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Antigua, Guatemala: Walking Tour, Part 2

 

We continued our tour of Antigua, Guatemala’s fascinating city with its historic core (For Part 1, click HERE) by walking to the Santo Domingo Monastery.

37 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 1438 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 21This is now surrounded by the hotel convention center complex known as Casa Santo Domingo. Purchased from the state in 1989, it is a more-than-5-star hotel, with the original architecture and layout of the convent and monastery maintained, although obviously modernized to be able to accommodate conventions, weddings and large meetings! One of the hotel’s restaurants is probably one of the finest in Guatemala.

58 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Cafe de Escalonia 0539 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 24Santo Domingo was the largest in the city until it was destroyed by the 1773 earthquake. The ruins show a large church, now covered by expensive permanent tarpaulins, that give the illusion of a roof. There are fountains, cloisters and various building housing many of the artifacts found during renovation and building. A tunnel was dug below adjacent housing to get to a parking lot; all the artifacts uncovered in the process are now housed in museum alcoves and windows throughout the building.

45 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 4844 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 47
43 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 5142 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 40
41 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 36

I particularly enjoyed the polychrome wood carvings; the quality is amazing and very well preserved. There is also a candle shop; as the whole complex is illuminated at night by burning candles at night, that was a necessity!

40 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 35

We continued our walk west, and arrived at the Church and School of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). This cloister and church, started in 1561, housed Jesuits until about 1770. It became the place to be educated, for the elite and glitterati of colonial Antigua.

50 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and School of the Society of Jesus 10

After the Jesuits were expelled in the 1770s, the buildings housed a city market, with prices still painted on the walls. The main structure was nearly completed destroyed by earthquakes in 1917 and 1976. Due to local restoration efforts partially applied to the front, you can get a feel for how it appeared during that time.

49 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and School of the Society of Jesus 08Ironically, the building ironically is now owned by the Spanish government, which is a very odd way of preserving Guatemalan culture and heritage. 

56 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Arch of Convent 07
57 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Arch of Convent 24

Moving back east, we took the road north to the Arch of the Convent. This is probably one of the most photographed and “quintessentially” Antiguan sites. The La Merced Church is located behind it, while the volcano is seen way behind it. Thus, walking up this street you are able to see the expanse of the city.

60 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua La Merced Church 03The convent was built on both sides of the road, but for cloistered nuns who were never to be seen in public, they had to build a way for them to get from one side to the other. Thus, an arch was created, without windows, that allowed them to move freely between the buildings.

61 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua La Merced Church 10
62 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua La Merced Church 15

The La Merced church was built between 1749 and 1767, in a more baroque Guatemalan style, with two bell towers. Ironically, the Catholics basically enslaved the local population with forced labor to build the structure. They showed their resistance by refusing to create carvings as instructed—native corn cobs replaced the requested grapes. Thus, the Indian rebels were able to still show their influence in the creation of the church for the people who had “conquered” them.

65 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 0466 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 06Our final stop was at a large coffee plantation, called Philadelphia, on the outskirts of the city. It’s one of the largest coffee plantations in the area. Coffee from this area, grown at high altitude, has a unique richness. The growers here have a two tier system, with a canopy of pepper trees growing above the coffee bushes, giving them shade—another premium coffee factor.

67 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 1568 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 1As we were standing outside looking at the patios of drying beans, we looked up to see that VolcÁn de Fuego was erupting before our very eyes. Lava, magma and ash was spewing up into the air, and then continuing down the mountain side in lava flows. What made this particular eruption, the largest in 25 years, so impressive was that there were no clouds, and a wind that blew the ash and smoke away. This meant that you could actually see the volcanic eruption without any problem. What an amazing treat to have as our final experience in Antigua!







72 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Fuego Volcano eruption 0873 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Fuego Volcano eruption 15

Attachments

Images (49)
  • 01 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Town Square 24: Procession for Easter
  • 09 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Museum of Colonial Art 12: Museum of colonial art
  • 10 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Museum of Colonial Art 06: Colonnade within the Museum of colonial art
  • 20 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua San Pedro Hospital 09: A broken Christ at the entry of the San Pedro Hospital
  • 21 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Central Washing Basins 09: Central washing basins
  • 24 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and Convent of Capuchins 25: Cathedral within Convent of Santa Clara
  • 26 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and Convent of Capuchins 19: Open and unrepaired nave of the church at Convent of Santa Clara
  • 27 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and Convent of Capuchins 39: Colonnade within the Convent of Santa Clara
  • 28 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and Convent of Capuchins 21: View of the courtyard of the Convent of Santa Clara
  • 31 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and Convent of Capuchins 42: The sun shines all the time
  • 32 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and Convent of Capuchins 13: A few halls at the Convent of Santa Clara
  • 34 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Doors and Courtyards 11: A quite courtyard in a home
  • 35 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Doors and Courtyards 19: Windows of Antigua
  • 36 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 10: Courtyard of the Santo Domingo Monastery
  • 37 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 14: Hotel rooms of the Santo Domingo Monastery
  • 38 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 21: Fountain within Santo Domingo Monastery
  • 39 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 24: Old church of the Santo Domingo Monastery
  • 40 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 35: Candle shop within the Santo Domingo Monastery
  • 41 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 36: Silver works from the museum of the Santo Domingo Monastery
  • 42 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 40: Close up of the silver works
  • 43 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 51: Polychrome carved wood statues from Santo Domingo Monastery
  • 44 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 47: Polychrome carved wood statues from Santo Domingo Monastery
  • 45 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 48: Polychrome carved wood statues from Santo Domingo Monastery
  • 46 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Doors and Courtyards 05: Windows of Antigua
  • 47 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Doors and Courtyards 22: Windows of Antigua
  • 48 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and School of the Society of Jesus 02: Church and School of the Society of Jesuits
  • 49 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and School of the Society of Jesus 08: Prices of items for sale from the wall of the Church and School of the Society of Jesuits
  • 50 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Church and School of the Society of Jesus 10: Courtyard of the Church and School of the Society of Jesuits
  • 52 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Doors and Courtyards 37: Courtyard of hotel in Antigua
  • 53 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Tortilla Making 05: How to make corn tortillas-1
  • 54 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Tortilla Making 09: How to make corn tortillas-2
  • 55 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Tortilla Making 10: How to make corn tortillas-3
  • 56 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Arch of Convent 07: Covered Arch of the Convent
  • 57 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Arch of Convent 24: Covered Arch of the Convent with volcano in the background
  • 58 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Cafe de Escalonia 05: A place to eat lunch
  • 59 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Santo Domingo Monastery 54: Embroidered wares for sale
  • 60 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua La Merced Church 03: La Merced Church
  • 61 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua La Merced Church 10: La Merced Church statue
  • 62 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua La Merced Church 15: Entry of the La Merced Church
  • 63 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua La Merced Church 13: Corn carvings on the entry of the La Merced Church
  • 64 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Doors and Courtyards 23: Windows of Antigua
  • 65 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 04: Green coffee beans
  • 66 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 06: Ripe coffee beans
  • 67 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 15: Coffee beans and husks
  • 68 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 1: Husks of the coffee beans
  • 69 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 23: Coffee drying on the patios
  • 70 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Philadelphia Coffee Plantation 21: Dried coffee on the patio
  • 72 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Fuego Volcano eruption 08: Eruption of the Fuego Volcano
  • 73 2015-11 Guatemala Antigua Fuego Volcano eruption 15: Night eruption of the Fuego Volcano

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Comments (1)

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Great finale to your visit to Guatemala, and very glad that you got to see the volcano erupt.  It certainly is a memorable experience.  I've only ever seen Kilauea on the Big Island erupt, but those images are forever seared into the brain.

Twitter: @DrFumblefinger

"We do not take a trip, a trip takes us".  John Steinbeck, from Travels with Charlie

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