What Makes Antigua So Special?

1.  The cobblestoned streets, reminiscent of old Europe

2.  The beautifully maintained parque central

3.  The old, ruined cathedrals--seemingly around every corner

3.  The street bands

4.  The fine restaurants

5.  The tourist crowds, local and foreign

6.  The polite, friendly locals

7.  The swarms of American college kids who come here for the highly regarded Spanish schools

8.  The highly regarded Spanish schools

9.  The considerable norteamericano expatriate community

10.  The almost perfect climate--no fans or AC needed!

11.  The beautiful surrounding mountains and volcanos

12.  The bookstores

13.  The cafes and bars

14.  The delicatessens and bakeries

15.  The fast food joints for that burger or pizza fix

16.  The highly developed tourist infrastructure

17.  The tightly controlled vehicle traffic

18.  The tightly controlled, unobtrusive commercial signage

19.  The excellent supermarkets

20.  The close proximity to the nation's capital and airport

Bests and Worsts of Central America 2010

Best Hotels
Guancasco, Gracias (Honduras) $20
King Palace, San Miguel (El Salvador) $28

Best Value Hotels
Villa Florencia, San Salvador Centro (El Salvador) $20
Via Via, Leon (Nicaragua) $17

Best Hotel Restaurants
Barca de Oro, Las Peñitas (Nicaragua)
Perkin Lenca, Perquin (El Salvador)

Best Meals--There were many, but a few stood out:
Perkin Lenca's kitchen had great breakfasts and good value, home-cooked quality dinners
Barca de Oro had the best fish dinner of the trip
Opalaca's (La Esperanza, Honduras) specializes in grilled meat and  I had my best chicken dinner there
Guy with Weber Grill on the street in Juayua, El Salvador served the best carne asada dinner
Turicentro Los Esclavos (Guatemala) had a such a good BLT sandwich I ordered it twice

Best Deli Sandwich 
Epicure, Antigua (Guatemala)


Best Panini Sandwich
Hole in the wall deli in Leon (Nicaragua)


Towns or Cities With Highest Fast Food Chain Saturation
San Miguel (El Salvador)
Antigua and Guatemala City (Guatemala)

Towns or Cities With Few or No Fast Food Chains
Leon and Granada (Nicaragua)

Best Espresso Coffees
La Rosita, Leon (Nicaragua)--owned by an expatriate Louisiana woman
Cafe Condessa, Antigua (Guatemala)

Best Local Brewed Coffees
Guancasco, Gracias (Honduras)
Hotel El Rey, Marcala (Honduras)
Hotel El Mirador, Juayua (El Salvador)

Best Travel Agency
I didn't patronize many of these but I want to plug PlusTravel of Antigua (with offices in Copan Ruinas) for its excellent shuttle bus (minivan) services between Antigua and Copan ($8), Antigua and Chichicastenango ($10 round trip), and many other destination points.  Their drivers are courteous, friendly, and professional while their services are safe and basically on time.

Best Bus Rides
The microbus services in Nicaragua were safe, fast, and nearly hassle free

Worst Bus Rides
The local bus service between Choluteca, Honduras and the El Salvador border at Amatillo is frustratingly crowded and slow

Favorite Medium Size Cities
Leon, Nicaragua
Antigua, Guatemala

Favorite Town
Gracias, Honduras

Favorite Small Towns or Villages
Ataco, El Salvador
Copan Ruinas, Honduras
Perquin, El Salvador

Least Favorite Big Cities
San Salvador, El Salvador
San Miguel, El Salvador

Least Favorite Towns
Ahuachapan, El Salvador

La Esperanza, Honduras

Least Favorite Village
Los Cobanas, El Salvador

Most Affluent Towns or Cities
Antigua, Guatemala
Leon, Nicaragua
Granada, Nicaragua

Most Impoverished Towns or Region
La Ruta de Lenca, from Perquin (El Salvador) all the way to Gracias (Honduras)

Most Outgoing or Friendly People
El Salvador and Nicaragua

Most Reserved People
Guatemala and Honduras

Where I Felt Safest
Leon and Granada, Nicaragua
Antigua, Guatemala

Where I Felt Most Wary About Personal Security
San Salvador and San Miguel, El Salvador

note to readers:  if you are interested in more worsts (or more bests) drop me a comment to that effect