Our friend and longtime household employee, Aura Hidalgo, mentioned she was going to fly home to visit her mother who lives outside Guatemala City. Since she and her sister Sofia have worked in our home for over 20 years, I've heard so much about this country, and so on the spur of the moment I decided I'd go to Guatemala too! Since Lulu was transitioning in the job world, she was free to go with me, so in a week we got our things together and we were off!
We met Aura at the Delta terminal at LAX on Wednesday at 11pm, and our overnight flight took off just after midnight. It's only a 5 hour flight so we kinda slept but then we really didn't. Before we knew it we looked out the window and the sun was breaking through the most gigantic puffy clouds I'd ever seen. Soon we landed in Guatemala City, and were met by Aura's sister Angelica, and brother in law Dario who whisked us off to an early breakfast.
Lulu and I stayed in the "grand dame" of hotels in Antigua, The Hotel Museo Casa Santo Domingo. This hotel used to be a church and convent. Indeed there is a huge outdoor church on the property that was in the midst of being decorated for Good Friday and Easter celebrations. The hotel also encompasses four museums, and all the guest rooms are filled with works by local artisans - pottery, paintings, wood carvings... At night the entire property and restaurant is lit by thousands of votive candles - magical!
Outside in one of the many gardens, local artisans sell their wares.
We couldn't wait to toss our suitcases in our room (with 2 fireplaces!) and be off to roam about Antigua. No high heels for us as all the streets are cobblestones dating back to the 1700's. The village is full of small shops, cafes, restaurants, arts & crafts, churches, flowering trees and bushes, fountains, and parks. Note, we arrived on a Thursday and while it was bustling it was totally manageable - by Friday the tour busses arrived. The weather was perfect - warm, sunny, with a slight breeze.
The heart of Antigua is Parque Central - Central Park - where you will find people sitting on wooden benches, coffee in hand, chatting it up with friends or taking a quiet moment to read the newspaper or a good book on a work break. If you are a tourist, you will be approached by women in brightly colored traditional Mayan dress, offering scarves or dresses for sale.
Lulu bought this backpack at an indoor bazaar where there were over 50 different little shops tucked into corners of a low ceiling underground cavern. Every time you turned a corner you were met with another row of shops as you snaked your way through the maze of color! Lulu negotiated the purchase of her backpack with the young sales lady, saving maybe $25 and feeling pretty good about it!
She put her savings to good use...
.jpg)
The Arco de Santa Catalina is probably the most notable architectural landmark of Antigua. In the early 1600's Antigua had one cloistered convent for women, but demand soon exceeded its space and another convent was built. This new convent, named Santa Catalina Convent, was the first which did not require a dowry, opening up the "opportunity" for destitute women to enter religious life. These nuns lived a sparse life, spending their days in prayer or in service taking care of orphans and abandoned children. Once they accepted their vows, they were not allowed to leave the convent - except when earthquakes threatened and the bishop was good enough to allow them to seek open shelter! The Arco - arch - is hollow with steps on each side, and within this elevated tunnel, the nuns were able to cross over from their convent to the school without being seen, thus complying with cloister regulations. Today the convent is a popular hotel, and the school is a bed & breakfast.
Could this young lady be a cloistered nun?
Passing through the arch where the street comes to an end, is the amazingly beautiful La Merced Church and Monastery. This building has survived many earthquakes, the most recent in 1976, but each time it has been meticulously restored. The plaster exterior color of yellow and white has been likened to a "Birthday Cake" and I have to agree it looks scrumptious! Inside the church, volunteers had just completed an artistic carpet "Alfombra" made of dyed sawdust, flowers, pine needles, and even fruit and vegetables. You can't believe it isn't an actual woven carpet - the colors are brilliant!
We were told that from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday the village is overtaken by an extravagant celebration of holy vigils, processions, and carpet making. The streets are filled end to end with the sawdust carpets, and the hundreds of thousands of visitors are able to walk beside them admiring the beauty. Beginning Ash Wednesday, the processions begins where big floats bearing statues of Christ with a cross are carried by hundreds of purple-robed men. A float with the Virgin Mary follows surrounded by women dressed in black clothing. Their bare feet are cushioned by the sawdust carpets which are destroyed as the procession makes its way. We passed by the storage area of a few of the floats.
I think my next trip to Antigua is with Bill during Holy Week!
On our way back to the hotel for a needed rest, we shot a few photos for Lulu's fashion blog: Lindsay and Lace. (Lindsayandlace.com)
This young lady was selling necklaces outside our hotel, so we bought a few!
.jpg)
