Looked decidedly different from my regular ones. But looks can be deceptive. Once you enter thru the door and walk a few steps, you reach the inside garden and open atrium. It is teeming with birds – and a particularly friendly parrot – and flowers. This is actually an old Spanish hacienda style house converted into a hotel. Steeped in history.
If you walk around in Antigua, this is pretty much what you will see. Long, straight cobblestone streets that are narrow enough that every one of them is one way. The houses are almost always single floored. They are colorfully painted but not as bright as in Curacao, Burano, Valladolid or the Azores for example. They mostly all look similar. The major differentiation is the door. The size and level of ornateness of the door signifies the owner’s richness and standing in the social order.
Remember my experience in El Salvador where I found out that old school buses from the USA are sold to El Salvador and used for transport there? Well, they are all over Guatemala too! In fact, they are called “chicken” buses. Because they often carry livestock on their roof!
There are two types of these “chicken” buses. The green ones are the public buses. The other colorful ones are owned privately. They share one common thing. And that is being incredibly reckless on the roads!!
Found out that now there is a manufacturing facility in Guatemala that is making these buses too!
If not for anything else but for my favorite cotton shirts that are made there.
For most of the portion, we stayed on the Pan American Highway. This would be the 6th country that I have been on the Highway – Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and the USA. There are 8 more countries left to cover this massive highway that connects the south of South America all the way to Alaska!
Finally came back to my room, a bit tired. Drew the curtains and that dusk view you see hit me. To give you an idea, that volcano – Volcan De Agua, I believe – whose peak is sticking out thru the clouds is almost half the size of Mount Everest. Technically, it is a stratovolcano – which means it has gained its height by many, many eruptions causing many layers of lava and ash to build upon themselves.
The last eruption happened before written history. There was a relatively newer mudslide eruption that wiped out the then capital of Guatemala.
Finished my coffee and crowd watching and hit the road again. I must have been walking for over an hour when I started feeling hungry. Started glancing at restaurants as I kept walking. Suddenly saw a small Indian restaurant. I glanced no further.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen – I came all the way to Guatemala from Atlanta to have an Indian vegetarian thali!!
And if you think your disdain is going to deter me, you have another thing coming at you. I have slyly noticed that their Desayunos (breakfast) menu sported a Chole Batura among other savories!!
