Hello and welcome back!
It's been yet another hiatus but I'm finally back to pick up where I left off on this adventure!
It was now my 2nd day in Antigua Guatemala. I woke up bright and early excited for exploring more of this beautiful city. But first, I had to start my day off by going to the rooftop and gazing out at what I really came here for:
Waking up to an active Volcano erupting every morning is such an unreal experience and I feel I'd never not be amazed at. It also stirs a bit of intimidation in me for the hike I have planned soon.
After my morning ritual of staring in awe at this volcano for 15 minutes, I headed into town to capture some early light around the city. I could already see it would be a pretty clear day compared to the day before that was pretty hazy.
As I headed in from the outskirt area and into the city center, it hit me in a way that can't be conveyed in photos.
Volcan de Agua. Looming immensely on the horizon. It's massive, almost menacingly so. It's my first time seeing it in it's totality due to the haze and clouds the day before. It's a view I'll never forget.
I began to make my way to the famous and picturesque archway that frames up Volcan de Agua and grab some photos in this morning light and it did not disappoint.
In the last photo, you can see a bunch of the stray dogs roaming the early streets looking for trash to go through to scavenge for food. Though, I did see a decent amount of locals who put out food or let them in to eat.
And then of course it was time for a selfie.
And then someone there asked if I wanted a photo taken, to which I would never refuse.
I then began to make my way towards the center park area, but first one more selfie with this light and these views.
Being up so early gave me an almost empty town which was just so beautiful to photograph.
I made a few passes around town, looking for good light, and also trying to familiarize myself more with the layout. It's not big by any means, but still a decent sized area to cover and get the feel for.
From there I then headed towards the north of the city to checkout a high viewpoint overlooking the city and the volcano. And here's some photos from on the way there.
After a bit of a walk and a bit of sweating in the hot sun, I made it to the small trail to the overlook. I began to hike up and then there was a guy there dressed in a uniform saying there was a fee to enter, to which I never heard, but he only wanted a dollar, so I gave it to him although I'm pretty sure he was just scamming.
After the rest of the small hike up, I arrived at the viewpoint, and it was incredible.
I took a few photos and walked around. There was a guy with his kids making art from flowers and selling them, and I kicked the soccer ball around with them for a little bit. I then met a guy up there who I ended up chatting with about the hike I planned to do, and he was also going to be doing. I grabbed a photo for him before he left.
And then there was a couple doing a selfie on a tripod and I offered to take their photo, though they spoke Spanish I couldn't chat with them much, but they offered to take my photo for me after.
At this point, I was very hot and almost sunburned, also didn't have much water left, so it was time to head back to the airbnb to restock and recoup. These are the last few shots I took on the way back.
This is where I'll leave it for today, as the other half of the day was almost a whole day in itself. So let me know what you think, what were your favorite parts and favorite photos? Have you ever seen such a view of an enormous volcano looming over a city like this?
Thanks for stopping by and reading, hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for the next instalment soon!
- Sean
www.SeanGold.com