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Staycations: Why They are the New Way to Travel
We hear the word “staycation” thrown around quite a lot. I actually didn’t even understand what that was. But obviously, during Covid, all of a sudden we got a pretty good idea of what type of vacation it is, especially when you were going crazy being locked up in Guatemala. We definitely were on a massive lockdown.
I don’t know how it works in other parts of the world, it is different for everybody, but we had almost three or four months that we had curfews. I mean, it was actually kind of fun. In the beginning, it was a great adventure. But then they started to close up the departamentos, which are like boroughs or counties. We weren’t allowed to even leave our county, and our airport was closed for over eight months.
So there was definitely no international travel. So the second day opened up these inner country lockdowns, and we were able to go into different departments.
My Staycation in Guatemala City
We decided to go on a staycation. We live in Antigua, and Guatemala City is the main capital. And from our home, it’s about one hour’s drive.
And it’s quite different, like, where we live is this colonial little colonial town. The entire town of Antigua is literally ten blocks squared, but it’s really beautiful and whatnot, but you need to get out once in a while. So we head to Guatemala City, the capital, which is about an hour away.
It’s not the prettiest thing, but it’s still a city. So there are a lot of cool things to do. So there’s this one little area called Cuatro Grados, and it’s this tiny little area where they have these really modern buildings and really hip restaurants, and it’s a really cool street to walk on. So I found a really cool Airbnb right in the heart of this place. And it was in this big, tall building.
So we were on the 15th floor overlooking the entire city. And it was just so fun. It was me, my husband, and our youngest son, because our oldest son actually went out with his buddies in the city that same weekend. So he didn’t stay with us, but he had his own fun staycation in Guatemala City as well. But that’s a whole other topic.
Our Airbnb
So me and my husband and our youngest son, I ended up just really having a blast. Our Airbnb was right in the heart of everything, so we didn’t have to use a car for anything, which in Guatemala City to get from one area to another, you do need a car.
But we literally parked it. It was a two-night, three-day stay, and we did not see it from the minute we parked it to the minute we had to leave. So we were able to walk to all the cool little restaurants, and there were pizza places and bakeries it was just the idea of going out and having this cool staycation just to be able to walk around and explore a new area that we don’t have back where we live very Metropolitan.
Cuatro Grados Norte
There’s this really cool diner that resembles a 50s place and I actually believe it was from the 50s, like your typical team 50s USA style diner that has the best milkshakes in all of Guatemala city.
So we ended up going there and my husband used to tell me that that’s where he grew up, literally going with his parents when he was younger. So it’s kind of a nostalgic thing as well. And the area Cuatro Grado Norte itself is like three or four blocks of restaurants and galleries and outdoor bars and cafes and it was just lovely walking around and we also brought our doggie with us. It was pet friendly, it was kid-friendly, it was adult-friendly and it was just what our souls needed. Something different, something totally new even though it wasn’t that new.
Conclusion
So I don’t know, have you guys ever explored a staycation idea? You don’t even have to go far. You could do it in your own town but maybe in an area that you normally wouldn’t visit, so go check it out. Make every day an adventure. It doesn’t have to be far and wide. It could be right there at your fingertips and if you don’t have enough ideas I have lots of ideas for you completely for free.
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