Colonial Antigua

Yesterday, I left beautiful Lago de Atitlan and Panajachel to come to Antigua where I will finish my trip to Guatemala. The trip here and checking into the hostel were uneventful.

This is a very different place thenany of the othersthat I have been to so far. While Gautemala City was huge and a bit overwhelming, Flores was small and quaint, Xela was easy to navigate and beautiful, Pana was like a vacation destination, Antigua is a big working city with lots going on. It is much more manageable then Guatemala City and it is much more attractive. The center of the city is a Park (one city block size) filled with Jacanda trees and many others trees and flowers surrounded by some of the oldest buildings in Central America. It is pretty cool. Also just outside the city, several volcanoes make for a nice backdrop.

Many of the sights in the city are old chruches, most of which have not withstood the many earthquakes in the region. In fact most are only ruins and shells of their formal glory. It is impressive to see what people have built to honor God.

There was a saint canonized here in 2002, Hermano Pedro, and people are still praying for him to intercede. Not only that but they write letters, create artwork, send photos, have marble and bronze plaques inscribed thanking him for hisintercession and healing. It is remarkable the depth of the people's faith.

I was hoping to tackle another volcano here and take a hiking day trip up to any of the three surrounding the city, but unfortunately the trips are not running until the weekend. So I may wnader around looking at some more church ruins and I may spend the afternoon walking to the next town over to check it out. I was going to go on a hike!

I did spend some time with the Suffield group that is here. We had dinner and then I went to their Salsa dance class. It was nice. I will see them again tonight. They are volunteering for a children's home and shelter for a week.