The Land of the Eternal Spring

Saturday, June 30^th

A driver from our hotel came and picked us up at the airport to take us to Antigua, a small colonial town in the highlands. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to look around Guatemala City because it is one of the most unsafe places for tourists due the aforementioned drug cartels. However, we were able to catch glimpses of the city from the highway. One of the first things that I noticed is how green everything is! There are trees, vines, bushes, and flowers everywhere! The country motto: “El País de la Enterna Primavera” or “The Land of the Eternal Spring” is definitely true. One of the other things that I noticed is the prevalence of American fast food chains here. Within five minutes, I had seen Burger King, MacDonald’s, and Dominos. I feel like I shouldn’t be surprised, but I still am.

Within an hour, I was in Antigua! It is a beautiful and quaint town full of Spanish inspired architecture. It actually used to be the capital of Guatemala until an earthquake in 1773, which destroyed most of the town and prompted the capital to be moved to Guatemala City. We made a quick stop at a local supermarket (which was actually equivalent to what we would think of as a small grocery store), and I was able to buy a small cell phone thanks to our driver, David, who was kind enough to translate for us. We couldn’t check into our hotel room at Hotel Camino Real until 1:00pm, so we set out to Parque Central, the town’s main square. In the middle of the square, there were a number of lush green trees, benches, and a large mermaid fountain. Native Guatemalans and tourists alike were wandering around and taking in the sights. Surrounding the square are old colonial structures that include Palacio de los Capitanes Generales (Captain-Generals’ Palace), which is in the process of being restored, the Catedral de Santiago, the Palacio del Ayuntamiento (City Hall), and a large building with an indoor market and various restaurants and shops. 

We walked around for a little while before stumbling upon a walking tour led by expatriate, Elizabeth Bell. Her father took her to Antigua in the ‘60s while on assignment for Sunset magazine and never went back to the States. Now, she is a local scholar and tour guide. To start off our tour, we walked through City Hall and the Catedral de Santiago. The cathedral was one of the buildings wrecked in the 1773 earthquake and only half of it has been restored. The restored portion was beautiful, but the part I liked the best was the ruins. There were roofless arches and plants sprouting out of the wall cracks. It seems that even buildings can’t stop plants from growing in this country! While walking through the ruins, we were lucky enough to see a Maya shaman woman go through a prayer ritual at the top of one of the crypts. Next, we looked at the ruins of the Catedral de la Conception. Afterwards, we headed to a jade museum where we learned about the discovery, or I guess rediscovery, of jade in Guatemala. At the museum, I learned that my Maya protector is Imox. Your protector is based on the day, month, and year that you were born. The more I learn about the Maya culture, the more interested I become! Our last stop was the Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo (Church and Convent of Saint Domingo), which is now a hotel and a small collection of museums. It was gorgeous with mixture of vegetation, ruins, and re-built structures. While we were there, the staff was in preparations for wedding at the outdoor church and was adorning the altar and walkway with white ribbons, drapes, and 200 white roses along with other white flowers. It seemed like it would be a gorgeous wedding!

Palacio de los Capitanes Generales

 Part of the ruins of Catedral de Santiago

Apparently, Antigua is host to local, national, and international weddings all the time. It turns out that there was also a wedding at our hotel later that night complete with fireworks. Who knows maybe I will come back for my wedding! After looking at the church, we walked through the various museums. One of which had old Maya artifacts juxtaposed next to contemporary Maya inspired art. I loved the idea of placing old and new art right next to each other! We also walked through a small art museum filled with Guatemalan religious statues and paintings and a silver museum filled with crowns and Catholic religious artifacts. I was amazed at the intricacy of the silverwork! Throughout the walking tour we learned about the history, economy, religion, and culture of Antigua and Guatemala. The 3 hour walking tour was definitely worth our while!

Next, we checked into the hotel and took a short siesta to catch up on lost sleep. Afterwards, we went to one of the local indoor handicraft markets where I bought a Maya hand-woven water bottle holder and a purple cloth headband (go Dawgs!). We got dinner at the hotel and I had sopa de frijoles. Being the gringo that I am, I assumed that sopa meant the Mexican sopa, which is like a small fry bread topped with beans, cheese, and salsa. It actually was black bean soup accompanied by condiments of peppers, cilantro, onions, cheese, and avocado. Not what I expected, but still good! Unfortunately, my stomach was still a little upset from flying and nerves, so I didn’t get to enjoy it as much as I would’ve liked.

We retired to our room early and I learned how difficult it is to text in Spanish with a non-smart phone. I also learned that the park director I’m going to be working with only knows “un poquito ingeles” and I only know “un poquito espanol.” That is one way of ensuring that I pick up Spanish pretty quickly!