The weather here in Antigua is almost like clockwork. Its bright and sunny in the morning, starts getting cloudy by noon, rains from 3 to 5 and then gets chilly by evening. For the whole week that we stayed here it skipped this routine once. Even when it rains it pours for a few minutes and settles down to a unsteady drizzle.
The city is all but 10 blocks with the downtown taking up 4 square blocks. There is not much to do in Antigua. It is a popular stop for people because it is pretty close to Guatemala City but much safer. Even though we only met people who were more than willing to help us as we asked around for directions and help in general in Guatemala City, the ominous sign of a security guard with a shotgun at every storefront told something.
Our stay in Antigua was brief but eventful. Three people made an impression upon me. First, there was Oscar, our driver to Lake Atitlan. The fact that he was cheerful at 0530 hours and waited for us at the hostel caught my attention. I prompty fell asleep and woke up just before we entered Panajachel. The road winds down into the town. It was fascinated to watch Oscar, who, whilst whistling to the radio, would go beep, beep on the horn look out and throw a salute, or show the "V" sign to someone on the road, whom I presume was someone he knew. It got more and more frequent as we headed closer to the town. At the town though, he was calling out. Definitely a popular guy.
We met Alex Montoya at the travel agency. He was our guide for the day trip, but became a friend quickly. He speaks three languages, Spanish, English and Italian, has a degree in Business Administration, worked for a bank, then a hotel and now works with his brother at this travel agency. He let us tag along with him even though we did not pay for a guide. We sure were glad we tagged along. He's good friends with the locals, showed us places we would'nt have found otherwise. For e.g. In San Pedro, he took us inside a Mayan temple, a tiny house which houses the Mayan deity. I would have never guessed the diety would wear a cowboy hat, and smoked a cigar. One of the prayer rituals involves the devotee and the Shaman(the priest) each dousing half a bottle of local moonshine, losing themselves and communicating with the supreme being.
I really liked Alex's personality. For instance, as we walked out of a restaurant, a fraggled kid walked up to Alex to greet him. After they shook hands, I noticed Alex slipped Q1.00 into the kids palm. I felt touched that he knew the kid would be there and had the Q1.00 ready in his hands as we walked out. It wasn't just that though, every place that he took us, the people there liked him, be it the Mayan woman who demonstrated how to tie their traditional headgear, the woman who worked at the women's association or the people at the coffee shop. A place has two kinds of beauty, the ambiance and the inhabitants. Alex let us experience both and I thank him for that. If you are ever at Lake Atitlan and want to experience not just see the place, Alex is your guy. He can be reached at alexmontoyasol@hotmail.com
Finally, there is Julia. We had signed up for week long Spanish lessons since we knew we were going to be in Antigua for a week. Julia was our teacher from the second day onwards since our first teacher did not speak English. As our Spanish improved, we grew closer to Julia. We found out that we could eat Lunch and Dinner with her for a tenth of the price we would have paid at a restaurant. We would have stayed at her place if not for the fact that she did not have Internet. Hopefully the information I gave her will help her get it setup for others to come and stay.
The last day we were in Guatemala we ate with Julia's family. She has a son and two grandsons who live with her. The broken Spanish combined with beer gave way for some interesting conversations. I was taken by how quickly Julia trusted us and let us into her life. I sensed a kind of motherly attention to detail be it the Spanish she taught or the food that she gave us. If you are looking to learn Spanish in Antigua, you can reach Julia at +502-7832-3466
I don't expect to meet a Julia or an Alex everywhere but these kind of experiences are the reason why I embarked on this trip. Lets hope my luck continues.
The city is all but 10 blocks with the downtown taking up 4 square blocks. There is not much to do in Antigua. It is a popular stop for people because it is pretty close to Guatemala City but much safer. Even though we only met people who were more than willing to help us as we asked around for directions and help in general in Guatemala City, the ominous sign of a security guard with a shotgun at every storefront told something.
Our stay in Antigua was brief but eventful. Three people made an impression upon me. First, there was Oscar, our driver to Lake Atitlan. The fact that he was cheerful at 0530 hours and waited for us at the hostel caught my attention. I prompty fell asleep and woke up just before we entered Panajachel. The road winds down into the town. It was fascinated to watch Oscar, who, whilst whistling to the radio, would go beep, beep on the horn look out and throw a salute, or show the "V" sign to someone on the road, whom I presume was someone he knew. It got more and more frequent as we headed closer to the town. At the town though, he was calling out. Definitely a popular guy.
We met Alex Montoya at the travel agency. He was our guide for the day trip, but became a friend quickly. He speaks three languages, Spanish, English and Italian, has a degree in Business Administration, worked for a bank, then a hotel and now works with his brother at this travel agency. He let us tag along with him even though we did not pay for a guide. We sure were glad we tagged along. He's good friends with the locals, showed us places we would'nt have found otherwise. For e.g. In San Pedro, he took us inside a Mayan temple, a tiny house which houses the Mayan deity. I would have never guessed the diety would wear a cowboy hat, and smoked a cigar. One of the prayer rituals involves the devotee and the Shaman(the priest) each dousing half a bottle of local moonshine, losing themselves and communicating with the supreme being.
I really liked Alex's personality. For instance, as we walked out of a restaurant, a fraggled kid walked up to Alex to greet him. After they shook hands, I noticed Alex slipped Q1.00 into the kids palm. I felt touched that he knew the kid would be there and had the Q1.00 ready in his hands as we walked out. It wasn't just that though, every place that he took us, the people there liked him, be it the Mayan woman who demonstrated how to tie their traditional headgear, the woman who worked at the women's association or the people at the coffee shop. A place has two kinds of beauty, the ambiance and the inhabitants. Alex let us experience both and I thank him for that. If you are ever at Lake Atitlan and want to experience not just see the place, Alex is your guy. He can be reached at alexmontoyasol@hotmail.com
Finally, there is Julia. We had signed up for week long Spanish lessons since we knew we were going to be in Antigua for a week. Julia was our teacher from the second day onwards since our first teacher did not speak English. As our Spanish improved, we grew closer to Julia. We found out that we could eat Lunch and Dinner with her for a tenth of the price we would have paid at a restaurant. We would have stayed at her place if not for the fact that she did not have Internet. Hopefully the information I gave her will help her get it setup for others to come and stay.
The last day we were in Guatemala we ate with Julia's family. She has a son and two grandsons who live with her. The broken Spanish combined with beer gave way for some interesting conversations. I was taken by how quickly Julia trusted us and let us into her life. I sensed a kind of motherly attention to detail be it the Spanish she taught or the food that she gave us. If you are looking to learn Spanish in Antigua, you can reach Julia at +502-7832-3466
I don't expect to meet a Julia or an Alex everywhere but these kind of experiences are the reason why I embarked on this trip. Lets hope my luck continues.
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