Guatemala, Antigua - Colonial Cobblestones

We woke up bright and early after the wind strom that night and headed for our favorite beach restaurant we had gone to the night before.  Unfortunatly they were closed, but the little boy which was hanging around the hut did offer to bring us to his home and have his mother cook for us.  We declined since we didnt want to intrude and it was also a couple of km away.  We sufficed that morning on the great coffee the hostess made up and used to energy to fix Derrick's chain.  With the used master link in place with the chain that broke, we were good to go.


One of the nicest roads in El Salvador it supposed to be the Ruta the los Flores which is known for being lined with flowers up the brick walls of the narrow mountain road.  At the beginning we could not figure out where the beauty was since we only saw the dense green forest and the lush sidings of the highway.  Then after reviewing the book we discovered all the wildflowers bloom in November and only last a few months.  So the Ruta the las Flores was a little sparse on the flower front, but nonetheless was a beautiful mountain road which wound its way around the abundance of Volcanoes in the area.

 

We headed for the border not knowing what to expect of Guatemala, although from the very start of it we were pleasently surprised.  No one pestering you and only two offices, immigration and customs, and 20 minutes later we were onto the Guatemala side of things.  Accross the bridge and we were surprised to again find things in order.  Parked our bikes under cover, two air conditioned offices, a few fees (legit), and the road was open.

The first road we took off the highway turned out into a winding mountain road which made its way up most of a mountain and then traversed down to the opposing highway.  Unfortunatly the beauty of the road up and down was shadowed by the garbage dump at the peak.  By using this road we avoided the sprawling and dirty Guatemala City.  A little bit of rain scared us into throwing on the rain gear and away we went to main colonial town; Antigua.

 

Upon arrival to our hostel we were again greeted with some fellow ADVers.  An English couple, Mark and Allison, are two up on a BMW 1200gs.  They traveled down through Africa from home, then across to South America and are now making it up into North America.  Their blog is here: http://takingthelongwayhome.co.uk/.

For the evening we went out for some great pizza along one of the main strips in town.    From there we went into the main plaza to soak up the town's atmosphere.  There were big displays scattared about the plaza full of thought provoking photographs from international artists.  We also marved at the fountain and the colonial church. 

From there we just walked through the cobblestone streets slowly making the way back to the hostel.