Some people speak with disdain about Antigua. They say it’s too touristy. Yeah, you don’t need to know Spanish, and many expats have not bothered. Yes, it does seem overrun. I can concede these points, but it cannot be denied that this is a fascinating city. It has got to be one of the most photogenic cities in the world. And the good part about it being touristy is that if you are starved for American influence, you can find it here. Nowhere, even in San Francisco or New York, are you going to find a gourmet ghetto like this is such a small space. Americans are not nearly all of who are here, anyway, so at least there is an international vibe. It doesn’t matter. We like it here and our opinion is all that matters to us. We rented a place for a month. The downside of this being such a popular place is the prices if many things like rent are full American price. No matter. We’re used to hostel style, so a room with a bathroom is something of a luxury. Here is the garden in front of our room.
Here is in front of our room. Our door is to her right. The communal kitchen for the six people living here is right in front of her.
Out the front door to the right, 50 meters away is this.
Antigua was founded in 1527. Some of the buildings are from that time and are ruins now. Some have been rebuilt several times, usually due to the many strong earthquakes Guatemala has endured over the centuries. Many have been completely restored, even converted for modern uses. I gotta show you this 5-star hotel down the street we walked around in today. It incorporated the ruins of a 16th century convent beautifully.
The thing about Antigua, for me, is how I seem to see something new or some new detail every time I go anywhere. Sometimes it’s yet another ancient building, usually in some state of disrepair. Sometimes it’s part of a facade. I like looking at plant life and flowers growing out of the ruins or near ruins as to dust they do return. No doubt, there will be many more photos to follow but, for now, here are some of what we have after five days. I’ll let them speak for themselves and say why we plunked down here.
This goes on and on, I’m tellin’ ya.
By the way, Antigua is surrounded by volcanoes, a couple of which are active. One glows frequently. This first picture is from a different angle of the arch in the above picture.
Here’s another one from the roof terrace of the first place we stayed in. It is one of the ones that glows. If it glows some night, I’ll try to get a picture.
And a couple of others in another direction.
I think you’ve probably had it with pictures. I’m going to quit for now. Life this month isn’t going to be too fast paced, so expect more posts in fairly rapid order. My impression of Antigua should mature as time goes on. I’ll probably have something more interesting than “Wow, what a place” to say. Well, maybe.
