Antigua Guatemala - The perfect starting point by Simon Hillier
A great place to start your Guatemalan experience is
Antigua, nestled between three volcanoes, an hour from
Guatemala City airport. Antigua was the capital of Guatemala
until 1773, when the Santa Marta earthquake rocked the
foundations of the town. Still, the city retains its
colonial charm. Public buildings, churches, convents and old
residences are examples of the extravagant architecture and
prosperity of the past.
Tourism is Antigua's main income generator. With over 60
language schools in a city of just over 30,000 people, it's
a popular destination for westerners to spend a few months
studying Spanish in the morning amongst the cobble-stoned
streets and colourful neighbourhoods. In the evenings,
locals and tourists alike arise from that fabulous Latin
American tradition, the siesta, and head out to enjoy the
wide range of local or international cuisine on offer.
Not surprisingly, the dreaded Ronald McDonald plague has
spread to Guatemala. However, Camperos, the local finger
lickin' chicken chain dominates, having sent Colonel Sanders
and his army running for the border like...well like a pack
of chooks with their heads cut off. Whatever your pleasure,
once you've fuelled the belly, you can head on to a bar for
a few local cervezas, or Samba the night away in one of the
lively nightclubs.
During the day, most of the action takes place around the
Grand Plaza. Street vendors ply their trade as tour buses
roll into the square. It's a great place to sample the local
food and world-renowned coffee in the outdoor cafes and
restaurants, or simply hang out under shade in the park with
the Antiguans.
As in most developing countries, children selling local
textiles, wood carving and jewellery, exercise sales
techniques to put Sydney's best real estate sharks to shame.
Being a sucker for an angelic smile, it was a struggle to
resist handing over a wad of Quetzal's to a little Mayan
girl who promised me that my senorita would adore me if I
bought her the lovely embroidery scarves her mother had made
for us.
Meanwhile, her knee-high brother was smoothly working on
senorita, telling her that she had the eyes of a goddess,
and any man who did not adorn her with such a gift was not
worthy of her. It was now three against one, so I handed
over the cash to the grinning dynamic duo.
It's worth spending at least a day exploring Antigua's
colonial buildings and ruins. The most impressive examples
being Catedral de Santiago, San Francisco, the town's most
notable church near Parque Central, and the former nunnery,
Las Capuchinas.
Looming over the city like a sleeping giant is the active
volcano, Pacaya. For a few dollars you can take a guided
hike up right to the rim of this 2500 metre chimneystack.
Climbing a volcano is not so much a strenuous activity as a
complicated one. After a two hour uphill trek through dense
bushland and small mountainside villages, greeting passing
bulls, cows and chickens as they head into town to do lunch,
you find yourself staring up at the huge dark grey cone of
Pacaya, and realise the hike has just begun.
The combination of loose rubble, steep incline, and gale
force wind provides excellent practice for your Latin dance
moves...one step forward, two tumbles back. On a clear day,
you can see right into bubbling, glowing cone.
Unfortunately, we experienced fairly heavy cloud cover.
Nonetheless, you get a great sense of fulfillment on
reaching the peak.
About the Author
Simon Hillier is a freelance writer based in Sydney,
Australia. His company, Get There, provides copywriting,
travel writing, feature articles, scripts and ebooks that
leap out of the mundane masses to do cartwheels for your
audience. For more articles and further information visit
http://www.getthere.com.au
|
