Antigua, Guatemala

Volcanos loomed above rooftops around Antigua
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Our first real stop in Central America was the small city of Antigua in Guatemala. We spent one night in Guatemala City, the capital, but the sprawling concrete metropolis was charmless and had little to offer adventure-seeking travellers like ourselves. This was the case for most of the capital cities we saw in Central America, with the exception of Panama.

So, we quickly headed for Antigua, around an hours drive away where the cobbled streets and brightly painted colonial buildings make the place feel like a rough and ready sort of old Mediterranean village. The clapped out cars, bustle of people and crazily painted honking 'chicken buses' (old US school buses painted brightly and packed with people) are typical of Central America, and unlike anything you'd find in a sleepy Spanish town, creating noise and chaos on all but the quietest streets.

A peaceful scene among the cobbles
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We found a room in a guest house recommended by our Lonely Planet guide – it was shabby and certainly not chic - teaching us a valuable lesson about not trusting the book to find a good place to stay in future! Much cheaper and slightly less shabby was the Yellow House hostel we moved to, but overall budget accommodation is not great in Antigua. The restaurants we dined at, however, were very reasonably priced and pretty good. On our first night I enjoyed a home-made veggie lasagne with salad and fresh lemonade at Cafe La Escudilla for just a couple of quid – a distinct improvement on the burger and fries combos which constitute budget eating in the States.

Colourful houses
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Surrounding Antigua are three volcanoes, which are visible from almost every street. Climbing one of them – Volcan Pacaya – was definitely the highlight of our visit. It was a clear, sunny day when we took a hike, accompanied by a local Spanish-speaking guide, a handful of Americans and – for a time – some slightly irritating local kids on horses, who found it highly amusing to call out “taxi” at intervals and giggle to each other, before eventually getting bored and riding off.

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It was quite a long hike – around two hours each way - but a highly enjoyable one. The fact that we couldn't understand a lot of what our guide told us mattered very little because as we ascended higher and higher, the views over hills, volcanoes and lakes became increasingly more stunning.

When we reached the area closest to the summit, we clambered out onto dried lava. The dry heat snaking out from beneath us was like heat from a sauna. Volcan Pacaya is the only active volcano in the area and as well as the heat escaping in great gusts beneath your feet, you can also hear as well as feel that it is active. Every ten minutes or so, the 2552m beast let out a low, grumbling roar.

Live and lively - Volcan Pacaya
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Our young guide kicked the ground, revealing glowing amber below us. When she tossed in a twig, it disintegrated immediately. Duncan was impressed but slightly alarmed – not watching where you tread here could be pretty nasty: “Watch out!,” he warned, nervously while a crazy young American girl decided to have a go at flipping handstands.

“Boom!,” replied the volcano. “Stop trampling on me and get lost...”