Arriving in Antigua, amidst hills and volcanoes, the temperature in the air had changed drastically. After one night there we decided to get on a four hour chicken bus ride down to the coast, to a beach town known for surfing and turtle hatchings called Monterrico.
The feeling there was completely different to the coast of Mexico and Belize. First off, the sand there was black. Just like the beaches I’ve seen before in Italy, Hawaii and the West Coast of New Zealand. Secondly, there were no western tourists. All the tourists there seemed to be Guatemalan! Maybe because it was weekend and holidays, but there was for sure not much english speaking or places accepting US dollars like you would find in the Yucatan.
There was not much to do there other than sipping beer in a hammock or go watch the tiny turtles at the sanctuary, but it was peaceful, cheap and a pleasant athmosphere there. The highlight was watching the sunrise and sunset and just relax on the beach in between, charging up for the next days that would be spent in the colder city of Antigua.