Thursday, December 28, 2017, Puerto Quetzal & Antigua, Guatamala

We arrived Puerto Quetzal before noon today then shortly we were on our way to Antigua.  It was a little over an hour's bus ride; we saw many interesting things along the way.

 To begin with we were greeted with a welcome sign as we walked off the cruise ship.

Before we stated an ascent into the mountains, we passed thru sugar cane fields.  We had never seen tasseled cane plants before.  We think it's because we had never been to sugar cane areas in the US at the time of growing to observe the tassels.

We passed numerous cane hauling semis along the way.  These double trailer rigs really take up a lot of length.

For all you volunteers at COR Furnishings Ministry, I got a little homesick when we passed this sign!

 One of numerous fruit stands along the way.  We are enjoying lotsa fresh tropical fruit at breakfasts.

 If anyone complains about high heating and cooking costs back home, just send them south.

Once in Antigua, we stepped back in time to the colonial era, when it was the capital of Spain’s Middle American territories. The city is an architectural jewel, set in the central highlands and ringed by volcanoes. The city’s abundance of historic buildings (most in excellent repair) includes elegant pastel-colored mansions, gracious plazas, baroque civic buildings like the arcaded General Captaincy, and lovely churches like the Catedral de Santiago, which dates to 1545. The old city abounds with lovely plazas, convents and cafés.

 This cathedral we as pretty inside as out.  It also had its manger scene up from Christmas.

We noticed a building near the church and across from the town square was prepared for New Year's Eve.  Hopefully you can see on the picture below that the 2017 lights are on by 2018 are not on.

 The town square was filled with people:  Vendors, tourists, locals, children, flowers and plants.

 We peaked into court yards of two hotels.  Wow, so much prettier than apparent from the streets.

 The picture above is of a several centuries old wall around the original city.  In 1773, the Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed much of the town, which led to the third change in location for the city. The Spanish Crown ordered, in 1776, the removal of the capital to a safer location, the Valley of the Shrine, where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. This new city did not retain its old name and was christened Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (New Guatemala of the Assumption), and its patron saint is Our Lady of the Assumption. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros was ordered abandoned, although not everyone left, and was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala).

 Hundreds of these vehicles made it almost seem like being in the Orient.

On our way back to the dock, we noticed a mountain top that seemed to be spewing steam.  Apparently there are five active volcanoes in Guatemala.

As we walked on the ramp toward our cruise ship, the sunset was beautiful.  Neat close to the day.

NEXT STOP: Cabo San Lucas, but three restful sea days in route.