What Makes Antigua So Special?

1.  The cobblestoned streets, reminiscent of old Europe

2.  The beautifully maintained parque central

3.  The old, ruined cathedrals--seemingly around every corner

3.  The street bands

4.  The fine restaurants

5.  The tourist crowds, local and foreign

6.  The polite, friendly locals

7.  The swarms of American college kids who come here for the highly regarded Spanish schools

8.  The highly regarded Spanish schools

9.  The considerable norteamericano expatriate community

10.  The almost perfect climate--no fans or AC needed!

11.  The beautiful surrounding mountains and volcanos

12.  The bookstores

13.  The cafes and bars

14.  The delicatessens and bakeries

15.  The fast food joints for that burger or pizza fix

16.  The highly developed tourist infrastructure

17.  The tightly controlled vehicle traffic

18.  The tightly controlled, unobtrusive commercial signage

19.  The excellent supermarkets

20.  The close proximity to the nation's capital and airport

Days 4 & 5 in Los Esclavos

Yesterday I opted for the relatively short journey from the capital south to Cuilapa so now will save Antigua and points north for a later date.

I´m revisiting the fine Hotel Turiscentro Los Esclavos which has an excellent restaurant and very good rooms for about $16 per night--the off season rate--and is only a five minute walk from the famous old stone bridge which I walked across today.

It´s definitely off season here because the rainy season has arrived with a vengeance. Last night it poured almost non-stop and today it´s been on & off all day. And it´s so quiet around here I suspect I might be the only guest in the hotel.

The restaurant is another matter though. It´s obviously very popular with the local road traffic on this portion of the Pan-American Highway. Yesterday´s lunch crowd was large and this morning´s breakfast crowd was even larger, and the parking lot was full. This afternoon, however, I had the swimming pool just outside my door all to myself--if I´d wanted it. . .

Despite the rains, it´s very beautiful around here with lush, green jungle covered foothills and a couple standout volcanos nearby. The muddy brown river races in the gorge below the bridges after passing through a small hydroelectric dam and power plant.

I´m cooling my heels a bit because today I was unable to access cash from the ATMs in Cuilapa and hope this electronic inconvenience is only a temporary annoyance and not some problem with the bank at home.

But at least I´ve started on my journey: looks like I´ll proceed to the El Salvador frontier in a day or two then see how my itinerary might progress from there.