Beautiful Colonial Antigua, Gautemala

Their version of Central Park

A beautiful sample of the national tree of Guatemala. I don't recall it's name. Google it. Something starting with an "s" I believe.

A pretty young lady practicing her craft

One of the many old churches in Colonial Antique

In this sailing, we only had one day in port in Guatemala, but what an wonderful day it was. The guide on these excursions makes all the difference in the world! This day Bus 1 drew Olga, a very knowledgeable, well spoken, proud native of the area. Olga should be named a national treasure! The excursion took some seven hours in length and more strenuous than those I normally choose but I am oh so glad I was able to explore this region. I now have an appreciation for Guatemala that I did not gain from the 2020 trip. The countryside is cleaner than Mexico with beautiful lush fauna, volcanic mountains scattered along the horizon, sugarcane fields in the flatlands as well as the mountain sides, coffee plants growing wild and on plantations, with coffee being their number one export. Their economy seems to be on the upswing - at least in this region. Olga informed us that 67% of the population today is Mayan, speaking some 27 different dialects and dressing as their ancestors did in previous centuries.

The city of Colonial Antigua has been named a Unesco World Heritage site thereby attracting visitors from all over the world. Good News. Bad News. The good news is that it is now protected for generations to come, the local economy is benefiting from all the tourism, the population has increased and is more varied, the historical sites are better maintained and the list goes on. The bad news is the inhabitants prior to that designation have been forced to move to the outskirts of town due to the dramatic jump in the cost of housing within the city; workers within the city must now commute creating congestion and a parking nightmare; some of the land used for coffee or sugarcane production is now covered with suburban housing developments, Mayan style, and so on.

While we were transported from the port to the outskirts of Colonial Antigua in relative luxury complete with air conditioning, their streets are much too narrow to accommodate a modern day bus. Most of the streets are barely wide enough to allow two way traffic if they are small vehicles and only then if no cars are parked along the maybe 2' wide sidewalks. So, we left the luxury of space and air conditioning for a shuttle bus. Our shuttle bus could squeeze all 33 of us aboard but that was only by utilizing the jump seats pulled down into the aisle. No need for seatbelts here. We were so wedged into those seats we could not have moved had the bus flipped over. In fact exiting was a coordinated event. There was a definite order that must be followed. While on the shuttle we stopped for a photo op of about the fifth Church of the day which I elected to ignore. Instead I remained wedged into my seat with my knees practically touching my chin and observed the traffic. In Guatemala, as in Mexico, red signs the same shape as our stop signs with the letters "ALTO" are posted at intersections. Try as I may to figure out the purpose of those signs, I was not able to do so. On occasion, a random vehicle would slow somewhat but that seemed to be caused more by the fact that they were turning than following the instruction of a traffic sign. In Mexico, drivers tended to interpret these signs as suggestions to reduce their speed somewhat. Not in Guatemala. They seem to simply ignore them. Another thing I attempted to discern while others were still snapping pics of the church was how it was determined which vehicle had the right-of-way. Our shuttle was parked in the street at the head of a dead end street. One of these apparently meaningless signs was posted there, Our street also had such a sign but our bus obscured it from view. My final conclusion as to right-of-way rules, at least in my observation, was whomever went the fastest without regard to other traffic got the right-of-way. Although I believed Olga to be an extremely informative guide whom I appreciated greatly, our bus driver received the larger tip at the end of the day.

In the "Central Park" photo above you may note one of many, many women selling their wares. Beautifully crafted shawls, beaded bags of all shapes and sizes, tiny brightly beaded humming birds, and much much more. Olga had warned us to beware of these street vendors and save any purchases for those vendors at the restaurant as they had the better quality and prices. For once the cynic in me did not surface, I do not believe they gave her a percentage. Lunch consisted of perhaps the most delicious lemonade I've had in years followed by all the traditional Mexican dishes. Very good and yes I know I was in Guatemala, not Mexico. Just saying.

After lunch we had some free time to explore the courtyard where I snapped the picture of perhaps one of the largest examples of their national tree. Beautiful and quite stately. In the same courtyard was the pretty young lady weaving a shawl. I first asked if I might watch her work, to which she flashed a beautiful smile. After observing for a bit, I then asked if I could take a picture. Same response, then she quickly ducked her head and went back to work. Again, I took that as approval. Though I did not buy any of their shawls (I know where I can find a few of my own) I did give her some money for the photo earning me another of those brief but beautiful smiles.

Oops! Almost time for Trivia. Can't let my team down. After all yesterday I actually got an answer correct. Tomorrow I am off to Galapagos Islands for a three day, two night trip. Yeah! The only thing they eliminated from the trip was the day on a dingy with me being seasick while others snorkeled. Yep. Don't mind missing that at all.

I know y'all could not rest tonight without learning how my team did in Trivia. First Place, thank you very much. Today I knew two answers. No doubt what put us over the top. I have much more to share from Guatemala and two days at sea but it will simply have to wait. We have a very early departure time tomorrow and I have not yet begun to pack. Speaking of "Thank you, thank you very much" I watched the Elvis movie last night. Not sure what I thought of it. Had a hard time accepting that was Tom Hanks. Not his best look for sure.

Today Is Someday! Live It!