Today is walkabout ….lucked out having tour company owner, local historian, as guide for four hours. Think that Elizabeth knows every cobble by its first name, where it came from, when it got here, and which bishops have trodden it over the last 500 years.
Just an aside……airport closed yesterday after being coated in a few inches of volcanic dust. Will be opening tomorrow specially for elderly Floridians who would like to return to Hallandale beach.!!!
First pic is the coat of arms of Antigua….interested cos on the right side is the shell from Santiago de Compostela….remember the St James pilgrimage that started my walking adventures six years ago ??
Charles V or Philip II never got here but their explorers did…..after relieving Mexico and Peru from their gold.
Next stop was half a church…..the bit that was restored after multiple earthquakes and the wrath of God demolished some glorious baroque architecture. Many churches and buildings are decked in purple….the color of Lent approaching holy week. Covid has reduced the parade floats to about 20%, and they are preparing some inside.
The pic of the float above will be carried on the shoulders of 30 women, who shoulder it for one block before handing it over to the next thirty. All accomplished by dirge type marching music. Polystyrene Mary is atop the platform.
This The other half of the church is a ruin…..earthquaked some years ago….have been bombarded with some many dates, decades and centuries that It has all become one big yesterday. The great hunk of a pillar lies where it tumbled…..nobody underneath I’m told. And, the foreground bougainvilleas bloom their welcome to holy week.
Could not help but notice some small black tubes in the newly bricked columns. That was where they pumped in liquid cement to support the strength and flexibility for the next quake. No pic on that so use your imagination
Have to include this pic of my favorite restaurant…..cheffed by Senor Mango Melon. The dexterity displayed dissecting that mango was worth the $1.25 any day. Counting up he had one healthy six mango customer over the last three days.
A final word here…..did a half hour cobbly walk to pass my Covid antigen test with flying colors….negative result again. Am ready to travel again tomorrow with another four hour bumpy ride to Guatemala city. Oh, don’t forget the half hour cobbly walk back to the Airbnb .