After two days at sea relaxing, joining other cruisers for trivia matches, listening to the music by various artists around the ship, and thoroughly enjoying the company of other cruisers, especially over dinner, we had to set our alarm! The tour bus was leaving at 7.30am
Guatemala was our next stop and we arrived very early at Puerto Quetzal. We had booked a ship’s tour which took us by bus the 1 1/2 hours up to La Antigua, the ancient capital of the country when it was settled by the Spanish in the1700s. In those days, Guatemala was a larger country which also included Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize among others.
After two devastating earthquakes, the second of which destroyed the cathedral, the capital was moved to the site of the current Guatemala City closer to the coast.
La Antigua, though nestled between two volcanoes remains a town with a long heritage and indeed was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Although many of the major buildings from the 18th century are in ruin, there are still some which survived destruction.
The fountain in Central Park opposite the cathedral
Front of the cathedral
The now government offices (formerly a palace) survived the earthquakes. The Spanish coat of arms is featured over the main entrance
Inside the cathedral a carpet is decorated with fruit, flowers and vegetables for the period of Lent. We were in town the day after the parade which brings thousands in to see the religious floats being carried through the town. Up to 50 people are required to carry a float. People pay for the honour and they take turns carrying the heavy wooden floats around the town in several rounds.
One of the smaller floats is stationed inside the cathedral
Our guide, Luis talks about the ruins of the main part of the cathedral where the major structure survived, but the domes all collapsed
The town hall decorated with the purple banners which adorn all buildings which were passed during the parade
Central Park from the town hall. All the streets in La Antigua are cobbled, as in the foreground here
Many homes on the street corners have these corner windows, some more decorated than others
Not a corner window, but cute decorations nonetheless
To be continued
Guatemala was our next stop and we arrived very early at Puerto Quetzal. We had booked a ship’s tour which took us by bus the 1 1/2 hours up to La Antigua, the ancient capital of the country when it was settled by the Spanish in the1700s. In those days, Guatemala was a larger country which also included Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize among others.
After two devastating earthquakes, the second of which destroyed the cathedral, the capital was moved to the site of the current Guatemala City closer to the coast.
La Antigua, though nestled between two volcanoes remains a town with a long heritage and indeed was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Although many of the major buildings from the 18th century are in ruin, there are still some which survived destruction.
The fountain in Central Park opposite the cathedral
Front of the cathedral
The now government offices (formerly a palace) survived the earthquakes. The Spanish coat of arms is featured over the main entrance
Inside the cathedral a carpet is decorated with fruit, flowers and vegetables for the period of Lent. We were in town the day after the parade which brings thousands in to see the religious floats being carried through the town. Up to 50 people are required to carry a float. People pay for the honour and they take turns carrying the heavy wooden floats around the town in several rounds.
One of the smaller floats is stationed inside the cathedral
Our guide, Luis talks about the ruins of the main part of the cathedral where the major structure survived, but the domes all collapsed
The town hall decorated with the purple banners which adorn all buildings which were passed during the parade
Central Park from the town hall. All the streets in La Antigua are cobbled, as in the foreground here
Many homes on the street corners have these corner windows, some more decorated than others
Not a corner window, but cute decorations nonetheless
To be continued
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