Little, Old Antigua

For over two hundred years prior to independence from Spain, the area from the southern Mexican state of Chiapas to Costa Rica was administered as one area, the Kingdom of Guatemala, with Antigua as its capital. Because of this history, Antigua is almost completely filled with buildings and houses from colonial times, some dating back to the late sixteenth century. With cobbled-stone roads and structures that seemed like they hadn't been touched in more than a century, it felt as if we had stepped back in time; that is, except for the backpackers and tourists that had overrun the town.

From Guate, as the locals call Guatemala City, there is the option to take a chicken bus or mini-van. We opted to take an Über, as it was only a little more expensive than the bus. We were fortunate to get one of the friendliest drivers that we have ever had in all of our travels. We learned that Emerson was a Muslim from Guatemala, and in a country that is about entirely Catholic, it was interesting to hear that there is a small Muslim community of about 1000 people across the country. Emerson spoke fluent English, along with Arabic and obviously Spanish. We shared each other's culture, which definitely passed the time as we got stuck in traffic on the main road between Mexico and Guatemala. He was full of praise about Australia, particularly the different produce that he had experienced in Guatemala and in the Middle East, where he had studied Arabic and Islamic law.

We had two full days to explore the colonial town of Antigua and, at one point, it seemed almost overwhelming to see so many beautiful buildings with such character and history. Scattered around the town are many churches and cathedrals that had been partially destroyed by earthquakes and now abandoned. One of the ruins included a former monastery of Santo Hermano Pedro next to the Iglesia de San Francisco, which was originally built in 1579, but suffered damage in a number of earthquakes in the eighteenth centuty. Another nearby cathedral ruin included a museum and art exhibition, the latter including some confronting and disturbing images from across the world, most of which seemed to be related to war and religion or more precisely wars over religion.

The next day, we got up reasonably early to walk to the lookout on top of Cerro de la Cruz. Normally, the climb would have been an easy feat, but after nine months of very little cardiac exercise and carrying additional kilos, known as the guanabana baby, we arrived at the top panting and puffing like a sex worker on a busy night. As we stood overlooking the town, a group of locals struck-up a conversation with us and, while the conversation wasn't deep and meaningful, we actually proved that we could string a few sentences together and get our message across. All that Peppa the Pig must be paying off! Well, that’s what we thought then. Moments like these always seem to be countered with dialogues that demonstrate that we still have a LONG way to go before we are “fluent”. Oh well, we'll keep learning and practising.

Next stop: Flores via Guatemala CityRead more