Antigua, Guatemala

We departed San Marcos on Dec. 8 with daughter, Courtney, her husband Josh, and daughters, Althea, age eight and Mirabai, age one. Our goal was to spend a couple of days in Antigua before flying home from Guatemala City. Our driver arrived around 8:45 a.m., and our house guardian, Samuel, helped us with our luggage down the precipitous stone steps from our lovely cottage. We felt so blessed to have lived there for a month and to have had such an awesome view (see above) of the volcanoes and Lake Atitlan. However, we were eager to get back to historic Antigua, which we had visited early last year..

On our way we stopped in the western highlands to visit Iximche, an archaeological site which derives its name from the breadnut tree. This was the capital of the late Postclassical Kaqchikel Maya Kingdom beginning in 1470. In 1493 internal strife divided the city, and one of the warring clans was destroyed in battle. Other battles and plagues followed along with a destructive fire in 1514. Finally the Spanish arrived, formed their first Guatemalan capital there; the city was abandoned by the Kaqchikel in 1524. But they did not go without continuing attacks on Iximche. The Spaniards burned the city in 1596 and departed, building a new capital near present-day Antigua. Today, this ancient city near Tecpan stands as a monument to the progressive Kaqchikels of the 15th century; it was much more sophisticated than early American villages. This unique city was uncovered by Swiss-Guatemalan archaeologists in the 1960s-1970s. It is bounded on three sides by ravine walls and is separated from the main residential area by a canal. There are four large buildings and two small plazas. each of which contain two temples of worship. Also, there are elite palaces and two ball courts.

After our tour, we drove into nearby Tecpan, where Josh wanted to visit a private school struggling for funding. While he and the others visited the school, Jerry scurried to the city market to check the wares and talk with the locals. A paint crew was doing its thing on the large Catholic Church. One painter was hanging precariously near the top with brush in hand. Two boys were attempting jumps on their skateboards, but they have a way to go before entering the Olympics.

After a sumptuous lunch at a lovely, well-managed roadside restaurant (rare in developing countries), we drove on for another two hours to Antigua, a beautiful city with lovely old architectural masterpieces. It was the country’s third capital until a series of earthquakes in the 1700s lowered it. We stayed for two nights, shopped, ate lots of good food, and savored our good times together. Our lodging was the quaint, old Hotel Aurora, a luxury hotel by Guatemalan standards. For $70 per night per couple, we had two lovely double rooms along with continental breakfasts. The water was pure, service was great, everything was neat and clean, and we even had Wi-Fi. The flower-laden courtyard was a main attraction. We highly recommend this hotel.

Finally, after two fun-filled days, we bid Courtney, Josh and the girls a sad goodbye. It was time to leave beautiful, well-behaved granddaughters, perfect 75 degree weather, lovely surroundings, and get back to chilly Texas. Our flight was pleasant but long with a lengthy layover in Atlanta. We were met at DFW Airport right on time by Bodie, our church choir director, who delivered us home safely to Hillsboro at 1:00 a.m. on Dec. 11.