We landed in Guatemala City, capital of Guatemala, shortly after noon. We promptly boarded a shuttle for Antigua and didn't look back. After traversing the busy city streets of the capital and gradually climbing up the winding hillsides that seem to fence in the chaos, we were surprised that about forty minutes from the airport we had found ourselves in a completely different world: La Antigua Guatemala which literally translates to "the old Guatemala" or "the ancient Guatemala."
A gem of Spanish colonial architecture, Antigua was founded in 1527 as the third capital of Guatemala largely due to Maya uprisings. Throughout its history it has been repeatedly destroyed by volcanoes, earthquakes, lahars (landslides) and floods and yet rebuilt time and time again. Although no longer the administrative capital of the country, it is in essence the tourism capital and a mandatory stop for any traveler in the area.
Antigua is chock full of landmarks. It has countless cathedrals, many of which come in the form of preserved ruins and many of which are fully functional, still standing places of worship. Its bumpy, uneven cobblestone streets slither and snake through angular
cuadras of buildings squeezed together without so much as a glimpse of an alleyway, lawn or garden in between. The
Arco de Santa Catalina, built in the 17th century, serves as one of the most iconic landmarks of the city and, in our case, as an indispensable aid in orienting the fresh tourist.
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| Arco de Santa Catalina |
We spent our first two days in Antigua as an orientation to Guatemala, familiarizing ourselves with the somewhat tourist-saturated local culture and the three massive volcanoes that dominate the hilly landscape around the city:
Volcán de Agua, Volcán de Fuego and
Volcán Acatenango. On our second day a bus tour brought us around the city to see some of the most impressive church ruins, a coffee plantation and the famous
Cerro de la Cruz, another landmark that overlooks the city and puts both the entire city and the perspective of the Spanish colonists into scope.
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View of Antigua from Cerro de la Cruz (hill of the cross)
Volcán de Agua (inactive) is in the background, clouds covering the top |
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| La Merced church |
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| Church ruin |
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| Matt and his favorite beans - coffee, that is |
As we were to learn with most major cities in Guatemala, the
mercado central is a mandatory stop. The hoards of gringos disappear and are replaced by locals plying fresh produce and other food in the open air market, and the
comedores have simply the best prices in town to get a filling, delicious meal. Most day-to-day items can be purchased here, including clothing, toiletries, household cleaners, tools and other supplies, but we had to stick to the fresh fruit section. When you can buy a couple pounds of mangos and bananas for about one US dollar, you'll find yourself furiously eating the fruit in order to give you a reason to hurry up and go back to buy more.
