Tuesday
Many Latin American cities have religious statues, such as crosses, overlooking them. Antigua’s stone cross is a symbol of its strong faith in God’s love. We take a tuk-tuk up to Cerro de la Cruz, Hill of the Cross, and pay a small admission price. The tourist police are visible and we feel safe. A local warned that if there were no police, DO NOT STAY, not even in daytime!
We are blessed with a decent view of the city and surrounding area.
We strike up conversations with visitors to the park. We ask so many questions that someone wants to know if we’re thinking of moving here. One local tells how she’s from the states, but married a Guatemalan. He works, but his salary is not large, so they live simply. They’d love to live in the states, but wouldn’t be able to make it with her pension. Another, a Canadian ex-pat who married a Guatemalan, is thriving! He’s a business owner and his wife also has her own business. He wouldn’t live anywhere else. They own several houses and their child attends private school. So many with money are living in La Antigua that the locals are being slowly squeezed out.
It takes about 10 minutes to get down the paved concrete walkway that ends near 1st Avenue.
Lunch at Tipical Antiguenos Restaurante is alright, but salty.
We’ve been told Maya didn’t have salt or sugar before the Spaniards came, but now they use both liberally! The restaurant is also very typical of some of the rural eateries in that I have to scoop water out of a barrel to flush the toilet.
Choco Museo gives a history of the cacao bean, holds chocolate making classes, offers free chocolate tastings and chocolate tea!
Dinner at Hector’s, listed as the #2 best restaurant in La Antigua. Seats about 25 and has only one overworked waitress tonight. The food is wonderful, but there’s something wrong about the practice of an automatic tip added to the bill when the service is lacking.
