{"id":1145,"date":"2016-02-08T02:36:07","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T00:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/?p=1145"},"modified":"2016-02-08T04:36:21","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T02:36:21","slug":"antigua-touristy-but-nice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/?p=1145","title":{"rendered":"Antigua &#8211; Touristy but nice"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_938\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-938\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9723.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9723-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"City hall of Antigua\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"size-large wp-image-938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9723-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9723-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-938\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">City hall of Antigua<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>JAN 14, 2016 &#8211; I took a night bus from Flores to Guatemala City and a so-called &#8220;chicken bus&#8221; to Antigua. These buses are very common in Guatemala: Old school buses from the United States are exported here and colorfully repainted to serve as public transportation. Of course the benches, designed for children, are left unchanged. As soon as I arrived in Antigua I was greeted by a Spanish teacher, and after a tour of his school, I decided to take twenty private lessons spread over four days. I had planned to do that a few days later in San Pedro, but my impression was that Antigua would give me good options for half-day trips too. The school&#8217;s offering was quite convincing, with lessons for USD 6 per hour and the option to stay in the same building, where a host family provided three meals a day for a fair price.<br \/>\nBesides learning Spanish, I hiked to two volcanoes (see following posts) and visited a carneval-like event in the nearby village of Pastores with my teacher. We also prepared an international dinner with some of the other students.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9472.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9472-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"IMGP9472\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9472-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9472-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9499.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9499-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"IMGP9499\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-921\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9499-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9499-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9506.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9506-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"IMGP9506\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-922\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9506-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9506-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9528.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9528-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"IMGP9528\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9528-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9528-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMGP9513-01.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMGP9513-01-1024x682.jpeg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMGP9513-01-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/IMGP9513-01-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a> <\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1151\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1151\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9536.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9536-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"IMGP9536\" alt=\"Colorful &quot;chicken buses&quot;\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9536-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9536-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1151\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Colorful &#8220;chicken buses&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_926\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-926\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9588.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9588-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Carneval-like celebration in Pastores\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"size-large wp-image-926\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9588-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9588-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-926\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carneval-like celebration in Pastores<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_927\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-927\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9603.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9603-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Some themes never die\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"size-large wp-image-927\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9603-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9603-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-927\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some themes never die<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_928\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-928\" style=\"width: 681px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9609-e1454898930613.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9609-e1454898930613-681x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Prost!\" width=\"681\" height=\"1024\" class=\"size-large wp-image-928\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9609-e1454898930613-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9609-e1454898930613-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-928\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Prost!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_929\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-929\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9633.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9633-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"McDonalds seemed to be a common theme (not sure if the one in Antigua just recently opened?)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"size-large wp-image-929\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9633-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9633-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-929\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">McDonalds seemed to be a common theme (not sure if the one in Antigua just recently opened?)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_936\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-936\" style=\"width: 681px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9711-e1454891455149.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9711-e1454891455149-681x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Fountain in the main square\" width=\"681\" height=\"1024\" class=\"size-large wp-image-936\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9711-e1454891455149-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9711-e1454891455149-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-936\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fountain in the main square<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9733.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9733-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"IMGP9733\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9733-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9733-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9721.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9721-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"IMGP9721\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-937\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9721-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9721-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9739.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9739-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"IMGP9739\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-941\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9739-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9739-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_940\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-940\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9738.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9738-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Nature reclaiming a building\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"size-large wp-image-940\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9738-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9738-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-940\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nature reclaiming a building<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9756.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9756-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"IMGP9756\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-943\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9756-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP9756-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_882\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-882\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP0069.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP0069-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Courtyard of the local McDonalds - inviting enough that I ate there even though I&#039;m not a big fan of their food\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"size-large wp-image-882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP0069-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP0069-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-882\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtyard of the local McDonalds &#8211; inviting enough that I ate there even though I&#8217;m not a big fan of their food<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_881\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-881\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP0064.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP0064-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"View of Antigua from Cerro de la Cruz\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" class=\"size-large wp-image-881\" srcset=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP0064-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMGP0064-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-881\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">View of Antigua from Cerro de la Cruz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JAN 14, 2016 &#8211; I took a night bus from Flores to Guatemala City and a so-called &#8220;chicken bus&#8221; to Antigua. These buses are very common in Guatemala: Old school buses from the United States are exported here and colorfully repainted to serve as public transportation. Of course the benches, designed for children, are left<span class=\"excerpt-ellipsis\">&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/?p=1145\" itemprop=\"url\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1145"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1174,"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1145\/revisions\/1174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awayfrom.ch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}