Antigua Guatemala

When we arrived in Antigua, I walked the streets with a little bounce in my step. Enchanted, at first sight. Every street, every alley felt like walking through the gutter between two pages of a history book. I felt invigorated. It’s the kind of place I could see myself returning to when I want to work on a creative project. It’s a community of makers.

Interesting markets, restaurants, and cafes, something interesting to see at every turn. It was crazy when I found out that it’s also surrounded by three volcanoes, and one of the volcanoes puts on a show on a daily basis. But no one is startled by it, and town life continues. That was so cool.

Antigua has held mythical status in my head for a long time. Growing up, my dad loved telling me stories about the past. His stories would paint very vivid pictures in my head about battles, historical figures, and places. As I’ve gotten older, I appreciate the extra history lessons he’s given me. He told me about Antigua being a shared history in the region. Scholars, members of the clergy, lawyers, and doctors would come to Antigua to study at the university there.

It turns out that during the Spanish colonial period, for 230 years, Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, now known as Antigua Guatemala or Antigua, even served as the administrative, military, and religious center of the Captaincy General of Guatemala. Yeah, a mouth full of name changes. It governed the Chiapas region of Mexico all the way to Costa Rica. Learning about that kind of interwovenness has always fascinated me as I’ve traveled.

Antigua was the place that met us after we had left our entire life behind to travel for the year. It has a wonderful tapestry of the old and modern worlds. I can’t wait to go back and learn more about this unique place that has survived empires, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. It’s lit!

Love,

Jackie