Welcome to Guatemala

Welcome to Guatemala!

Needless to say once the plane landed and I made it to the shuttle everything was great. All of my worries and fears went way.

The airport itself was an adventure. Going through customs you have to fill out a for, and step up to a button. Once instructed, you press the button and it will turn green or red to decide whether they check your bags or not. Mine turned green! Later on I did find out from another travel that hers turned red. Whenever she went to have her bags scanned the security watching the monitor never looks up at the monitor at all and just waved her on.

Exiting the airport I was surrounded by a packed room filled with families waiting for their loved ones. People were holding flowers, toys, and balloons to greet their arrival. It was a pretty happy site. While waiting for the shuttle I went to a little cafe and ordered some French fries and a cappuccino but somehow ended up with some nachos instead. 

The shuttle from Guatemala City to Antigua was pretty uneventful. Minus the bus running into one of those yellow barrier poles. 

Tropicana Hostel was a paradise for backpackers and pretty centrally located. Relaxing by the pool I met Hannah and a few others. Since it as the Fourth of July they were having a trivia night on the roof top. The views of the city were fantastic. The mix of colorful building, lush plants, old buildings, and volcano backdrops make this city stunning. Our team one trivia and we spent the night exploring some of the Guatemalan nightlife.

The next morning Hannah and I had breakfast at "Y tu pina tambien" and highly recommend it to any traveler. The adorable shop served super fresh smoothies and food. The French toast was to die for.

We wanted to see a lot of the city so of course the first stop we made was the market. Antigua's market is a shoppers paradise. They sell everything you could ever need. One of my favorites were the men walking around carrying hundreds of phone charger cords.

They also have an artisans market filled with brightly color Guatemalan crafts. Here is where I fell in love with Domingo the Peacock and decided it would be a great idea to have to lug him around.

Antigua is known for a picturesque spot where an arch stands between colorful building with a volcano in the back. Obviously this was the perfect spot for a Dino picture!!!

I truly can say I loved everything about Antigua!