Coffee and culture

Antigua town tour

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Antigua - a city walking tour Photo - Antigua, Guatemala

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After a long flight from the UK the last thing I thought I’d be looking forward to was a four hour City tour, but it’s amazing how quickly the body can recover after a good night’s sleep. I’d slept like a baby, enjoyed a Guatemalan breakfast and was now "good to go". Our guide arrived prompt and just after 9.00 we started off on our orientation tour of this UNESCO site. It was potentially going to be tough because all the routes in Antigua are cobbled and that can be pretty hard on the joints. But exploring new places is always an adventure and we were keen to see as much as we could and learn all about Guatemala. It’s a country fairly new to democracy and anxious to develop its tourism (a...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 23, 2013

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La Azotea Cultural Center

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Attraction | "Coffee and music - the Mayan Way"

Azotea Coffee Centre Photo - La Azotea Cultural Center, Antigua, Guatemala

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We had day three in Guatemala as a free day and we decided to visit one of the nearby coffee plantations. It would be easy to succumb to the local tourist companies who offer an all in tour for $25, but I’d seen that you could pick up a free shuttle bus and pay for your tour on site. That we decided was the best way to proceed and so by 8.55 we were standing in the town centre waiting for the shuttle bus to arrive. They are every hour from 9.00 until 14.00hrs on the opposite side from the cathedral. We stood waiting, trying to look nonchalant and not too much like tourists. The hour of nine passed by and it soon became clear that it was to be "nine-ish" rather than nine. Not that it mattered too much....Read More

We had day three in Guatemala as a free day and we decided to visit one of the nearby coffee plantations. It would be easy to succumb to the local tourist companies who offer an all in tour for $25, but I’d seen that you could pick up a free shuttle bus and pay for your tour on site. That we decided was the best way to proceed and so by 8.55 we were standing in the town centre waiting for the shuttle bus to arrive. They are every hour from 9.00 until 14.00hrs on the opposite side from the cathedral. We stood waiting, trying to look nonchalant and not too much like tourists. The hour of nine passed by and it soon became clear that it was to be "nine-ish" rather than nine. Not that it mattered too much.

Despite our casualness it was evident that we’d failed to blend in as soon a tourist police sidled up to us asking if we were wanting the coffee tour. We replied in the affirmative and we were led across the road and advised that the bus would be with us in a matter of minutes. He wasn’t wrong as shortly after a mini bus arrived – crammed with fellow tourists. I was convinced that the 4 of us wouldn’t get in but the driver managed to "shoe horn" us in to the available space and soon we were "enjoying" the full body massage that comes free from the cobbled streets of Antigua.

The paper work suggested that the journey time was around 5 minutes, but it’s certainly nearer 15. However, the journey was interesting as we weaved through the town seeing the more local areas of the town. On arrival we cautiously opened the doors for fear of falling out due to the pressure of fellow passengers. Fears not realised we were directed to the admission gate where we paid 50 Quetsals (the local currency of Guatemala) and equating to $7 rather than the $25 of the local tourist shops.

We started our tour with a brief but informative talk about coffee, its different types, its origins and production. I was interested to hear that it was "discovered" by a goat herder who noticed that his goats became more active after eating the berries of the coffee bush. He decided what was good for his goats must be good for him so he tried it and enjoyed the caffeine rush. Well it’s a good story and I chose to accept it as fact!

We then went out door to see the piles of coffee beans drying under the sun. We were told it would not harm to walk over the yard covered with the beans and as they have to be physically raked over to ensure all get a fair shot of sunlight we happily crunched over the pale beans. We’d heard that 6.5 lbs of coffee berries would give 1.5 lbs of "coffee in parchment" and these were the beans we were walking over. The next process, the removal of the husks, resulted in only 1.25 lbs of coffee and after roasting there was only 1 lb of roasted coffee giving approximately 40 cups of coffeeby the
We saw the process in operation and then tasted the roasted beans before tasting a "proper" cup of coffee". Having viewed the coffee process our tour was not over. A marimba band played in the courtyard (after a time the music became a little repetitive) – plinky plonky music as my friends described it – and this was our introduction to the centre’s museum of Mayan Music. A museum guide showed us a variety of Mayan instruments, many were taken direct from nature (shells, gourds etc) and adapted by the Mayans to create sounds. It was very inventive in the day, but restricted in the notes that they could create.

There was a museum of Mayan culture with ancient household items, pottery and fabric. It was only a small section and was self-guided but it gave a great flavour of the way the Maya Civilisation operated.

Finally there was an outdoor self guided tour of the grounds where indigenous plants could be seen in their full glory. We were seeing plants that we’d never seen before. In the grounds there were recreated Mayan dwellings and although many of the models had seen better days it did not detract from the visit.

I reckon for the price we paid this visit was exceedingly good value. We’d been shuttled to and from the centre of Antigua and given two very good guided tours and a couple of self guided which had taken us about 4 hours from leaving the centre of town. Good value, highly entertaining and well worth a visit.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 21, 2013

La Azotea Cultural Center
Calle del Cementerio, Final
Antigua Guatemala, Western Highlands
(+502) 7831 1486

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Hotel El Meson de Maria

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Hotel | "our first visit to Guatemala"

View from our hotel Photo - Hotel El Meson de Maria, Antigua, Guatemala

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I’m beginning to think that people intentionally try to spook us as we go on our international voyages. At the start of our holiday to Guatemala and Belize we’d been told that Guatemala City was going to be a nightmare as we’d require an armed guard to progress from the airport to our first holiday destination of Antigua. Now based upon our evening arrival to the City, and no other research, I have to record that this potential capital to the country of Guatemala seemed no more dangerous than anywhere else that we’ve travelled through.We were collected by our driver, a charming guy who estimated that the transfer to Antigua would take approximately 50 minutes. The short walk through the ai...Read More

I’m beginning to think that people intentionally try to spook us as we go on our international voyages. At the start of our holiday to Guatemala and Belize we’d been told that Guatemala City was going to be a nightmare as we’d require an armed guard to progress from the airport to our first holiday destination of Antigua. Now based upon our evening arrival to the City, and no other research, I have to record that this potential capital to the country of Guatemala seemed no more dangerous than anywhere else that we’ve travelled through.

We were collected by our driver, a charming guy who estimated that the transfer to Antigua would take approximately 50 minutes. The short walk through the airport car-park was uneventful and soon we were sat in the comfort of his vehicle and heading out of the airport.

First impressions? Well we could have been in one of many USA towns with McDonalds, Burger King, Domino Pizza, Wendy’s, and Taco Bars flanking the brightly lit strip from the airport. There was sign of affluence as car-show rooms littered the route and several corporate have clearly made the City home for one of their international offices.

Finally we left the smooth surface of the dual carriage way that had led us from the airport to the current Guatemalan capital of Antigua. Our driver proudly stated that these bumpy cobbled roads dated back to the 17th and 18th century, but that didn’t make the final stages of our journey any less uncomfortable as we were backs were buffeted from side to side. The journey was short as we glided to a halt outside of an entrance that opened directly on to the road side. This was to be home for the next few nights – the Hotel Meson de Maria.
The Hotel Meson de Maria is a small "rustic" hotel on the main street from Guatemala City through Antigua, but the street is one way and due to the irregularity of the road surface traffic only trundles along at a fairly slow pace. It certainly shouldn’t put you off staying there as the hotel is perfectly placed for the centre of town.

Our room was on the second floor and overlooked an open courtyard from a shared balcony with a couple of other rooms. Not that the sharing issue should be off-putting because almost everyone staying at the hotel is maximising their sight-seeing opportunities.

The room was real comfortable with two queen sized beds and although the lighting was a little on the meagre side (we needed the central lights, the bedside light and the dressing table lamp on to ensure that everything in the room was visible) we got by. The shower was an interesting experience with water gushing from a ceramic "overflow" pipe but once we’d got over the fact that this was a little unconventional we were happy to enjoy the experience. Our room was described as deluxe and I don’t reckon I’d have wanted any fewer facilities. But quaint and rustic is good to me and it beats staying in the large corporate hotels which results in you feeling that you could be anywhere in the world.

Our booking came with breakfast. Either "breakfast tycipe" (two eggs, refried beans, and goats cheese) or pancakes and fruit. Although we did break the mould and have pancakes and eggs. There was plenty of coffee (tea if you preferred), orange juice and warm bread rolls.

In the afternoon the hotel had coffee "on tap" or more welcome iced strawberry water or iced lemon water. Just the job after a hard day’s sight-seeing.

One day, when we got back from our tour of the town, the room had not been cleaned. We mentioned it to reception and they couldn't apologize enough. Within minutes staff were on hand tidying the room, making up beds and replacing towels. Indeed before they'd finished we were handed a letter from the manager (or he could be the owner) apologizing profusely and offering us a dinner for two at the restaurant opposite the hotel. Now with that response you can see that they really want to make sure that their service in top quality.

Overall the hotel offered a great place to stay in this UNESCO protected town.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 14, 2013

Hotel El Meson de Maria
3a Calle Poniente #8
Antigua, Guatemala

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Lenten Procession

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Attraction | "Lent Procession"

Antigua's Lent Procession Photo - Lenten Procession, Antigua, Guatemala

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We’d got back from Lake Atitlan in good time and were looking forward to our last few hours in Antigua being relaxed and carefree, but then we discovered that the Lent Procession was about to happen. We’d seen the "floats" that the faithful would carry around town and they looked mighty heavy, so we were determined not to miss this opportunity. The crowd was bustling and, after watching a street performance we soon found a place, next to the worker’s cooperative shop (an interesting place to shop for local craft – not overpriced) and a few paces from the nun’s bridge crossing one of the main town’s streets. We were just in time as the procession was just coming in to view as it turned the corner near ...Read More

We’d got back from Lake Atitlan in good time and were looking forward to our last few hours in Antigua being relaxed and carefree, but then we discovered that the Lent Procession was about to happen. We’d seen the "floats" that the faithful would carry around town and they looked mighty heavy, so we were determined not to miss this opportunity. The crowd was bustling and, after watching a street performance we soon found a place, next to the worker’s cooperative shop (an interesting place to shop for local craft – not overpriced) and a few paces from the nun’s bridge crossing one of the main town’s streets. We were just in time as the procession was just coming in to view as it turned the corner near to the church.

The first part of the procession consisted of a hoard of Roman Soldiers and initially we wondered why Romans, who don’t figure at all in Guatemalan history, should take such a prominent place in the parade. Like a thunderbolt from the heavens the penny, or should I say quetzal, dropped. It was the Romans who crucified Jesus so they were leading the procession of floats depicting the stages of the cross (not that we would see them all in the pre-Easter parade. The Roman soldiers flanked the first float carried by a dozen or so men (this was a small float) and everyone wore a somber face indicating the honour they felt for their participation in this procession.

Next a large group of purple clad monks ( known as Cucuruchos) of various ages, preceded another float, with one carrying a small model of Jesus dragging the cross up to the crucifixion site. He carried it high with one hand looking reverently at it whilst showing it to the crowd. And then an incense swinging priest came in to view and soon the street was hanging heavy with the sweet smell of incense, the smoke hanging heavy close to the cobbled street and creating a mystical scene. A much heavier float now trundled down the street carried by over 70 men. Some seemed to be bent with the weight of this float which depicted the scenario, seen early in the small scale model carried, in one hand, by the earlier participant. The float moved in a swaying motion and it was clear that a lot of work had gone into the making of thee larger than life models.

Although all the procession to this point had been accompanied by music it had not entered my mind where the music was coming from. Soon it became evident as a "brass band" lurched around the corner. There was a strange mix of people, several wearing base ball caps, playing drums and marching brass instruments. Several had brightly polished tubas or trombones whilst others seemed uncared for with their dull brass incapable of reflecting a single particle of light. The dirge they played heralded the arrival of two small floats each carried by four people – lightweights relative to the monsters we’d seen previously

Once again the incense burners were being waved over the flower strewn cobbles of Antigua and a float with the Virgin Mary comes in to view carried by a group of women clad in black and carrying a black iron forked stick (the significance of which escapes me). I guess there must have been in excess of 30 of them carrying this float which swayed down the centre of the cobbled street. Another brass walking band followed, again with some of the members wearing base ball caps, but this time their instruments gleamed in the fading day light of the Antiguan sky.
This was the finale of this procession which gets bigger each time as Easter approaches, and now the stall holders carrying their balloons and other brightly coloured items for sale to the procession watchers, but most surprising was the arrival of the municipal street cleaners who had set about cleaning up the streets even before the procession was out of sight.

Now we could watch them, in awe of their efficiency, and the disappearing procession as it headed towards Central Square in the shadow of the great volcano that threatening overlooks the town of Antigua.

This had been a great and unexpected treat – an experience that we hadn’t expected to see. A great climax for our stay in Antigua.

But.there was more to come and I’m best writing about the post procession experience in a separate review in this journal.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 19, 2013

Lenten Procession
El Centro
Antigua, Guatemala

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An unwanted adventure

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Lent Procession Photo - Antigua, Guatemala

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Having enjoyed the bustle and the excitement of the Lent Procession we returned to our hotel to enjoy the rest of our time on the open balcony of the second floor. We settled down in to the comfort of the settees to watch nightfall descend. The vista across to the volcano was superb and then the sunset began to set. What a fantastic vision and I made haste up to the roof garden to take a few photographs across the rooftops towards the volcano and the setting sun. It was brilliant and made more spectacular because it was so unexpected. Darkness descended very quickly and then the lowlight of the holiday. I realised my wallet was missing from the zipped pocket in my shorts. After a frantic s...Read More

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