Today we arrived in Guatemala in the port of Puerto Quetzal. It was my first visit to Guatemala and I was pretty excited. When I went out early this morning as we were sailing in I realized it could really be a cooker. We could see the volcanoes as we were sailing in and they were pretty impressive. It was too bad that the horizon was pretty hazy. I found out later that they were burning sugarcane which created the haze. I was going to take a trip to the historic city of La Antigua Guatemala. It was established in 1543, rebuilt in the late 17th century after being damaged by several earthquakes. One time it was the capital of Guatemala. It remains a great example of colonial architecture. Antigua was 1 ½ hours drive from Puerto Quetzal so I decided to take a “transportation only” tour with Holland America. It was just a ride there with a guide along the way but once there I was on my own (with friends). Here was the ship’s description of today’s excursion: “Today's journey of begins when one of our staff members greets you at the pier and we begin boarding the air-conditioned bus. Before you depart from the pier, you will receive a map of Antigua with relevant information. The scenic 90-minute, narrated drive will take you through Guatemala's lowlands--with magnificent views of some volcanoes and filled with cattle and sugar cane plantations--and up to 5,000 feet above sea level to Antigua, the colonial jewel of the Americas. Once in Antigua, a World Heritage Site as declared by UNESCO, our supervisors will assist you to disembark the bus at the Central Park and will once again remind you of the meeting time before the buses depart back to the pier. From that point on, you will have free time to explore Antigua's charming streets, churches, monasteries, museums and stores until it is time to head back to the pier and your ship.” The description pretty much described it. When we arrived, Rudy, Michelle and I got a map and some instructions from the tourism office and went on about a 3 hour walking tour of Antigua. We enjoyed all the sites, especially all the churches and historical buildings in various conditions based on previous earthquake damage. As soon as we arrived it was apparent that we were now at 5000 feet.... much, much cooler, a real bonus! It really was a nice day and very scenic along the way. It was a nice introduction to Guatemala. I found the country and the people just delightful….
4 comments:
Gosh Jeff I wish I had realized you'd be in Guatemala. When I worked for the adoption agency, our biggest foreign country for adoptions was Guatemala and we had many, many families that traveled there as well as my boss. Antigua was always a favorite place for everyone to stay because of the dangers in Guatemala City. Anyhow, I hope you got some shopping time in. I have several textile pieces from there and they are truly beautiful.
I did publish the entire schedule.... I would have thought you of all people would have looked at it. You are one of my most avid readers... I hope you and Joe are doing well in your new surroundings... :-)
I think I quit reading after Day 71, better print it out and put it up on the fridge so I can follow more closely. LOL!
We are doing great. But I'm still trying to get used to this climate. Yesterday saw a neighbor putting up Christmas lights in a t-shirt and shorts and barefoot too. That just isn't right..........
GUARANTEE that was NOT me putting up those lights. Holly what nice weather? Thanks to are southern neighbors (the USA) a lovely storm is here. Only heavy snow and now 12 hours of freezing rain.
Jeff after you posted about your schedule I checked out the next few weeks. Whats really bad is I can probably name every excursion (beach) you will be doing in the Caribbean.
Won't be long till we are there and sorry are paths do not cross will in transit.
Enjoy bud.
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