The Charms of Antigua

Antigua is a fun city to stroll, despite the rough cobblestone streets.  Drivers move slowly, there are actually sidewalks, and best of all is the main pedestrian stroll, lined with markets, shops and eateries, that links the Yellow Church plaza to the main Parque Central, the heart of every Latin city.

Antigua's main pedestrian walkway.  Volcan Agua, hazy in the distance, dominates the town.

View from the Yellow Church plaza, toward Volcan Agua.

On Sundays the pedestrian thoroughfare fills with street performers, vendors, artists painting cityscapes or portraits, and folks selling everything from bubbles to foam toys, scarves,  jewelry, and fruit or sweets.

Colorful touches that add charm to the city.

Check 'em out, Dad! This street must be reserved for motorcycles, or motos as they are called here, which seem to be more popular  (and would be more affordable) than cars. Helmets optional.

Colorful Antigua buildings.

Bougainvillea, always a lovely city sight.

Vibrant mixed pinks of the bougainvillea.

Inside one of the handicraft markets in Antigua.  The market is divided into a myriad of small areas, each crammed full of colorful woven items and other fun stuff and staffed by eager vendors.  The first words you need to learn are "no gracias" and "solo mirando, gracias"  (no thanks, just looking thanks).

Common street commerce.  Sit on the church steps, see who walks by and needs a hackey sack.  Hey, you never know.

Fun story about the picture above,  a vendor scene on the church steps just off the main park.  I was lolling here watching the world go by, and I noticed that the woman in the white shirt (far left in pic) with the green bowl of sweets was not selling anything. And she looked out of place--nicely but impractically dressed in heels and print pants--and like she was not used to selling.  Small boys were passing by, yelling out their wares, selling doughnuts at a brisk clip, and she made nary a peep, and no sales.

First I felt bad for her.  Then I began to worry for her, as the day slowly ticked by and people filed out of the church, and no one bought anything. I pictured her starting the day, laboring over her little confections, dusting on cinammon and sprinkles, inserting the tiny spoons, with so much hope for her day's labors...  Maybe if I bought one, "seeded the pot" so to speak, others would see that her wares were going fast and they'd better get in on the action, no?  Like I could single-handedly launch her into small entrepreneurship!  I approached her and asked what she was selling, but this seemed to fluster her and me, and did not enlighten me as to her product.  No matter, I bought one anyway, dusted with canela (mainly because I know that word--cinnamon) for 5Q (about $0.65).  As I headed to the park to enjoy my treat, I brought the tiny spoon to my lips in anticipation and...Oh hideousness!  Oh inedible grossness!  It was a cup of pure, unadulterated marshmallow fluff, squirted into a plastic cup (splat!) and decorated with chemicals.  Purely disgusting!  I fake-ate until I thought I was far enough away to be well out of view, and then I hid it deep in a trash barrel, where I hoped even the opportunistic dogs would not be able to find it.  Two blocks later, I passed another woman, selling the exact same thing.  She was down to three cups left, and energetically calling out "merengue, merengue!" to the kids who passed by.   I was not tempted.  

This enterprising child darted over to stand in my photo and request a Quetzal for her services.  Who doesn't need a cute kid standing on their tapestry pictures, duh?  (Yes, I paid, 1Q= $ 0.13)

Detail of a wall hanging quilt I enjoyed.

View of the Parque Central and the main cathedral.

Guatemalan flag flying high over the Parque Central.

There was a lovely walk to a viewpoint of town. Looking down on the striking Yellow Church and it's attendant plaza.

Many of the old buildings in Antigua are in various stages of disrepair, after the numerous earthquakes, but the lovely Yellow Church is still in use and looking good.

This church, on the other hand, is not looking so great. Note how all the saints are missing their heads, and the columns don't line up!

You can see the cracks and attempts to repair them. This building is not in use, fortunately, but it still tells the city's story.

In further states of decline, but beautiful...

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One attraction of Antigua, but also a source of its past destruction, are the volcanoes that ring the city.
This is a view from Cerro de la Cruz, a hill above town.

Volcan Agua dominates town to the left.  On the right, you can see Volcan Feugo, which is active and puts up an impressive column of smoke every 20 minutes or so. Just to the right of that you can see Volcan Acatenango, which at 13,041 feet was the tallest of the three and the one that I climbed.

Watching the sun drop between Volcans Fuego and Acatenango, from my rooftop dinner place.  Note the double summit of Acatenango.  When I climbed, we reached that saddle after a long, pumice-y ascent.  It was another 45 minutes of "step up one, slide back half one" from there to the broad, football field of a summit.