Ah the weekend!
Today we visited Antigua Guatemala. The old capital of Guatemala that was founded in 1542 (some 480 years ago) and abandoned in 1776 after the third mayor earthquake, the Santa Marta earthquake, damaged most of the state offices at the time. The city remained almost exactly as it is today for 200 years!
It's quite exciting to see the green flags of the state of Sacatepéquez that signal the entrance to the city and the Agua volcano in the distance.
The very last bit of asphalt before entering the city limits.
everybody looks really happy upon arrival!
After this point, all the streets are made of stone. Why? you ask. It's because Antigua Guatemala was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979, and required to preserve roads and architecture the way they are for its cultural significance. As you can imagine, they are a bit bumpy, but they have a very nice appeal to them and we certainly don't mind the bumpy ride to the hotel since we're going to be on foot most of the time anyway.
The right side of the previous picture has some water fountains. The sound of running water create a beautiful, almost zen garden atmosphere. They are covered in brightly colored Bougainvilleas.
And behind us, our very first rooftop terrace and a closer look of the Agua volcano on the horizon.
We had a good idea of putting something in the belly before spending the afternoon walking (very smart idea if you ask me). We didn't want to be too stuffed though, so we decided to have something light and a tiny bit spicy.
Aguachile!
This dish is typically made in northwest Mexico: Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Sonora and Baja California. It's made from shrimp in lime juice, chili peppers, purple onions and garnished with perfectly ripe avocado and freshly ground pepper.
right next to where we were eating was this enormous cactus. I got a couple of shots of it to try to capture its size.
And a papaya tree with a few baby papayas on the way.
De-Li-Cious! (and light)
After a bite to eat, we decided to head to the town square.
The first building we spotted was City hall or in Spanish Palacio del Ayuntamiento de Antigua Guatemala or Casa de Cabildo . It was built between 1740 and 1743 and did not suffer any of the earthquakes that destroyed the rest of the city. It still holds the mayor's office to this day.
It's architecture features double archways and tuscan columns that are perfect to take pictures of during the day or at night.
This is a side view of the building so you can get a better view of the archways. Pretty right?
Right next to city hall you can see the Agua (water) volcano again in the back. It's a surprisingly clear day and the Agua volcano has not been shrouded in clouds for a second. A sign of good fortune!
As I made my way to the central park toward the volcano, I found the San José cathedral. A Baroque cathedral built in 1680 after a previous construction was demolished due to earthquake damage.
Across from the cathedral is central park.
A calm little plaza with cool temperature full of life, children, pigeons and a lovely fountain in the center.
A pretty young girl was having a photo shoot before her quince ceremony, which is sort coming of age ritual in Latin America, similar to a sweet 16 in the US. A curious child in mayan dress wanted to see what was going on. Maybe she thought it was a princess?
On the opposite side of the park was the ice cream man with a clever ice cream truck made to resemble the famous, colorful chicken buses used by the locals.
oh look at that! I found my keys
too bad they've been frozen into the sidewalk. Now I've definitely lost my bitcoins forever and ever.
oh well. sorry mr taxman.
Whew!
Lots of walking around can make you thirsty. Luckily, across the street I sense a bar... I can smell it.
sure enough, there it is! My senses never fail me.
This, my friends, is Unicorn Puke. A brightly colored bar with friendly staff that serves all sorts of alcoholic concoctions with funny names. You can have a round of electric blue shots while all your mates cheer you on, or you can have a sour apple cocktail garnished with a sour gummy strip on a skewer in all colors of the rainbow, and you can drink it out of a porcelain skull, or a Mexican sombrero if your heart desires.
Or you can bee like me and order a plain ol' #beer
Gallo. The most Guatemalan and common ale there is.
I decided to chill here for a while the ladies visited the market next door to buy hats and gifts and haggle with the merchants.
I left Carlos, the bartender, a priceless tip
"Buy Bitcoin"
His life will never be the same after today.
After my refreshing beverage, I decided to visit and art gallery in a cool basement down the street.
Art Gallery
The art gallery was quite nice. A lot of Spanish themed paintings like Don Quijote and some bulls and toreadors. A few mayan themed paintings as well, like a mayan priest during a ceremony and some mayan glyphs and eclipses also.
It's bull season everyone :)
After that, we walked around the city for a bit longer, checked out a few more ruins and enjoyed the rest of the shops.
The afternoon sun was already starting to set. So we needed to say goodbye to our beloved Agua volcano (and Antigua Guatemala too).
But not before snapping a couple of late afternoon shots of the towering giant.
It's nice to get away from the bustling city for a change, even if that means spending the afternoon in another city full of tour busses and folks wearing backpacks and Birkenstock sandals. Being able to get your mind off the usual day to day activities can be quite refreshing. Plus, spending time with family is always a treat.
I hope you've also had an amazing weekend.
Please let me know what YOU were up to :)
All photos in this post are my own; taken with my Samsung Galaxy S20 FE.