[Above: A woman sells Mayan wares in the central square of Antigua, Guatemala.]

Journal by Todd Borgie

Antigua, Guatemala is situated in the valley of several volcanoes, including Pacaya, Fuego, and Agua. Fuego still spouts smoke lava and ash, which is an amazing sight to see. Agua’s claim to fame is that it wiped out the old city (the city in this city before Antigua was built), but not in the way you would expect a volcano to wipe out a city. It turns out that the caldron created within the top of the volcano was filled with water over time. After some heavy rains the caldron filled and spilled out upon the city below. The flood came with such force it completely wiped out the old village below. After this catastrophe, a new city was built near by and called Antigua.

This new Antigua soon became the capital of Spanish Central America. As you walk down the rocky cobblestone streets, you can see many of the ruined old cathedrals and buildings that have been shaken by violent earthquakes through the years. It is clear to see the effects of the earthquakes upon these buildings, but their dilapidated state bears a certain charm. The city blocks have narrow sidewalks with solid wall fronts on the buildings, most of which do not have windows facing the streets. When you look down a street it just looks like walls and narrow sidewalks line the streets. However the doors usually open into a large courtyard or a deep lot and the structures within these walls are very inviting.

Interestingly, Antigua owes is preservation to a historical string of bad luck. After a major earthquake, it was decided the capital was going to be moved to where it stands today, Guatemala City (northeast of Antigua). Following the move, an economic depression occurred. This dissuaded people from investing in the city, and thus the old structures were not torn down and replaced with new ones.

This city is amazingly beautiful, though it seems to be becoming quite crowded and the Burger Kings, American discos, and omnipresent Internet cafés challenge the once-used description of “quaint”. This a bastion of Spanish language schools, and in one sense you couldn’t find a better place to study Spanish -- but on the other hand the environment of Spanish-only speaking people is not what it used to be.

It seems as though a lot of changes have occurred since I first visited this place in 1997. Back then the streets were less crowded and you would have had to hunt for an Internet café rather then just fall in a certain direction to be in one. The addition of a Burger King was probably the most surprising addition to the city (although the façade of burger king was cloaked with the traditional architecture).

Who knows where the changes will lead. New revenues often lead to new possibilities as well as new problems. It will be interesting to see what will remain important to the People of Antigua as their city goes through these changes.

I still think the city is quite beautiful and there is still much to be explored and much I would like to do in this city. I will definitely return to Guatemala and Antigua in the future.

Although this city has many amazing sites I stayed back at the hotel for much of the day. It was truly wonderful to lie in bed and read about the places where we were going and some of the places we had been. The break neck speed in which we had been traveling, which now had been lifted, took the weight off our shoulders and made it possible to relax. We didn't have to pack and load up the cars, we didn't have a morning briefing; we were left to ourselves and that was just what we needed. Although each and every one of us has writing and other jobs to do, we now had time away from our jobs, companions, and the vehicles. I spent time working on the educational aspects of the trip and how to encourage more students to use the sights.

I was gathering information about El Salvador and Honduras as a rainstorm passed over our heads. I loved the storm as I had a roof over my head and a blanket over my feet.

This is Todd signing off.

Logbook for November 26th
Start: Antigua, Guatemala
Finish: Antigua, Guatemala
Weather Conditions: Sunny and warm, slightly humid, with afternoon rain
Miles traveled: Rest day
Breakfast: Chiliquiles
Dinner: Rice, beans meat and soup

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