At the end of July we spent our birthday weekend in Antigua, a colonial city that was the Spanish capital of Central America until 1773 when an earthquake left much of the city in ruins. Nearly all of the Catholic churches and convents were destroyed and their ruins are part of what makes Antigua such a charming and interesting place to visit. We took a walking tour with a delightful, English-speaking Antigua native. He first took us up a hill to see a nice view of the city, with its two volcanoes, Agua and Fuego. We then visited a convent, the old cathedral which has now been partially rebuilt, and other points of interest along the cobble-stone streets.
In the afternoon we walked to the open market. It was similar to many we've been to, only larger! We particularly enjoyed seeing all the chicken buses lined up. This is the main form of transportation for venders coming to market, as well as those coming to town to shop. We also loved seeing all the shoe-shine boys lined up in a row. Sadly, our tennis shoes didn't need a shine!
Friday night we enjoyed a nice surprise. We had arranged to meet with Marci Call, from our home ward, who was in Guatemala to participate in a service project. While we were eating dinner on the terrace of a restaurant, we saw lights floating in the darkening sky. We learned that the people were having a festival for St. James, who is the patron saint of Antigua. They were lighting floating lanterns in the plaza and sending them off into the night sky. They lit well over a hundred lanterns, perhaps two hundred, and it was a beautiful site. But little cameras don't record it well, so you'll just have to believe us on this one!
