Beautiful Antigua

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Hi Everybody!
We got up very early at our hotel in Tikal. Because the electricity hadn´t been turned on, we dressed in the dark. I did have a little flashlight with me which helped. I could hear people chatting and later realized they were early morning bird watchers. We caught the only transportation from the park to Santa Elena. It was a 15 passenger van. It ended up holding 30 people by the time we got to the town. Santa Elena is a small town that is located next to Flores, a town on an island. We will be flying back from Panama City to Flores and will spend time there later.
The roads have been good and are nothing like the road from the border to Tikal. The drivers are courteous and stay in their lanes. Overall, the people have been very friendly. We rode in a Tuk Tuk (brought from India) while we were in Santa Elena. We went to a travel agency that used to operate vans between this town and Guatemala City. They no longer do that so we had to take a bus. The AC bus left at 10 PM and the non AC bus left at 10 AM. We went ahead and took the morning bus. There was a family of Guatemalans that currently lives in CA. Their children were on spring break and they were visiting family. They were very helpful! I bought a mango and a bag of peeled oranges before we left on our bus trip. Bus stations have armed guards. They go through your hand luggage before allowing you on the bus. On our trip, we passed through the highlands and some mountaineous areas. The land appeared to be very fertile. We saw banana trees, different types of palms, mangos, corn, etc. We frequently saw men riding horseback and a few people in villages on scooters. Everywhere you would see people walking by the road. One common sight was women carrying large plastic washtubs of laundry and old fashioned scrub boards. They were on their way to shallow rivers to wash. Flowers are in full bloom and are beautiful! We did see lots of poverty as we traveled through the villages. Many of the homes were very primitive and didn´t appear to have running water. Some had no door and dirt floors. Children must only go to school half a day. We saw them going early in the morning and other going home before noon. As we approached Guatemala City, the temperature became cooler. It was close to dark when we reached the city. We passed a number of American fast food restaurants and a Hooters.
We found out that the bus going to Antigua was the ¨chicken bus.¨ The guide book said that 90% of Americans were accosted on these buses. We decided to take a taxi to Antigua and that worked out well. I used my cell phone to call a hotel and make a reservation. I chose the Aurora Hotel ($70) because it was located in the central part of the city. It has been a hotel for 84 years and before that was a home. It is extremely nice! The ceiling are very tall, the room is well furnished, and it is built around a beautiful courtyard. Antigua is located in a volcanic rimmed valley surrounded by green mountains. The altitude is 5019 feet. It is one of the oldest and loveliest cities in Central America. The climate is spring like year round. This makes it a favorite destination for the wealthy of Guatemala. It has cobblestone streets and many colonial buildings. The town was founded in 1543 and was the capital of Guatemala for many 200 years. After an earthquake in 1773, the capital was moved to Guatemala City. Only the poor stayed in Antigua. They could not afford to repair the buildings or tear them down. The government passed laws protecting the buildings and that has helped the city to retain its colonial character. There are no billboards or neon signs. It is a wonderful city! We are going to spend several days here. There are 21 language schools in Antigua. The cost of living is more here than in any other town of Guatemala. That means it has the finest hotels and restaurants. This is the first quality city that we have visited.
This computer will not allow me to load photos. I will put pictures on later. Luckily, our hotel has free internet.
Take care,
Everette

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Comments

[Maggie]

Wow!
I am glad that things are better than they were in the first entry! I was beginning to wonder how much fun this trip was going to be! It is wonderful to hear about your adventures and to see pictures. Be careful!!!