A day in Guatamala
My husband, Chris and I are currently on a Panama Canal Cruise and today we enjoyed a tour to a UNESCO World Heritage site on an excursion to the “Enchanted City of Antigua”.
We did a combination walking and driving tour around the charming city of La Antigua. Our guide, Derry did a great job pointing out the city highlights. It was pouring rain throughout the day so we didn’t get to spend too much time outside. Be prepared to be surrounded by the local folks trying to sell their handicrafts. Some are quite beautiful and we bought a beautifu, hand loomed-table runner that I look forward to using on our dining room table.
We visited the beautiful spa hotel and Museum, Casa Santo Domingo that was built among the ruins, the Mayan Market (where we purchased the table runner) and a jade factory.
We had no idea that the drive to La Antigua from the Puerto Quetzal (port where our ship was docked) was about an hour and a half each way on roads. If you are prone to car sickness I wouldn’t recommend this excursion. @journohq and #journotravel @kortetravel @travelagentnewyork @travelagentlongisland
Included are some pictures of our adventure today:
On our way to Antigua we stopped by a rustic fruit stand.
Derry, our guide, explained that this mountain looks to have a profile of a Mayan head carved into the top. It looked like a regular mountain to me. 😄
Overview of the City of La Antigua.This 80-ish woman and her husband were working on a steep hillside cutting sugarcane with a machete.
Armed guard in front of a jewelry store.
I loved this picture of lady with her seat in \240her hand and her groceries on her head.
Macaw parrot on the grounds of the Museum/spa. Does that seem like an unusual combination, or is it just me?
Beautiful wall-climbing flowers.
Fountains were very popular in the 1500’s. 😄
Love this stunning hallway pic.
Stunning grounds and flowers at the Casa Santo Domingo.
Art museum on the grounds.
Beautiful restaurant with a lovely restaurant looked very enticing, but unfortunately we didn’t have time to stop.
Loved this flower arrangement.
Stages of the coffee cycle.
Coffee plants in their infancy stage.
Beautiful, ancient tree on the grounds of the the Museum .Example of national tree.
Wedding venue amongst the ruins. Gorgeous setting.
Info about the Rosary Chapel.
This lady is carrying all of her wares.
More saleswomen! Macy’s has nothing on these ladies.
The famous La Merced church. We couldn’t actually go inside because they were having a prayer service. Yes, that’s a huge rosary on the exterior of the front entryway.
Beautiful cloud hanging over the city.
Street views. Interesting prospective with the ancient walls and the “newish” modern cars.
Dog-friendly dining options for the street pooches.
Elegant lady wearing her stylish clothes as she stands on the corner, while our bus went by. This was one of the few glimpses of sun we viewed today.
Garden at the jade factory.?
Guatemalan jade samples and colors.
Workers in the jade factory, polishing and shining the stones.
In the courtyard of the Jade factory.
Beautiful flower window boxes.
Mayan market. Colorful options as far as the eye can see.
More colorful handcrafted souvenir options. We had a hard time deciding what to buy!
Our guide, Derry, on the left, I’m on the right. She was awesome! Can you believe she’s a mother of two. She looks like she’s 12 or 13.
Love this tour company’s name: “Go with Gus”.
Go with Gus tours. Love that name. No sign of Gus anywhere, today.
When we returned to the port at one of the Port shops we watched this lady weaving a colorful table runner. She was sitting on her knees for hours.
How does she sit on her knees all day. She looked so “zen-like”.
Port view from our cabin on the Holland America Volendam.
Pic of the runner we purchased. It will look so gorgeous on our dining room table.
