Our shuttle to Antigua left at midday so it was a very leisurely start to the day (again!). The shuttle was the standard minivan, with our big bags on the roof and little bags inside. It was packed but thankfully the trip was only 2.5 hours. We are definitely getting a big bus for our 9 hour trip out of Antigua.
Antigua was everything we expected – lots of low rise colourful buildings and incredible cobbled streets – never driven on roads anything quite like it. We checked into our ultra cheap hostel – Lirios, Hotel Boutique– costing us a pricey $A57 per night. It was fine, a decent size room and working Wifi. What more could we want? Oh yes, a private bathroom. We headed out for a bit of a roam and to grab some food. We explored the main square, loads of ruins dating back from the catastrophic earthquake of 1773 and also checked out our hotel – Meson Panza Verde– that we had booked for 3 nights with Clayton and Em – we were basically ignored as we wondered into the reception area, looking like a couple of street sleepers. However the hotel looked amazing, lots of beautiful little nooks and crannies. It also boasted the best restaurant in Antigua but it looked way to staid for Deryn and I. We headed back to our hotel and arrange to meet a local contact of one of the tour guides for an insiders tips on what to do in Antigua. He was a very friendly chap that gave us 5 must do ideas.
We jumped in a tuk tuk next morning to Panza Verde to await for Clayton and Em. They arrived soon after 2.30 so we were back out on the town by 3. Deryn found a well regarded local restaurant which unfortunately looked better than it tasted. We spent an hour or so exploring before the goodies stockpiled back at the hotel beckoned. Deryn had booked Clayton and Em the hotel suite – or the party room as we called it – so we started there before heading to the roof for amazing views over the surrounding area and Agua Volcano. The night was finished back in the party room with games of cribbage until 2am.
It was a very slow start the next day with very little activity until late afternoon where we headed out a a bit of a wonder and a meal at Hector Bistro. We tried to get a came of cards going back at the party room but the enthusiasm was limited so we called it early. Everyone was a lot more enthused the next day and so we tracked down a business (Simoon Rentals & Tours)that hired ATV’s and rented a couple for a 4 hour tour. Good value at Q800 ($A160) per couple. The horse riding and bike tours both proved too difficult. We were assigned a tour guide called Freddy – a US educated local who had returned to Antigua a few years earlier. He was excellent. We started the tour with a 30 minute drive to the local town of Santo Tomas reasonably high up Agua volcano to explore the local Sunday market. It was a very indigenous experience wandering around all the stalls to the sounds a fire and brimstone preacher bellowing over the PA system. Apparently the locals are religious, only turning up when food or drink is offered post service.
We then headed back down the volcano to a local chocolate factory for a tour on how the chocolate is produced with a tasting. Obviously this was followed up with some purchases. We then literally walked around the corner to for another tour and tasting of the local wines – I wish I paid more attention but I cannot recall what the wines were made from except it wasn’t grapes and they tasted like a desert wine. No purchases were made. It was then back on our bikes for the ride across to the other side of Antigua to the El Cerro de la Cruz – a cross overlooking a view of Antigua. It was a bit of a mission driving to it as it was so busy buy at least on an ATV it was a lot easier than a car. From the lookout it was up the hill for lunch at the Earth Lodge – a large avocado farm. It started bucketing down on the way (with lighting and thunder) so by the time we parked our bikes and walked the 300m to the lodge, we were drenched. Thankfully the Lodge gave us some towels to dry ourselves off before we enjoyed the best burgers we’d had for a while – or maybe it was just that we were so cold and any hot food would have tasted great. It stopped raining so we returned to our bikes for the journey home. We gave a bunch of very cute local kids a lift to the top of the hill before heading down the hill. Of course it started raining again so by the time we reached the Simoon office we were all drenched so Freddy grabbed the tour car and drove us back to our hotel. Bravo!!
We headed out for a Texan BBQ meal at Pappys BBQ – why not. This was followed by a bit of a session in a local bar – including a few shots of mescal – before the mandatory game of cribbage back in the party room. We were very sad to say goodbye to Clayton and Em the following morning but also looking forward to doing nothing for a couple of days. We returned to Lirios for an afternoon of chilling before grabbing a meal with Jacko, an Aussie that Taylor met when she was travelling through South America. He recommended Porque No– a very cool little restaurant that involved climbing into a loft (above the bar) to grab a table to eat. Jacko was lovely, although we think he was a bit disappointed that we were not the party animals that Taylor had talked us up to be.
