TRAVEL: The Cruise Diaries - Puerto Quetzal & Antigua, Guatemala

Welcome to the seventh installment of The Cruise Diaries - make sure to read previous installments here first! Follow my journey from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the Caribbean Islands, through the Panama Canal, up through the countries of Central America, and finishing in San Diego, California. New installments coming every few days so make sure to stay tuned on the blog and Twitter @CiarasCountry - on with the trip!

Day 11

Another day, another country, as had become the pattern of the past few days. We touched down in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala and hopped onto a bus to be whisked away. We'd chosen not to do an organised tour in this location, and instead choose an organised transfer where the tour company would take us one and a half hours away, drop us off in Antigua, and pick us up again a few hours later.

I had expected that this would mean we'd be very much on our own, but was pleasantly surprised that the guide on the bus still talked us through what we were seeing as we drove along. Without a doubt the most impressive sight to see was the active Acatenango volcano which every minute or so would spurt atomic-bomb like clouds into the air. It's not just a pretty image though, as we drove past the destruction caused by the eruption that occurred on June 3rd of this year, killing 300 people and destroying everything in its path.

As we approached Antigua, we had to transfer to smaller buses as our large coach couldn't fit through the roads, and were dropped at the Jade Museum with instructions to be back there three hours later. From the moment we stepped off the bus, we were handed a free gift of a little worry doll for no other reason than that the townspeople wanted us to remember Antigua fondly.

Antigua is an absolutely beautiful town - uneven cobbled streets lined with low and colourful buildings, with open doors inviting you into quaint and colourful shops (one selling both sweet pastries and ceramics, why not?) or cool courtyards enthroned with bougainvilleas and the like. The colour was all around us, and we didn't get far before we were approached by what would turn out to be one of many women in beautiful woven garments who carried baskets on their heads filled with a variety of beaded birds and jewellery. We began with the usual 'no thank you' and continued on, before realising that I simply couldn't live without one of those birds and turning back.

Less than ten metres later came another lady, this time with the most beautiful woven shawls covering every inch of her arms. A quick haggle later and we were walking away with two shawls having been in the town for under five minutes. We continued on to the Main Square which (and I know I've already said this a lot) was the most beautiful I think I've ever seen. It reminded me of my trip to Merida (you can read about that here) with a pretty green space with a fountain in the middle surrounded by imposing and impressive buildings and churches.

We ventured into the main Cathedral de San Jose, coming out the other side with a what's-another-word-for-beautiful purse and a handful of Guatemalan worry dolls. For the uninitiated, these either come in the form of a singular two centimetre tall doll or a bunch of teeny tiny stick people in woven outfits housed in a colourful bag. You tell these dolls your worries, stick them under your pillow, and the following morning your worries will all be gone. Needless to say I need a fair few to divulge my worries to.

We continued on our merry way past some stunning pieces of architecture until we arrived at the La Merced church, which stands out for its bright yellow colour and intricate carvings on the external walls. Very very beautiful, with many townspeople relaxing outside while dressed in stunning traditional outfits.

Figuring that the likelihood of returning to Antigua, as much as I would want to, within the next few years is slim (but hey, you never know) I felt the need to take as many memories of the town home with me as I could, and one of the best ways I know how is through art.

A small table was sat outside the church bedecked with stacks of canvases showing various scenes of Antigua and its surrounding volcanoes. One immediately caught my eye - a colourful street with a blue night sky and dark volcano in the background. I had to have it. As you may have figured by now, the locals are hugely friendly and a quick chat resulted in us walking away with two for the price of one, and a wonderful memento of the city.

With time running out, we powerwalked to the city limits to climb up to the Cerro de la Santa Cruz viewpoint, a big stone cross with views across the city and the Volcan de Agua in the distance. A stark reminder that as much as I wouldn't mind living in such a place, you're nonetheless in a volatile seismic environment with the threat of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions at any point. Nice view though.

Back at the bottom, we walked over to the iglesia y convento de San Francisco with had interesting sculptures depicting various important Biblical figures in its pretty external courtyard, wonderfully detailed architecture and more stalls to peruse (one can never have too many beaded birds). It was then a rush back to the Jade Museum to make sure we didn't miss our bus - not that I would have minded staying longer - but many more places to see, you know how it is.

If you've read my blog before, hopefully you know that I try to be as honest with my opinions as possible, and I must say that Antigua is one of the most pleasant and beautiful places I have ever visited. It is without a doubt somewhere that you should immediately add to your travel bucket list (you'll thank me later) and somewhere that I could have happily spent many more days in. I hope you'll consider visiting the town and taking as much joy in its craftsmanship, its architecture, and its people as I did.

We returned to the ship with enough time to have afternoon tea up in the Dining Room before working it off at Total Body Conditioning, and putting it back on at dinner. I can tell you that sitting at a shared table is much more fun than by yourselves, and would recommend choosing open rather than fixed people so you're not sat with the same people for your whole journey.

We were sat with an interesting Canadian couple who looked many years younger than their age and an American lady. As seemed to be a recurring theme, the conversation eventually turned to politics in the form of Brexit, Trump and the like leading to a bit of a tense atmosphere, but for the most part dinner was very enjoyable!

After a courgette salad, aubergine and courgette piccata, and yummy cherry crisp; I headed to the Main Stage for the third of the Volendam Singers and Dancers shows - this time entitled Rock Legends. They had a loose terminology of rock, featuring the likes of Abba, Kylie Minogue and the Beatles; but the theatrics, dancing and costumes were all greatly enjoyable. I'll miss having such interesting entertainment every night once I've gone home!