Antigua, Guatemala: Beautiful, Historic… and Energetically Heavy AF

This isn’t going to be your typical blog post about Antigua.

I’m not here to tell you where to eat, which volcano to climb, or how photogenic the arches are.

I’m here to tell you something nobody else will:

Antigua, Guatemala is one of the most energetically heavy places I’ve ever been. And if you’re a highly sensitive person, you need to know that before you go.

Ok wo here’s how it started.

i was called to Guatemala

Not like “ooh that looks nice on Instagram” called. I’m taking called called. That pull in your gut that doesn’t need logic or a pros-and-cons list.

The kind you don’t question when you’re used to following intuition.

I didn’t even book a place to stay. That’s how confident I was that everything would flow.

(I talk more about this whole “going where you feel called” thing in my free living book, Solo Travel as a Spiritual Journey for Her).

Everyone said Antigua was magical. Cobblestone streets. Volcano views. Colonial charm.

I was soooo looking forward to it!

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that a year and a half ago I arrived in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico for a weekend—and loved it so much I ended up staying for a couple months. It felt so alive. Rich with indigenous culture and ceremony, vibrant and grounded.

I thought Antigua might be something like that.

And visually, it is stunning.

But energetically?

Something was very, very off.

Getting to Antigua was chaotic to say the least.

No shuttles from the airport (which no blog I read mentioned, so thanks for that internet)… also 99% of the cars with tinted windows which felt sketchy at first until I realized it was a normal thing there.

So I stayed open. I figured it out. I met kind people who I took an uber with (Paola if you ever read this, I am forever grateful for your trust and kindness, also, say hi to your mom for me 🫶).

I felt held.

It was a great unexpected start to my trip…

That’s why what happened next caught me so off guard.

As soon as I arrived in Antigua, something felt… dead. Despite it being a busy tourist spot, the energy felt flat. Heavy. Stuck.

I walked around looking for a place to stay and I just couldn’t connect with the land.

Eventually I found a nice space and crashed for the night. I actually had really good sleep that first night but I did wake up in the middle of the night

And let me tell you: that silence was dense.

Heavy and uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t name.

The energy was just thick.

I tried to shake it off the next morning by going to a yoga class.

Maybe I just needed some time to adjust, you know?

I felt great after yoga, so I decided to make that a self love kind of day.

Scheduled a massage that same afternoon which I was really excited for… I needed to pamper myself.

The service itself was really good but the space the spa was in had a very funky energy I didn’t like at all.

Despite the relaxing background music and the smell of incense burning, it felt embrujado. Bewitched. Off.

And from there on, everything started to get even weirder.

I kept walking around, shopping, trying to settle in but my body was tense the entire time, even after that massage.

That night I couldn’t sleep very well even though I felt exhausted.

Day 3 began with the same intention. Another yoga class to keep me grounded and a walk by the mercado but no matter where I went or what I did, nothing had changed.

I started to realize I didn’t need more time to adjust.

At this point I felt like I was being followed. Not physically but energetically. Like something was draining me, pulling at me. Vampire energy is the best way I can describe it.

That night I also heard voices. Not street noise. Not neighbors. Voices. And I felt presences in my space… spirits that were not pleasant.

That’s when I knew:

I booked a flight for that same afternoon and got the hell out.

I left Antigua because my body said no.

But after I left, I got curious.

Turns out, Antigua is documented as one of the most haunted places in Guatemala.

Did you know that?

Every single thing I read about it before arriving talked about how magical and beautiful it is. Not one mentioned any of this.

The city has been destroyed by earthquakes multiple times. It’s built on centuries of colonial violence, religious oppression, and death.

I knew this before arriving, what I didn’t know was how alive the weight of it still is.

This land is holding layers of unprocessed trauma.

And I felt it. Every bit of it.

That’s how energy works. You don’t need the history lesson to feel the truth of a place.

And for someone like me (someone who feels energy the way other people feel temperature) it was too much.

I’ve been back for five days now, and I still can’t fully make sense of what happened.

Why was I called there if it wasn’t good for me?

But maybe this wasn’t all about me.

Maybe I was called there to talk about this because no one else is.

Nobody tells highly sensitive people what it actually feels like to be there.

Maybe that’s why I had to go.

To be the person who tells other HSPs what to expect beyond the arches and volcanos.

Because here’s what I know now:

Leaving didn’t mean I failed. It meant I listened.

Trusting my body over the guidebook wasn’t weakness. It was wisdom.

And honoring my NO (even when I didn’t fully understand it yet) was the most aligned thing I could’ve done.

Maybe the call wasn’t about the destination at all.

Maybe it was about the story I’d bring back.

Ever since I started my spiritual journey, I’ve been moving through life with the belief that:

“If I’m here, it must be for a reason. I’m here to find out what it is.“

And the truth is, it usually serves me. It keeps me open and curious and it’s led me to some of the most beautiful, unexpected moments of my life and to the most profound self-realizations.

But this time was different.

For years, I stayed longer than I should have in relationships, situations and places that felt heavy because my Scorpio side is addicted to diving deep into myself.

The reason I know myself so well is because I have always been willing to put myself through the fire if that means I will get the diamond from the ashes…

And I have.

But it has cost me absolutely everything for over a decade.

It wasn’t until this morning that I remembered almost one year ago having a conversation with Spirit where I prayed to stop learning from pain and learn from beautiful things instead.

I didn’t want to keep breaking myself open to grow. I didn’t want wisdom to cost me that much anymore.

I wanted a gentler way. A softer path. Growth that didn’t require me to bleed for it.

And I believe Antigua was Spirit’s answer.

I think this trip wasn’t about Antigua at all.

It was about proving to myself (and Spirit) that I’ve actually changed and am ready to learn in new ways.

Your body is a tuning fork.

I’ve been doing this work for years. I know how to discern what’s mine and what I’m picking up. I know how to ground, clear, and protect my energy.
And Antigua was still too heavy for me to stay.

So if you’re just starting to realize you’re highly sensitive—or if you don’t even know yet that you’re absorbing the energy of places, this is for you.

When a place carries heavy energy, you’re going to feel it. Not because you’re weak or dramatic, but because you’re wired to pick up on things other people miss.

If your chest tightens, your shoulders lock up, your dreams get dark, and you can’t relax no matter how hard you try… That’s your body giving you information.

• You don’t owe a place your energy just because you flew there.
• You don’t have to stay just because everyone else loves it.
• You don’t have to understand why yet.

You just have to honor what you feel.

Antigua is beautiful. I won’t take that away from it.

Some people thrive there and maybe you would too.

I’m not here to scare you. I’m just here to tell you what nobody else will.

If you’re highly sensitive, trust your body. Not the Instagram posts or the travel blogs.

Not even your own need to understand why yet.

Your energy is yours to protect.

Your boundaries are yours to honor.

And leaving isn’t always quitting…

Sometimes it’s clarity. Sometimes it’s evolution.

If you’ve ever experienced anything like this anywhere in the world, I would love to hear about it!