Antigua, Guatemala

When I tell people I went to Antigua, everyone thinks of this island in the West Indies.

I haven't been to that Antigua, but I find it almost impossible to think that it is any more heavenly than Antigua, Guatemala.  As I found out, "antigua" means "ancient" in Spanish, which makes sense as Antigua was the old capital of Guatemala.  Unfortunately, this cute little down in the highlands of Guatemala is rather earthquake prone...probably due to the several volcanoes surrounding the city.  And after a few big ones, the capital was moved to today's Guatemala City.

And today, Antigua is a tiny but very charming city paved with stone roadways, amazing ruins and lots of interesting history.  However, being in the highands (and near the equator), it does have a rainy and dry season.  We visited during the slower, rainy season with the idea that rainy in Guatemala was the same as "rainy" in California.  And as we all know, "rainy" in California means little sprinkles.  Occassionally.  Not so in Guatemala.  It really rains.  A lot.  Go figure.

It totally rained the entire first day.  Totally incomprehensible.  I kept looking outside.  Very confused.

But the rain just makes exploration more adventurous.

La Merced Church.

Stayed at Casa Encantada.  Super cute hotel with a rock-path waterway to your room!

But the next day was awesome and perfect for our walking tour of the city with Elizabeth Bell.  Originally from Palo Alto, Elizabeth moved to Antigua when she was 14 (Antigua had only one phone line at the time for the entire city!), and now devotes a good portion of her time restoring historical sites around the city.  And provides awesome walking tours of the city.

We saw so much in just one day!  I've never felt so educated and productive on vacation!

 Parque Central fountain

We went into a crypt!

And visited a Mayan jade museum.

Learned about our Mayan birth animals.  I was a turtle!

These crystal gorillas were so adorable.

Later that day, we hiked up Pacaya, an active volcano near Antigua.

And made some friends along the way.

Vulcan Pacaya.  That's the top.  They're not take people up there anymore since the eruption in May.

The mudslides prevented us from going to see Lake Atitlan...but that just meant we got a couple more days in Antigua...which meant coffee farm tour at Finca Filadelfia.  It was everything I hoped for.  Arabica? Robusto?  What does it all mean??  Now, I know!

Perfectly red coffee beans.

Coffee at the end of the tour!

Iglesia San Francisco courtyard ruins.  This was by far the most impressive church we saw in Antigua.  The paintings are art are incredibly impressive and the paintings actually tell the story of Jesus and the crucification.  Like a storybook!  Pictures were not allowed in the church, but this is the view from the enormous courtyard.  I think this was once a living area.

Also noteworthy here is that Guatemala's only patron saint, Hermano Pedro is located here.  And the church has an awesome exhibit where we learned all about him. 

But sadly, this was the last activity on our Antigua tour, but happily we were off to Tikal the next day!