On first impression...
Thank god we are not staying in Guatemala City! Antigua, located in the central highlands of Guatemala, is famous for its Spanish Baroque architecture, numerous colonial church ruins and surrounding nature. Parque Central is the heart of the city and where we got our first glimpse of this beautiful little town. Rustic cobble stone streets, European-esk buildings, short statured Guatemalans wearing traditional ropas and dog poo on every footpath!

On further examination...
The proof was in the pudding, we intended to stay 1 week and 3 weeks later we reluctantly said good bye!

Where to start... the first week of language school and our homestay.
We arrived at school on a Wednesday morning and were sat in the office, like orphans waiting for our mothers to pick us up. After a brief exchange of names, we were soon walking the streets of Antigua with our teachers, attempting to have a verbal exchange in Spanish over the loud traffic noise and whilst dodging cars, motorbikes and trucks along the way. Eventually our walk came to an end at a beautiful garden, surrounded by colourful flowers and banana, avocado and orange trees. There was a loud atmosphere of chattering through the trees where students sat individually with their teachers on plastic chairs and tables, with coffee in hand. We soon learnt that there was competition for prime seating location, given that the surrounding avocado trees often dropped their fruit from such great heights that sitting in the open space amongst the trees was fraught with danger!

Following four hours of class our brains were completely fried, almost unable to recall English or Spanish words. Back at the office we were picked up by our house brother Hector (pronounced ‘Ector’) in the shadiest looking pick up. The three of us squashed together in the front seat, leg to leg, an intimate introduction. We met our family for the week, Odelia (mother), Adolfo (father) and the other students Ismael (Swiss), Rasheed (Israel) and Carlos (US… not his real name, he had changed it to really embrace the Spanish culture). The following week in the home stay was an interesting one. In some ways fabulous, in others completely exhausting. The routine began immediately, breakfast at 7am, lunch served at 12:30pm, dinner at 6pm. Every meal was with our new family, both English and Spanish spoken, each meal a surprise. Some hits, some misses. Our favourite for the week was Odelia’s traditional Guatemalan soup of burnt spices and dried chilis! It didn’t take long for us to feel a little overwhelmed by cohabitating with so many others and attempting to speak Spanish so frequently, so we took advantage of the Antiguan touristic café scene and discovered a new cafe for tea and cake respite each afternoon!

School traditions also quickly set in. Arrive at 8am, lessons until 10am, then break time! The little onsite canteen was buzzing. Adams time to collect his soul warming savoury soup ‘atol blanco’, and me, tostadas with guacamole and chilli sauce. Of course we can’t forget Adams favourite treat, a choco banano on a stick for the grand total of 1 quetzal (18 cents). Reluctantly, 10:30am resembled the time class would resume and 12pm was the time we would walk home, shattered and overwhelmed at how much there was to learn. We were certainly naïve in our expectations of how difficult this language really is. The estimated 1 week of classes turned into Adam having classes with Lucia for 3 weeks and me for 1.5 weeks (sadly an extremely annoying, travel changing virus had me flat as a tack).

In our first week an extra adventure was had in the market when trying to buy Odelia some flowers and a card for her birthday!
First, we had to figure out where to buy the flowers. After following some rather non-descript instructions, we arrived at the local market and through the many stalls of shoes, clothes, phone accessories and food, we spotted the florist.
The flowers were quite unusual, with a tropical looking range available. After selection came the first challenge. The florist had begun to wrap the flowers in newspaper, so we had to think quickly and requested ‘Es posible mucho bonito papel por favor’ (much prettier paper please)! The flowers cost 20 quetzals = $4 AU, we were so generous! A bit cocky after our first semi smooth transaction we then attempted the card. With directions in Spanish, we set off. Left, then right, then on the left past the multitude of fruit sellers and nic nacs will be the 'libeteria'. On arrival there were in fact no cards, only paper. We attempted explaining our need for a birthday card however there were many words lost in translation and when the shop attendant picked up the phone we started to panic a little, wandering what on earth we had ordered. Turns out she rang in a friend, who personally came to collect us, walked us to her store and picked out three appropriate cards for us! Her English was as good as our Spanish, so we left the market with a card, unsure of what it said and unsure if Odelia would be getting the message we intended!
With the trusty help of google and our new friend Ismael, our house mum received her birthday card (which she said she understood!), beautifully wrapped flowers, a carton of wine (yes, I said carton!) and cake from our Swiss house mate Ismael! We sung ‘Feliz Compleanos‘ and had an orphan’s birthday party for Odelia! Her smile and laughter a positive sign that the language barrier didn’t matter.

Volcan Acatenango...
It was a tough climb, about 5 hours up the steep hill. The landscapes were fascinating, farm land in the beginning with farmers and their horses attending to crops of broad beans and corn. Next the lush forest, ferns, moss, trees standing for hundreds of years covered in lichen and other symbiotic creatures. Then into the cloud forest, low lying clouds covering our view. The pine forest and the wild flower meadows came next. So extraordinary to think such vast difference could exist at all, let alone on a volcano!

Our campsite is unable to be described with any justice. Whilst standing 3500 mt above sea level on Volcan Acatenango, our view to the left was inactive Volcan de Agua. Glancing forward, a view of the city lights below and then above, stars galore. But the star of the show was to our right, Volcan Fuego. Like the sound of regular thunder strikes, Fuego continued to erupt, around every thirty minutes, all night. The spectacular eruptions throwing red sparks flying and red rivers flowing. To be only 3 km away from this performance was both surreal and unforgettable. One of the most spectacular travel experiences yet. After a night of terrible altitude sickness we came across a local boy on our decent who very politely requested 'cookie para mi'. He was so sweet so we gave him some home made cookies we had brought with us. The organisation headed by Gilmer Soy, supported the local communities and at the time was helping to build a playground for the local children.

An organic inner-city oasis…
Coaba farm made me so envious of a ‘farm in the city’ idea! An American couple started the farm 14 years ago and now have two sites. One site for tourists, the other providing organic vegetables to Guatemalan restaurants. The inner-city plot which we visited had smaller crops, some sheep and ducks and a traditional Guatemalan café and western café. All the food served was produce of the farm, right down to the coffee beans. I went with the homemade sourdough sandwich with farm fresh mushrooms and pesto. The sour dough bread was exactly what my taste buds had been missing. I didn’t stop talking about the food for days!

Some other mentionable restaurants included ‘Casa de la sopa’ where the traditional Guatemalan soups served with rice and avocado were so delicious we returned three times. Fernando’s Café was also a comforting oasis and their reputation for great coffee was repeatedly proven.

Weeks two and three…
A week at Odelia’s proved to be enough of a cultural experience for us and we decided to go out on our own for the following two weeks. It was the best decision we could have made. The house we stayed in was luxury (particularly in comparison to Odelia’s!). Our host had the most impeccable styling taste and had incorporated many elements of the local Mayan design. We also had a fully equipped kitchen (including a china tea set) and had so much fun cooking for ourselves, having tea from a pot every day and even baking. We even managed to host a dinner party for our old roomie Ismael.

Our trips to the supermarket for supplies were always an event. Chicken and almost all meat products laid out on trestle tables, professionally displayed, NEXT to the fridge. Only yellow chicken sold, which Adams Spanish teacher insisted was the only chicken we should buy, the white chicken fleshed chicken was almost certainly bad news!

Our place was located on a property with two other houses, set in a stunning garden and with a resident dog, Donatello. An oasis for us and a real home to spend our afternoons and evenings. Our air BnB host was Rosa, an extremely gifted lady who had recently retired from a very successful marketing career. She had developed many community projects which she oversaw, with her main aim to improve the lives of her Guatemalan community. Two such projects were the children’s library and the weaving project!
A day trip to Rosas library was a highlight for me. The drive there was fascinating with Rosa offering me so much history on Mayan culture. Gazing out the window, the surrounding fields looked like patch work quilts, with each crop planted into a diamond shape, different shades of green and yellow. Rosa explained that this was a Mayan tradition which was an acknowledgement of respect to their gods. Mayan history tells that years before, Mayan gods lifted the skies and granted the people a sacred space to plant below, to allow their lives to prosper. Before a crop is sewn and after every harvest, a ceremony is performed for the gods to show gratitude. The crops are always planted in the diamond shape to further acknowledge the gods.

Statistically it is thought that in Guatemala, 15% of people are illiterate and over 40% of children malnourished. These stats were what brought the idea of the library to light. When the block of land with banana and coffee plantations was put up for sale, Rosa's dream was realised. The library would be built on the land for the children to learn, the bananas would be harvested for the nino's brain food and the coffee would be harvested and sold to help to fund their educational book collection.

Arriving at the library we were greeted by a local lady who Rosa assists to continue the dying art of weaving. She was delivering some gorgeous hand-woven place mats. If only I wasn't travelling for months to come, so many orders would have been placed!

My tour started on the street, where art covers the exterior walls of the library. Below, a mosaic footpath made of diamond shapes and serpents. Local folk law says that on top of the mountain that the library sits, are sacred serpents that watch over the community below and protect them.

The outside walls of the library were covered in an illustrated alphabet and short stories made by German author Kiki Suarez. Kiki writes and illustrates children’s stories which endeavour to evoke positive feelings and values through bright colour and imagination. Her message, acceptance and love! Rosa stood along her mosaic path and translated the children’s stories to English for me. Quirky, hilarious and beautiful. We laughed together as she read. I loved this moment.

Within the library walls the children were sat on the floor, intensely listening to a book being read by their librarian who was seated in a giant green chair shaped as a hand. I was introduced to the children and asked to find Australia on their world globe! There were lots of ooh’s and argh’s!

My tour of the library’s garden was conducted by a 7-year-old boy who wanted to learn to speak English. As we walked, we pointed to objects along the path, Carlos speaking Spanish, whilst I repeated and offered the English translation. He led me through the coffee plantations and banana plants until we reached their gratitude tree. The tree had been decorated by the children with brightly coloured ribbons stating what they were most grateful for. Aside from the obvious choices of family and friends, the stand out ribbon was the one that read ‘Frejoles and Guacamole’, beans and avocado!

I absolutely loved our two weeks with Rosa. Afternoons spent in her sewing room learning about Guatemalan life, hanging out in our beautiful Mayan inspired accommodation and my day at the children’s library will be forever treasured memories.

In the end...
An unforgettable three weeks. The people we met were inspirational and the Spanish we learnt set us up for a more meaningful travel journey ahead. We heart Antigua!