ANTIGUA

 

 

Having so much ground to cover, upon arriving back in Panajachel an afternoon departure is made for Antigua and its Unesco World Heritage ambience almost immediately.  The drive is supposed to take about two and one-half hours, but takes nearly 90 minutes more than that.  It is well worthwhile.  Here once again, on a much larger scale than diminuitive San Juan, is the perfection of cobblestone street, protected heritage, throbbing nightlife, quality restaurants, excellent shopping, and view.  Two volcanoes: Volcan de Agua and Volcan de Fuego, dominate the skyline.  Volcan de Fuego still has activity, with minor steam eruptions and late night glow lending a sense of awe and wonder to the setting.

 

Due to bus schedules and the order of battle for specific travel goals following, I am blessed with two nights and one full day in this remarkable town.  After a later than expected arrival on a Friday night, the town is already hopping with busloads of tourists arriving in large number.  I immediately take the the Plaza Mayor (behind which is the very becoming Antigua Cathedral and amble down pedestrian only Calle Oriente 5A Sur (south) looking for a meal.

 

Along the way, there are the usual tienda stalls packed with colorful clothing and gifts still open late at night, a rich collection of foreign and Guatemalan specialty restaurants, the well-lit historical sites of the city (which I won’t try to enumerate, and which are perhaps even more impressive at night than during daytime), and clubs playing to a largely younger crowd.

 

I settle on a local Spanish style restaurant with an interior courtyard featuring a central fountain and a singer playing Spanish guitar.  He is accompanied by a keyboardist.  The two play various riffs off each other and are clearly enjoying the artistry of the other in performance of mutual admiration.  As is the custom in warm locales with a late-night dining crowd, my final stop is a gelato shop.  For as often as these bits of heaven appear, it is no wonder you can walk all day, sweat like a dog in heat, and never lose an ounce of weight during extended travels.  Sleep comes easily after this, the grind of the road and wee-hour blogging catching up to me once again.

 

For my only full day in Antigua, I concentrate on historical sites, and recommendations of locals as to where to visit.  Those recommendations of course being the best advice you will get on the road at any given time.  A start is made with walk-by tours of the Santa Rosa and El Carmen churches, long ago abandoned and left as relics by previous frequent earthquake activity in Guatemala.  They are impressive for their varied weathering patterns on their thick-walled exteriors, and the massive cracks that now mar their exterior profile and rendered the buildings useless.

 

Another stop involves the colorfully adorned and well preserved colonial style Hermita Santa Lucia.  And another was the Fine Art Photograpy exhibit of John Kaplan, showing in delightful expression the most amazing collection of smiles from Guatemalan children in various stages of poverty, woe, and want.   Without going into the excesses of listing however, my favorite stop by far was the ruins of the Iglesia de Santo Domingo.  This absolutely unique church complex ties the walled remains of an earthquake destroyed beauty, with modern restoration methods – but only in part.

 

The golden hued brick and stone walls have been left as destroyed.  A new, engineered and at times floating (or independently connected) roof has been designed to respectfully complement the site.  Strong steel earthquake reinforcement rods painted to match the brick reach up in irregular combinations  to the remaining walls in a Gaudi like manner.  Instead of being geometric, they are organic, and complement the site.

 

Spanish tile still dominates the skyline.  Large gaps between the wall tops and the roofline regularly appear, allowing the battered and wavy edges of the Santo Domingo of antiquity to still show what became of this proud complex, while the modern roof suggests what once was.  The beauty is in conceptualizing melding of the two.  Nestled between gaps in the roof and wall are restaurants (dining by candlelight, the same as back in Spanish colonial days), fountains, ossuaries, a museum section, and massive performing arts tent.  Modern hotel and spa facilities are located only yards away, yet in a matching architectural style.

 

Santo Domingo offers up a peaceful retreat.  The entire setting is park-like and tranquil.  Choral chant music plays softly in the background.  Solace and “beyond ambience” becomes the watch words of the day for this stunning restoration.  I take a very light dinner and several drinks there, just to be able to extend my time of repose and reflection.  This truly, is the place you would want to have for a wedding – or, the place you might best propose one.

 

I move on to two local institions to close out the evening.  One old, and one new.  The new one first, simply because there is not so much rich material to choose from in describing it.  The two ae perhaps 50 yards apart.  But I fancied the Bohemia Café for its fine food at reasonable prices, the laid back comfort of the place, the service of the staff (led by chief cook Kyle), and the way that was so reminiscent in the television series “Cheers” in which everybody knew your name.

 

The old was the No Se Bar (Spanish for “I don’t know”).  It was described as a must-see ExPat bar.  Founded about ten years ago by John Rexer, who got drunk one night, and found out the next morning he’d rented a decrepit slum while inebriated and had no idea what to do with it.  So, he started a Mezcal bar.  Made from the same plant as tequila, but with a much higher quality result.  Which I will describe further below.

 

But first, take note about how locals describe this place.  “You say you want a revolution?  The place to plot your next rebellion, conspiracy or plan to take over the world is in the smoky shadows of Café No Se.  More than a bar, it’s a high concept that works in low places. Eerie lighting, raw wooden walls splattered with esoteric graffiti and bizarre art, and an air of impending chaos lend Café No Se the edgy feel of Quentin Tarentino’s Once Upon a Time In Mexico – the dangerous sense of a border town gone bad. “Chalked body outlines on the floor are a vivid reminder of the thin curtain between life and death, reality and dreams.”

 

Two gnarled, wooden bars stretch from the hole-in-the wall door to the back, with tables along the walls for more privacy, furtive discussions and pleas for mercy and just one more shot of Illegal Mezcal (a brand name, not a condition).  Antigua’s only Mezcal bar lurks behind a Hobbit-sized door.  The regular crowd consists of ex-pats, wannabe ex-pats, travelers, and just enough shady characters to keep things interesting.

 

My bartender, Randy, describes the process for making Mezcal as follows: Mezcal is hand-made, the same as 500 years ago.  Tequila is machine manufactured.  Mezcal is made by roasting the agave plant for three days, to get its distinctive smoky flavor.  No chemicals are added.  Next, it is squeezed into vats of 200 liters, and then sits in a fermentation tank for two weeks.  The result is not filtered, but distilled twice prior to bottling.  That is where its smoothness and character come from.  “Illegal” bottles cost $35, $45 or $55, depending on ageing time in the bottle.

 

In the early days, since liquor import duties were so high, owner John Rexer employed unusual methods to get the product into Guatemala from the Oaxaca area of Mexico.  That included the hiring of coyotes (those guides that ferry illegal aliens over the border for money), ice cream vendors who are allowed to straddle the borders with their wares but use false bottoms in their carts after hours, and border runners wearing phony priest costumes.

 

I decide it might be possible to take notes and listen to tall tales about this place for several days, but – having a 4 AM bus to the final major Mayan set of ruins at Copan in the morning – reluctantly take my leave.