Day 14: Antigua, Guatemala

Got into Antigua around noon and after checking into the a really cool hostel (Hostel 5, $7 per bed with breakfast and in-room unlimited WiFi included!) we grabbed some much-needed lunch at Piccadilly’s (not very local, I know haha) for a surprisingly good price. We heard the bustling down then street and just had to check out the huge outdoor market!

It’s literally like an open air Wal-mart (for the record we hate referencing the killer of the working man and all around great Satan, Wal-mart). There is meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nail polish, ropes, fancy dresses, souvenirs, old remote controls, shoes & clothes—basically everything you could ever need all in one place! Most of the stalls are run by these tiny, ancient looking woman with white hair and dynamic wrinkled faces.

Street seller at the market

Strangely, most of the shoppers are also tiny, ancient women. We were literally the only “foreigners” we saw in the entire market…and we were also about a foot (or two in Saben’s case) taller than most everyone else there. The array of fruits and vegetables were beautifully arranged and their colors were more brilliant than any of the fruit we get at home.

Edge of the market

But, between the scent of fresh flowers, raw fish, raw meat, dried shrimp, dog food, fruit, and all the other miscellaneous goods for sale, it can be pretty violating to one’s nostrils. So, after buying a few pears and apples, we headed away from the market to explore the pleasantly cobbled streets of Antigua to see whatever we happened to see. A more pleasant day could never be had…