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This blog was started in 2008 when we did IVF for the first time to build our family after 5 1/2 years of infertility. We now have 15 and 9 year old boys (thanks to modern medicine) and we are enjoying our blessed life as parents ♥ In the summer of 2016 we took another huge step and moved across the country from Oklahoma to New York! This blog is about life and everything in between



Thursday, June 12, 2025

Adventures in Guatemala


I just returned from an awesome trip to Guatemala for the first time! I found a great deal on flights so me and a friend decided to make it a trip to Antigua, Guatemala for 5 days.


We landed at La Aurora airport in Guatemala City, then our ride picked us up for the 1.5hr drive to Antigua. Our first hotel was Posada al Antono for a couple nights. The rooftop patio had a great view of the scenery! 


There was a big avocado tree there just loaded with fruit!


We arrived early enough to get settled, eat a bit of lunch, and rest. We already had a street food tour booked for the evening so that was fun to start our visit with. It ended up being a private tour because we were the only ones in the group! We went to a small town outside of the city where there was an assortment of food stands and we got to try several different types of local Guatemalan food.







This is a public wash area where the ladies can bring their laundry.


For day 2 our hotel had a great breakfast with several options that were very tasty.



Our first tour for the second day was a walking tour of the city! We started at La Merced church that was right around the corner from our hotel.



We also went into a market full of handmade goods.


We got to see the St. Catherine Arch. This arch was used for a way to let nuns move in privacy from their convent to the other side of the street.



In one section of the city are several American chains like Taco Bell, McDonalds, Subway, Little Ceasars, and here is Starbucks. We walked thru it briefly and there were beautiful paintings inside!



Below is the quetzal bird which is their national bird and also the name of their currency!

We continued after that and saw more historical ruins. This one was a church that was later used for a marketplace for a while.


The list of items that were sold at the market.



Inside the courtyard



Coming up to the central park


Locals in front of the fountain that was getting cleaned.



Buildings around the park, municipal and a church.






After this tour we grabbed some lunch at a delicious place and ate inside the courtyard. They had a huge wood fired grill in the middle cooking up tons of chicken. The food was soo good.


After lunch our next tour was a fat tire bike tour of places around the city! We were the only ones on it so it was a great private excursion once again. First we stopped at a coffee plantation to see how they cultivate coffee from start to finish, then we got to see how they process the harvested coffee beans then roast them.









From there we went to a small local market where we got to sample several different types of candy made from fruits and cane sugar! That was fun to taste all the different ones.


From there we went to a small streetside shop were we got to sample all of these different drinks. That was interesting!

For day 3 we were SUPPOSED to do the big activity of the trip--an overnight hike up volcanoes Acatenango with side hike to Fuego and a sunrise summit. However we learned from our other trip guides that Fuego had started violently erupting the night before and they were having to evacuate the towns in the path of the lava and close roads for safety. It was still unsafe the morning we were due to go so our trip got canceled. This meant we had no hotel, and no activities!

I scrambled last minute but was able to secure us a last minute room for the night at our next hotel up the road that I already had booked for our last two nights. They were so nice and worked with me very well to squeeze us in! We didn't have to check out from the first hotel until 1pm so since we decided to check out the inside of an old convent at the La Merced church by us. We got to go up to the rooftop and got an amazing view of the city with the volcano Agua in the background.











Next we walked over to a big local market to see everything they had available.








The cheap local transportation is the camioneta (van) or as gringos call them the "chicken bus". The main station in Antigua was behind the market so that was fun to see all the wild colors and decorations on each one. 


After the market we wondered down to the gringo section of the city to see inside the McDonald's. The outside of the stores are very simple and unassuming, but once you go in it opens up to a huge restaurant with the food counter on one side and the McCafe coffee counter on the other. Past that was a beautiful courtyard with tables and fountains!





After that we went back to the central park and they had the fountain running so we sat and watched that in the shade for awhile.



After grabbing some lunch we headed back to our hotel to pack up and check out, then walked around the corner to our next hotel who was kind enough to let us check in 3 hours early!

Since we now had the rest of the day free we booked a last minute excursion to explore around outside the city on a UTV! The downside was that it was raining the whole time so we got SOAKED but hey that was part of the experience haha. I didn't get any pics during the excursions because of the rain unfortunately.



At the end we stopped at a restaurant for dinner. By that time we were getting chilly from being wet so we both ordered a local soup called pepian. It was delicious!! Just what we needed. I actually looked up a recipe and plan to try and make it.



The view during lunch


For day 4 we enjoyed a delicious fresh buffet breakfast at our new hotel the Yellow House Hostel and sat on the patio sipping our coffee. They had lots of beautiful flowers and lounge areas, plus you can't beat the views of the volcanoes!





We didn't have anything planned until late afternoon, so this morning we walked over to the ruins of Convento de la Recolección, a church and convent that was built in early 1700s but destroyed by earthquakes a few decades later.









A little further down the road was an old cemetery San Lazaro that we walked thru and went inside the chapel also.






By then we were ready for lunch! We tried a new place with a rooftop restaurant and I tried some delicious chili rellenos.


Now on to my FAVORITE excursion of the trip! With a small group we each drove ATVs up the hillside for several activities. We got super lucky because the rain moved out after just a few drops so this time we did not get soaked.



Our first stop was Cerro de la Cruz, or Hill of the Cross. We had amazing views of the city and volcano Agua.





Next up was a stop I HIGHLY recommend...Hobbitenango! Some background--"tenango" means place of, so this means "place of the Hobbits". It was built by local fans of the Hobbit and LOTR right into the mountainside. It's a variety of eco park/themed resort with trails, activities, hotel rooms, and food stands. All with absolutely breathtaking views of the valley and volcanoes. At each scenic point is a worker to help take a photo of you!







Views of Antigua thru the clouds


Here are the two volcanoes we were supposed to hike...the one on the left with the puff of smoke is the active Fuego that had been erupting. The taller one on the right is Acatenango which were were going to camp overnight on and sunrise summit. Another time!



They had this awesome swing there that they harnessed you into, then yeeted you into the clouds above the valley! It was scary but so fun!




They also had archery as well


After all this crazy fun our group all ate a restaurant (I got chicken quesadillas) then we rode our ATVs back to the starting point and we were done. The weather was still fabulous when we got back to our neighborhood so we decided to check out the street vendors that were all out in front of La Merced. And even though I had just eaten dinner.....I still got more food because I had to try a pupusa!



The church all lit up!

To take full advantage of the beautiful evening, we walked thru the city to see all the buildings lit up.

Back in central park the fountain and church were especially pretty!

We of course had to grab some popsicles because why not!

For day 5 we enjoyed another delicious breakfast of fresh made omelettes at the hotel and ate on the patio. This day we had booked a short but hard hike of a different volcano, so we decided to just chill in the room before grabbing lunch and leaving.

Here in Guatemala they have a local dish called "shuco" which they said means a dirty hotdog haha. You pick your meat then they grill the bread and the meat, then put all kinds of veggie toppings on it. So we each got the "americana" sausage on a shuco plus a huge basket of the best french fries ever that we split. SO GOOD

For our last excursion of the trip we went on adventure to hike the volcano Pacaya outside of the city. It was about an hour drive to the park and we met our guide there who patiently took us up the very steep but blessedly short trail to the viewpoint. We did not got to the summit of this one. It last erupted in 2021, so there were several lava fields that we walked thru.


Views of the lake on the way up.

Resting to catch my breath but trying to look chill.

My friend was having a hard time so she opted for the horses that were following our group VERY closely. She made it to the viewpoint first and met me there.

Finally there! Such a great view of Pacaya and the surrounding valley. The rain held off but there were still many clouds blocking some views.




Guatemala City in the distance

Walking thru the lava fields, our guide brought us to a hot lava vent where he "roasted" us marshmallows! Definitely a unique experience and much needed sugar pick-me-up.




We continued on our way back to the van after that, walking thru the low clouds...

After another long drive we returned to Antigua and began the hunt for dinner! For our last dinner in town we ate at a quiet restaurant with the biggest menu ever. I picked birria tacos and they were delish!


We got packed up and enjoyed one last delicious breakfast the next morning before getting picked up for the airport at 8:30am.


Our flight didn't leave till almost 1pm, so we had some time to kill after getting thru security. We walked around the airport a bit, and grabbed some food while sitting at our gate.


Our flight to Atlanta was great but there were many storms around the eastern US that delayed several flights. The plane we needed was delayed from Washington, thus delaying our connection home by about an hour. We finally landed in Buffalo around 12:30am very tired! I walked in my door around 2am happy to be back in my bed, and of course looking forward to the next adventure.


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