3rd Oct. 2016
We had a bit of a shock when we arrived in Antigua because the Parque Central, just a block from our hotel, was absolutely heaving with people so limiting the photographs that we wanted to take. With that in mind, we decided to defer breakfast and get some early morning photography done at some of the key tourist places – in particular the arch (Arco de Santa Catalina), Parque Central, and what we assumed to be the cathedral.
Whilst we succeeded (mostly) in avoiding people, we felt that the photography results were mixed and in any case, there is only so long that breakfast can be deferred. Méson de Maria is a little gem of a hotel and breakfast was a real treat sat out on the terrace. Even better, the food was as good as the surroundings!
After the success of the LP guided walk in Xela, we decide to repeat the formula here in Antigua. The first stop is a Cerro de la Cruz hill on the edge of town. LP says to get a taxi – but to do that you need to walk a couple of blocks clear of the centre of town. Once we’ve done that, we decide that it can’t be too much further to the hill itself, so once again it is Shank’s Pony.
Whilst the cross itself is unspectacular, the view looking back over town is worthwhile and as there is a patch of grass surrounded by trees behind the cross, we just sit and admire the view contemplating the world for a while. Behind us and the cross, there is a class of children all (trying to) fly kites. It must be an expat school as they were all speaking English. Speaking of which, we have heard more English here than anywhere that we have been (with the possible exception of San Miguel de Allende).
Unable to postpone more walking any longer, we head back down, following LP’s route (after a wrong turn or two). There used to be 36 churches in Antigua but it seems that most of them are now in ruins and our walk takes us past a handful of them. Antigua used to be the capital of Guatemala but was devastated by earthquakes in 1773 and then again in 1976 – after the first of which, the Spanish moved the capital to the new town of Guatemala City. Standing looking at the ruins of these churches and seeing the huge cracks in the thick stone walls you start to get a sense of how powerful the earthquake must have been.
Continuing on a meandering route around the town, we try just to soak up the atmosphere of the place. It really is quite unique, the russet colours of the walls with signs in different styles and contrasting colours and the colourfully dressed locals provide endless photo opportunities. To say that the streets are cobbled is to underplay the unevenness of the road surface – the stones are large and so unevenly laid (or at least unevenly lying) that nothing can drive fast and this seems to dictate the pace of the whole town.
By the time we get to the end of the route, we feel that we have seen the sights around Parque Central and that it must be time for lunch – and for us to put together a plan for the afternoon’s activity. Looking at the map, we see that the bus station, the market and the tour agency whose fliers were in the hotel are all clustered together on the other side of town. As we want to book our trip to the Pacaya volcano for tomorrow, this seems to be an ideal combination and we head off.
The bus station, in particular turned out to be a real winner, and the contrast with the modern, ordered bus stations, fronted by bus company ticket offices and filled with modern coaches that we had consistently seen in Mexico could not be more stark. Here – as we had hoped – was the home of the Chicken Bus. Parked in neat lines, they came in all colours (but only one shape and size) – some with incredible artwork and shiny chrome, some still in the original US school bus yellow and the name of the school district stencilled in black. Along the front, the conductors stride about yelling out the destination name and pointing people toward the right bus. This looks to be eminently achievable for a morning trip on Wednesday before we fly on to Flores.
Equally important, this is a goldmine for photographs. Nobody bats an eye as we crouch down, zoom in or peer round all the while merrily clicking away. Even the tyres on some busses have been brightly painted. We are averaging over 100 photos a day and it is no wonder with places like this. (In turn, the volume of photos is taxing the ability of hotel internet connections to get them backed up to the cloud and I am now convinced that I did not bring enough memory cards with me to last the whole trip).
As we pause to gather our breath and capture our thoughts over afternoon coffee (tea would be too much of a gamble!), Janet drops a bombshell. Not only is the yellow church where we started out this morning not the cathedral but also that in our enthusiasm to cut the walk short and get to lunch, we have not yet visited the cathedral. So its back to Parque Cenral, but where is the cathedral? It must be here because it is a Spanish town, but the white façade in the corner where it ought to be is too white, too new and not sufficiently cathedral like.
Once again, LP comes to the rescue and tells us that the entrance is down the road a little. When we get there, we understand why – this is an ex-cathedral. A spectacular ruin, but a ruin nevertheless, destroyed in the 1773 earthquake. For the princely sum of Q3, we can wander round and marvel not only as to how this would have looked had it not been for the earthquake, but also at the power of nature than can break columns that are six feet or more thick.
Somehow, the holes in the ceiling contrive to make an effective counterpoint to the high walls and columns – being able to see the heavens directly, as it were. On top of some of the pillars, carvings of saints and angels look down. I was reminded of Shelley’s Ozymandias “…look on my works ye mighty and despair. Nothing beside remains…”. We were also allowed to explore the large, poorly illuminated crypt below the cathedral but aside from some graffiti there were no plaques or explanations. It seems there is an effort being made to restore the cathedral, but at only Q3 per visitor then fundraising has quite some way to go.
Antigua has one final surprise for us in the evening. We were out looking for the London Pub that we had spotted last night (LP says the Irish pub has quiz night tonight so we are going to give that a miss). As we wander up and down the (wrong) street we feel a drop of rain, then a second and then the heavens opened. It went from dry to hosepipe in just a few seconds. Yes we did have our waterproof jackets with us but they would have stood little chance against this torrent and so it was in to the nearest restaurant. I suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised by the rain but the restaurant turned out to be a good find and it had finished raining by the time we had eaten and, so, once again, the day worked out well for us.