Antigua, Guatemala

Antigua is a UNESCO world heritage site, one of the best examples of a colonial city you can find and one of my favourite places. The main town is small, only 700m from top to bottom and approx 650m wide. It is also completely cobbled. The roads are all cobblestones making driving on them, in fact walking on them rather slow going. Half the local population choose to wear traditional clothing - this is not a tourist thing, it is an everyday normality. It has a relaxed air to it and I love to just wander about seeing what I can find. The majority of the town was destroyed in an earthquake in 1773 which means there are ruins everywhere. These were never knocked down and rebuilt, everything was left making it an historians dream.
When I was planning my six month adventure, I purposely built in some relaxing and unwinding time, and it was for this reason I came back to Antigua. When I arrived, the Buddy Bear exhibition was showing in the main square. These 144 bears have been on tour since 2001 trying to promote global harmony. Every country has designed and decorated their own bear.
Guatemala, like the rest of Central America is full of volcanoes. There are 7 active ones in the country. In fact, the photo above is of the Volcan De Agua or water volcano. It is just outside the city and active. Further afield is Acatenango. Many people climb this volcano and I was seriously considering it until I realised just how challenging and difficult it is. The 14 mile hike down into the Grand Canyon is considered easier! But the view from Acatenango is spectacular. You get to watch the neighbouring Volcan De Fuergo which is constantly erupting. Sometimes between 10 and 20 times a day.

Now after talking myself out of the physical challenge of a lifetime, I still needed something to do, preferably volcano related. Luckily, the active Volcano Pacaya is only an hour's drive away. Pacaya's last big eruption was in 2010 but it is still active daily with small gas clouds and tremors in the ground. The earth literally moves. Even better, it is very easy to climb up only being 2552 m tall and the walk to the summit takes at most one and a half hours. Toddlers climb this volcano, in fact I passed two (with parents). The trail is loose gravel and can be slippery and obviously it gets very uneven when you reach the lava field. It also gets warm almost hot. My trainers could have melted if I had stayed in a certain spot long enough. The guide took us to an active hotspot. We were very touristy and toasted marshmallows over the lava. There were also rumblings and I got a great video of rocks sliding down exposing red lava pockets. All this happened just meters from where I was standing. I had a great morning and would recommend Pacaya to anyone. The toddlers loved it!
After a week in Antigua, I felt relaxed, recouperated and ready for my next adventure