Day 92 - Antigua, Guatemala

Today is Swiss National Day. We can hardly believe we are already three months into this epic journey.

After a good breakfast with fresh bread from a nearby bakery, we headed for Antigua.

Instead of taking the direct route, we chose a secondary that led through the mountains. It was scenic and offered exciting places to visit, like the village of Santa Maria de Jesús. The indigenous people there appeared to be shorter. Barefoot women in their typical woven skirts and tops gathered around the village fountain, standing on stone blocks, washing clothes, chatting, and laughing.

Curious children of all ages looked so cute and were quite camera-shy. The huts were constructed of bamboo sticks and chicken wire fortified with clay.

From there, the road sharply descended the side of a former volcano toward Antigua, located in a valley surrounded by numerous other volcanoes. Antigua is famous for its churches and buildings from colonial times.

An earthquake in 1773 destroyed most of the city, and that was the end of the ancient capital. Antigua was nice and clean compared to other cities we had seen so far. We visited several churches, including the Baroque La Merced or what was still left. It must have been quite spectacular in its time.

But I wasn’t a big fan of churches, especially when you feel it could collapse. However, the monastery and adjacent catholic school were interesting, and I loved the open municipal market where we purchased fruits and vegetables for dinner.Read more