Volcan de Agua with iconic competition.
November 12, 2009. Antigua, Guatemala.
Three shots from a hill above Antigua. Note the eruption.
Left to right: de Agua, de Fuego, Acatenango.
An eruption in progress.
November 11, 2009. Antigua, Guatemala.
Pictures from the cobbled roads. Magda and Gladys, two Mayan women from the nearby village of San Antonio. They work the central plaza selling scarves, blankets, etc. Beautiful stuff, but not things I want to add to my pack load right now. Magda has some English and she was sharp and witty, very good at countering negative responses. It became a game as we walked around the area - we'd bump into each other and there'd be a new pitch. Finally, I asked if they'd stand and pose and I paid them for that.
This picture again, now with improved processing. Worth re-posting. It's the weekend street market next to the ruins of El Carmen, a 1638 hermitage.
The pillars of The Palace of the Captains General facing the south side of the central plaza. Antigua is a middle-class city, a suburb almost of Guatemala City. The town is a favored weekend destination as well for outsiders. Sunday night, the narrow streets were choked by gridlock.
The church of La Merced, an exquisitely beautiful structure, inside and out. I've framed this picture tight to edit out electrical wires and automobiles which are allowed to park right next to the building.
Another re-posted picture. I took this picture in the first minutes of my first walk around, then noticed postcards of the same view with almost the same angle and perspective. So I gave it the "antique light" treatment. You can pretend it's 1877 if you squint out the modern clothing.
November 10, 2009. Antigua, Guatemala.
Almost directly south, Volcan de Agua at sunset.
A few from the roof. Posting five shots taken from my hotel roof, two with tripod, three without. This is a temporary page, until I can incorporate these pictures into a fuller Antigua report.
Volcan de Fuego and Volcan Acatenango, and Guatemalan flag, off to the southwest, yesterday morning.
I've been walking Antigua's grid pattern, gathering photographs, negotiating toward a ride up to one of the many lookouts around Antigua. The city is chock full of coffee houses serving fresh Guatemalan brew. These are Bohemian days.
Looking east. Guatemala City is behind those hills.
Unfortunately, Antigua is another amazing place sullied by a blanket of tourist-related hyperactivity, especially near the town's center. I find it both understandable and baffling, which are, I agree, contradictory observations. Should I change the name of this website to travelgrouch.com?
That direction, SSE cartographically speaking, takes you through the mountains and down to the coast.
Amazing old structures though, battered by successive earthquakes. Look through the fences into the courtyards of some of these old palaces and churches, and you'll see Volkswagen-sized chunks of rock and masonry sitting where they must have sat for hundreds of years. I snuck into one palace under restoration (it turned out they didn't mind) and got some tripod shots of ruin and restoration. I hope to make it a separate report or gallery.
Northwest now. The yellow walls belong to La Merced, one of many magnificent old churches an easy walk from my hotel.