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

Bests and Worsts of Central America 2010

Best Hotels
Guancasco, Gracias (Honduras) $20
King Palace, San Miguel (El Salvador) $28

Best Value Hotels
Villa Florencia, San Salvador Centro (El Salvador) $20
Via Via, Leon (Nicaragua) $17

Best Hotel Restaurants
Barca de Oro, Las Peñitas (Nicaragua)
Perkin Lenca, Perquin (El Salvador)

Best Meals--There were many, but a few stood out:
Perkin Lenca's kitchen had great breakfasts and good value, home-cooked quality dinners
Barca de Oro had the best fish dinner of the trip
Opalaca's (La Esperanza, Honduras) specializes in grilled meat and  I had my best chicken dinner there
Guy with Weber Grill on the street in Juayua, El Salvador served the best carne asada dinner
Turicentro Los Esclavos (Guatemala) had a such a good BLT sandwich I ordered it twice

Best Deli Sandwich 
Epicure, Antigua (Guatemala)


Best Panini Sandwich
Hole in the wall deli in Leon (Nicaragua)


Towns or Cities With Highest Fast Food Chain Saturation
San Miguel (El Salvador)
Antigua and Guatemala City (Guatemala)

Towns or Cities With Few or No Fast Food Chains
Leon and Granada (Nicaragua)

Best Espresso Coffees
La Rosita, Leon (Nicaragua)--owned by an expatriate Louisiana woman
Cafe Condessa, Antigua (Guatemala)

Best Local Brewed Coffees
Guancasco, Gracias (Honduras)
Hotel El Rey, Marcala (Honduras)
Hotel El Mirador, Juayua (El Salvador)

Best Travel Agency
I didn't patronize many of these but I want to plug PlusTravel of Antigua (with offices in Copan Ruinas) for its excellent shuttle bus (minivan) services between Antigua and Copan ($8), Antigua and Chichicastenango ($10 round trip), and many other destination points.  Their drivers are courteous, friendly, and professional while their services are safe and basically on time.

Best Bus Rides
The microbus services in Nicaragua were safe, fast, and nearly hassle free

Worst Bus Rides
The local bus service between Choluteca, Honduras and the El Salvador border at Amatillo is frustratingly crowded and slow

Favorite Medium Size Cities
Leon, Nicaragua
Antigua, Guatemala

Favorite Town
Gracias, Honduras

Favorite Small Towns or Villages
Ataco, El Salvador
Copan Ruinas, Honduras
Perquin, El Salvador

Least Favorite Big Cities
San Salvador, El Salvador
San Miguel, El Salvador

Least Favorite Towns
Ahuachapan, El Salvador

La Esperanza, Honduras

Least Favorite Village
Los Cobanas, El Salvador

Most Affluent Towns or Cities
Antigua, Guatemala
Leon, Nicaragua
Granada, Nicaragua

Most Impoverished Towns or Region
La Ruta de Lenca, from Perquin (El Salvador) all the way to Gracias (Honduras)

Most Outgoing or Friendly People
El Salvador and Nicaragua

Most Reserved People
Guatemala and Honduras

Where I Felt Safest
Leon and Granada, Nicaragua
Antigua, Guatemala

Where I Felt Most Wary About Personal Security
San Salvador and San Miguel, El Salvador

note to readers:  if you are interested in more worsts (or more bests) drop me a comment to that effect

Summing it up in Antigua (Day 51)

Having just passed seven weeks on the road in Central America and now having only two days left in Guatemala before I return home this Thursday, I find myself cooling my heels in Antigua--I've run a bit over budget this week--and mentally summing up my journey.

My trip was successful in many ways.  First, and most importantly, I allowed myself enough time to get truly immersed in the local culture.  Though my original, vague goal of reaching beautiful Merida, Venezuela via Costa Rica and Panama was probably unrealistic given my penchant for taking things slowly and my unwillingness to spend more than four hours in a bus on any given day, I did achieve an important secondary goal of visiting several new places--notably Leon (Nicaragua), Perquin (El Salvador), Chichicastenango (Guatemala), and the beautiful countryside of the Ruta de Lenca in western Honduras (Los Cipreses, Marcala, La Esperanza, Gracias, and Santa Rosa de Copan).  Also new for me were my brief stops on the Pacific coasts of both El Salvador and Nicaragua.

It was very important for me to give this trip a lot of time.  My initial trips here in 2008 and 2009 were too brief--and too rushed--for me to do much more than take a quick glance at a region I'd found I liked at least as much as Southeast Asia--if not more so.  One of the joys of traveling in Central America is the geographical fact that all these countries are very small, so the backpacking tourist can cover quite a lot of ground in relatively little time.  Despite their size, however, these countries together boast an incredible diversity of peoples, languages, food, climates, and geographical features such as mountains, volcanos, cowboy countryside, beaches, two very different sea or ocean coasts, and numerous lakes--from the huge Lake Nicaragua to the large Lake Atitlan in Guatemala--and numerous smaller lakes and rivers between. 

Secondly, once I'd postponed the Costa Rica leg of my journey, that opened up the possibility for revisits of Copan Ruinas (Honduras) and Antigua (Guatemala) this past week.  Despite the fact that they were second time visits for me, they definitely remain highlights of this trip since I was able to capture hundreds of images of these beautiful places on my "photography mission."

My photography mission itself was a third important goal  for me.  I was able to take the time I needed to seek out and note photo subjects, mostly of city/town/village buildings and streets, and return later to take photos as unobtrusively as possible.  There were three main reasons for this approach.

First, up until this time I had almost no experience taking hundreds of digital photos, so I considered this to be a learning experience for me.  Early in my trip I didn't take very many photos at all, preferring instead to get the lie of the land.  Later, after I'd become more sure of myself, I began to shoot much more, but with a strong emphasis on experimentation with light, shadow, composition, and subject.  My aim here was to try to improve my skills shooting pictures with the modern equivilent of the old "instamatic".

Second, I didn't want to make myself a target for beggars and hustlers, or worse, thieves and muggers, by walking all over the place with a camera around my neck.  Whenever I did shoot photos, usually I kept the camera in my shirt pocket or in my daybag until I found a likely subject.

Third, when it comes to photographing people, it pays to be discreet, especially in this region.  Guatemalans in particular (but this goes for people all over the world) don't appreciate foreigners taking photos of them without permission.  Consequently, I was very careful not to be too aggressive with the lens.  Since I had almost no experience shooting candid photos of people, I was particularly careful to tread that path cautiously.  I have probably improved a little bit in this area.  But readers will notice that--once I get my photos posted--there aren't very many good photos of people apart from some typical street scenes.

Another important goal I achieved with this trip was the establishment of a credible travel blog which I can continue to build in the months and years to come.  Committing myself to writing something almost daily was important in that it kept me on my toes, forcing me to wander--not aimlessly as I might have done two decades ago--but with some specific destinations in mind, always remembering that I had to be loyal to a readership (no matter how modest).  This helped me to focus everyday on seeing things with a writer's eye.  Everyday became a different story for me, and the challenge was to try to improve at creating a daily story that would be compelling to the general reader.  I'm not sure how well I succeeded in that, but I think I've definitely made a good start.

Searching for a Church in Chichicastenango (Day 50)

All I had to go on was a name:  Flavio Rodas.  My aunt in suburban Milwaukee told me her church has one of its sister churches by that name in Chichicastenango, so I decided to look it up.

It was easy to find. . .well, sort of easy, that is.  From the start, everyone told me there's no church by that name, only a school.  The first man I asked sent me in the general direction of the school, so I started walking.

But Chichi is built upon some incredibly steep hills, and when I perceived that after walking down one hill I'd have to begin climbing another--but not entirely sure of the correct direction I should go--I flagged down a three-wheeled mototaxi.

"Sabes Iglesia de Flavio Rodas?" I asked the driver.

"Sure, I know it."  And as he drove up the hill we passed a long wall with mural panels, one of which appeared to be painted by students of La Escuela Flavio Rodas.

"Is that the school?"

"The school is that way, " he pointed in one direction.

"How about the church?"

We reached a fork in the road.  "Left for the school, right for the church, " he said.

"Go right."  And soon we were in front of a church, but was it the right one?  Assembly of God, it said, written on a sign above the door.  Several women were seated in front with foods for sale.

The driver told me what everyone else had said:  there's no church by that name, only the school.

So I walked down to the school and snapped a couple photos.  On a Sunday there wasn't much to see.  Then I walked back to the murals and shot some photos there.  Then I walked back to the church and took a photo or two there.

Then I asked the women:  "Is this the Iglesia Flavio Rodas?"  Well, they said, there's no church by that name, only the school.  But if you're looking for the church in Flavio Rodas (neighborhood), this must be the one because it's the only one around.

Based upon my extensive walk around the neighborhood, this appeared to be true.

I asked them if they have "sister churches" in the United States.  "Oh yes," said one of the women, "I can think of one in California."

Any other states, I asked, perhaps Wisconsin?  "Probably," she said, "but I'm not sure where."

This was good enough for me!  Mission accomplished?  Well, sure. . .

Ancient Market Town Chichicastenango Draws Big Crowds

My Rough Guide to Guatemala claims that Chichicastenango has hosted markets on Thursdays and Sundays for "hundreds, perhaps thousands of years."  And since this town is so famous for its twice weekly market I thought I should cap off my seven weeks in Central America with a visit.

If you're claustrophobic or don't care to be squeezed into a slowly moving mass of people, you may want to give Chichi a miss.  Yet though I prefer to observe things from the sidelines, there's no doubt that there's lots of fine stuff for sale, especially of the colorful, locally hand-woven textiles.

Despite my best efforts to fend off the hawkers--I'm not really "in the market" for anything--I have dropped about $20 total on a shirt and carved wooden flute.  Probably I've paid a little too much, especially for the shirt, but there's no denying I bought a nice one.

In a sense I didn't buy anything at all but rather paid two sales people Q150 total for their friendly but persistent efforts to make me part with my money!

(Okay, I will admit that I was in the market for shirt.  And as for the flute, well...I figured I might find a use for it in Suzuki group classes next year.)

Joking aside, today for the first time on this journey I have felt just a little bit nervous about pickpockets, so I have taken appropriate precautions.

I had hoped to take a few photos but the crowds make it difficult plus I'm dealing with the reality that the locals--largely from the indigenous tribes who live in Guatemala's western highlands--remain fiercely sensitive about being photographed without permission, so I don't want to cause unnecessary offense.  I will address this issue in a future post about my ongoing "photography mission."

Apart from the beautiful textiles, you can buy an array of fine leather goods, hammocks, handbags, shoulder bags, indigenous costumes, wallets, purses, belts, shoes, household items, hand-made jewelry and silver items, and much, much more.  There is a whole section of "wet" market as well with fresh meats, poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables, and grains.

If I have time I want to find my Wisconsin aunt's church's sister church which is here in Chichi.  All I have is a name, so I'll have to ask someone and hope they can direct me.

La Antigua: Busker Central in Central America

I haven't written much about buskers or musicians in Central America mainly because there hasn't been anything to write about.  Unlike in Mexico where there is a whole mariachi troubador culture on the streets of its colonial cities, in El Salvador or Honduras you can go many days without seeing someone with a guitar or violin.  When you do encounter street musicians, as you do in Granada, Nicaragua, it's somewhat of a pleasant surprise.  And when I do bump into the occasional street band, as I did in Gracias, Honduras, I always donate something to the cause.

But in Antigua we are in a whole different league.  It helps if you can picture the massive crowds here--not only of weekend trippers from Guatemala City and other parts of the country, but also foreign tourists from Europe and North America, high school and college kids from America, and denizens of the large expatriate Western community who now make Antigua their home.  With crowds like these on a typical Saturday, it can pay very well to play on the street.

This city just reeks of cosmopolitan prosperity with its restaurants, bars, coffee shops, hotels, travel agencies, boutique stores, and regular markets.  In a region where bookstores are oases and second hand English language books sell for $10 or more, there are so many books in English available, and for almost nothing,  that I'm close to hyperventilating as I type this dispatch.  La Antigua definitely has anything you could possibly want, especially for someone like me who has come from a markedly much poorer place such as western Honduras.  If you want McDonald's or Burger King or Subway or almost any kind of pizza you desire, it's all here.

With crowds the way they are and with the sort of conveniences you can find here, maybe that's partly why the local buskers can do so well in this town.  And it seems even foreign travelers can hang their hats for awhile and make a living with a song and a guitar, or--as in the case of "Takeshi"--by painting Japanese calligraphy.

Check out the following website from a young  Japanese guy I just saw on Antigua's streets who had a huge crowd around him:

http://takeshi.henjin.com/

Takeshi sings original songs, plays guitar, and sells his CDs, but his main attraction is he paints your name in katakana/hiragana (Chinese/Japanese script) on a strip of white paper for five quetzales (60 cents).  He has a big sign written in Spanish telling of his voyage around the world which encourages donations, and he wears a baseball cap and t-shirt promoting his website.  Flyers ("take one!") are available so you can look him up on the web. . .and link him to your blog!

I can report that the kids loved this guy, and their (mostly) affluent local parents were fascinated by him.  Of course I was pretty fascinated too.

When I think back now to my experiences in France and Switzerland of the 1980s,  I regret that the CD was barely invented then, that there was no such thing as a "world wide web", and that it didn't seem economically feasible to busk one's way around Central America, Eastern Europe, Africa, or any other so-called "third world" area.

Now it looks as if maybe "third world areas" are among the only interesting--and lucrative--places left to go as an itinerant troubador in this increasingly homogenized, globalized world.

The Thrill of Completing the Tourist Checklist

Being a norteamericano backpacking tourist in Central America is hard work!  I'll bet you didn't know there are a lot of chores involved.  On top of being around and getting around in security and safety, you have to research hotels and restuarants,consult guidebooks and maps, look for bus stations and buses to get to the stations, get laundry done every few days, and you have to do all this while trying to stay on budget.  Plus you have to get all these things done in a language which is not your own.

It may seems strange, but quite often I wake up in a mild panic because I have such a lengthy to do list, and today was one of those days.

1.  Find a cheaper hotel room, check.
2.  Get cash at ATM, check.
3.  Take laundry to service shop, check.
4.  Log on to hopefully high speed internet, check.
5.  Update blog, check.
6.  Check email, check.
7.  Buy memory card for camera, check.
8.  Arrange transport to Chichicastenango and back, check.
9.  Go to supermarket, check.
10.  Pick up laundry before the woman closes shop, check.

You get the picture.

I love getting all that stuff done by noon, so I can go out and do my 'real mission' which is the reconaissance of photo ops, then later walkby picture taking.

Check back again soon for a more detailed post about my photo mission in Central America.  Until then, I'm going to enjoy this ultra cool city enjoying its very fine weekend.