Thursday, February 21, 2019
Antigua - Las Capuchinas and La Merced
I finally tried the pancakes this a.m. instead of the eggs – fluffy and delicious. This is our 14th day in Guatemala/Honduras and our 14th day of delightful weather! We'd only gone into one ruined building when we were in Antigua before, so today I chose some more to see.
Handyman's dream, a real fixer upper
The Convento de las Capuchinas was the largest of Antigua's convents in its heydey and is now considered by many the city's most beautiful ruins. It was founded in 1736 by nuns from Madrid and destroyed by earthquakes later the same century. It is well worth the 40Q (5 bucks) entrada.
Convento de las Capuchinas
Inside Las Capuchinas
Las Capuchinas courtyard
Emerging upstairs
From above
There's a nice museum in the upstairs portion of Las Capuchinas, with exhibits of religious life in colonial times and what must be some VERY expensive artwork. There's information in the museum in Spanish, English, and Chinese. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed, but I could take all the pictures I wanted in the rest of the place!
After touring the convent, we poked our heads in the Jade Museum, had some Taco Bell for lunch, then returned to the hotel for a relaxing siesta on our last real day of vacation.
Outside the Jade Museum
In the mid-afternoon, we visited La Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Senora de La Merced. First we entered La Merced's sanctuary, which was closed last week when we were in Antigua. Its baroque facade has been restored and is painted a striking yellow.
Jana at La Merced
La Merced sanctuary
The altar
Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy
After the sanctuary, we entered the convent portion of La Merced, which has been left in ruins. It's not extensive, but price appropriate at 15Q ($2). These ruins are best known for the giant fountain, almost 90 feet in diameter, which was once used for breeding fish. Today only the top tier was full.
El Convento de La Merced
Jana and el Fuente de Pescados
Fountain not full
There would be good volcano and city views from the upper level of La Merced if it wasn't cloudy. Too bad. The views were much better last week. Glad we came to Antigua twice!
Convent top terrace
Fun-size fountain
It seems like every time we're in Latin America, we unexpectedly encounter a parade, so on this trip, I've been expecting one the whole time, but surprisingly, one never occurred. We did at least happen by some stored parade floats, however...
Floats for Semana Santa
Ready for Holy Week
Then we came upon a cool store called Nim Po't, Centro de Textiles Tradicionales, where we were able to look at souvenirs and art (with marked prices) for as long as we wanted, without ever being hassled. We didn't find anything we couldn't live without but very much enjoyed the looking.
El Borracho (The Drunk)
No, don't drink that!
Interesting art
Bodacious bird
"Rainbow Madonna," $6,372 - What???
Back at the hotel, we showered and did some packing, then went up to the balcony, where we could just make out the poofs of ash from Volcan Fuego. For dinner, we had planned to eat at The Londoner Pub again, but there was live music tonight and it was awfully crowded, so we went back to the 7A Norte Pizzeria for its nice peaceful atmosphere and good pizza.
Tom
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