On May 13, I welcomed my friend Bob Rubin to Guatemala for his 4-day, 3-night trip. Bob lives in Boca Raton and he flew in from Miami, a 2-hour, 24-minute nonstop flight into Guatemala City. A month or so before his trip, Bob called me to let me know a few people had brought to his attention the U.S. State Department’s dire travel advisory warnings not to visit Guatemala. It’s dangerous, they say. And especially, Guatemala City. I told Bob, I had been living here for two months at that point (almost 3 months now) and it’s a large city like any other large city. It has its share of crime, but I have felt totally safe here. I know how to have common sense and take necessary precautions. But otherwise, life goes on here almost like it goes on anywhere else. Even though Bob’s family thought it was a bad idea, Bob trusted me and came.
Day 1: Steaks, Cigars, and Trova Jazz
On the day of his arrival, I took an Uber to the airport (which is located in especially “dangerous” Zone 13!) and met him there. Once he came out of the airport (non-passengers had to wait outside), I greeted him and called another Uber and we immediately took a short 12-minute Uber ride to the very nice Courtyard Marriott in Zone 10, where he would stay for his first two nights. From there, we walked just two blocks over to the Avenida Reforma, and took a 20-minute walk. Bob kept commenting how this place looks so nice. This is a wonderful walkway for pedestrians and bikers right along the Avenida Reforma. Every few hundred feet or so, there are monuments and statues dedicated to important people in Guatemala’s history.
As we continued to walk further along, we saw the U.S. embassy. We removed our mask for the photo and then Bob almost lost his mask. We were about a good quarter-mile down the pathway before he realized he didn’t have it. The only thing I don’t like about being in Guatemala at this time is that face masks are generally required everywhere, including outside. When you’re away from people and no one is looking, you can get away with taking it off or snugging it under your chin. When you’re taking photos or videos, it’s common to take it off. Who wants a photo with a mask on?
We quickly found his face mask and continued further down the path to visit the Star of David. Given Bob’s Jewish heritage, I really wanted him to see this. I was surprised when I came across it about eight weeks ago. He was really impressed. There are also some nice dedications on the walls next to it, including a Ten Commandments and the people of Guatemala’s expressions of friendship to the people of Israel. It was fitting to visit this monument on this day, a week when Israel was getting attacked by the Hamas terrorist group, being bombarded by hundreds of rockets a day. Also, all around the city of Guatemala (and also Antigua) we saw lots of Israeli flags, often on telephone posts, and often next to a Guatemalan flag. An expression of friendship and alliance with Israel.
From there, we walked another 15-minutes, a little back and a little further west, into Zone 9. I showed him the Plaza Espana monument that was featured in one of my recent YouTube videos and then we continued on to Don Joselito’s Steakhouse. I had met the owner of this steakhouse about a month ago, while at the Kabel restaurant that my new friend Diego owns and is a chef at. Diego, Jose, and I had been smoking cigars on Kabel’s terrace rooftop when I asked Jose what he did. Diego chimed in and said, “He has the best steakhouse in all of Guatemala.” Jose then told me whenever I wanted to go there, to let him know.
This past week, I asked Bob – do you want to try a steakhouse for lunch after your flight? Bob chuckled and said of course. I got in touch with Diego (who was traveling in the U.S. at the time) and he asked Jose to reserve us a table for two. When we arrived, Jose was waiting for us and greeted us and came to our table along with the host and waiter. They showed us some choice steaks and we went with the tenderloin, along with salad, asparagus, and garlic bread. And Bob bought us each a nice drink as well. We were treated so well and I’m glad we had the reservation. The place was hopping at lunch and we were there at 1:00 PM! While I have enjoyed plenty of good food in Guatemala, I told Bob: “This was the best meal I’ve had in my nearly three months here. Please, come visit Guatemala every day!”
After lunch, we took an Uber to the Central Park / Plaza Mayor of Guatemala City, located in Zone 1. Here, you can take in a view of the National Palace, the Cathedral of Guatemala City, and just sit back and watch families and others hang out. We sat down in the shade for about 20 minutes and just observed life here on a Thursday afternoon. Bob said mockingly, “Wow, this place looks so dangerous.” Moments later a group of four heavily armed police officers walked by. “That’s a good deterrent,” said Bob. “Makes me feel safer.”
I have yet to ever go inside the National Palace, and my wait continues. When we inquired, they told us they are only open for tours on Mondays and Fridays. (Noted). However, I did take Bob through the Cathedral of Guatemala City, a place where Pope John Paul II celebrated mass on three occasions (once each in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s).
We then strolled the streets where it’s impossible not to observe the many street merchants and shops. There are many people trying to sell you all sorts of trinkets. Bob and I are not the kind to collect more crap these days. We’d rather just hold on to memories from trips – and photos and videos, plenty of those.
After walking a few blocks, we called an Uber and took it to The Curanto Club, a cigar lounge in Zone 4. I have been coming to Curanto since about my second week in Guatemala City back in mid-March. I’ve gotten to know the manager, Pablo, as well as the owner, Alex. Great guys! I also know some of the regular clientele – a few (including Diego and Carlos) were both in the U.S. this week. However, there’s always a few interesting people in there, and today we saw Mannee, a musician who is a lead singer and guitar player for a band, but has also been playing solo shows lately. Today, he was just here, like us, for a cigar.
Bob loved Curanto as much as I do. It has been the best cigar lounge I have found in Guatemala. It has a great vibe when it’s busy or even when you’re the only one in there. You feel like you’re sitting in your living room. Bob purchased some cigars to bring home.
From there, we walked just a couple blocks over to Trova Jazz, a truly unique place. “Trova jazz” is a particular kind of style of Cuban popular music, originating in the 19th century and created by itinerant musicians known as “trovadores” who traveled around Cuba’s Oriente province and earned a living by singing and playing the guitar. Two years ago, on my first night ever visiting Guatemala, which also happened to be a Thursday, my friends Kyle and Rossmary took me here. Now, it was me taking Bob here and he loved it. The house band at Trova Jazz is absolutely incredible and plays every Thursday night. This is a must-visit if you’re in Guatemala City on a Thursday night. They also have some light food and drinks, and that’s all we needed after that amazing meal at Don Joselito’s steakhouse earlier in the afternoon.
We called it a night shortly before 9pm and took an Uber back to Bob’s hotel, where we dropped him off, and then the Uber driver took me just a few minutes further down the road to my apartment, also located in Zone 10.
Day 2: UFM, Berlin Plaza, and Cayala
The next morning, Bob was up early and revving to go. I asked him: “Are you comfortable taking an Uber on your own?” He decided to try it. He took a short 5-minute ride over to my apartment and I showed him around the place I’ve been living in the City Haus building, including the rooftop above the 16th floor. From here, you can see all of Guatemala City, including the volcanoes off in the distance.
We then walked over to La Estacion, an awesome shopping plaza just a few blocks from my apartment. It’s where I go grocery shopping at La Torre and it also has high end shops, plus an Orange Theory Fitness, which is where Bob works out back in South Florida. He thought that was so cool. They tried to get him to take a complimentary class! By the way, watching a newcomer to Guatemala City react after being here over 10 weeks is kind of cool, because I had many of the same emotions.
We then took a short Uber ride to the Universidad Francisco Marroquin, where I have been teaching a class and working from since I arrived here in early March. Our first stop was to the President’s offices where we had an appointment scheduled with UFM President, Gabriel Calzada. We thought we would just be with him for 10 minutes or so, but he had us there over an hour. Given Bob’s role the past 12 years as member of the board of trustees at my alma mater, Florida Atlantic University, the three of us had a really stimulating conversation about all things UFM, higher education, and the impact UFM has had on Guatemala.
Gabriel then walked us over to the center of campus, where he showed Bob the technology that UFM has implemented since COVID, to make it easier for hybrid virtual and in-person classes to take place. UFM has been the only university in Guatemala that has reopened for in-person classes since COVID. (They probably knew I was coming).
Gabriel then handed us off to Luis, who has worked at UFM for more than 20 years and is not only an excellent teacher and academic, but also a fantastic tour guide. Luis and I both work from the Henry Hazlitt Center at UFM, but today was a day I really got to know him better. I was surprised to learn he did a program at the University of Maryland, College Park in the late 1980s. I was there in the early 2000s for my M.A. in History.
Bob just couldn’t believe what he was seeing all around the campus. Gabriel had really set the context for him nicely and now Luis was showing us everything from the F.A. Hayek auditorium to the Ludwig Von Mises library, where we went into the archival room and were able to observe a copy of a first Spanish edition of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations as well as a copy of the first ever encyclopedia, along with historic maps that dotted the walls within the library.
UFM also houses the Popul Vuh museum, which contains a huge collection of Mayan and Spanish colonial artifacts. But Bob really got a kick out of the fact that at the business school building there is a huge bronze engraving of Atlas holding up the world, representing the classic book by Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged. Bob almost lost it. It’s one of his favorite books and he couldn’t believe there was a university – much less in Central America – that was reminding students of the lessons taught by that book.
When the tour concluded, I took Bob to the Nutripunto café where I eat pretty much every weekday. They serve amazing, healthy, homestyle Guatemalan dishes – for about the equivalent of $5 USD. We sat outside and Bob was just amazed by the cool “eternal spring” weather surrounded by lush gardens, on a campus that sits between two ravines. It’s really “an oasis,” perhaps a “free-market oasis” in the middle of Central America. As Bob described it, “a setting so conducive to learning.”
Once we concluded our time at UFM, we then called up another Uber and had them take us down to Zone 14, where we walked the Avenida las Americas. This is a lot like Avenida Reforma, where there is a larger, more broad, grassy area in between the avenue, with similar walking and biking trails. I especially like the statues of Jose Marti, the independence leader of Cuba in the late 1800s, and the gigantic statue of Pope John Paul II, who visited Guatemala three times during his papacy.
On the left side of the avenue, as you walk south, are large high-end condo buildings in Zone 14. On the right side of the avenue are a mix of businesses, homes, and even embassies, located in Zone 13. We walked by the Cuban embassy, which has a large photo of Fidel Castro in a window on the second floor. Just a few hundred feet past the Cuban embassy, back in the middle of the Avenida las Americas, is a memorial dedicated to “La Prensa Libre,” or in English, “the free press.” I told Bob, “Isn’t it interesting that from the windows of the Cuban embassy, you can see this monument dedicated to the free press? Sadly, that’s not something you can see in Cuba.” Bob loved the irony.
We continued to the end of the avenue and eventually arrived at Berlin Plaza, where they have three giant pieces of the Berlin Wall. What’s interesting is that Berlin Plaza has existed in Guatemala since the 1960s, to honor “the divided people of Berlin.” The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and Germany was later reunified. In the early 2000s, the German embassy in Guatemala helped arrange for these pieces of the Berlin Wall to be placed here. Fittingly, one of the pieces is laying on its side, recognizing the fact that the wall fell. The other cool thing about this spot, is that you look over the side of a cliff to look out among the outskirts of Guatemala City, and also out towards the Pacaya Volcano in the distance.
We just sat there for about 20 minutes or so and took in the view. As much as we were going, going, going during this trip, we had many moments like this, where we just paused and reflected, with great conversation among friends. Perhaps productive people like us, who also enjoy the kinds of conversations that happen in cigar lounges, can easily press pause and just reflect when needed. After walking down the Avenida las Americas and seeing reminders of tyranny in places like Cuba today and East Germany in the very recent past, as well as the monument to a free press, it’s fitting that we started this day at UFM, where ideas of liberty are taught so that we not only do not repeat the mistakes of history but also go forward and create environments conducive to innovation.
I should also mention at this point that I had earlier warned Bob that this is the rainy season in Guatemala and we should carry our rain jackets. We carried them both Thursday and Friday and never experienced any rain. I think a few drops might have come out of the sky but nothing more.
It was now about mid-afternoon and we called yet another Uber to take us a 25-minute ride to Ciudad Cayala. This is a very new high-end residential and shopping area that was only first opened about ten years ago and has gotten progressively larger and more active. To me, it feels like a mix of styles from Spain, Italy, and Greece, but of course all built in just the past decade. So, as Bob said, “This feels like it could be Boca Raton.” It’s why some people here love it – it’s a point of pride and a place that most visitors wouldn’t expect in Guatemala. But it’s also why others detest it – this does not feel like authentic Guatemala. But to me, I think it’s a good part of the city to enjoy on an afternoon and evening like this. It was only my second time to Cayala – the first one just a week after I got here, when my new friend Luis (a friend of my friend Jorge) took me here for dinner. I wanted Bob to see it because I thought it was a side of the new Guatemala that he would be impressed by, even if realizing it isn’t the authentic Guatemala.
We walked around, just amazed. We got some gelato at Gelatiamo and we just sat at one of the outside tables and watched people and families enjoying the day. I had texted Pablo, the manager at Curanto, on our way to Cayala, and asked if there was a cigar lounge there. He told us there was and pointed us to Cigar Boutique & Lounge. I picked up a Cuban cigar there, and Bob and I enjoyed another relaxing late afternoon conversing over cigars like we have enjoyed doing for the past five or ten years, usually back in Florida. While this place was no Curanto, it did its job for us today.
My friend Rossmary also works in Cayala, where the offices of her organization Guatemala Prospera are located. We met her for dinner shortly after 6:00pm at a restaurant she recommended, La Rosa. It was great. We weren’t starving, so we shared a few appetizers and enjoyed the evening with Rossmary. Before she left, Bob said to her “you are so cool.” He loved her, and she enjoyed getting to know him. It’s always cool when two different friends get along so well so quickly. It’s almost like the universe reaffirming why you also think they are so great.
While there, we also struck up a conversation with two women at the table next to us. It all began when we asked them to take a photo of us, but then interesting people seem to be curious about other interesting people. One of the women was Gabriella. Bob’s goddaughter has the same name, as does my 3-year old niece. We compared photos of all the Gabriella’s and tried to persuade each other which one was cuter (I’m pretty sure I won).
Gabriella’s friend, Beatriz, was also there. Gabriella is a successful jeweler and has been married twice and has four kids (she did not look it!) Beatriz is a lawyer and has a son who is a teaching assistant at the school I teach at, UFM, and she said he just got a scholarship to go to graduate school at Georgetown. They also both told us they sometimes go to Miami. We gave them our information, and before we left, we asked if by chance they smoke cigars. They laughed and said they did not, but Beatriz said: if you like cigars, there’s a great cigar lounge in Zone 4. I looked at them all and said, “yes, that’s Curanto, and I’m a frequent guest there.” I then texted Pablo and told him word is getting around about Curanto, which so far is by far the greatest cigar lounge in all of Guatemala. He was pleased to hear this.
Bob and I took an Uber back to Zone 10 where we once again dropped him at his hotel before the Uber took me to my apartment. We agreed to get up early and get on our way to Antigua by 8:00 AM on Saturday.
Day 3: Antigua – Ruins, Farms, Cigars, and Crazy Connections
I had the Uber pick me up about 7:40am and we arrived to Bob’s hotel about ten minutes later. We were both early and ready to go! We arrived in Antigua about 9:00am and were dropped off at my friend Lissa’s home – which is actually her 97-year-old father’s home. She is an American who moved to Guatemala about 40 years ago. Her parents moved to Guatemala about 16 years ago and her mother has since passed. Lissa also has a place in Guatemala City and she has been working for UFM for more than 20 years. She has seen Guatemala through some ups and downs, including a civil war here in the 1980s. She said during that period “life went on” and while you took precautions, you just went on with your life. You got groceries, you cooked, you did your job. We had many great conversations about the economy, the government, the corruption, the improvements, and things that still need improving here. But she really enjoys living here.
Her father’s home is part of the El Carmen ruins – well sort of. While the church next door, that was most recently built (again) in 1728, they are archeological preservations. Her family’s home has an interior courtyard and the walls are part of the old convent that was next to the cathedral. The home was also once owned by Gore Vidal. I was lucky enough to stay there a couple weeks ago and she gave Bob and I a tour of the open-air home. It’s truly amazing.
The home has all sorts of cool stuff, including a little statue of Saint Simon, a liquor-drinking, cigar-smoking saint popular here in Guatemala. This prompted me to ask Lissa to remind me about the cigar lounge in Antigua that she had told me about two weeks earlier. Antigua Cigars, she said. It’s owned by her friend Uwe and Lynn. She is not a cigar smoker, but she said if we ended up there to let her know and maybe she would join us for a bit.
We left her place and walked about 10 minutes over to our Airbnb, which was actually a small 2-bedroom room in a small little independent hotel. We didn’t see many other guests and the place was quite small, but doable – and we secured it for a whopping $54 total after taxes and fees. It also included breakfast next door, which we had the next day.
At this point, we took a walk around Antigua, an old Spanish colonial city first built up in the 1500s. I took Bob by the famous arch, the La Merced church, the central park, the best McDonalds in the world (we just took a peek inside), and the ruins of an old church called San Jose El Viejo, where they were setting up for a wedding and reception inside. We took quite a long 20-25 minute walk to the outskirts of town, to Caoba Farms, where my friends Kyle and Rossmary took me about a month ago during Kyle’s visit back to Guatemala.
Caoba Farms is really cool. It is literally a farm with an amazing restaurant built into it. The tables are all in a natural outdoor setting, with an open-air kitchen, a little market, as well as some vendors who are selling some crafted food. The food is really healthy. The last time I was here I had the buffalo burger and on this day I had a lamb rack. They serve many beverages but for some reason I always feel like an IPA here (well, by always, I mean on both occasions).
After we placed our order, a young man perhaps in his 30s, who worked there, came over and introduced himself. He seemed to speak English. He was the owner. His name is Alex and he is Guatemalan, but his father was originally from Wyoming. We ended up talking with him for about 15 minutes. We informed him I have a podcast where I interview entrepreneurs, so this was part of the reason my constant questions about his business and how he started it continued to be one of curiosity. Then when Bob started asking him a bit more about his parents and we learned his father’s business background, Bob said to him: “is your last name Kronick?” Alex affirmed it was. Bob then told him his father’s name and told Alex that his dad used to be a client of his for about twenty years.
NO WAY.
While I had been making all sorts of connections in Guatemala the past 10 weeks, now Bob was starting to do the same. “It’s a small world after all,” as the song goes, but I’m going to have to add one addendum, “especially in Guatemala.”
I exchanged information with Alex. We also met his wife and daughter. He also owns a few hundred acres about 30 miles away, an eco-village type place, complete with cabins and horseback riding. I told him: Alex, you and I are going to be friends and I am going to bring a lot of people to your restaurant and perhaps to your village. And later this year, I am going to interview you for my podcast and perhaps feature Caoba Farms on my YouTube channel. I should also mention, I told him all this before Bob made the connection about his father. Alex’s story and the story of what he did with idle land owned by his parents is truly remarkable. And I feel like we only learned the half of it today.
Given our new friendship with Alex, we asked if he smoked cigars. He did not. But he said, if you like cigars, you should check out Antigua Cigars. Tell Uwe and Lynn I sent you. We said to him: we will, but we now have a list of people who have sent us! The mystery about this Uwe and Lynn was building.
Following our amazing lunch and experience at Caoba Farms, meeting Alex and discovering the connection Bob already had to his dad, Bob and I were standing outside the property, waiting for an Uber to pick us up. I told Bob, “Between you and I, we really do have so many connections. It’s absolutely mind-blowing.” Then I paused and said, jokingly, “Bob, if you and I can meet two more people just like us, with all these interesting personal connections we have, I think we could take over the world.” We both laughed pretty hard.
Then about 30 seconds later, this young woman walks up and she’s carrying all this stuff. She too is waiting for her Uber. Bob asked her if she needed help with all she was carrying and what’s it for. She tells us she is from Portland originally and has been living in Antigua the past couple years. She said she was inside Caoba selling products for the last few years, “for my association.” What association is that, we asked? She says she sells these sort of Eden products of lotions and creams and such and the profits go to help kids with special needs.
My mind was about to be blown once again. Bob and I made eye contact (almost in disbelief), as she kept talking. Bob’s mouth dropped too. She paused in bewilderment realizing our body language. I said to her, “Bob has a 29-year old son with special needs.” Bob adds, “and my wife runs an organization that helps those kids after they are 21.” This woman then exclaims, “yes, that’s when all the social services for them dries up.” Bob knew she knew what was going on. We talked a few more minutes and then exchanged information with her. Bob said to her: “You and my wife need to talk.”
As Bob and I then got into our Uber, we were like: “This trip is just getting too weird. Too amazing.” While he and I are used to making lots of connections, both on our own and together, this was like a whole ‘nother level in such a condensed period of time. I reminded him: “Guatemala is a magical place.”
And now this Uber was taking us to a lookout point where there is a giant cross on the side of the mountain, where people go to get the most amazing view of Antigua, from above, with the imposing Agua Volcano on the other side of the horizon. If you want to talk about magical, this spot makes you feel that. You are looking down at 500 years of history. You see an entire city that the Spanish once colonized in the 1500s before multiple volcanic eruptions and earthquakes made them finally throw in the towel. After the 1773 eruption and earthquake devastated the city, the Spanish moved the capital about 50 miles away to what is now Guatemala City. Then, in the early 1900s, some wealthy Americans started moving into Antigua, restoring old ruins and making them into homes and businesses. The city slowly came back and today it is once again a magical place, perhaps the tourist hot spot of Guatemala, where people come from all over the world. We spent about a half hour or so here, just looking over the city and taking it in.
At this point, we took another short Uber ride back into the city and gave Lissa a call to tell her we would soon be at Antigua Cigars. We made our way there. As Bob was taking a photo of me in front of the Antigua Cigars sign outside, a French-Canadian woman named Lynn peeked out the gated door and asked if she could help us. We said simply, “We are friends of Lissa and we were told to come here.”
She said, “We have heard about you and have been expecting you.” More magic was about to happen. We were giddy as little kids. We then met her husband Uwe. He is of German descent but had moved to Canada many years ago. They lived in Quebec City, where I visited in 2019. Bob has been there as well.
Upon entering, we also met an American man named Dan who was in there enjoying the tail end of his cigar with the Quebecoise couple. Dan and his wife and kids had moved to Antigua a year and a half ago. He and his wife are psychologists and they had been doing the “zoom” meetings from there a good six months before Covid. They are from New Hampshire and are going back there this week, but they plan to be back in Antigua in October, where they will then rent another house for another year.
Antigua Cigars is a “members only” club. It’s a small place. It has the feel of a cozy living room and they have a great humidor. Lynn showed me some cigars they have made in Nicaragua that are their own brand, “Antigua Tobacco.” I said, without hesitation, I will have one of those. Bob did too. And the price was hard to beat, coming in at just under $6 USD a stick. By the end of our two hours or so with them, I told Uwe and Lynn, “this is a solid cigar.” It truly is. I bought 6 to take home with me. Bob bought about 20. The best part for Bob was that they had Crown Royal, the only place in Guatemala that he found Crown. I supposed it took some Canadian ex-pats to provide some Canadian whiskey.
Dan was on his way out shortly after we got there, but Lissa was on her way in and she was able to stay about an hour, despite the fact she doesn’t smoke cigars. She has known Uwe and Lynn for about 15 years. They had another small cigar shop but they only opened this location about a year or so ago. This was Lissa’s first time to this location. Shortly after Lissa left, Uwe and Lynn called a friend of theirs who they thought would like to meet us. We got to know them quite a bit. The rest of that story is too personal to put in here, but let’s just say I think we made another international connection and Bob even got his wife on the phone to chat with everyone via a video call.
I should mention that Uwe and Lynn told us the main reason they opened up a cigar lounge in Antigua is that there really wasn’t one prior to their coming here. They said there’s a few places you can buy cigars, but there is no place with a great humidor like theirs and a place you can enjoy them with people who know something about cigars. They do get a lot of interesting people that drop in. And it seems they found us pretty interesting as well. We also told them about Alex at Caoba Farms mentioning them. They know Alex and his family. Lissa knows them too. But… of course!
I also asked them if they were familiar with my favorite cigar lounge in Guatemala City, The Curanto Club. They said yes, they know the owner Alex and really like him. Before we walked into Antigua Cigars, Bob was telling people, “There are 47 people who are part of Guatemala’s cigar culture and in 10 weeks Francisco has gotten to know them all!” After we left Antigua Cigars, he said, ok, there’s actually 57 people and now we know them all.
Uwe and Lynn recommended a restaurant a few doors down called Como Como. It is a Belgian place and we tried it. When we walked in, we were the only ones there, but then a few other groups came in after. The pleasant waitress / manager helped us and I took her recommendation of the beef stew, that was made with beer, which came with French fries on the side. It was really great. Bob had a few appetizers, including cheese croquettes and some kind of tuna tartare. I had the chocolate mousse for dessert. A fantastic meal for a great price. We sat in the outdoor seating in the back of the place. Just a great way to end a fantastic day.
We walked about 20 minutes back to our Airbnb, crossing through the central park, on an Antigua night that was coming alive with young people. We called it a night shortly after 10pm.
Day 4: Eruptions and Reflections
In the morning, we were awakened by the sound of church bells. It wasn’t just once, but about every 11 minutes. For what? Two hours or so. We were up and awake long before the church bells stopped ringing. We were staying about two blocks away from the historic La Merced church. We asked Carlos, the host of this property, what the deal was with those church bells (they were not a very pleasant sound either). He laughed and said, they have been ringing like that for years. The complimentary breakfast at Fernando’s cafe next store started at 8:00am, but we were still about 20 minutes before 8 with a little time to kill.
Our Airbnb / hotel had a cool rooftop terrace so we went up there to just hang out and take in the views. From the rooftop you can see all of Antigua and the nearby volcanoes. It was quite a sight on this peaceful Sunday morning. As we were reflecting on our incredible weekend that was soon to come to a close, I pointed out at the volcanoes to the west, which include Fuego and Acatenango. I told Bob, “those are the volcanoes I am going to hike later this week,” when four other friends from the states are planning to come. At the precise moment that I pointed at them, “poooof!” a cloud of smoke erupted out of Fuego.
We erupted. We got up out of our chairs and began recording. Bob made a video call to his wife and kids to show them. Truly remarkable. Then the smoke started to clear. A few minutes later, as we were back seated, a huge sounding “boom” came from the volcano and a slightly bigger cloud of smoke came out of it. This was just unreal to witness. Bob asked how far that volcano was. I said, “not that far.” Then added, “maybe 20 miles, but I think closer.” I told him this happens almost every day. We were just lucky to be on the rooftop and witness it at this moment.
This weekend could not have gotten any better. And I think Fuego just wanted to be part of it. I told Bob, “this is your icing on the cake of an incredible weekend.” Minutes later we went downstairs for breakfast. We had a few hours left to explore. I stopped into Wicho & Charlies, the tour group I am using for the volcano hike this coming Friday, and then I took Bob to Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, which is now a hotel built on the grounds of an old church and convent from the Spanish colonial period. If you have a little extra money to spend, this would be an amazing place to stay at least once. I hope to one day. For now, any visitor can come and tour the grounds and pay about $5 each to see the museums, which includes ruins, crypts, as well as artifacts from the Mayan and Spanish colonial periods.
We ended our time in Antigua by taking a walk into the central park. We found a bench shaded by trees and just sat there for about a half hour and watched people. They watched us too. Street merchant after street merchant came up and tried to sell us more trinkets that we did not want. After we finally shooed them away, we observed poor young kids shining shoes. I wish I had some shoes for them to shine today. Little entrepreneurs trying to make a buck – and they looked like they knew what they were doing. This plaza is always so alive.
Someone on Instagram had told me about this cool hostel market a few blocks away. We checked it out. I got another ice cream cone and we returned to the Airbnb hotel to check out and call an Uber. It was about an hour drive to the Guatemala City airport, where we dropped off Bob and said our goodbyes. I then had the Uber driver take me home, about 10 minutes away.
Two hours later, Bob sent me a text message: “I’m on the plane. Not injured, hurt, shot or otherwise traumatized! My amazing Guatemala adventure with you comes to an end. I told everyone who asked why I was going to Guatemala was, among other things, that there would never be another reason for me to go and I’ll never go back. Well, that was wrong. I can’t wait to go back! The land of the Eternal Spring. Thank you my friend.”
I told Bob how grateful I was that he came to visit. Other than my friend Kyle, who I had visited two years ago when he was living here, Bob was the first friend who came to visit me – despite the dire warnings that our government gave about this magical land. The timing couldn’t have been better. I was able to introduce him to the Guatemala I have gotten to know over the previous 10 weeks. There were even many people who I have gotten to know who were not here this week. A few (including my roommate) were away in the United States, some getting vaccines there. But there were still so many here. So many great connections, from steakhouses to cigar lounges to perhaps the greatest freedom-loving university in the world, or at least in Central America.
A few years ago, my friend Andrew Bulovsky had told me, that in his experience of traveling to more than 30 countries, he had one piece of advice to get to know a country: “Eat the food, drink the beer, and talk to the people.” There’s only one thing he was missing. “Smoke some cigars with them too.”
Only four days here and Bob was repeating a line I keep saying over and over: Guatemala is a magical place. I’m so glad he’s already making plans to return. It’s tough to leave the eternal spring! The weather is one thing. The people are amazing. Always in bloom.