Counting the collective travels of the La Cuadra staff pretty much covers the globe, and we’ve all learned – individually – that there is nothing better than knowing an Insider wherever you land. We’ve all, embarrassed, wandered from hostel to bar, with the Book of Lies (formerly known to us as The Lonely Planet) packed in our day bag. We’ve all found ourselves ducking into alleyways to recheck the 1 by 2 inch map of downtown Whereverthefuck on page 763 of the 1975 edition of Africa on a Shoestring that we found in the used bookstore five bouts of dysentery ago. Hell, we once knew a Dutch guy in Peru who was so horrified to be caught with his LP, that he put a brown paper bag, elementary school book cover on it. We’ve all suffered through the arrogance of the Three Months In Latin America and Thinks He’s Fuckin’ Che Douchebag a few bunks away who loudly sings the praises of his superior guide, (be it Fodor, Moon or Rough.) And we remember looking down at our own guide book, then at his mouth and having that eureka moment of “Round Peg / Round Hole” insight that makes travel so worth while.
What we mean to say, is that we’ve lived this life and we know that guides are utterly necessary – but the also totally suck. And as we’ve lived in Antigua, Guatemala for years and have benefited over our jaunts from locals who gave us the skinny in towns from Canada to Kathmandu, we figured we’d give back a little bit by publishing The Insider with every issue of La Cuadra. It’s a guide to the town’s bars, restaurants, hotels, stores and other businesses presented with a hand drawn map by local artist, Mario Leal.
If you’re planning to come to town, drop us a line and maybe we can help you find a hotel, bar, restaurant, tour guide… you name it. And if we don’t have the info, we can probably find someone who does. If you’re already in town, drop on by Café No Sé and say hey.