Our third Central American country--this time Guatemala! Our ship was docked at Puerto Quetzal for the day. This was to be another full-day shore excursion that would take us through beautiful mountains to Antigua, an early capital of the country.
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| Jim disembarking from the Infinity to board the bus for Antigua. |
Scenes from the bus.... |
| From the bus, we saw field after field of sugar cane. |
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| After the harvest, the sugar cane fields are burned-- notice the smoke! |
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| Neat rock formations--this looks like a face... |
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| ...same outcropping as the face. |
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| Fire Volcano on the left and Acatenango Volcano on the right--don't confuse the cloud with the plume coming out of the top of Fire Volcano. |
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| African Flame Trees--here in Guatemala!! |
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| Coffee trees--protected by higher tree--with Fire Volcano in the background. |
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| Cultivated fields are a patchwork.
And then we arrived in Antigua---
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| Pastel colored house.... |
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| One of the streets. |
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| Another street.. |
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| More pastel colored buildings... |
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| And another street. |
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| When we arrived at our first stop, the Jade Museum, many of us needed the ladies' room. This was a typical sign in many restrooms in Central America-- you had to put toilet paper in the waste basket so it wouldn't clog the plumbing!! |
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| Women in native Guatemalan dress at the Jade Museum |
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| Workers at the Jade Museum |
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| Worker displaying the jade |
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| Notice the masks the workers wear because of the dust. |
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| Woman carrying a basket--what balance!! |
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| More women carrying baskets on their heads! |
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| Vehicle is a "tuk-tuk" or a taxi! |
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| Church ruins.. |
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| Beautiful flowers adorn many of the walls. |
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| Houses have gorgeous doors! |
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| Flowers adorn the windows along this street |
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| Santa Catalina Arch boasts a clock tower. |
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| Near the arch is a display of the Stations of the Cross. |
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| La Merced Church from the mid-18th century was our second stop. |
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| Ornate top of La Merced Church... |
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| ...an impressive entrance.... |
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| ...and an intricately carved bell tower. |
Our third stop was at Antigua's Central Park--
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| On one side of the Park was the Palace of Captains General |
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| On another side of the Park was the Cathedral of San Jose |
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| The Municipal Offices were on another side |
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| In the center of Central Park is the Fountain of Sirens. |
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| Notice the cobblestone street in front of the Palace of Captains General |
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| Antigua, nestled in the mountains, as we left the city to return to the ship. |
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| And a final view of Fire Volcano and Acatenango Volcano as we near the port of Puerto Quetzal. |
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