Day 2 - Antigua

We had a free morning so took our time over breakfast.  We took some photos from the sunroof of the 3 nearby volcanos but it was quite hazy.  It is quite cool in the evenings and early mornings but by 10 it was feeling hot.

View of the Fire Volcano or Vulcan Fuego (active) 
and the steam coming from the top

View from sunroof at hotel

We then walked around the cobbled streets and the Parque Central.

The Mermaid Fountain in the Parque Central

Feature on the fountain in the Parque Central
Mermaid with water coming from her squeezed breasts!

Our hotel for 2 nights

The cobbled roads.  Very hard to walk on
and very slow to drive on.

We then headed for the central market which is huge.  Most of the stalls are for locals with a lot of different food stalls.  Around the meat stalls, street dogs gathered hoping to get some free food.

3 dogs hoping for food from 
indoor market meat stall

The most unusual thing we saw was several stalls selling confetti made out of shredded paper or paper circles from punch holes.  They then fill egg shells up with this confetti, seal it with some sort of wax and paint them.  These are sold in bags of about 20 or so and must be used to throw at the bride and groom on their wedding day.

Confetti Stall with bags of confetti filled eggshells


We had a snack lunch in one of the outside lounge areas at the hotel and then met our tour guide for an afternoon of sight seeing.

Much of Antigua was destroyed in a powerful earthquake in 1773. Some buildings have been restored but many remain as ruins.

We visited the Arch and Clock Tower of Santa Catalina which was restored in the 19th century.  The ajoining Convent remains in ruins but is used to store Catholic religious figures which are used in the Good Friday parade.   The arch was originally built to allow nuns to cross the road without being seen.


Arch and Clock Tower of Santa Catalina

Ruins of former convent - now stores figures for the Good Friday procession



Then we went to the Iglesia de Merced which has been restored after the earthquake. However its cloisters and gardens are in ruins although a memorial fountain representing a lily flower has been created. It is the biggest fountain in Central America. Our tour guide told us that all the churches in Antigua are linked by underground tunnels. Some have caved in over the years and are no longer usable but one is opened each year on Good Friday where people can walk from this church to the Cathedral.


Cross in front of Iglesia de Merced

Iglesia de Merced

Ruins of former gardens with memorial fountain

After a tour of the market and some exotic fruit tasting, we were taken to McDonald’s. Like Starbucks, they are not allowed to have any electronic or obtrusive logos. It is set inside a colonial building and has a large garden with various McDonald’s characters. We just had a look around and didn’t eat.  Apparently the McDonald's Happy Meal originated in Guatemala.  Most families have a lot of children and they couldnt afford to take them all at the normal prices.  So they made a much smaller meal with a toy to attract these families.


McDonald's facade. 

McDonald's garden

Childrens swings in the "M"

Paul with friend.

After this we made our way to the Parque Central, considered to be the town centre. On the north side is the arched building of the Ayuntamiento or City Hall. The entrance to the Cathedral is on the east side and this was severely damaged in the earthquake. The entrance has been rebuilt and the aisle to the alter repositioned but it is much smaller now. Behind are the extensive ruins left behind by the earthquake. We also visited the crypt where they found wooden structures with human bone fragments inside as the crypt was used to cremate people who died from infectious diseases like leprosy and yellow fever.


Cathedral Entrance

Newly designed ailse and alter

Former Aisle with remaining pillars

Looking towards the entrance to the cathedral 
which is at the back of the ruins

Ruins of the cathedral showing where the domed roof was

Timbers in the crypt that contained fragments of human bones

A tour of a Jade factory followed – it was good to see how the stones are made for jewellery and especially to see the beautiful lilac coloured jade that only exists in Guatemala.

We came back to the hotel, packed our cases ready to leave early tomorrow and went to eat at an Italian restaurant very near the hotel.




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