Would you return to a destination that you already visited but didn’t quite love the first time around? This is exactly what I ended up doing with Antigua, Guatemala, where I recently traveled after having visited for the first time four years prior. During that initial trip to Antigua, I saw what makes it such an appealing destination for travelers in Central America: it has beautiful architecture, picturesque views of towering volcanoes in the distance, and a strong foothold in the Guatemalan tourism industry, making it a very traveler-friendly city. But still, I never quite fell in love with it. Four years later, I returned to Antigua on a whim, where under similar circumstances I had a vastly different travel experience.
This is a post about travel in Antigua, Guatemala, and an exploration of how the experience of travel changes with time, age, and maturity. It’s an ode to a volcano, and to the magic of being able to see the world differently at different stages in life. Please join me in “re-visiting” Antigua, a city with a lot to offer, particularly depending on how you look at it.
Impressions of Antigua, Guatemala: then to now
The first time I went to Guatemala, in the fall of 2015, I spent three weeks backpacking to many amazing cities and sites around the country. I gaped at the beauty of Lake Atitlán, forged friendships and had serendipitous encounters in the quiet city of Cobán, experienced the mayhem of the Guatemalan Independence Day festivities in Xela, and of course, I wandered through beautiful and charming Antigua, one of Guate’s most iconic destinations.
During that trip, I visited Antigua on three different occasions, but each time I was there I felt a sense of dissonance. Antigua is lovely but small; after a day or so in the city I began to feel aimless, asking myself what should come next. I met interesting people and had a number of impactful and thought-provoking encounters, but also many that were laden with confusion. Fundamentally, Antigua had left me with some ambivalence: I didn’t hate it but I certainly didn’t love it. By the time I left Guatemala, I felt that other parts of the country were stronger highlights for me. And while the trip left me overall with a good impression of travel in Guatemala, I didn’t necessarily see myself returning any time soon.
But almost exactly four years later, I went back. Why, you might be wondering? I returned to Antigua because of an important chance encounter with a person I met while traveling in Nicaragua (I detailed my whole Nicaragua saga here, for the curious). I planned this trip so that I would be able spend a long weekend in nearby Copán Ruinas, Honduras, and also take a “working vacation” in Antigua, as my job is fairly flexible and allows me to work remotely. This trip to Antigua was going to be very different than the last one. I packed my bags with a sense of nervous anticipation – how was I going to feel this time around, already knowing that I had felt ambivalent about the city in the past? There was only one way to find out.
Revisiting Antigua: on second impressions and fresh perspectives
It was immediately satisfying to touch down in Guatemala City after so many years, and feel the pleasant comfort of familiarity… and also comparison. My previous journey to Guatemala could only be described as haphazard, complete with missed flights and overly flirtatious taxi drivers. This time around, I arrived in Guatemala City mid-afternoon to a sunny sky, was able to calmly board a shuttle bound for Antigua, and sat back and watched as the Guatemalan countryside passed me by from the window of the vehicle. Familiar roads, familiar greens, familiar accents. It felt good to be back.
In Antigua I would be spending almost a week, and thanks to my work schedule I quickly fell into a routine. I woke up early, worked throughout the day, wandered the city in the afternoons and evenings, and went salsa dancing at night. People would ask me about my trip, many of whom I think were expecting to hear the typical backpacker chatter of a big Central America trip, weeks or even months long. When I responded that I was going to be in Antigua for a week, nowhere else in Guatemala, and that I was mostly going to be working, it was met with some confusion. My trip was unusual, for sure.
Returning to a place that I had already formed an opinion on was an interesting experience. Enough had happened during my previous visits to Antigua that strolling through its streets caused memories to wash over me. I also couldn’t help but feel that, to a degree, my four-years-ago self had gotten it right: Antigua was lovely but I still wasn’t head-over-heels for it, which made me particularly happy to be there while adhering to the structure of work. Being there felt almost like the first time I visited, save for one major difference.
The difference had to do with the volcán de agua – the Water Volcano. It’s one of the most iconic sites in Antigua, nestled against the side of the city, typically with clouds swirling around its peak. It is the centerpiece of the picturesque view from the cerro de la cruz, Antigua’s most famous viewpoint. I had seen the volcano before, of course, numerous times. I had plenty of photos of this volcano already, taken four years prior. But the first time that I re-laid eyes on the volcano, when the shuttle driver that first day pointed it out to me, I was left awestruck. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. You might even call it love at second sight.
During the days that followed, every time I looked over at the volcano I felt a shortness of breath. At times I would have to stop walking, just to admire it. This certainly hadn’t happened the first time I went to Antigua. I believe that this volcano-induced marvel affected my disposition substantially throughout the week. I felt a renewed energy when I bounded over Antigua’s cobbled streets, on my way to work, with this volcano at my side. I felt so grateful for the opportunity to be there and working remotely – I mean, how often do we get to work alongside such a spectacular sight? This energy reflected itself in my work; I felt more motivated, invigorated, and productive. I was inspired.
The Water Volcano catalyzed many beautiful feelings within me, but it also left me curious, because these were new feelings. How was it possible, I thought to myself, that I could have a near religious experience with this volcano when, four years prior, it had left me relatively unfazed? Simply put, I had grown up.
Travel, maturity, and gratitude, in and beyond Antigua, Guatemala
I think that the Water Volcano provides a great frame of reference for a look at maturity, and how as we grow as people and travelers, we learn to see things differently.
Many of the parameters for my trip to Antigua were similar to those of four years prior. The place itself, the touristic experience, the strength of the connections formed – it all felt familiar. But I felt a greater sense of presentness this time around, and a greater appreciation for my surroundings. I found it easier not to attach expectations to my experience in Antigua, and let it be what it was going to be. I was so happy to be able to work there for a few days. Most simply, I felt more grateful.
Perhaps it seems strange for me to pinpoint age and maturity, because in the eyes of society I am still “young” (27 years old), was even younger during my first trip to Guate (23 years old), and I have a lifetime of growth and maturity ahead of me. But the reality is that those four years made a big difference. In the interim, I established a much stronger knowledge of myself and the world around me. I became more grounded and centered. And I felt this difference standing in the shadow of the Water Volcano, where a wiser me could better appreciate the sheer marvel of nature before me and the opportunity to travel, a tangible difference between then and now. Overall, I felt better in Antigua the second time around. It’s still not my top destination, but regardless, my most recent trip is characterized by inspiration and gratitude, not the aimlessness that I felt there four years prior.
I have a theory: I think travel gets better with age. I’ve felt this as I’ve grown as a person and a traveler: my travel experiences in my late twenties are very different than they were in my early twenties, but personally speaking, I feel they’ve gotten better. And it makes sense: as we evolve as humans, our capacity to understand the world around us also evolves. My trip to Antigua exemplified this, all thanks to a lesson from a volcano. And it leaves me with a hopeful feeling. I wonder what my travels will look like and feel like another four years down the line. After 10 more years? 20? I’m excited to find out.
Do you like to return to places where you’ve already traveled? How do you feel going back someplace after a significant amount of time has passed? Have you ever traveled to Antigua, Guatemala? What’s your impression of it? How do you feel age, maturity, and travel relate? Let me know in the comments below!
