Antigua, Guatemala

We boaded this gorgeous bus in Panajachel (by Lake Atitlán) and headed for Antigua, our final destination in Guatemala. Antigua was once the capital, a well-preserved colonial town that is popular with tourists. It is indeed a beautiful place.

However we were staying a little out of town at a small coffee farm that takes guests. We expected to be in the country, green hills and forests all around. Imagine our surprise when we found ourselves in the dusty, poverty-stricken suburb of San Lorenzo. The street below is perhaps a little shabbier than some in the town, but we were wondering if we were in the right place. But then someone directed us to a high wall, above which we could see greenery. It was our destination, Finca los Nietos (The Grandchildren's Farm), and when we stepped through the gate, we were in another world. 

It was the home of Raul Freyre and Christina Keilt, their daughter Grace, and her children Santi and Mati. (Christina and Raul are originally from Maine; the rest of the family, including three more grandchildren, are still there.)

A street in San Lorenzo

Raul with Santi; Christina with Santi and Mati; Grace with Mati

An entry to the garden and the main house. 

Our apartment at Finca Los Nietos: entrance, living room/kitchen, and bedroom, all facing on a shady porch

Mati with new cowboy boots on her birthday; a planter made by Christina

Christina is a stone sculptor, and some of her work is scattered through the gardens at Finca los Nietos. Our favorites were the five planters below, representing her five grandchildren.

Ornamental gardens at Finca los Nietos are lovely, and a small acreage of organically-grown coffee bushes is beyond the gardens. 

El Tenedor del Cerro

One day Christina drove us to El Tenedor del Cerro (literally, the fork on the hill), a restaurant and "cultural park" created by the wealthy family that owns Hotel Santo Domingo in Antigua, one of the classiest places in Central America. Although El Tenedor is a restaurant, that is not why we went. There is also an art museum, a modern chapel, children's playground, a zip-line, and above all, gorgeous grounds with spectacular views framing an amazing variety of sculpture.

View of Antigua from El Tenedor, marred by a couple of tourists

Visitors playing on the hill

Weekend sales of local crafts at El Tenedor

There are interesting murals on some of the buildings at El Tenedor, and remarkable sculptures by local artists are scattered all over the extensive grounds.

The Chapel

Whimsical animal sculptures, mixed with a couple of real creatures. 

Antigua has some of the largest Easter celebrations in the world, including Sunday processions in in Lent. We were in Antigua for the Procession of the Fallen Jesus and Our Lady of Sorrows. It commemorates the moment when Jesus stumbled and fell under the weight of the cross. Streets are packed with tens of thousands of Guatemalans and tourists, all there to witness the spectacle. We were among them.

Hundreds of faithful work throughout the night to create "alfombras" in the streets -- ephemeral carpets made of grasses and plants, flower petals, and colored sawdust. It's a labor of love. The alfombras will be inviolate until the actual procession begins; then they will be scattered under the feat of the worshippers.

In some places the alfombras are adorned with incredible sculptures made of fruit and vegetables.

Some of flowers are actually peppers and beets!

Creatures made of bread.

As the beginning of the procession nears, roman soldiers appear in the streets. Men in purple are responsible for protecting the alfombras and carrying the floats.

The principal float is huge and heavy; it takes between 75 and 100 men to carry it through the streets.

The other main float, Our Lady of Sorrows, is smaller and is carried by women. Haze in the air is actually clouds of incense.

On one of our last days in Antigua, we went to lunch at Cerro San Cristobal, a hilltop restaurant. Like El Tenedor, the location and views are spectacular. Unlike El Tenedor, there isn't a huge "cultural park," but there are organic gardens, greenhouses, and reasonable prices.

Walking paths and gardens surround Cerro San Cristobal. Organic vegetables and flowers are grown.

Cerro San Cristobal restaurant

When it was time to leave, we took a shuttle from Antigua directly to the Guatemala City airport. We didn't want to go into the city itself because of all we hear about the crime. (However Christina, our host at Finca Los Nietos, said that after several years in the country, she has become accustomed to driving into Guatemala City.) In any event, it was a quick flight from there to Mexico City, for the last five nights of our trip.

Mexico City

In Mexico City, thanks to AirBnB, we were flatmates with two very nice women, Orquidea, on Wally's right, and Alejandra. Their apartment was small, though perhaps not by big-city standards. They shared the place with us and made us feel very much at home. It was in a pleasant, safe neighborhood, not far from Paseo de la Reforma and other areas with which we are familiar.

We also shared the apartment (right, second floor) with Orqui's little dog Giuliano, top, and Ale's big dog Bono. They were both great.

Sunday on Reforma 

One of our greatest pleasures in Mexico City is walking around the downtown area. In the photos below, we hope you will see why we enjoy Mexico City so much, even though we are not "city people."

Paseo de la Reforma was designed in the 19th century to emulate great boulevards of Europe. Some of Mexico City's most modern and impressive office buildings are on Reforma.

We happened to be walking on Reforma on a Sunday and saw banners like the one below hanging here and there. That's because on Sunday until mid-afternoon, Reforma and several other major streets are closed to cars -- and full of cyclists, joggers, roller-bladers and dog-walkers.

When we first visited Mexico City over 10 years ago, the few cyclists were probably suicidal lunatics. Now the Sunday cycling is hugely popular and there are "eco-bici" racks scattered around parts of the city, with cheap bike rentals like those in many European and some American cities. The inititiative started under Mexico City's previous mayor aims to make Mexico City a cleaner, greener, bicycle-friendly city -- eventually. It seems to be happening, poco a poco.

A bicycle built for six

Cycling begins to catch on

Cyclists, walkers, and demonstrators at the Angel of Independence, one of the city's most recognizable monuments.

Demonstrators at the base of the Angel of Independence, here to recognize International Autism Day

Bosque de Chapultepec

Walking southwest from the neighborhood where we stayed, we followed Reforma to Bosque de Chapultepec, a huge park. In Chapultepec or adjoining it are a zoo, a museum of modern art, the National Museum of Anthropology, the Chapultepec Castle, a lake, and more.

The park entrance from Reforma. Chapultepec Castle is straight ahead.

Looking back towards Reforma from inside the park. Huge crowds on Sunday are typical. The Angel of Independence is straight ahead.

Castillo de Chapultepec

Chapultepec Castle has a complicated history (about which we know little.) Construction was begun by a Spanish Viceroy in the late 18th century. Over the decades and centuries, it has been a true royal castle -- home Emperor Maximilian  and Empress Carlota -- and also the official residence of several Mexican presidents. Now it is home of the National History Museum.

Beautifully-preserved rooms and stained glass windows show that emperors, and also some Mexican presidents, lived really well!

The castle is built on Loma de Chapultepec, a hill overlooking the city. Views can be spectacular.

The golden Angel of Independence monument on Reforma, seen (with a telephoto lens) from the castle.

One of the things we like about Mexico City is the generous amount of public art. Chapultepec Park has frequent outdoor exhibits of photographs and posters, and there are bronze statues here and there throughout the park.

El Museo de Arte Moderno

The main lobby of the museum. Think Guggenheim with flair.

An amazing room-sized collage of blown-up newspaper photos. Some had been tampered with!

In the outdoor sculpture garden. Many of the statues had political meaning.

Toward the Zocalo

On other days we walked in the opposite direction, passing near the Mothers' Monument and the Monument to the Revolution, then on to Reforma, and along Avenida Juarez and through Parque Alameda to Museo Franz Mayer, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, and the Zocalo.

On Mother's Day thousands of women have gathered at this monument in memory of killed or missing children.

Monument to the Revolution, with its dome, is the tallest triumphal arch in the world.

We ran into this a peaceful demonstration on Reforma. The sign charges that the repressive government 

is withholding information. Other signs indicated that the protestors were teachers from the state of Michoacan. We don't know what the specific issue was, but we do know that Mexico's militant teachers' unions make the American Federation of Teachers look like a big pussycat.

Parque Alameda

Flirting and water play in the park.

Franz Mayer Museum

Museo Franz Mayer, on a street beside the park, is a museum of decorative arts, which sounds dry, but it seems to feature some quirky exhibits. We went there a few years ago to seen a world-touring exhibit of 50th Anniversary Barbie Dolls. It was hugely popular and suprisingly fun. This year we were attracted by an exhibit of antique bicycles.

The museum's beautiful library. It has been both a mansion and a monastery. Also a poster for the bike exhibit.

Notice that the bike on left has glass tubes! A great segue to an exhibit of glass crystal that was also on display.

Video of an exhibit showing the interplay of light and glass.

Museo de Arte Popular

We visited this museum of Mexican folk art on the strong recommendation of Orchi and Ale, and we are so glad that we did! It was a pure delight. By the way, Sunday is great for visiting museums in Mexico City because admission is free for everyone, even foreign tourists.

There was a display of spectacular kites hanging in the atrium of the Museo de Arte Popular. Below, a Frida Kahlo kite.

These creatures are alebrijes, brightly-colored folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures. They are created in Oaxaca, though the ones we have seen there are mostly smaller and somewhat less elaborate than these spectacular examples.

How could a museum of Mexican folk art and crafts exist without a selection sculptures from the Day of the Dead?

Or a great collection of traditional costumes and handwoven baskets?

Though we are no more "museum people" than we are "city people," Mexico's Museum of Folk Art is one to which we hope to return again and again.

Palacio de Bellas Artes

We'd been to the Palacio de Bellas Artes before to see a famous Diego Rivera mural. This time we walked back in the evening to hear a concert by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. (Tickets for concerts at the Palacio are cheap, at least compared to Dartmouth's Hopkins Center. And the concert hall is more spectacular than Spaulding.)

Looking up at the ceiling of the concert hall.

Detail of mosaics decorating the proscenium arch.

The "curtain" behind the orchestra depicts the Valley of Mexico. It was assembled by Tiffany of nearly 1,000,000 pieces of colored glass. 

Seen on the Street

Barb's photos of a couple of hulks -- one on the side of a flower kiosk, the other waiting impatiently for his wife to reappear.

On the walk from the Palacio to the Zocalo, there was plenty of activity in the streets, including mushroom sales, sidewalk massages, and street performers.

The Zocalo

The Metropolitan Cathedral is the most striking of many large buildings surrounding Mexico City's Zocalo. 

Mexico City is crowded and busy, but this time the area around the Zocalo seemed to be more packed than usual. The Zocalo was closed by barricades because something special was going on.

The opening scenes of "Spectre," a new James Bond movie, were to be filmed there. The scene called for recreation of the Day of the Dead parade. Many "floats" and over 1,500 extras were used. When we were there, setting up was underway but not the actual filming. We read later that the Zocalo was closed for several days, and local merchants claimed to have lost over $20 million. We think the street vendors may have done better than usual.

OK, maybe we'll go to see the movie Spectre when it comes out. Director Sam Mendes said it will be his last James Bond film, but this won't be our last visit to Mexico City.