Image above: Our guide, Juan, showing us the Robusta (on the left) and the Arabica (on the right) coffee plants they hybridise for the Guatemalan climate so they get the best quality Arabica bean and strong Robusta roots. [Tuesday 11 October]
With no time passing at all, we reached Antigua which was the break point between both parts of the trip and a welcome break from the constant unpacking and repacking by staying in this UNESCO World Heritage site for three nights.
Unfortunately, being rainy season it rained all the time I was there which didn’t show the town off at its best. That’s not denying the ruined beauty of the various colonial churches (from numerous earthquakes) but after awhile all that rain got monotonous – even for a Londoner like myself!
The inclement weather aside, there were some great finds. Firstly the chocolate and coffee at Fernando’s Kaffee as well as the hospitality meant that it was easily the breakfast place of choice. And the hidden courtyard in Cafe Contessa was a relaxing place for a delicious lunch.
Having somehow dropped my camera three times by this point, with the last drop shattering the filter, I stumbled across a pro photography place who helped me remove the damaged filter ring. After various attempts we ended up sawing through the ring, being ultra careful not to damage the primary lens, to finally twist it off – hurrah!
Best of all when I insisted on giving him money for the work he had done, with Guatemalan hospitality, he was surprised but graciously accepted it saying that a beer would’ve been fine.
Saving the final and best find for last was the half-day tour of the Filadelphia coffee plantation where our guide, Juan, showed from they made coffee literally from end to end. Starting with in the nursery where they create the hybrid Arabica and Robusta coffee plants, to exploring the plantation itself to find the elusive red ripen beans for harvesting, to the innumerable steps of wet processing those beans, to finally roasting them and creating that magical (and strong) cup of coffee.
Having picked up Brian for this second leg it was onwards to Tikal for our final stop in Guatemala before crossing into Belize.
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