Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Antigua - Views and Cerro del Cruz
We had six choices for breakfast. I chose the omelet and Tom the pancakes - very good. Slept great last night with no roosters. The traffic driving down the cobblestone streets sounded kind of like thunder, but with the noise muffled by the thick walls and the fan, there wasn't much outside noise.
No big agenda today, just wandering around checking out the cool town. Antigua was the capital of colonial Guatemala until 1773, when massive destruction from earthquakes necessitated a relocation to what is now Guatemala City. Many of the ruined buildings remain and are quite striking, especially with the backdrop of volcanoes that surround the city.
Volcan Agua emerges
The first thing we did was walk over to the iconic Arco de Santa Catalina, where I took way too many photos, as one does. The arch is all that remains of a convent built here in the 1600s. We then continued on to the nearby, pretty Iglesia de La Merced. We wanted to go in, but the sanctuary was closed for some kind of service. We'll have to try again later.
Arco de Santa Catalina
We meandered around town, checking out ruins and volcanoes, and made our way to the local Inguat tourist information office, where we got a better map and I inquired as to the safety of walking up Cerro del Cruz, as in the past there have been robberies on the path, and was told it's safe to do so.
Random ruin
And another
Hermitage of El Carmen
Iglesia y Convento de la Compania de Jesus
After much wandering, we enjoyed one of the best views of the three volcanoes surrounding Antigua from the balcony right outside our hotel room door. We spent some time just admiring the view, then slathered up with sunscreen before going back out. The altitude here is over 5,000 feet, so the sun is pretty strong.
Volcan Agua from our balcony
Volcans Fuego and Acatenango
Taco Bell is very popular in Guatemala, and the Taco Bell considered the prettiest in the world is right here in Antigua, so we figured we'd check it out. It's in an old colonial building with exposed brick and stucco walls and is nicely decorated – definitely the prettiest one we've ever seen, and a good value. We got a couple of combo meals - taco, big burrito, french fries, and a drink - for 35Q ea.
Taco Bell grand entrance
See, I told you it was a Taco Bell
In the afternoon, we took a walk up Cerro del Cruz, a hilltop north of Antigua with great views of the city and Volcan Agua to the south. It's only about a 2 km walk from Parque Central. There were several tourist police posted along the pathway, so I can see why the route is safe now. The view was hazy but still awesome. A lot of the haze was coming from the continuously erupting Volcan Fuego. Very nice.
Pathway up Cerro del Curz
Volcan Agua from Cerro del Cruz
Jana and Tom
Kiddie ride at the ruins
We picked up some decent cerveza called Moza at the supermercado around the corner from our hotel, then scrubbed off the sunscreen and hung out on the awesome hotel balcony for a while before heading to Antigua Brewing Co. for dinner. They have quite nice seating on the terrace upstairs. We tried the coffee stout, Excelentisima stout, a bacon cheeseburger, and a pulled pork sandwich. All good, but yikes on the U.S. prices. Antigua is not as cheap as the rest of Guatemala.
Angtigua Brewing Company
Maximon, the drink-swigging Mayan saint
The beers
I overpaid for four more beers and a bottle of water at the ripoff tienda next door to our hotel, then we went back to the room to make a hotel reservation for Panajachel, our next destination. Forget what I said about the room being quiet. They were rocking out at the nearby pizza joint tonight! The partying went late, but we drank our beers and willed ourselves to sleep around midnight.
Tom
Goetz's Homepage
|