Early in the morning I awoke to thousands
of people chanting Catholic hymns in the streets. Although I
was jet lagged and would have liked to sleep a couple of more hours, I
was very excited to see what was taking place. Before we
started our journey around the city, I had the hotel concierge call to
the rental car company to inquire the where-a-bouts of my car.
The company informed me that there was no longer a car for me, because they had rented them all out (despite the fact that I had reserved mine over a month in advance). I could feel the anger
begin to rise and was about to prepare myself for a war of words.
However, I channeled some inner peace and decided that it was not worth
it to argue. Mel and I would just find a new means of transportation.
It was
true that the main reason for this trip was for the chance to
drive around another country, but I am more than aware that when
traveling a certain amount of Zen-like behavior must be displayed. One
must adapt to the changes quickly; otherwise the trip has the potential
to be ruined. And that is exactly what we did! We asked the concierge
what are new options were and within minutes they found us a private
driver to take us wherever we wanted to go for almost the same exact
price as the rental car would have cost us. Que bueno!
As Mel and I stepped foot outside our hotel’s primacies my breath was completely taken away from me. I had heard how beautiful La Antigua Guatemala or “the Old Guatemala” is, but it is one of those things that you will never truly appreciate until experienced firsthand. La Antigua is a historically significant, well-preserved, colonial city dating from the 17th century. It was at one time the capitol of Guatemala; now it is Guatemala City. It is set in a valley close to the Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango volcanoes providing the most stunning views.
My 1st view of La Antigua as I stepped out of our hotel.
Here are some more photos from our walk to the main square...
Convento de Las Capuchinas
It is simple to comprehend why it has been given the honor of being named an UNESCO World Heritage Site. You already feel like you are stepping foot into the past while being in La Antigua, but the feeling is only deepened if you are there during Semana Santa. The
Holy Week is considered the week before Easter. The processions start
on Holy Thursday, but the largest ones are on Good Friday, and they end
on Easter Sunday. They are to commemorate the final days of Jesus’ life
culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on
Easter Sunday.Procession, which in Latin means “to go forth” or “to advance,” is a religious parade. In the La Antigua processions scenes from the Bible are acted out, specifically the 12 stages of the cross. People from all over Guatemala participate and anyone, even gringos y gringas, are allowed to join in the celebrations (that meant me!).
Me in the midst of a procession.
Before Mel and I followed a procession, we decided to do some more walking around the ancient city and here are some more photos from our walk...
The street markets.
To be continued...
I wish we'd had as good as an experience as you. Unfortunately, Guatemala ties the DR as my least favorite country visited--though that could have something to do with the fact that it poured 15 of our 16 days there =(
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what great fun!
glad it all worked out well. i probably would have blown a lid and given myself a heart attack.
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wow, that sounds amazing. I am glad you had such a wonderful time.
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It is so true you have to be Zen-like at times while traveling. Your photos are so beautiful, Antigua is wonderful. I wish I could have seen a procession while I was there.
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Gorgeous photos - as usual - I will be visiting Guatemala for a day in December as part of my cruise. When I lived in Panama we visited there a couple of times, I remember the food was great!
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