Absolutely Love Antigua!

Puerto Quetzal was a port we'd been looking forward to ever since it replaced our Nicaragua stop and we knew we wanted to make the drive to Antigua.  Luckily for us there were a lot of like-minded cruisers so off we went.  Small buses were waiting as soon as we got off the ship, not the speediest vehicle we've ever been on but it would get us there and back again in plenty of time, despite having a front end issue that was bone-jarring and a little frightening if the driver tried to go above about 45 mph.  All part of the adventure yet again!

You can see our tiny Serenade of the Seas there at the port on this screenshot from the Cruisemapper app and where we needed to get to during our short stay.  We were going to go from sea level to over 5,000 feet to get to Antigua with a drive that would take about an hour and a half each way.

Music greeted us at the terminal, check out Karl's YouTube channel if you'd like to take a little listen.

Our guide for the day was Pablo, a friendly and knowledgeable escort this time.  After passing fields and fields of sugarcane, one of the things he pointed out on the way to Antigua was this rock formation called "The Mayan Face", something you can only see going towards the city from Puerto Quetzal.  Just a note, sugar and bananas are two of the country's biggest exports.

Guatemala is a country with 37 volcanoes that are on the map but with really more like 300.  Here you can see petrified lava from a prior volcanic eruption.

2018 saw the latest eruption of Fuego, one of the volcanoes nearest to Antigua.  This eruption was called the La Reunion for the golf resort that was destroyed by the lava flows, along with homes, condos, and other businesses.  Here you can see what used to be a riverbed but is now a volcanic river instead.  The road into Antigua was closed in this area for almost a year after the eruption which disrupted commerce between Puerto Quetzal and the rest of the country.

Antigua, a 500 year-old city, is located on a lovely, scenic site between three volcanos, Fuego, Agua and Acetenango.  Photos above are Fuego on the left and Agua on the right.   A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city was originally laid out on a Renaissance grid system, one of the first of its kind in the Americas, with cobbled streets, colorful buildings, lots of churches, ruins, and brilliant flowers.

We only had time for a limited tour and our first stop was the lovely La Merced, a structure that survived the 1773 earthquake that destroyed most of the city and moved the area's capital from here to Guatemala City.

La Merced has walls that are thicker on the bottom and only a little narrower as they rise.  Along with the support of the outer columns these thick walls are the reason it was able to stand.

So many beautiful details on this church and on the grounds themselves.  There are many different architectural styles displayed on the structure giving it what's called a "Mannerist" style.  I remember the last time we were there the bells in the tower were tolling for a funeral.

Inside the long nave is simple but beautiful as it leads the the altar.  Completed in 1771 the church was just barely finished before the onset of the 1773 Santa Marta quake.

Looking up and back towards the door is this lovely pipe organ above the nave.

A closeup of the lovely "Virgen del Rosario"

I love how these cathedrals always have fresh flowers throughout.  There was a gentleman just out of sight of the photo preparing more.

Obligatory door photo, this heavy portal has seen hundreds of years of worshippers come and go.

Everywhere we stopped or walked we were mobbed by vendors selling all kinds of colorful and beautiful Guatemalan goods.  I loved seeing the amazing women who carried their goods on their heads.  This nut seller was a new sight.  Each compartment on his cart was covered by plastic wrap with a hole in it large enough to scoop his product out.

You can't got to Antigua without taking a picture under the arch on El Calle Real, especially to get Agua in the background.

Sidewalks are narrow in Antigua so we were only able to walk along single file.  We asked for a quick detour into Nim Pot, a favorite store when you don't have time to go to the colorful outdoor market..  Pablo was willing and everyone was happy to go make some purchases, although it did cut into our limited touring time.  Streets here are cobblestone like the above everywhere, even when they're repaired due to the UNESCO designation.

We ended up at the lovely central plaza where there were plenty of tourists and sellers alike.

This pretty fountain sits in the center of the plaza, a pleasant place to people watch and relax.

Such beautiful flowers surrounding the plaza as well.  The Bird of Paradise were especially spectacular.

The massive Antigua Cathedral was built in 1541.  Only 15% of it remains standing after the Santa Marta quake in 1773.

Again, a simple yet elegant interior with the  golden altar at the end.

Located on one side of the cathedral this spot has a vibrant stained glass window. 

Outside the cathedral were colorful bougainvillea and as always I am enamored of flower photos.  

You can see from this diagram how large the orginal cathedral complex was, it is only the bit that has the yellow highlight that is still standing.

Some of the incredible architectural ruins that are located behind the current cathedral, just to give you an idea of the size and scope.

This decorative element would have been reminiscent of a Maya temple, put in the structure purposely to help lend familiarity to the new religion.

These soaring arches would have been lovely enclosed but in some ways are even more stunning  when open to the sky.

Just a final photo from the ruins, I loved the contrasts of colors and textures in it.

Across from the cathedral was what was the first university in Central America, built in 1676 and called the University of San Carlos.  At one time there might have been 35,000 students here.  Today it houses the Museum of Colonial Art.

After leaving Antigua we stopped for lunch at Valhalla, a macadamia nut farm.  I know what you're thinking, those are only grown in Hawaii but we soon learned that is not the case.  Macadamia nuts originally came from Australia and are now grown as well in Hawaii, California and Central America.  Valhalla was started by a couple from the United States.

I would have never guessed that the name of this flower is a Shrimp Plant, an evergreen shrub that grows in Mexico and Central America.  Unique isn't it?

Here's one of the macadamia nuts that were scattered on the ground as we walked into the restaurant.  They have a husk around the shell with the nut inside.  More on them in a bit.

It was a lovely walk into the restaurant from the bus, especially through this little arbor.

Lunches Karl and I had were delicious!  I had a pulled pork sandwich, and he had ribs.  Both were messy but oh so good.  We were glad we hadn't opted for the macadamia nut pancakes which ended up being rather dry.

Okay, so not just another picture of a pretty flower here.  This is the beginnings of a cluster of macadamia nuts.  These trees take about 3-6 years to reach a size where they can begin producing and then they will just keep going for about 200 years.  That's a lot of nuts!

These tiny bulbs are the beginnings of the nuts themselves, they continue to grow in clusters like the ones on the right.

These are examples of almost mature clusters of the nuts.  When they are ripe and ready to harvest they just fall to the ground.  It takes about 5-7 months from flower to maturity.

Valhalla uses simple machines and teaches locals in Guatemala and Nicaragua how to grow the trees and harvest the nuts.  Once the trees are producing a family can earn about $100 a month extra by selling their crop.  The machine above, made with a wheel, a motor, and some rebar, cracks open the green husks.  They call this machine MacGyver.

  

The nuts are then placed on drying racks in the sun for about 5-7 weeks.  The wooden rakes are used to roll them so that they dry evenly.  If it is going to rain they will be covered.  

Once they're dry the nuts are sorted between metal rods of varying widths, another simple machine where the nuts fall into compartments based on their size.  They are then used for eating, in chocolate, plus for various cosmetic products and soaps made and sold there at the farm.

This is a photo of some of the folks in Nicaragua who have started growing trees for supplementing their family incomes.  The whole idea reminded me of the gardening techniques taught to the kids at Maya Jaguar to take back to their villages.

When they asked for volunteers for a face massage to try out the macadamia nut oil that they sell I hesitated, but when only one other person took one of the chairs I figured why not give it a try.  It was an absolutely relaxing four or five minutes and I was so glad I went ahead and did it.  No miraculous age reversal for my face but the massage sure felt good.

After leaving Valhalla we were driving down the road to the port trying to figure out what this truck was hauling when I realized it was the same type we'd seen in Antigua picking up bags of trash.  So here you go, trash truck Guatemala style.

Here's Pablo, who got us safely to Antigua and back, a super nice guy, plus an terrific guide as well, he always had a smile.

One quick photo to prove yet again that we were in Guatemala.  They just got a new president here and there are hopes that things are going to get better for all the people and that some of the corruption will be cleaned up.  Time will tell.

Home again to Serenade.  Cecilia noted how we no longer say we're going back to the ship, but say we're going home, that's what this lady of the sea has definitely become.