Aquarium
Trip Start
Nov 24, 2005
1
13
40
Trip End
May 21, 2006
Antigua,
Guatemala
Monday, January 16, 2006
As impressive as it is, I was left wanting somehow. The whole place felt like a giant aquarium in which to hold all the tourists as they swim around gawking at structures, snapping pictures and then swimming away, beautiful structure forgotten.
But it all does make for a pretty aquarium.
The city is not completely devoid of atmosphere. We found ourselves comfortable accommodation with a shared kitchen and plant-filled roof terrace that begged us to linger for several days
01_church ruins
. Much time was spent yogaing, reading and sunbaking amongst the foliage. When we needed more stimulating activity the local market was an amusing experience. We wandered aisle after confusing aisle searching our ingredients and practicing our Spanish whenever possible.
At night we enjoyed our home cooked meals and cheap wine beneath twinkle lights strewn across trees. We watching the sunset turn the horizon shades of peach and tangerine followed by the rise of a golden full moon. Ironically enough after consuming my own cooking these are the first days since arriving in Central America that my stomach has been a little out of sorts. Go figure!
The city is always humming with people and cars. But it explodes on Sunday afternoons when the Guate City elite descend en mass upon the cafes and central park of Antigua, driving their BMWs and dressed in American designer labels. I found the display of wealth a little shocking after recently reading that one in two people in this country are undernourished.
The pretty aquarium of Antigua is certainly pumping money into Guatemala's economy. Let's just hope it somehow gets distributed where needed.
