Antigua's beauty lies on its southern horizons - a landscape of exquisite simplicity. Three volcanoes loom like silent sentinels over the town. Agua (Water) stands aloof on the left, while Fuego (Fire) huddles behind Acatenango to the right. Agua and Fuego have temperaments as dissimilar as their names. Fuego counts amongst one of the most active volcanoes in Central America, frequently spewing small but observable amounts of ash and lava. Agua, on the other hand, is almost ominously calm with no recorded eruptions. The 1541 mud flows which claimed the life of Antigua's governess originated from a breach in the lake which once stood upon its crater, and which gave Agua its present name.
Agua, the nearest and most visible of the three volcanoes, also functions like a giant compass. Except in this case true north is south. Amongst Daniel's directions to get from anywhere in town to Chez Daniel was the rather quaint instruction to start by walking with your nose towards the big volcano. Having been assured that it was near impossible to get lost in Antigua, we could therefore devote the rest of the day to savouring the volcano views on every turn. In this post, we show you where to get the best.
Below: Mary goes public with her opinions of volcanoes.
Meaning Fork on a Hill, we would never have heard of this place if not for Howard's recommendation. And what a recommendation. Owned by the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, the compound contains a restaurant, several art galleries, an aviary and an outdoor conference centre. Its hilltop location offers sweeping views of the Panchoy Valley, Antigua's three volcanoes and their orbiting vultures - the best of any vantage point still within easy reach of the town centre.
Hotel Casa Santo Domingo runs a complimentary shuttle from the hotel. This was like those garishly painted hop-on hop-off trams one sees in zoos, except ours was fashioned from a lorry. In fact, I'm not sure if Mary enjoyed the ride more than the views from the top. Walk through the restaurant to get to the terrace for least obstructed views of the volcanoes. The food isn't half bad too - Mary loved the sirloin.
Above (top to bottom): Manicured views of maleficence, from left to right - Agua, Fuego and Acatenango; Fuego's day eruptions are less spectacular than its night ones, but no less impressive.
Below (top to bottom): Tenedor del Cerro's life-like wallpaper on a glass sliding door which can be moved to reveal the exact same vista; a black vulture surveys its surroundings.
2. Casa Santa Domingo
While you are waiting for the shuttle for the Tenedor del Cerro, why not take a little walk round the sumptuous grounds of the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. Once, it was one of the richest monasteries in the New World, its grounds even containing an artificial lake for boating and fishing. These grounds today house a five-star hotel, a museum, a lonely macaw and possibly the poshest bus stop in all of Central America.
Below (top to bottom): enjoying the views while waiting for our shuttle, wondering why people ever charge for wifi; marionettes ponder Christ.
3. El Tanque de la Union
Just a block south of the Parque Central is a choice rest stop in the middle of town. A place in colonial times for woman to literally wash their dirty laundry in public, the adjacent plaza and its graceful yellow arches today are a popular meeting point for guatemaltecos. And on a clear day, the still water honours Agua's near-perfect profile with a second symmetry.
4. Arco de Santa Catalina
The defining landmark of Antigua, many come to admire Agua beneath its gilded arch, and to enjoy a fleeting moment of Man's hubristic subordination of Gaia. The arch was first built as a passageway for nuns of the Santa Catalina convent to cross the street to a school opposite without literally stepping out of cloister (ie. being seen on the street).
Reflecting the precinct's position as the tourist heart of Antigua, handicraft shops also line the street running beneath the arch. The pick of the bunch is Nim Pot, a treasure trove of Guatemalan handicrafts from traditional Mayan costumes to wooden effigies of Guatemalan saints. Peddlers patrolling the street outside offer similar wares - shawls, table runners, doormats. Prices are negotiable, though their persistence seem not to be (word of fairness: they still aren't pushy).
5. Your hotel terrace
If your hotel has a terrace, chances are it has an unobstructed view of Agua. Chances also are, at the end of a day's walking, another sight of Agua lording it over every landmark is the last thing on your mind. However, it does offer the luxury of an unhurried appreciation, when you feel like it.
Below: How much of Agua is revealed depends on prevailing conditions. In all our time in Guatemala, we were very fortunate to experience our only cloudy day just as we were preparing to head to the airport.
Remember one thing though, the terracotta tiles on the roof will not bear your weight.
No comments:
Post a Comment