Antigua, Guatemala

Latitude 14.73861°N Longitude 91.16156°W

Friday, October 11, 2002

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Diary:

Packed up and checked out of hotel in the morning and were picked up at 9:30am by a private shuttle to go to Antigua.

Arrived Antigua around lunchtime, set about looking for a hotel. Got one night at the so-so Santa Lucia #4, then secured subsequent accomodations at the nearby Posada Juma Ocag, which turned out to be totally excellent.

At first glance we didn't think much of this town. However, after we had gotten off the noisy, dirty, exhaust-fume-ridden main street and walked into the town center, we fell in love with the place and immediately understood why Antigua is such a popular destination for travelers. Antigua is a picturesque town nestled between three volcanoes. It is a huge center for language study with many people taking extended home stay holidays to learn Spanish. It has numerous small cafes serving excellent coffee and sweets, and the food in the restaurants is on the whole exceptional. In a way, it is probably not the most culturally authentic Guatemalan town you could visit, but it is certainly one of the most comfortable and pleasant. We decided to stay for a week and explore it.


Photos: (click on images to see full size)

Antigua township and Volcan Agua, from Cerro de la CruzIglesia La MercedAntigua marketplaceThe multicoloured attire of the market vendorsRuins of a church destroyed by earthquake in 1773Nico at Iglesia y Convento de La Recoleccion
destroyed by earthquake in 1773
Iglesia y Convento de La RecoleccionIglesia y Convento de La RecoleccionThe 5 stages of coffee production
at Museo del Café, La Azotea Centro CulturaKeiko plays at working at a coffee plantationKeiko trains for her next job at StarbucksHmmm... wonder how much I weigh these days?
Local peasant demonstrates coffee picking techniqueCoffee cherries: the greens are unripe, the reds are ready for pickingAt the beautiful ruins of the Convento de Capuchinas


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