Antigua - Guatemala

So instead of making the two day trek from Roatan, Honduras by boat, bus, over night, bus, border crossing, bus to Guatemala city we decided to pay the bit extra and fly :) we arrived into Guatemala city and shuttled the 2 hours to Antigua that evening. Antigua is Guatemalas tourism showpiece, a place of rare beauty, major historical significance and vibrant culture. Antigua has an astonishing display of colonial relics in a magnificent setting. It's streets are filled with pastel facades under terracotta roofs unfold inner wee three volcanoes, Agua, Fuego and Acatenago. It was designated by Unesco as a world heritage site in 1979 and thought of Amy when I read this. We spent the morning wondering around the cobblestone streets, visited some shops that sold traditional handicrafts, Guatemalan coffee and chocolate! So we stocked up! Bartered for scarfs in parque de central before hopping on a shuttle to climb the 2552m active volcano Pacaya 25km SE of Antigua! We hiked the 1.5 hr to the top with views of the three huge surrounding volcanoes, lakes and Guatemala city. At the top of the volcano we could duck into and crawl into crevices that had steam flowing out of them... Then our guide pulled out a little wooden squer and marshmallows and roasting marshmallows on an active volcano is exactly what we did and it was amaaaaaaaazing! Best I ever had :) as we preceded down the volcano whose last eruption was May 2010 the sun was setting and lit up the sky with pinks, oranges and yellows! After that hefty hike and steam baths we were ready for an early night in preparation for our 8 hour bus north to Lanquin, in the highlands of Guatemala.