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Antigua,
Guatemala
Biking in Guatemala is the best, because it's
all downhill
From the April 22, 2002 Issue of New York
 It's
not as far as you think, but it's more exotic than you can imagine.
One could easily spend an entire weekend in Antigua, Guatemala, visiting
churches, convents, and museums, and bargaining for textiles in its
bustling markets. But if all Guatemalan blankets look alike to you,
sign on for a more adventurous excursion with Old Town Outfitters.
You'll start early, piling into co-owner Matt Hartell's van for the
ride up into the mountains. At the top, you'll don a helmet for a
two-hour bike ride down, slowing only for a roadside picnic and the
periodic tumulos (speed bumps) that herald sleepy mountain
villages. At the bottom is Lake Atitlán, and the lakeside town of
Panajachel, where you'll board a water taxi to La Casa del Mundo,
a simple lakeside lodge offering incomparable views of the water --
and a well-earned dinner.
-- SANDY SOULE
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Details
Taca (taca.com)
flies to Guatemala City, where Old Town Outfitters (packages
start at $145; 703-855-3058 or bikeguatemala.com)
will pick you up.
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| Photograph: Carl & Ann Purcell/Corbis |
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