Antigua, Guatemala
We woke up in Guate dazed and confused, still tired after the long trip from the Petén jungle to the highlands. We packed and jumped into a taxi. Direction: zona 7, from where all the buses to Antigua leave.
Nowadays—am I talking like one of these people?—lots of travelers prefer the relative comfort of direct shuttle buses, that run frequently between Guate and Antigua. But these are minibuses, and I hate minibuses. Plus they cost 80 Quetzales per person, ten times the price of the regular bus.
In Guate, each company has its own terminal and they are scattered throughout the city. Además, to make things even more confusing, they don’t really have a name. “How am I supposed to explain the driver which terminal we want?” I asked Feng. “Just tell him we want to take the bus de pollo,” he deadpanned. Unfortunately, “chicken bus” doesn’t translate as easily. I settled for “bus regular”.
The taxi dropped us off in a busy street where colourful chicken buses lined up, bumper to bumper, burping dark fumes. Standing at the opened front door, the driver’s helper yelled the destination. “’Tigua! ‘Tigua!”
We climbed in and braced ourselves for the fun but bumpy one hour ride in the mountain.
Antigua hasn’t changed much, we spent a lot of time there in 2001 and 2003, mostly because it’s quiet, relatively safe and very picturesque. The city is in the highlands, stuck between Volcán Agua and Volcán Fuego. The colourful façades reminds me of Italy… but for the Mayas!
 Jesus Parade |
 Detail of the Facade of the Church |
 Facades and Blue Sky |
 Old Buildings |
Antigua´s Most Famous Church
Colourful Facades
Volcan Agua
The Plaza
Inside the Church
Gallo Beer Truck and Tuk Tuk
Old Walls (and Hospital!)
Chicken Bus
Main Plaza
Volcan Agua
 Antigua Street |
 Old Church |
 Motorbikes |
 Fountain |
Related articles:
- Faces of Antigua
- Happy New Year, From Guatemala!
- Chicken Buses and Jesús
- Christmas, Guatemalan Style
- Crossing to Guatemala
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Man I cracked up at that bus de pollo. I’ll make a mental note of that bus regular. And I should say, I like this idea of you vacationing before me: it gives me previews of what to see! Finally, I like your macro shots; the contrast between focused and unfocused scenes in one shot is amazing!
It´s actually called camioneta, the chicken buses I mean. Other better buses are called “Pullman”.
The ongoing adventures of Zhu and Feng. I love the old church with the yellow and white facade. Have fun, stay safe, and keep posting your beautiful photographs.
Antigua is a city of churches and more churches, some in various stages of decay!
Love watching the photos you add to the blog! Can’t wait for more!
I’m just wondering if you two will also visit Machu Picchu and Easter Island on this trip? 
That would be REALLY far! We are in Central America, not South America. We went to Macchu Picchu in 2001, never made it to Easter Island because it is very remote. We are staying in the Maya region, so Belize, Guate etc.
oh my my my… the place is soooooooooo bonita!!! my kind of place — volcanoes, colonial architecture, and colourful walls and houses.
Yep, you´d like it!
Estupendo! It looks really cute
Very cute town indeed, a bit of an oddity in Guatemala, which isn’t usually as clean and orderly.