Its been a long time again. Even though I did have plenty of time to write and catch up, I didnt do it. This whole situation and the lockdown in Curaao was difficult for me and I wasnt motivated at all. Luckily Im doing much better again...and ready to write more often.
After leaving Semuc Champey I continued towards Antigua. The city of about 50.000 people is a major tourist magnet in Guatemala and I see why. Its gorgeous and colourful colonial city where the Spanish colonial heritage is very well represented. The city was founded in 1524 and functioned as the capital of Guatemala until 1773, when the city was heavily damaged by an earthquake. The volcano Volcn de Agua, at 3760m, rises majestically in the background and offers beautiful photo opportunities of the city. Antiguas historical center, which is not big and can be easily explored by foot, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979. There are a couple of museums, opportunities to do a and particularly many language schools. Many foreigners stay in Antigua for an extended period and enroll into these schools to learn Spanish. Take your time, scroll
through its colonial streets and enjoy the architecture and colours. I visited the interesting Museo de arte colonial, dedicated to the colonial art. Do not miss the Catedral de San Jos, originally built century and after suffering several earthquakes, it was demolished and rebuilt in the second half of the 17th century. A very strong earthquake in 1773 destroyed most of the cathedral and it was never fully rebuilt.
One of the most photographed spots in Antigua is Arco de Santa Catalina, an arch from the 17th century through which nuns used to cross the street without being seen since that was not allowed. On the hill Cerro Santa Cruz, with a big cross, you have a view over the entire city and its a popular spot for locals to hang out and worth a visit. The nightlife in Antigua is also very interesting and vibrant, especially due to the present of many foreigners.
Not far outside of Antigua there are other active volcanoes such as Volcn de Fuego which erupted about 2 months before my visit to Guatemala in 2018. I took a tour to visit Volcn Pacaya which is 2552m high. Before getting
there we had to hike through a rainforest from 1900m to about 2300m, during which we could often hear the rumbling from inside the volcano which was very interesting and especially exciting as it was my first time hearing such a thing. Later I had the whole volcano in sight and it my first time ever to see lava flowing down from the top. At a very short distance I was able to see cooled lava. It was changed into stone but I was still able to see fire and glow through it, while the whole mass was slowly sliding down with stones breaking off and rolling down. I couldnt get enough of this whole nature show!
I moved further towards Lake Atitln, a popular lake with an area of around 130 sq. km surrounded by towns and volcanoes. Its a stunning spot to enjoy nature and I stayed at San Pedro La Laguna which is a town with about 10 000 inhabitants. I decided to book a cooking class where I was taught to make Tamal. It started with a visit to the market, where we bought the spices, leaves, flour and chicken. Then
we went to the house where the process started. Tamal is made with potato or maize dough with chicken or meat and a special sauce. Then everything is wrapped in a leave called maxn and then boiled; just like Venezuelan hallacas but without the strings. The maize dough was prepared one day in advance and started to knead the dough, then peeling potatoes and cleaning the maxn leaves. At the end the result was pretty good and I ate two of my own made Tamales and took two other to the guesthouse. It a very nice experience and the first time ever I took a cooking class when travelling!
I also went ziplining on an afternoon. I took a to the place, where we had to hike for about minutes to reach the site.
