Antigua was the capital of Guatemala and one of the oldest cities in Central America. In 1773, a massive earthquake hit the city and ruined most of the buildings and churches. This resulted in the capital being moved to Guatemala City. The damage can still be seen today and in my pictures. It is a very beautiful city with Spanish layout. The roads are cobblestone and walking and driving are quite a challenge. It was just fun walking the streets and seeing more well healed people walking next to European backpackers. The place was teeming with nice courtyard restaurants and small souvenir stores. Given the climate, flowering plants were everywhere. One of the nights was a festival and the streets we lined with vendors and Hoards of families enjoying the festivities. The other night was calm and hardly any people out on the street. The two contrasts were nice. I made a day trip through the highlands to chicastrnango, which is a famous and largest market in Central America. It was a swarm of locals and tourist. After several hours, I retreated to a quiet restaurant. On my he way back, google maps decided that I needed to take the shatter “dirt mountain” road. Let’s just say that it was purely for locals and everyone was shocked to see this crazy gringo sharing their roads. Everyone gives a thumbs up to the car and are constantly taking pictures. The last full day, I was to meet Rick at airport in Guatemala. To be assured that I would meet him in time, I left early and went to the historical center of Guatemala City. It was disappointing at best, as there are hardly any interesting building or quaint areas. I spent most of the time watch the kids chase the pigeons and listing to Pink Floyd. Rick arrived on time, but without his luggage. So, we had the go back the next day on our way out of town to retrieve it on a flight from Miami I was most happy to see Rick again and have been chewing his ear for the past day. He will either go deaf or toss me off of a mountain at some point. It is just fabulous to have someone to talk to that understands and speaks English. All and all, Guatemala is a very beautiful country. The people are friendly and really make an effort to communicate. I am just going out of my way to talk to everyone and it is paying off with hand shakes, photos, and a lot of fist.
From Arizona to Panama Canal 