We arrived safe and sound in Puerto Quetzal and passengers were greeted to the lovely sound of music coming from the lovely terminal building. It was an open air building with a thatched roof. Just outside was a very colourful market with people offering a variety of arts, crafts, clothing, souvenirs and much more. I didn’t have time to stop as I had to get to a waiting bus for Antigua Guatemala. As our bus driver negotiated the busy roads for the next 1½ hours our guide, Malbi, talked about the banana and sugar cane plantations that we saw along the way, and also the coffee plantations in the highlands. She also talked about the history of Guatemala and its people. In the distance we noticed 4 volcanoes and as we got closer to Antigua Guatemala we could see 1 volcano smoking gently. We were told that if we heard strange noises and felt vibrations whilst visiting Antigua – not to worry about it as it was just the nearby volcano - Volcán De Agua!
Our bus stopped just outside the Jade Factory and guests were let loose for the next 3 hours to visit places of interest, do some shopping or relax. A couple (who I had seen and chatted to the previous day whilst on a tour) invited me to join them as they wandered around town. Having heard some of their stories of their previous visit to Antigua, I was quite glad to be with people who seemed to know what to visit and where. Needless to say we didn’t see much! The couple had an idea of where they wanted to go but we didn’t really get anywhere as they were too busy deciding on where to go! In the end we visited a cathedral near Central Park and then had lunch at a local restaurant. The food was delicious and we were quite full by the time we finished our meal. In an effort to ease our stomachs, we walked to the Arch of Santa Catalina, visited an indoor market and then headed to another park. Unfortunately we couldn’t find it and started to run out of time so we had to make our way back to the Jade Factory to meet up with our bus.
Antigua is a charming town with cobbled streets and interesting looking buildings. People are friendly however we were hounded by individuals trying to sell things, not taking ‘no’ for an answer, and walking along the road with us until they gave up with the realisation that we weren’t going to buy anything.
One couple had got separated during the day and the lady rocked up at the bus but her husband didn’t. She was naturally very worried in case he had got lost. Our driver and guide were prepared to wait for a bit before deciding what to do next. Fortunately the husband rocked up about 10 to 15 minutes later. He had got lost ended up getting a Tuk-Tuk taxi (little 2 wheeler) to take him back to the Jade Factory. The wife was relieved to see him. One guest was a bit frantic with the wait, saying that the ship would go without us if we were late because we were on a private tour. Another guest and I explained that the ship would wait for us because we were on bus that was specifically hired by the ship. If she had decided to do a tour from the port that was not organised via the ship then things might be different. She calmed down and was even more relieved that we arrived back at the port with over an hour to go before the ‘all aboard’ time, and a few minutes later than our bus’s expected arrival time back at the port.
Back on board the ship I found Paul and we ended up taking a short walk around the market just outside the terminal. I loved the colourful items of clothing, some of the cloth had been hand made. One of the cloths the women wear has multiple uses: a skirt top (basic rectangle with a hole in the middle for the head), carrying a baby, wrapping and carrying goods, a warm shawl, etc. A woman, before she gets married, has to make one for her future mother-in-law. It takes about 6 to 9 months to make, using the best threads and colours she can find, the nicest patterns that she can think of, etc. On the wedding day mother-in-law is presented with the newly made cloth which she wears with pride (or not so, depending on how well or poorly made it is). Wedding guests’ comments about the cloth determines whether the bride is a hard working woman or not, and will or will not be a good wife.
The ship is now well out to sea again, heading towards Manzanillo in Mexico. We will see land again in 2 days’ time.
You can see my pictures on facebook via this link: Excursion: Antigua on Your Own
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| Our route to Manzanillo, Mexico (via sea!) |
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