Fairly uneventful flight to Antigua via Mexico City but I was absolutely stuffed. Had only had 1 hours sleep in the last 30 hours. Got to my hotel and went to bed to get some much needed sleep. Woke next morning feeling refreshed and eager to make the most of my short time in Antigua and also to do as much as I could before the expected afternoon rain. A great breakfast of fresh fruit and coffee, and did a little planning while I te. As it was a Sunday many places were still shut and the city seemed quiet. Antigua is a very historic place and was once the capital of Guatemala. As a result there are many ruins throughout the place, many of which you can only look at from the outside. Surprising the cathedral is quite modest inside. It is also very touristy, but not in a tacky way. Endless choices of restaurants, coffee shops, bars etc. Because of the cobblestone streets and the multi coloured buildings it gave me a strong feeling of Trinidad in Cuba. I walked up to Cera de la Cruz which is a cross on a hill overlooking Antigua. A great view of the city and the volcano which looms over it. Unfortunately there was low cloud over the peak of the volcano today. Back in the city found a place for lunch that was busy and looked interesting. I was told there was no menu and the choice was chicken or pork. Opted for the pork and my meal arrived soon after. BBQ'd pork with a coleslaw and potato salad side, some tortillas and a glass of cold milky looking substance which was pretty flavourless. I then noticed that other people were getting meals that were different to mine. Not sure what the go was, maybe one choice for the locals and another for the white gringos! I was happy with my meal so all was good. I just kept strolling the streets. There were more people around by now, but it was a very relaxed feeling. Plenty of art and craft shops and street vendors. Back to the hotel and my new roommate arrived soon after. A young Aussie guy from Melbourne. Our group meeting was at 6pm. Very diverse group in terms of age and nationalities. Aussies, Brits, Kiwi, Swiss, Canada, Bulgaria. Will see how we go. Our leader is a young Guatemalean girl, Mariel, and this is her first trip as a leader. We headed of for dinner in drizzling rain but by the time we were heading home it was steady rain, and hence we were all quite wet by the time we got back. We have a 4am start tomorrow and a long day ahead so we all hit the sack as soon as we got back.