Antigua, Guatemala Arrival
07 June 2014 | Antigua, Guatemala
Susan / mostly cloudy, afternoon thundershowers, 74 degrees F
We take the marina's lancha to Fronteras to catch the 8am Litegua express bus to Guatemala City then transfer to the much smaller Antigua one. The 8am bus goes to their own terminal in Guatemala City making it easy to transfer even with all of the luggage we're hauling. Nice air-conditioned express bus for the nearly 6-hour part of the journey. We reserved our seats several days ago and got the two front right side seats, giving us a nice view of the mountainous countryside, towns and cities as we roll by. It didn't really matter that we'd reserved seats on the small Guate City to Antigua leg as there was just one other family on the mini-bus for the hour or so trip, and we all have the same view. Cost: Fronteras to Guate City is Q80 per person, from there the one to Antigua is Q45 per person.
We've rented a furnished apartment on the second floor of a home near the center of the city; the extended family lives on the first floor. We need to purchase our own living and cleaning supplies, which we'll do first thing tomorrow when we hunt down the supermarcado.
Antigua was the capital city of Guatemala until it was heavily damaged by a major earthquake in 1773. As the capital (1543 - 1773) it was one of the finest city in Central America. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site large portions have been restored and work continues, even as additional earthquakes cause damage. Ruins are literally next door to our apartment. Antigua is one of this country's most popular destinations with it's colonial architecture, cathedral and churches, painted linked houses and businesses, museums, and large well-maintained central park. The cobble-stone streets are bumpy yet remarkably clean.
The apartment and upper deck has fantastic views of four volcanoes nearby, one of which is active and steaming (Volcan Fuego). Finger's crossed it doesn't do more than that during our stay.