Almost impossibly cute, you will either love or hate Antigua.

… Cobbled streets, mustard and ochre coloured houses with colonial fittings, the leafy central park …

In 1979 Unesco declared Antigua a World Heritage Site.

It’s filled with gringo Spanish students, volunteers and with Guatemalan tourists.

The town is nestled ominously between volcanoes, one still VERY active.

I love it as I do many of the other expat hangouts of the world including San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and Pokhara, Nepal.

It costs about US$1 / hour to ride jammed into one of these buses. Some are “Bluebird” school buses, built in Brantford, Ontario – decades ago sold off as no longer road worthy.

Sure life is easy in Antigua. Certainly it is Western. Enjoy it for a few days while psyching up for the real Guatemala.

See more photos of pretty Antigua by jumping to flickr.