Monterrico

Having spent a (fun) few days in Antigua City it had come to the point where I needed to decide what to do next. Colum and Lucy had already headed off to Lake Atitlan a day earlier, and I was in two minds as to whether to follow them until I heard a little more about the beach town of Monterrico, in all honesty I was sold on the idea as soon as I heard about the place we planned to stay... Johnny's Place.

Johnny's Place

Johnny's Place is a sort of backpacker beach resort. It has a nice little restaurant, two bars, a number of bungalows and a dorm... but most importantly it has a pool (or three) and is slap bang on the beach. When Conny mentioned a pool I was immediately sold and so booked to go with her and another girl we met on the volcano tour - Tara. On arrival I was also pleased to see a beach soccer pitch and a volleyball court out on the sands, and also to hear Saturday night at Johnny's Place is a renownd party night for the area and they were expecting a big one this weekend.

The dorm

The view from the dorm looking onto the bars and the beach

Monterrico is also well known for its beach, firstly because its amazingly picturesque, however secondly because of how dangerous it can be if your not careful. The slope of the beach is a very steep gradient which means huge waves crash directly onto it which then creates a dangerous rip-tide.

The waves were huge and again the photo's don't really do it justice

I've also quickly become friends with some Australian girls, Kate and Mia. They've been staying in Monterrico studying Spanish and battling against the stressful life of living on a beach. I've very quickly learnt the English and Australians have a lot in common, not least a little partying...

Kate, me and Mia


A 'street' in Monterrico

Johnny's Place is run by a German chap called Toby, he had visited Guatemala a couple of years previously and last year decided he wasn't happy with life in Germany and upped sticks to Monterrico where he runs Johnny's Place and also has his fingers in a few real estate pies. He's a really nice guy and bent over backwards to make sure we had a bed sorted for Saturday night (party night) as they were technically fully booked.

Toby telling an unwanted guest to leave