Antigua, (old capital of) Guatemala

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While I was in the capital, my friend Carolyn was in Tikal, and then we continued our journey together to Antigua. This is a lovely old town, Unesco World Heritage site, and for a reason. There are so many beautiful buildings from 16th to 19th century with distinct architectural features, which our tour guide explained in detail (highly recommend Nelson from Guruwalk!). It used to be the capital, but after a major earthquake in 1773, the capital was moved to today's site. And when you look around, you'll see at least 3 volcanoes, one of which was very active, with smoke blowing up every day (but far enough from the city). We spent three days enjoying many, many lovely cafes, restaurants, various museums, including Museo de Cacao (ok, it's touristy, but it was a fun hour and we learned about cocoa production as it was done by Mayans, and tried chocolates!), jade factory/museum/store, etc. We climbed a nearby hill with a huge cross and a great view of the town and mountains/volcanoes, but after days of walking on cobblestones, climbing a volcano was not my priority. However, there's so much to do and enjoy here that many tourists come back (Carolyn did too, I just didn't have time). Even though the town is quite tourist-oriented, it's very much worth visiting, because it's truly beautiful.

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Photos

Buildings
or what's left after the earthquake

Casa Santo Domingo
Old convent now luxury hotel with museums, art galleries, best restaurants

Casa Santo Domingo
for weddings, takes only 849 people!

Active volcano
see smoke?

Quetzal
National bird, currency, etc.

Fresh cocoa pod
tastes like bitter almonds