La Antigua

Tuesday the 10th, being off school for Mother's Day (see post further down), we decided it was time to enjoy some May birthdays' funds for a good trip to one of most famous tourist spots in Guatemala, the historic town of La Antigua. It should be quite close, but it involves three buses, so in the end it takes us 2.5hrs to get there (and even longer coming back, making it quite a long day). 

Definitely a nice day out and a beautiful town, as you can see from our pictures here, with colourful old colonial-style buildings and plenty of ruins (mostly caused by the 18th century earthquakes); actually, the main attraction for us was the chocolate museum, which unfortunately turned out to be quite disappointing as it was more of an expensive shop with some instructive panels and items on show, plus a quick view on a small, final part of the process and the opportunity to enjoy some workshops which we've decided to keep for another visit (maybe on special occasions), not to spoil all the entertainment chances in the first month. Anyway, we tasted some good chocolate, we learnt something and we bought some cocoa-tea to replace the waning supplies (still from Giacomo&Anna's Mexican travels), together with a fancy earthen cup for our morning chocolate milk, even with a wooden stirring stick.

In the lovely Parque Central, the main square, we also purchased a traditional flute; unfortunately, unless you keep emptying your pockets for very pretty but mostly unnecessary artisan objects, the town itself (excluding the monuments) becomes a little boring, as there's not so much else, apart from an endless series of shops (including those in the big market) showcasing the same kind of material, some exquisitely beautiful but still bordering on the oppressive for the amount on display. 

A perfect case of tourism spoiling the inner beauty of a place (though, of course, this way local artisans find a market, so in a way tourism is good...). 

From a sign seen entering the town, it seems this is even supposed to be a World Heritage Site and actually the historical value of the ruins and the preserved old colourful buildings are charming, but cars driving on cobblestone along 16th century decorated facades look too much out of context to allow a complete appreciation of the place and, for us Europeans, church ruins are not exactly a novelty and for their age they're nothing astounding, as we've already seen buildings way older and still perfectly intact. 

Too picky? Maybe, though it must also have been due to the grey sky, which didn't bestow any good light and contrast on the town and most of all made us forsake the uphill walk to the lookout, as there was no way we could have enjoyed any view of the marvellous volcanoes nearby. Moreover, not being a week-end, we missed possible live street entertainment (music, dance...) which would have taken away the prettily-painted-town-selling-crafts feeling.

However, anywhere is nice if it means to leave the cement and metal-sheets of La Esperanza (our barrio - neighbourhood), and even Guatemala City, for a day and by any means La Antigua is not just anywhere: a lovely place, with some interesting spots (we visited a half-ruined convent and the garden-ruins of another) and a few little museums we've kept for the next time, which we must choose carefully to get a clear blue sky.