Antigua Guatemala
Guatemala
I often find myself commenting on destinations’ inevitable slide from exquisitely rare to plain overcooked.
So, it’s with a mixture of excitement and trepidation and that I revisited Antigua Guatemala after a mere 31-year separation.
More than anywhere on Earth, this was the place that first triggered my travel bug. But it’s further than a couple of stops on the Central Line. So, getting back there took a while.
Global tourism has indeed caught up with Antigua. Or more accurately, the local quetzal has. The town has become something of a hotspot and a popular weekend getaway from Guatemala City. (Fair enough).
Nowadays there’s the inevitable traffic, street vendor tat, fast food brands, stalls pushing SIM cards, and an all-pervading feeling you should have found yourself here quite a few years earlier.
Perfect as it is
But Antigua has also pulled off something possibly nowhere else in the world has managed. While hard pencilling itself on the tourist map, it has sharpened, rather than blunted, its appeal.
La Antigua, formerly known as ‘Santiago de Los Caballeros’ was Guatemala’s third capital. The previous two having been obliterated by floods and seismic activity.
Perhaps inevitably, in 1773 the mother of all earthquakes struck Antigua too. Pretty much anything over a story high found itself no longer quite so tall. And the inevitable decision was taken to shift the capital to the more secure ground of what’s now Guatemala City. Safer in some ways, if not in others.
What was left behind is a gem. Albeit a flawed one. And it's those flaws that make it so perfect.
The remains of classic Spanish colonial buildings and Baroque churches nestle in a bowl between three volcanoes; the impressively named Volcano of Fire, the relatively mild Volcán de Agua, which has never erupted, but has sent down numerous destructive mudslides, and the one everyone climbs, Acatenango.
Lick of paint
Volcán de Fuego produces a dramatic volcanic fart pretty much every time you point a camera at it. And he's obviously rather pleased with himself. (Without question he’s a ‘he’).
All roads lead to volcanos
Together, the volcanoes' brooding presence gives Antigua a real 'Restaurant at the End of the Universe' feeling (if you know your Douglas Adams you'll understand). They loom, brood, shadow, and gather up clouds like fly paper.
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever slept as soundly anywhere in the world!
My more than satisfactory slumber was courtesy of Antigua’s cobblestones, courtyards, churches and cocktail bars. As I'll elucidate.
Antigua’s colonial streets are super easy to navigate, if somewhat tiring to perambulate, thanks to those wonky colonial cobbles. Plus the chromatic dizziness brought on by the festival of ochre hues, rich blues and deep clarets, with the odd fish-out-of-water salmon, sour lime and acid yellow thrown in for vivid contrast. You find yourself stopping pretty much every 10 paces to give your eyeballs, and your feet, a bit of a rest.
Complementing all that colour, there’s historic crumble and colonial charm at every turn.
Not that turning is something you’ll do much of in Antigua. It’s grid of streets makes wandering a distinctly rectilinear affair, with the streets imaginatively named Calle 1, Calle 2, Calle 3, etc.
All of which makes photographing this beauty of a town a real challenge. If you’re not careful, every shot ends up a line of impossibly coloured buildings receding to a crossroad, with an ominous volcano lurking in the distance. Photography aside, it’s a view that very much bears repetition. Especially as almost every block contains some monastery, church, courtyard or ruin to explore.
I really fell for Antigua’s half fallen down churches. Massive fragments of arch lie where they toppled. Collapsed ceilings give perfectly circular glimpses of the sky. Parts of the structures have been made good with neat red brickwork, while the rest remain splendidly imperfect. Soaring arcs link together in your mind’s eye, while remaining distinctly disconnected in reality.
The effect is both grand and grounded. Simultaneously defying gravity, and defeated by it.
Archtastic
In these half-decrepit, but hugely uplifting structures, Antigua hosts a vibrant wedding scene. Glamorous couples jet in from far and wide, while huge teams of art directors, set designers, DJs, barmen, caterers and busy looking people with iPads create fantasy worlds for one perfect evening only. The floristry work in particular is out of this world, certainly out of this continent. If ever you’re in the market for a fantasy wedding venue, this is the place.
The imperfect wedding venue
Antigua’s other dream feature is its enclosed courtyards. Rather like Marrakech, or Stone Town, a world of calm, lush, restorative escape lies, tantalisingly, just the other side of all those thick ochre walls and imposing wooden doors.
To access this fantasy world, be sure to pick a hotel that gives good courtyard. Mine at Hotel San Raphael was exquisite, offering colonnades, antiques, fountains, inviting sofas, greenery galore, dappled sunshine and red poinsettias ready for Christmas. The perfect breakfasting, painting, reading and general dallying spot.
Besides that, you need to get nosy and brazen. Some doorways lead to courtyards containing cafés or touristy shops, worth a look just for the ambiance. One intriguing entrance leads rather mundanely to the DHL drop off. Others appear more private at first, but if you ask…
And as always, most tantalising are the doors only fractionally ajar, affording just enough of a glimpse to set the heart and imagination racing.
But Antigua’s hidden secret and a big surprise is its emerging food and drink scene. In particular, its cocktail bars.
True to the original speakeasy, the entrances to these drinking dens are far from easy to find. And there's real creativity behind their disguise.
At The Charleston, you enter through an entirely fake tailor’s shop. One of the mannequins swings obligingly to one side and you squeeze past into the gloom. Inside, you could be anywhere, at any time of the day or night, particularly the early hours of a Manhattan morning, at the time of prohibition.
The entrance to ever so trendy Ulew is hidden in plain sight. Inside the Antigua Brewing Company (itself a venue worth getting familiar with) a stream of people enter a red phone box, but none seem to emerge. This isn’t some Guinness Book of Records attempt, but something more like an 18+ Doctor Who’s Tardis. Inside is another world, and the cocktails are suitable out of this galaxy.
Classic cocktail of colours
Cabaret Halloween Party
And, yes, craft ale is a thing in Antigua now.
Meanwhile at Wisdom, you must first locate an incongruous wig shop, then, as befits the venue's name, pass an intelligence test to open the secret door. I failed with flying colours, but was allowed in for sheer perseverance.
I even found my way into to an ‘illegal’ mescal bar, via a fridge door.
Accompanying the cocktails, Antigua's foodie scene serves up all manner of world cuisines, complementing the traditional joints.
I enjoyed fantastic ramen at Kombu. Finding noodles this good, 8,000 miles from the dish’s origin, cements ramen's reputation as a true food of the world, with no fixed country of residence, just like pizza.
I more or less took up residence at Por Que No, a tiny restaurant churning out enormous flavours. Trust me, it’s worth the short wait for any table, stool, or counter perch. Anywhere they can seat you. I went back twice and have a feeling that might not be my last.
One thing I didn’t devote time to was scaling a volcano. But I met plenty who did. Their best advice seems to be to wrap up warm. It’s 1 degree with wind chill up there. Oh, and check the weather forecast. Some lucky people returned from their two day hike with truly epic photos, while all others had to show on their iPhones was wall to wall white cloud.
Worth getting up for: Sunrise, Lake Atitlán
But, if it’s volcanos you seek, a trip to Lake Atitlán over-delivers. Three volcanic peaks; Tolimán, Atitlán, and San Pedro sit across a substantial lake, itself formed in the crater of a giant eruption, (fortunately from some 85,000 years ago). The view is wide angle; as epic as it is panoramic. It will leave you completely wide eyed.
If I had a novel to write, I’d seriously consider coming up here and renting some fancy, secluded AirBnb on the slopes. As it is, the many villages that border the lake border on over-touristified. Although whizzing between them on one of the many speedboats is fun, in a hairy kind of way.
But it’s sunset and sunrise you come for, and they don’t disappoint, even if the weather does. Rolling clouds actually add to the experience.
The show starts early and continues long after the sun has sunk behind old Pedro, with the light changing every few minutes. Don’t leave until there’s no trace of glimmer left. The sky offers up the full spectrum, from the obvious but incredibly intense oranges and reds, through purples, magentas and all manner of deep blues. Meanwhile, if you peer carefully, the volcanos’ shadowy slopes reveal dense hues of ochre, green, butter, ginger and lead. Lingering clouds transform from benign and fluffy to fiery and ominous.
Cloudy drama
This ranks second of my top three world’s most dramatic sunsets, behind Phousi Hill, Luang Prabang. I’m still working on the shortlist for third place, fortunately.
A shadow cast over Antigua
Returning to Antigua, from the pure air of Lake Atitlán, I was struck by two things. The first being a tuk tuk. A silly misunderstanding involving those wonky cobblestones and gestures in a foreign language.
The second was also traffic related.
Guatemalan exhaust systems are not exactly state of the art and Antigua rests in a large bowl. If you sit on the street for some time (as I do, painting), you'll find yourself slowly choking. If anyone in officialdom is reading this, Antigua’s centre really needs to go car free. There are plenty of other places in the world that could provide inspiration.
Other than that, Antigua still rates as a one of the planet’s prime venues for utterly delicious dallying.
I'm kind of glad it's not just a hop on the Central Line.
A Few Links and Practicalities
(Just sharing the love. I absolutely don’t get paid for these.)
Travelling
Tourist minibuses plough all the popular routes in Guatemala and they’re easy to pre-book. Or better still, get your hotel to arrange a taxi from the airport. I recommend taking the chicken bus only if you want an experience.
Antigua Guatemala is billed as being 45 minutes from Guatemala City, but in reality, the traffic makes it more like an hour and 45. Allow that time when heading back to the airport to catch a flight.
Sleeping
When it comes to hotels, you can pay boutique prices or a fraction of that, depending on your tastes and budget. The hotel I recommend below is moderately, but not stupidly, expensive.
As mentioned, Antigua Guatemala gets busy at weekends, so do get your reservation in early.
The San Raphael Hotel
Beautifully styled. Tranquil courtyards. Tasteful suites. Central location, just around the corner from the arch. Just a great place to be.
Room 4 is the one you want.
Eating
Por Que No Café
I really rate this tiny place. It’s really small, but they’ll fit you in somehow. (Maybe not if you’re a large party, though). Food is come-back-again good. And the staff are just fab.
Kombu Ramen Shop
Best noodles I’ve eaten in Central America. OK, possibly the only noodles I've eaten in Central America.
Como Como
This restaurant has a great courtyard vibe. It was really busy the evening I pitched up and they warned me they’d be slow. In the event, I could have lingered even longer.
I had an outstanding Pepián de Pollo, the local dish. It was so deliciously fragrant the table next to me turned around mid-meal, to enquire what I was eating. Plate envy, par excellence.
Nana
This is a slightly unusual mix of vintage clothes store and cool café. Both warrant a visit.
La Fonda de La Calle Real
More of a traditional restaurant in the tourist trap vernacular, but it does give good courtyard and the food was good.
Shopping
Wakami
The best boutiquey shopping seems to be in the block around Nana.
I loved this place. A collective of local artisans. I’d have bought most of the shop if I could have fitted it in my luggage.
Nim Po’t
When it comes to buying all the usual local stuff and tourist trinkets, you can either spend your holiday browsing and negotiating wherever you go, or you can simply go straight to this place. It’s like a warehouse with everything you’d see everywhere else at fixed price. Fill your basket and pay by credit card. The convenience will cost you, of course.
Colibrí
This is the Designers Guild of Antigua. With a good ethical artisan story.
Drinking
The Charleston
Enter via the tailors shop for designer prohibition cocktails
Ulew
Enter via the red phone box. Tell the barman what you like and he'll mix up something for you. Check out the drinks coasters in particular. My second cocktail came in a mini phone box.
Wisdom
Enter via the wig shop for a cool and sophisticated escape from the most touristy street in Antigua. You might never leave.
Café No Se
Enter via the fridge door for the ‘illegal’ mezcal bar. Distinctly and delightfully grungy compared to the chic options above.
Las Tres Amigas
No doubt by the time you read this, the technology here will be common place, but it blew my mind. There’s a bar about 40 metres long containing a choice of over 60 craft ales on tap. With a smart card, you simply tap, pour and taste your way around the selection at will. Lethal
Lake Atitlán
The tourist minibuses work really well. About 2½ hours from Antigua, running several times a day. Book anywhere or online. (Also runs to Guatemala City airport).
Panajachel is the easiest destination to reach. The town isn’t exactly great to look at, but wonderful to look from. The other towns are a bumby boat ride from there.
I can’t particularly recommend anywhere outstanding to stay. The Selina is OK if you get a suite. The spoily Laguna Lodge is a boat ride out of town. Casa Palopó is eye wateringly expensive.
Best bet, if you fancy staying a while might be some of the fancy AirBnb options. You basically either come here for a couple of nights, to admire the view, or for a week or longer to explore the local towns, hike, chill and write.
The local fare at Humaya Restaurante is great, as is the curry at Delhi 6.
Don’t miss;
Those colours
That colonial crumble
Those churches
Those cocktails