As soon as we reached the Panchoy Valley the air was fresh and clean. Cool breezes blew down from the mountains. This, at last, was Guatemala, free from traffic jams and pollution from diesel buses spouting black exhaust. There was plenty of parking on Calle Oriente in front of Casa Santo Domingo, one of the world’s finest hotels. We arrived in Antigua, the former grand Captaincy of Guatemala during Spanish colonial times. A city in the mountains in the shadow of Volcan de Agua, the Water Volcano, whose peak loomed in the distance ringed by floating clouds.
Our trip began in Miami, gateway to Latin America. We used the convenient Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel. The convenience of a comfortable, modern hotel when making connections means the difference between exhaustion and a relaxed trip. The Sheraton kept our car while we were away. Right from the start, the trip was easy and the return convenient. We only had to give the Sheraton’s shuttle driver our parking receipt and our car was ready waiting for us when we got to the hotel.
American Airlines has direct flights to Guatemala from Miami with connections from other cities. The airport check-in was fast with courteous and efficient personnel. On board American’s flight service was perfect. We boarded a Boeing 737. It was spacious and seemed brand new. The crew provided us with the Guatemalan immigration forms. Taxes and airport fees were included in our ticket prices so getting through immigration and customs when we arrived in Guatemala City, after a comfortable 2 ½ hour flight, was a snap. Guatemala time is two hours earlier than Miami so we arrived almost before we left, a quirk quantum physicists have been trying to prove for years. Everybody was nice. Authorities spoke fluent English although it is good to brush up on your Spanish before the trip.
We didn’t start our Guatemala vacation in Antigua. We stayed with family in Guatemala City. “It was never like this,” a family member remarked as we stalled at a five minute long traffic light. Motorcycles and scooters zipped in and out cutting ahead of cars and buses in what appeared to be precarious ziz-zags. Old diesel trucks and buses emitted their noxious exhausts and people waited in all manner of vehicles from new black window tinted SUVs to put-puts that didn’t look like they’d make it to the corner. This is Guatemala City today, traffic clogged, prosperous, modern and dilapidated at the same time.
“We always try to drive when there is less traffic,” a relative proclaimed. From then on we invariably made our excursions in town at off-peak hours. The Central Square and National Palace downtown, with the cathedral and shops are landmarks in the city. Vendors sell food and souvenirs from stands. Hawkers offer their wares in the streets. Many of these descendants of the Maya have fine crafts and will bargain until a price is agreed upon.
A park in the city, dedicated to preserving trees from which the Marimba, a xylophone-like instrument, is made has a topographical relief map of the country. A modest entrance fee admits visitors to the nice park. A vantage point up concrete stairs offers a good view of the map created in the last century by trekkers. The astounding thing is the accuracy of the map even by today’s standards. We got a good bird’s eye view of the country from Atlantic to Pacific and from border to border.
There is a white stone and stucco church on a hill called the Cerro del Carmen. It is a beautiful spot where fresh breezes blow and where musicians come on weekends to play together. It is not a commercial place. These musicians are simple people with a love for music. They meet with friends and play in groups along walkways in the gardens around the church. No one seeks money. Families often bring extra plastic chairs for friends and guests who are welcome to sit, sing or just enjoy the music.
For those that wish to wander among exotic as well as humble tombs the Central Cemetery on Calle 20 is interesting. We paid respects at a family plot then drove around the cemetery. One family has an Egyptian motif tomb complete with Spinx ever watchful over the portal. A Chinese chapel and memorial dominates one quiet street and many other memorials catch the eye.
The next trip was a 45 minute drive southwest to Antigua. It was a certain relief once we got out of the city’s oppressive traffic into the mountains. The Water Volcano was impressive and beautiful. We tried many angles and views with the colonial city’s structures to frame it. The view changed as clouds blew across the distant sky and sometimes ringed the twin peaked volcano.
We couldn’t resist our first steps into the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. A group of entrepreneurs purchased plots of land in 1989 and began to excavate and preserve the Dominican convent and church that had been on the site since about 1666. Two earthquakes destroyed the convent. The first in 1717 did extensive damage. The Dominicans rebuilt and enlarged the convent only to have it completely destroyed by another earthquake in 1773.
The Spanish left their colonial capitol after the earthquake of 1773. Archaeologists working with Casa Santo Domingo sifted through the rubble and excavated some of the remaining walls. Underground catacombs and passageways were discovered that had been used as burial crypts for nobles and Dominican friars. The hotel complex has artfully preserved the ruins and established museums that offer visitors insight into the convent, colonial art and an 83 piece silver collection of crowns and scepters that rival any museum display in the world.
Because its inherent beauty we couldn’t wait. We had to go inside for a preview of what we planned to return to later in the afternoon when we would take time in their museums and wax works then have dinner at the restaurant. Casa Santo Domingo’s swimming pool was alluring. Right then and there I was ready to denounce the rest of the sights of Antigua for a swim in the pool surrounded by magnificent tropical plantings set in the niche of restored thick stone convent walls.
It was with reluctance that we left Casa Santo Domingo to explore more of Antigua. On our route we heard the unmistakable sounds of a blacksmith at work. We walked down a narrow passageway between buildings where wrought iron work was hanging. At the rear was a shop where iron workers were forging doors and home decorations. Alexander Perez greeted us warmly and welcomed us to his shop, Taller Santo Domingo. He explained that the forge was started by his father and had been in Antigua for fifty years.
We photographed craftsmen at work and enjoyed a few moments off the beaten tourist path among artisans working with tools that dated back to colonial times. We were ready for a hot chocolate and coffee. We entered Choco Museo and smelled the wonderful aroma of cacao. The taste was savory and we spent a few more minutes savoring chocolate and cacao before continuing our excursion to the Casa del Jade.
There are only two places in the world where jadeite can be found in any quantity. In Burma and in the mountains of Guatemala. Casa del Jade welcomed us to their workshop and retail store. Byron Estrada and Freddy Gomez took us outside where jade boulders were waiting to be cut using diamond saws. They pointed to a bright vein of imperial green jade in one of the boulders.
“Imperial green jade is the most valuable gem stone in the world,” Byron Estrada, the sales manager, explained. We watched as craftsmen in the shop polished jadeite to be used in replica Mayan burial masks and as beautiful jewelry.
“Jade is the stone of kings,” Mary Lou Ridinger said. “People believed it offered them immortality and eternity. The pre-Columbian people of Mesoamerica believed that jade represented fertility, life, power and even breath,” this American expatriate anthropologist explained. Mary Lou Ridinger and her husband Jay rediscovered jade in Zacapa province in Guatemala’s Motagua mountains in 1974. Their Jade Maya factory and retail store is nearby and requires a visit.
A colonial façade and courtyard with beautiful plantings houses the Museum of Colonial Art. Oil paintings, including a likeness of King Carlos V with his dog, grace the halls on every side of the courtyard. Paintings and sculptures date from the XVII and XVIII centuries. The museum was empty, save for us, with friendly staff that explained art on display. Its courtyard garden was inviting and the fountain a good place for pictures.
We strolled around Antigua’s central square then returned to Casa Santo Domingo. The grounds were landscaped perfectly, its décor in keeping with the quiet beauty of the restored convent walls. We toured the museums, some down spiral staircases into chambers and catacombs, some around courtyards in an amazing setting. The art, colonial masterpieces, sculptures, even tombs of long dead friars, became part of our experience. It was a prelude to what was to come.
We planned dinner at Casa Santo Domingo’s restaurant for evening when candles would be lit and the entire interior would become a magic place among four-foot thick convent walls and archways. The setting was glorious, the food prepared by Chef Victor Hugo was elegantly served and delicious. Wood fires burned in hearths to ward off chill air that blew down from the mountains.
Next on our trip was a diving and fishing excursion to Guatemala’s Pacific Ocean with Pana Divers. It was a dramatic contrast to the mountains. We made the 2 ½ hour drive from the capitol to the little fishing town of Las Lisas. A newly paved road and modern bridge dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI made the drive comfortable. We went with Roberto Matheu owner of Pana Divers in Guatemala City. Roberto had all the rental dive gear loaded in back of his four-door pickup so we made good time to Las Lisas.
Oscar Marroquin took us out in his fishing skiff. We planned to dive on two shipwrecks located off the coast. Oscar and his brother Marcos dive the wrecks to spear fish that abound underwater among the steel hulks. The Pacific Ocean water was a warm 84 F degrees. We wore wetsuits more for protection than the need to stay warm. Visibility was limited but the shipwrecks provided great fish havens and marine life was plentiful.
We returned to Las Lisas by late afternoon and drove back the way we came to get to Aldea Buena Vista near Puerto Quetzal where we checked in to Pacific Fins Resort and Marina. The small hotel and sport fishing resort is owned by Niels Erichsen. The first thing we did was stow our gear in our spacious, modern room and take a swim in the resort’s pool.
A server offered us drinks poolside and produced frosty Margaritas. It was a relaxing way to spend the early evening. The server returned with hors d’oeuvres. We enjoyed shrimp and sushi in the warm fresh water pool surrounded by a courtyard with tropical plantings. We dined at the resort’s restaurant where Niels had the cook prepare fresh caught fish.
The resort was comfortable and relaxing. Early next morning we left all but the necessary in our room and got to the marina to catch a sunrise. Niels was waiting when we walked down to the marina. Captain Nestor Garcia and his crew helped us aboard one of the five sport fishing boats operated by Pacific Fins.
“We’ll run out about two hours, probably forty miles offshore,” Niels said. “Might as well get comfortable.” We sat on top with Captain Garcia. He told us about the fishing. Guatemala is considered the sailfish capitol of the world. The record of 124 sailfish caught and released from one boat on one day has not been broken.
“All billfish are catch and release,” Niels said. “We even have the record of 67 sailfish caught and released on one boat in one day on fly tackle.” As we neared the ledge where we were to start fishing, we saw hundreds of spinner dolphins jumping in the air. Captain Garcia slowed the boat so we could take photos. It was an amazing sight. The dolphins would swim in our bow stream and drop back to the stern to swim in the wake. They would leap high in the air and spin around as if it was a performance orchestrated just for us.
When we were over deep blue Pacific water, more than 2,000 feet deep, Captain Garcia had the crew set up the fishing poles. In short order a tuna was on the line, then a dorado. A sailfish was hooked. Niels helped Roberto reel it in. When it was near the boat I jumped into the ocean with my underwater camera and snorkeled to take photos.
Pacific Fins uses circle hooks. The hooks will rust out in a number of days after the fish is released unharmed. When the crew cut the line, the sailfish slowly settled into the water until it disappeared out of sight into the blue. Another larger sailfish was hooked. This time Roberto Matheu took it when it was released in the ocean and guided it through the water to aerate its gills. Roberto then gently released it. The large fish settled into the deep ocean and swam slowly toward the depths.
We drove back to the capitol after an amazing weekend of diving and fishing. The next day we decided to head into the country. We met up with our friends Manuel and Regina Marroquin at the Hacienda Real for breakfast. The drive took about 1 ½ hours from Guatemala City to Tecpan in Chimaltenango. Hacienda Real is an oasis. There are shops, crafts and a spectacular restaurant built in the colonial style. Plantings in the garden are exquisite. Musicians play on weekends and there is everything from midget car racing along dirt tracks for kids to pony rides.
After breakfast we toured the farm store of our friends at Hacienda Real where we got fresh cheese and yogurt from their dairy. Then it was off to horseback riding and fun. Our friends have the largest dairy operation in Guatemala with 500 Jersey cows. They keep horses for pleasure riding and the use of vaqueros on the ranch.
We rode with Bernadino into the mountains from Finca Pasajinak. The sun was out but a cool breeze made it pleasant. Manuel found several stone sculptures on the farm. They resemble bearded Spaniards but their origin is unknown. Ruins of Mayan villages were discovered in the area that was used for traditional farming.
We rode along mountain paths, under forested canopies and through little hamlets. Children waved and laughed as we passed. We returned to the farm in time for evening milking. Everything was organized and the cows knew exactly their places in the milking station and waited in turn patiently.
Guatemala can only be discovered a little at a time. Mountain lakes, its two oceans, its antiquities and Mayan ruins take time to explore. The people everywhere are courteous and helpful, ever with a smile and patient, except when they are driving in the capitol.
Take time to savor Guatemala and plan to enjoy its natural wonders. Some helpful contacts include: Pana Divers, 502 2416 3300; Pacific Fins Resort and Marina www.pacificfins.com.gt, 1-888-700-3467 or 502 7881 4675; Casa Santo Domingo Hotel www.casasantodomingo.com.gt 502 7820 1220; Casa del Jade www.lacasadeljade.com , 502 7932 5700; Jade Maya www.jademaya.com, 502 7931 2400; Hacienda Real and Pasajinak 502 5301 0565; Sheraton Miami International Airport Hotel, www.sheratonmiamiairport.com, 1-800-325-3535 or 305 871 3800, American Airlines, www.aa.com, 1-800-433-7300.
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