HawkTalk
Beyond NY Christian Grotewold

Guatemalan Encounters: Antigua

At Antigua
At Antigua

The final stop of our trip was Antigua. This place is very famous because this is where the capital of Guatemala used to be. It was one of the many locations of the capital. It was constantly moved due to natural occurrences like earthquakes and volcanic activity. What happened in Antigua was that the Volcan de Agua (water volcano) overflowed with rain water and flooded the city. It was a one time overflow, though, and nothing has happened since. Antigua is one of the most popular places for tourists.

My family has always wanted to buy a house there, because Antigua is a very relaxing place to go for the weekend, and to appreciate the Guatemalan culture. Our dream came true, and my family bought a house there. We go there almost every weekend to relax.

Once we got there from our trip to the beach, we unpacked and went straight to the center of the old city. My parents took me to a gourmet restaurant called Izakaya, and I fell in love with the food there. My parents ordered different kinds of dishes and they were all fantastic.

Izakaya
Izakaya

After a great dinner, my sister and I went to a hookah bar, and my parents went to eat their dessert in another restaurant. Antigua is famous for another thing: its amazing clubs and parties that attract all the young tourists. At night, Antigua becomes party-central for all Guatemalan young life. Since my sister and I were already beat from the whole week of traveling, we decided to take it easy by going to this hookah bar.

My sister and I posing with one of the famous Antigua giants.
My sister and I posing with one of the famous Antigua giants.

The bar was amazing. The atmosphere of the place was perfect for what people go there for. We ordered our hookah with apple flavor and smoked away. Of course no hookah session is complete without funny pictures, so my sister and I took a lot of pictures. We were supposed to party at one of the clubs afterwards, but we decided that it was finally time to give our bodies a little bit of rest.

Once we got to our house, as soon as my head touched the pillow I was out. After twelve hours of sleeping I was ready to head back home and continue with my Guatemalan adventures.

Hookah time!
Hookah time!