This city, founded in 1543, was the capital of Guatemala until 1776 after much of the city was destroyed by an earthquake. It is surrounded by volcanoes and on a fault line and has experienced multiple severe earthquakes as a result. Much of the colonial churches have been restored, the ruins that haven’t are there to explore. It has cobblestone streets with multiple restaurants and homes along the streets. Most of the places we saw had interior courtyards, so it is actually even more open and beautiful than it seems from the outside one you cross the threshold.
We rented an Air BnB for several days, and although there are buses that are much less expensive, they don’t allow dogs, so for $200 we hired a driver to take us on the 8 hour road trip from Rio Dulce to Antigua.
Our AirBnb was as cute as it could be with a central patio as is the style in Antigua.
We spent the days exploring the town. The first day we went on a guided tour to learn more about the history and significance of the different buildings. However when Kim and I booked the tour we almost made it for the island of Antigua, instead of the town of Antigua. Good thing the island is in a different timezone so we could realize our mistake.
The architecture is gorgeous with its old wood doors, wrought iron, and baroque finishes.
As peaceful as it looks, Antigua is not a place to get any sleep. The traffic, much of it motorcycles, driving up and down the cobblestone roads is loud. The churches frantically ring their bells starting about an hour before mass, which includes midnight, before dawn, and again around noon. They also set off firecrackers and fireworks (bombas). The bombas get all the dogs barking, rattle with windows, and set off the car alarms in the street. If you don’t go to church it isn’t because you lost track of time and didn’t realize it was starting.
Guatemala is known for its coffee, jade, and its chocolate. We had the opportunity to do a chocolate tour where we learned about harvesting and then fermenting the bean. We then got to finish of the roasting and the use a mortar and pestle to grind the bean into a paste and make chocolate candies. We also learned about the traditional Mayan ceremonial chocolate drink and how to make chocolate tea from the husk of the bean. At the end we each got to make chocolate candies to bring home.
We also explored Casa Santo Domingo. Once a monastery it is now a hotel, restaurant, and contains seven museums, mostly displaying religious and Mesoamerican artifacts.
We went on a tour of a Jade factory where we learned about the mining, grading and polishing of jade and its significance to the Mayans. We each got a jade charm with our Mayan spirit animal: Kim the jaguar, Benjamin the armadillo, Aislin the conch, and me the bat.
I can see how travelers can spend months in Antigua, some even deciding to move there once they got used to the noise. It is absolutely charming.
