Another amazing day yesterday in Antigua. After a leisurely breakfast at our beautiful B&B, we headed through parts of the city we hadn´t yet discovered. We hit the market – the biggest market any of us have ever seen in our travels. It was like a maze and once we got into the bowels of it, we walked for what seemed like ages to see the light of day again. Everything from pottery, baskets, underwear, and pirated DVDs to an immense variety of food was on offer.

We then visited an incredible ruin that was destroyed by several earthquakes, the latest one in 1976. The remains of the convent and church had a remarkable energy about it and Brenda and I both felt it very strongly.

You can´t turn a corner in Antigua without running into a ruin, all of them caused by earthquakes. Just yesterday we were woken up by a tremblor at about 5:00 a.m. and experienced another strong one at 9:30 while having breakfast. With Antigua being surrounded by 4 volcanoes, the seismic activity is strong and we sure felt it yesterday.

The number of ruins, cobblestone streets and all of the courtyards everywhere give the city a very European feel while maintaining the Guatemalan characteristics that we love – great prices, beautiful people, wonderful weather, amazing food and incredible shopping.

Brenda had told me before she came that she wouldn´t be doing any shopping as her and Adrian have done a lot of traveling and what more could she need from Guatemala! Well right about now, if they buy any more, they´ll be buying another suitcase! The shopping is truly irresistible. Beautiful, beautiful goods at bargain prices. I now have enough scarves to last me a couple of lifetimes!

After another delicious lunch, Adrian went back to our B&B for a rest while Brenda and I scoured the city looking for a place for me to return to after my sailing trip to Belize. I will have 2 ½ more days in the city before flying to Seattle. That weekend however, there is a big festival here in Antigua (which I didn´t know about) and finding a place has been a bit challenging.

Last night we headed to a restaurant just down the street where we had dinner and watched a short show that featured the beautiful traditional Mayan costumes. We have seen a costume like this for sale for over $1000 US and that doesn´t include the mask which is another several hundred dollars. It was another great evening.

This afternoon we have a taxi arranged to take us to Guatemala City where we fly out this evening to Flores. We have accommodation right in the park at Tikal which is full of ancient Mayan ruins. Will be a highlight of the trip, I am sure.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Subscribe to the post comments feeds or Leave a trackback