcano ride and Cielo Grande, both with steep technical uphills and downhills. I tagged along with a couple of Aussie surfers and a Texan for the volcano ride – it was great fun. The Texan had very little mountain biking experience and the Aussies dressed like they were out for a student night on the town. The trails, half way up Volcan de Agua, were some of the best I’ve ridden, and with Matt, the business owner as our guide and the presence of disk brakes, it made for a great few hours – zero falls.

Two days later I joined a couple from Oregon on OTO’s most technical, expert rated ride, Cielo Grande. Now this was hardcore, with steep, narrow, rocky ascents just outside of Antigua, mixed in with some short and fun single track, but all the time going higher – I admit I had to get off and walk a bunch. Fortunately so did the chick in the group! Luckily, when there’s an up, there’s a down and we were soon riding some sweet singletrack, although regularly in a very narrow channel, and sometimes with a nice dropoff into farmland. I knew it would happen as soon as I got my confidence back, with two launches over the handlebars into very dry dust and soft dirt. The first time was funny and seemed to happen in slow motion but the second was more dramatic and caused a crash landing onto the same elbow injured previously, nothing that the guide’s first aid kit wouldn’t fix but dramatically harming my new found speed. Still, the day was great with all the action caught on the GoPro. I urgently need to go on a ‘how to ride a mountain bike’ refresher course.

El Frijol Feliz Cooking Class
Andrea and I were going back and forth on whether or not I should do a 2 day volcano hike, even though I would never have lived it down if I’d left her for the night! If I did decide to go, for compensation she was going to do a cooking class on the evening I was away. She cooked a typical Guatemalan 4 course meal and as much wine as she required. The class was at El Frijol Feliz school of cooking, where there were only 5 people in the kitchen, mostly watching, but doing some of the ingredient preparation. The meal consisted of Pepián, a simple stew with complex flavors, traditional Guatemalan rice, prepared with carrots and bell peppers shredded into the cooked rice, and for dessert, Rellenitos de Plátano, made from mashed plantains which are filled with sweetened refried black beans and chocolate and then fried to make this traditional Guatemalan treat. I can vouch for the food being muy bueno, especially the dessert.

Antigua’s Architecture