Our World Trip Begins
Day 1 (June 29, 2018) - Antigua, Guatemala
After what feels like years of anticipation and preparation, we're finally on our world trip! Our first stop is Antigua, Guatemala. After the deadly eruption of Volcano Fuego on June 3, we had second thoughts about coming here. But now that we're here, it seems our fears were misplaced. Antigua is a happening place with tons of both locals tourists. There's no hint whatsoever of the eruption that happened not even a month ago. Even in the days after the eruption, it seems all this town got was a light coating of ash that was quickly cleaned up.
Today was a pretty lazy day for us - after a travel day to get here, we needed a break already. We had breakfast at our Airbnb (frijoles and huevos!) around 9am, and then went out for a stroll around town. We started in Parque Central, which is the main square in town. Lots of people were there just sitting on benches or standing around. A few blocks away we ended up sitting in Parque La Merced for a while, which is a small park just outside Iglesia La Merced, an 18th century church (see photo below). When we got bored of that, we went to La Bodegona, a supermarket in town where we picked up a few things, including a bag of "Quesifritos" (Guatemalan Cheetos apparently).
For lunch we went to a fast-food restaurant called Pollo Campero. It's a chain restaurant that reminded us of KFC. It seemed they only served chicken, including a "hamburger" that was just a breaded chicken patty. The place was packed with locals (and a few tourists), so we knew we were in a good place. The food was pretty good and cheap.
In the evening we headed to Cafe Rainbow for a beer, and then went to dinner at Taqueria Doña Lupita. Interestingly, they had a taco street cart inside the restaurant that they used to cook all the meals. So, it was kind of like we had street food for dinner (but not quite).
After what feels like years of anticipation and preparation, we're finally on our world trip! Our first stop is Antigua, Guatemala. After the deadly eruption of Volcano Fuego on June 3, we had second thoughts about coming here. But now that we're here, it seems our fears were misplaced. Antigua is a happening place with tons of both locals tourists. There's no hint whatsoever of the eruption that happened not even a month ago. Even in the days after the eruption, it seems all this town got was a light coating of ash that was quickly cleaned up.
 |
| View of Volcano Agua from our room |
 |
| Iglesia La Merced |
For lunch we went to a fast-food restaurant called Pollo Campero. It's a chain restaurant that reminded us of KFC. It seemed they only served chicken, including a "hamburger" that was just a breaded chicken patty. The place was packed with locals (and a few tourists), so we knew we were in a good place. The food was pretty good and cheap.
In the evening we headed to Cafe Rainbow for a beer, and then went to dinner at Taqueria Doña Lupita. Interestingly, they had a taco street cart inside the restaurant that they used to cook all the meals. So, it was kind of like we had street food for dinner (but not quite).
The weather certainly looks beautiful! Hard to believe that you are that close to the volcano and there was only an "ash dusting" from what was reported to be a major eruption. Hmmm. Could the news have overblown the event? That could never happen. And are you sure Pollo Campero is not a front for a meth lab operation?? Yes, I'm a cinic. Then again, I'm working on little sleep and a week of not good eating habits after filing the behemoth just under the wire without my left and right arm. Miss you!!!
ReplyDeleteWho is this person posting anonymously? The news was certainly overblown somewhat. Although the area around Fuego was devasted, Antigua was (and still is) quite safe from Fuego, even though it's only about 11 miles away. Glad the behemoth made it and all is well on that front!
Delete