Antigua

 

In spite of the rainy season setting in, I really was comfortable in Flores, and could have spent much more time there, I needed to make the trip south, to Guatemala City and then Antigua. Antigua really surprised me, in a most pleasant way. The town is cozy and colorful, and I met lots of very nice and interesting people, too. And the landscape, because of the volcanoes, is really special.

 

It's 8-hours by bus from Flores to Guatemala City, past scenic spots like the Dulce River Resort. About mid-distance, the bus pulled into a
very nice truck-stop. The restaurant was better than expected, and I even found a steamed veggie dish with chicken. I was very pleased.

 

Because of a mis-communucation between the people in Flores that made the bus reservations, and their counter parts in Guatemala City, I ended up waiting in the rather gritty atmosphere of one of the downtown bus terminals for 2 1/2 hours. The terminal personnel was getting very restless of having this lone gringo hanging around there in the dark. They do take travelers seriously. After much calling around they finally unravelled the situation and found the shuttle bus driver, who had been waiting for me for hours at the wrong terminal. I consider the long distance bus system in Guatemala quite good and professionally run.

 

 

Arriving in the dark, all I saw on the rooftop terrace was this. I was not prepared for what I saw from my window the next morning.

 

A skyline dominating dormant volcano

 

It doesn't stop there. From the terrace one can see this pair which I photographed through a tele lens. The lower one erupts with steam many times each day, however, once in a great while, once can catch it with a pretty good ash cloud and on rare occasions with a lava eruption. I only saw the red glow one night, but it was raining heavily and that was all I did see, just a distant glow.

 

On a good day you may see this

 

A forgotten soul who thought the FBI was still looking for him - probably for non-participation in the Vietnam War
Once the capital of Guatemala, it was devastated by an earthquake and some of the historic ruins remain

 

 

 

 

 

Two generations apart, Mayan women

 

 

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