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Published: December 1st 2008
Another early morning rise at 07:00hr to drive to Chichicastenango for breakfast. It was surprising that banks here actually open on Sunday! Like many other places in Central America, there was a huge line to get into a bank even before it opened. I had the Especial de la Casa but sorry to say it was nothing special. Like many other villages, locals don’t like their photos taken but they were quite happy to oblige if you gave them 5 Qtz. The markets here are for the locals, but because of its size it’s also a tourist attraction. We had to make our way through very crowded narrow streets to get to the cemetery at the western side of the town. Many of the crypts, tombs were painted in bright colours, quite a difference from what we see at home.
There was also the option to see Pascual Abaj, a sacrificial stone and local shrine to Huyup Tak’ah, the Mayan earth god. However, it was recommended that you go with a security guard so you don’t get robbed, making it less desirable than wandering around Chichi.
On our way to Antigua, our van struggled uphill and we were passed
by several chicken buses. Chicken buses are retired school buses from North America that service many parts of Central America. I am not sure what they are called in Spanish but gringos call them chicken bus because many locals bring chickens onboard. It’s quite amazing they know how much to charge each passenger because so many get on and off at so many different places along the bus route.
We got to Antigua around 14:30hr and started our walking tour. Our guide Alex was also extremely knowledgeable, so much so I tuned out after a while. Antigua was founded on March 10, 1543 and remained Guatemala’s second capital for 233 years until the big earthquake on July 29, 1773. In 1776, the capital was moved to Guatemala City. In 1979 it was made a UNESCO site. There are 3 volcanoes around the city: Volcan Agua in the SE @ 3766m, Volcan Acatenango to the west @ 3976m, and Volcan Fuego with plumes of smoke and red glow @ 3763m to the SW. I swore that there are more churches and church ruins here compared to a city of similar size in Canada or for that matter anywhere else in
the world! We visited La Merced and Catedral de Santiago. Alex took us to a local jade store and I am sure he gets a commission for anything purchased there. There were some interesting things to look at in the attached small museum but I like the “spousal waiting bench”!
It was M’s 29’s birthday that day so before going out for dinner we had a piñata birthday party. It was hilarious and so much fun. As you can tell it was the first ever for me too! The candies inside were pretty good too!
I learned to braid hair today, ham is jamon in Spanish, not jambon, and I lost what I thought was a sure bet today. We are going to climb an active volcano tomorrow, can’t wait!
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