GUATEMALA
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| Puerto Quetzel |
We arrived in Puerto Quetzel, Guatemala and took a ship tour to the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO heritage site. The tour was called "Antigua on Your Own" and we rode on an air conditioned coarch with guide for an hour and a half inland to the old city of Antigua. We then wandered around for about 3 hours. (boarded coach at 8:30, boarded shuttle at 10am, walking around 10:30- 1:30, back at ship by 3:30)
The port area is mostly industrial, with a small shopping area for the cruise ship tourists. A very colourful place with many stalls - with trinkets to beautiful fabrics and jade jewellery.
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| Weaving loom |
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| my blanket/tablecloth purchase |
Once out to the cruise terminal area, we boarded our bus for the 1.5 hour ride to Antigua
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| Nice highway and views and we're off for the 1.5 hour drive in our air conditioned coach. |
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| A volcano can be seen in the background |
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| Armed Military and police stopping cars on the highway |
This rock outcrop shows the profile of a woman. This is a Mayan sacred area.
Lava flows from one of the many active volcanos
Another lava path
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| It was a very scenic and interesting drive to Antigua with the guide giving us lots of history and local information - but we did see a lot of trash on the highway. |
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| Smoking volcano, but hidden in the clouds |
ANTIGUA, Guatemala: The nearly 500-year-old city is cradled by three volcanoes and filled with colonial-era mansions, churches and convents, many with orange and yellow facades. Once the capital of Guatemala, it is now a Unesco World Heritage site. Yet in addition to the striking 17th- and 18th-century ruins right in the centre of town, the city offers an array of restaurants, boutiques and bars with live music. Visitors can browse the craft markets or sip an espresso at a working coffee farm, while those with a more adventurous streak can hike up one of the looming volcanoes. ~NY Times
Because the streets of this old city were too small for our coach, we had to board a shuttle van to get us into the centre of Antigua. Our shuttle dropped us (and hundreds more) in front of the Jade Museum by 10:30 am (boarded coach at 8:30 at pier)
We were told to meet back here at 1pm - when we would have a tour of the museum and a talk on Mayan Jade by Mary Lou Ridinger, the archeologist who, along with her late husband Jay, discovered the Mayan source of Jade back in the 70's. - very interesting. (Rumour has it that Jay and his hat were the inspiration for Indiana Jones)
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| Cobblestones were brutal! Deep and sharp |
Colourful 400 year old buildings housing shops and artisan galleries. Some are undergoing renovations.
Very interesting old doors and facades
Inside the buildings are lots interesting shops (souvenirs, artwork and jewellery) and hotels. Most of these larger buildings are old convents.
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| Window in the chocolate factory - cacao pod in the centre |
Also in the buildings are many beautiful courtyards - used as restaurants and outdoor shops.
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| A Hotel Courtyard |
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| The indoor/ outdoor jade jewellery store |
Street sellers are everywhere - and they don't like to give up!
"Business is business" was heard everywhere when you tried to haggle over prices.
Mary made the critical mistake of asking a price and had a new BFF for a couple of blocks.
The fabrics were beautiful, though!
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| Father and daughter |
Antigua Town Square
The old city square park area is quite spectacular. It's hard to believe that all this architecture was built 4-500 years ago in the middle of Central America.
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| old ruins at the back of the cathedral |
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| Public Washroom |
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| Floats from the Easter Parades |
The Santa Catalina Arch is one of the distinguishable landmarks. Built in the 17th century, it originally connected the Santa Catalina convent to a school, allowing the cloistered nuns to pass from one building to the other without going out on the street. A clock on top was added in the era of the Central American Federation, in the 1830s. ~ wikipedia
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| Tasting Guatemalan coffee at the Jade Museum |
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| Fountain at the Jade Museum |
On the way back to the ship, we had views of the volcano from the bus
Roadside Markets were a common sight
Locals riding the bus .... yes, on the roof!
Time to depart - what a great day in Guatemala
Another beautiful Pacific Sunset
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| Special dinner with good friends in the Asian Restaurant, Tamarind |
Huatulco, Mexico
Sailing into Huatulco around 1pm - Beach right at the end of the dock :-)
We left the port area and walked about 20 minutes over a hill (in the extreme heat) to the quaint little town of Le Crucecita
The path is still being landscaped, but it was a very nice walk with tropical flowers and great views
Le Crucecita is a quaint little town. We walked around the main square shopping as we went.
We ended up with some silver jewellery, and some local folk art - a black pottery vase and Brad got an Alebrije dragon (colourful fantastic animal carving) .
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| Alebrijes - brightly coloured Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures. Black pottery can be seen in background |
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| Our Purchases :-) |
Back to the ship for some air conditioning and dinner.
After dinner, we went back out for a walk on the beach and a Margarita and wifi at a beach restaurant.
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