The Terrible Catsafterme

I knew that at least one aspect of our Guatamalan week-long excursion was going to be outstanding when Bob and I made our way down to our hotel restaurant first thing on the morning of Sunday, March 29, 2009. We were welcomed witha mammoth breakfast buffet which not only included the staples eggs, bacon, sausages, breads, cereals, fruits, yogurts, etc. – but also an omelette chef, cheeses, deli meats, and several latin delicacies such as plantains, chilaquiles en salsa roja, black beans, and an array of exotic juices: banana milk, cucumber orange, mango, and many others. And what would the kickoff breakfast be without me starting a small fire…thanks to a faulty toaster. Still, if the trip had included breakfast and nothing else, I would have nearly been satisfied.

But after breakfast, the day continued. Our first excursion of the trip was to Antigua, which was described as the “most important and enchanting city of colonial Guatemala.” It was actually a cultural mecca with a nice city square, and of course filled to the brim with locals peddling their wares or merely asking for money.

After-breakfast temptation in the elevator

Our hotel

It’s official. We’re off and running. Welcome to Guatemala.

We had been introduced to our tour guide for the week the night before when we were transported from the airport to our hotel. Antonio was his name and we soon found that he was an absolutely outstanding host. Not only did he tell us about the specific sites we were seeing, but gave us nuggets of information all the way through our sometimes-lengthy drives to our destination.

Antonio seemed to not only know the big picture (such as the chief exports of Guatemala being sugar cane, cardamom, coffee, and bananas), but seemed able to identify every building, give us background info of every aspect of Guatemalan and Mayan history. Ricardo, our driver, was a worthy companion. Both described their race as ‘mestizo’ – a mix of Spanish and Mayan descent. Incidentally 40% of the Guatemalan population were Mayan, the Mayans speaking some 22 different languages.

So at 9am, we were off. Our tour group consisted of 19 people and we all packed into the van and headed toward Antigua. We were briefed on what we might expect from the local people and were warned about the potential for thieves and pickpockets. Antonio told us that the good thieves could “steal your socks without removing your shoes.”

Our first stop was in the quaint little community of San Antonio Aguas Calientes. Here we walked around the city square, hands in pockets guarding our dollar bills, looking like fish out of water. This was certainly a good place to start as it was a completely subdued and quiet little place. We saw some of the local markets including the butcher where meat hung over a lone counter, women using a loom on for textiles, the local church where Sunday service was in session, and the fountains where people came to do their laundry. No one bothered us at all. In fact the only person to ask for money was a girl who was maybe two years old.

Lady at the loom in San Antonio

Some of those hot springs…

This is where the locals come to do their laundry

On the streets of San Antonio Aguas Calientes

Little local Mayan girl chomping on a watermelon. I gave her mother a dollar.

Possibly the oldest Mayan woman in the world. This one was worth two bucks.

Thirty minutes later we were on the road again, heading to Ciudad Vieja (formerly the Valley of Almolonga), Guatemala’s second capital location. Again, church service was being held in a cathedral founded in 1534. A residential house just down the road grew coffee plants in their backyard. The city had been destroyed by earthquake and floods in 1541 and the capitol was relocated to Antigua, which was our next stop.

Outside the Cathedral in Ciudad Vieja

Ah! Found a Mulholland Dr. reference

Roaming the streets of Ciudad Vieja

Vacationing at the time we did, we were fortunate not only to avoid the ‘rainy’ season (Antonio stated that there were only two seasons in Guatemala: the rainy season and the wet season), but to be present during Holy Week. During the Sundays of lent, the Semana Santa procession takes place throughout the day. We were able to witness one such parade throughout the intense crowds. Parades of residents draped in purple (as seen with me at the top of the posting) carried a huge and obviously heavy statue of the Virgin Mary through the streets. They walked upon colorful decorations on the street that had been made of grass and colored sawdust.

The Virgin Mary in the procession. There are people with sore backs carrying this thing.

Me amongst the crowds of Antigua

The crowds on top of a Chicken Bus – so named because of their propensity for reckless behavior and head-on collisons. A month doesn’t pass without a major chicken bus accident. We even saw an overturned bus during our stay in Guatemala.

Bob organizes the ACT folks

An example of the colored-sawdust artwork…ripe for being trod upon

Junk souvenir commemorating the purple Holy Week people

After the parade, we headed to the lunch destination of the day, Restaurante Los Antorches where I enjoyed the beef dish and pumpkin soup, washed down with a Victoria cerveza. Having such huge breakfasts would have made it nice to skip lunch and just have dinner, but they were provided as part of the cost of the side excursions.

Guatemalan water and beer

Bob, me, Randy, Sharon, Linda, and Michael at lunch

Taking charge of the restaurant’s cantina

After lunch we all headed over to the Tercera Cathedral, a giant church that had been originally built in 1545 and destroyed by earthquake in 1773. The remnants included the columns that had collapsed still sitting in place. I also entered the catacombs of the underground crypt. A photo down there indicated the bubble-like ‘spirits’ that can sometimes be spotted in such places. Bob believes in these, but I don’t…yet I have no explanation as to what causes them.

Outside the Tercera Cathedral

Trying to assist in getting this place cleaned up

Entering the tomb vault

The ‘ghosts’ of the vault

As we walked to our next destination, I ran into a little girl with no hands who was begging for dollars. Naturally I gave her one, but was haunted by the image and troubled by wondering what her life was like…and whether this might have been intentionally inflicted by her guardians in order to solicit sympathy – and collect money.

We then had a brief tour of Jades Imperio Maya, a shop where Jade jewelry is manufactured and sold. I had little interest in this, although it was neat to see the workers shaping the jade ornaments, using a grinding machine…and their bare fingers!

This guy was a millimeter away from reducing his finger to a slice of salami

Bob and I then had some time to roam around the so-called Parque Central (Central Park). A fountain stood in the center of the quad and it was surrounded by a cathedral, a row of shops, the Municipal Government Building, and the Palace of the Captains General. The latter two were remnants of the city’s days as the government capital.

The Municipal Government Building

I slyly blend in with the locals without arousing suspicion that I am a tourist

I usually reserve the ‘fake-step-on’ for freshly mown baseball diamonds

The Palace of the Captains General

The streets of Antigua. That ridiculous line was to catch a chicken bus

We did do a bit of shopping and I picked up a couple of Guatemala t-shirts at rock bottom prices (two for $15) and an ornamental magnet that I gave to my Mom. It was interesting to see how the workers loved to barter with you until you walked away with their wares. Everyone in Guatemala gladly accepted American money so I never did convert any of my cash to the Quetzales, which was valued roughly 8 Quetzals to the dollar.

One of my favorite moments was when a couple of young girls approached Bob and me attempting to sell us jewelry. I actually perked up when she showed me the nice jade (or imitation jade, I really didn’t care) necklace and told me that the cost was one dollar. I figued that it would make a nice gift for Ashleigh at that price, so I pulled out a dollar. She then pulled the bait and switch and told me that this jade piece was actually seven dollars. I told her that I didn’t have seven dollars and she replied “you have twenty.” Apparently the corner of the $20 bill had made an appearance as I was pulling out the single. I laughed…but still only bought the cheaper one-dollar necklace. Bob was merely called a ‘cheapskate’.

Our last stop on the way back to our bus was the Casa Santo Domingo. This place had an interesting history as it was a monastery from the 17th century that had been destroyed by (what else?) and earthquake. Built around the ruins was a hotel and complex perfect for hosting weddings and gatherings. This location also had a crypt that we entered.

A couple of boids at the Casa Santo Domingo

Playing to the crowd at the Casa Santo Domingo, where a wedding was about to be held

With that, we boarded our bus and headed back to the our hotel. Neither Bob nor I were very hungry by this point, but that didn’t stop us from ordering the all-you-can-eat buffet at the La Vista Restaurant in the hotel. This was the same place where we dined on breakfast each day. The food was great with many Central American dishes and desserts. But we quickly discovered that dinner would be unnecessary most nights.

Fat and sassy with our dessert cups. I’m sassy.

If one didn’t understand the conversion rate, they might be taken aback by the 258 Quetzal bill

I spent some time on the computer in the hospitality room and then turned in relatively early. We had survived our first day in Guatemala without incident and I had seen enough to begin to feel a lot more comfortable about our safety in the country.

The trip will continue…

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at 6:08 am and is filed under 2000's - Late, Historical Locations, Vacations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.