Antigua, dropped from the sky

After staying in Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City, I most enjoyed walking unaccompanied through the streets of Antigua at night. I also ate every local dish I could find, and made some purchases of indigenous art. And, while tromping through the ruins of the monastery at Iglesia de San Francisco on a sunny afternoon, I could imagine the dining halls, residences and prayer chambers as they used to be hundreds of years hence.

Quick Tips:

I would highly recommend visiting different restaurants every lunch and evening. You can eat well for few quetzales, even though prices are slightly higher here. Also, the city is deceptively small. You may think you can see the greatest hits in a day or two days, but prioritize and take it slow -- the higher altitude really wears you down.

Also, all the roads in the city proper retain the original cobble design, so wear comfortable, flat walking shoes. Heels or platform shoes are not practical as you could easily twist an ankle (I was there on a business trip so I couldn't very well wear my running shoes with my suit!).

Best Way To Get Around:

I arrived by taxi from Guatemala City, but this was costly and I would not recommend it unless you are travelling on an expense account and have lots of luggage. Once you are in Antigua, there is no reason why you should not walk everywhere. The walks may take you 20 minutes, but there is so much to see on foot -- every building you pass will be interesting -- that getting from site to site any other way would be a waste. Also, I did not notice any public busses going around the center of town anyway.

This four-star colonial-style hotel just up the street from the arch of Santa Catalina is within walking distance of all the major sites and restaurants. This is the hotel that all the locals recommend when they have guests from out of town. The service was excellent -- the women at the front desk and the porters were all ready "para servirle" -- and the staff wore the colorful, traditional Guatemalan garb. The posada is made up of rooms set around many inner courtyards. The rooms are all spare but furnished with period, dark wood furniture and native textiles. My room had a double bed, two small chairs and a table arrayed in front of a nonfunctioning fireplace, and an oddly institutional-looking (but spotless) bathroom. It was situated in the back of the hotel (off the noisy roads!) and I had a view of a courtyard and of a volcano. The posada is not air-conditioned, but as there is fresh cool air each night and morning, it's not a big deal. The hotel also has a gift shop and restaurnat that serves three meals (see dining entry).

This was the restaurant in my hotel, and I ate here twice (once for breakfast and once for dinner). At both meals I noticed locals dining (later my customer told me she dines there frequently for breakfast). The restaurant has two sections, one of which is open to the main courtyard and fountain. During the day, you can see the volcano, and at night, the stars and the fountain create a romantic atmosphere. The service is, in a word, doting.

For breakfast I had the desayuno antigueno, which was a collection of little portions and sauces arrayed on my plate. It included beans, guacamole, tortillas (hand-patted, the best I had in all of Central America), a chichen tamale, scrambled eggs, and a separate huge plate of fresh-cut fruit. I ate at 8am, and was not hungry until 2pm.

For dinner, live marimbe music wafted out to the courtyard tables from the interior dining room. I had the unusual, tangy abalone ceviche served with crackers, and their plato tipico. More beans, guacamole and tortillas, with rice and three savory pork sausages. The ubiquituos guacamole seems hard to mess up, as the avocados are so delicious here. If you are a wine-drinker, this restaurant offers a red Californian wine by the glass, which is a treat as I find the more commonly found Concho y Toro red from Peru too syrupy.

For dessert I had a slice of rustic apple cake, which had the softest sweetest apples that contrasted perfectly with the grainy texture of the cake. Altogether, both meals were very pleasant dining experiences, even as a solo diner.

Tired of eating by myself in the hotel restaurant, I walked down the avenida to Fondo de la Calle for dinner, and treated myself to a fabulous meal. Locally respected as the best restaurant in Antigua, Fondo de la Calle specializes in local cuisine in an elegant setting, of course keeping with the dedication to authentic colonial customs and ambiance.

The tables are situated around and within an open-aired courtyard, like the courtyards found in the traditional posada architecture. I sat in a corner table, and had a view of the whole restaurant, including the tables that had a view of pedestrian traffic in the avenida as well as of the prep kitchen that dished up soups and salads.

To eat, I started with a huge bowl of Caldo Real soup with an avocado on the side. This soup is a meal in itself, with pieces of chicken on the bone, a bbig scoop of rice, bits of onion and carrot all floating in cilatnro-infused chicken broth, generously garnished with more fresh cilantro. This soup was so aromatic and so flavorful, the ingredients had to be fresh and local. The avocado I had with it was so ripe and delicious, I ate it with a spoon. When my main course came with hand-made tortillas, I was full but then could not resist the Pepian de pollo set in front of me. This dish is essentially a breast and leg of chicken smothered in a red mole sauce. Fabulous in its own right, it was perhaps underappreciated since it followed such a perfect and satisfying bowl of soup.

The best perk of this filling and gourmet meal: excluding my glass of wine, the whole thing was under $10. Highly, highly recomended. Suggested seating: by the window wiht a group of friends, and in the courtyard with an amante.

Another example of the classic posada courtyard, this restaurant wraps around one central courtyard which is dotted with palms in pots and tables topped in cheery umbrellas, some sporting logos. The crowd was half tourists, half locals, and it seemed a bit younger. The menu has some vegetarian options. I had a traditional meat plate, which included guacamole, half a corn on the cob, and the most fabulous grilled green onions which I was told are a local specialty. I had a glass of iced tea, as did my dining companion. All told, lunch for both of us was less than ten dollars. Service was fine: quick and to the point. In the back of the restaurant was a separate saloon called Paris, which gave the distinct impression of turning into a happening spot at night. It was quite inviting, and if I hadn't been with a customer (yes my work brings me to Antigua!) I'd have easily been lured in by the shadowy bar and the primary colors on the walls.

Most of my experiences with tourist-worthy churches were in Europe (not counting NYC's St. Patrick's Cathedral, around the corner from my office). So when I walked into this church, I was perhaps more impressed than necessary. However, that is not to say this church isn't impressive. It is probably typically Latin American, with its Spanish influences. Clean white walls, with decoration in dark wood. Along the upper reaches of the walls at one of the secondary entrances, there are some of the most compelling and enchanting cherubs I've seen decorating any church. Their effect is enhanced by the contrast of their dark wood against the whitewashed walls. However, you only need a few moments in the church to grasp its atmosphere and see the relics of Hermano Pedro de Betancourt (up for canonization this year) before you are ready to scoot over to the ruins of the monastery. For 2 quetzales (about 30 cents), you can roam among these remarkably well-preserved ruins (I know that's an oxymoron of sorts) all day long, imagining yourself a monk in the 1600's or a high falutin' benefactor, surveying the domain.

The land of the ruins is hilly, and shady in some parts, with flowering trees everywhere. In short, a perfect place for a picnic if you so wish (just don't follow the natives' lead: pick up your trash!). It took us about an hour to scout every nook and cranny, and to examine and gape over how intact some of the frescoes were after all these centuries. The vaulted ceilings of the dining hall are mostly there, and you can make out enough of the decoration to imagine the room, candlelit, full with dining monks being served by robed nuns. We also came across a few students sketching or reading, napping or journaling, and were it not for an impending appointment, I would have sprawled out and done one of the same myself.

This quiet and cool bookshop, inside and towards the back of jades SA jewelry shop, is a trove of books for the traveler, expat and local. They have a remarkable amount of stock for the small space they occupy, offering used and new books, in English and Spanish, of popular and literary fiction, as well as hits by latino authors like Allende and Garcia Marquez. They have dictionaries for students and travel guides for tourists, as well as books about Guatemala's history and culture. (I found a cookbook here that told me how to make the perfect grilled green onions I ate at La Escudilla!) The bookseller is friendly and speaks a bit of English, and the shelves are neat, organized and dust-free.

Tel (502) 832-7075

This huge warehouse of a store has literally piles and piles of textiles from all the various regions of Guatemala. You can buy the smallest scraps as well as the largest bolts of cloth, all which were handwoven. The owner is an old expatriot, who I met walking around town. He is tan and leathery, a tall hippe, and he told me how he travels around the country buying Algodon fabrics. The prices are not as low as you could find in the local open markets, but everything is gathered in one place for the American who may find bartering squeamish (like me). I bought a unique wooden mask for Rick here, but there was also a fabulous selection of traditional clothing, sweaters, hammocks and rugs. It's worth a visit just to learn about the various types of fabrics, as each pattern comes from a distinct region of Guatemala. Some are very sophisticated with subtle detail, while others are more straightforward and joyful in their use of color and line. The shop itself is a riot of color, as handcrafts are massed on tables, strung across the ceilings on ropes, hooked on walls, and lined on shelves, while the textiles are thrown in grounded rowboats, piled in heaps on low tables, and hung on racks splaying their many arms towards the customer.

tel (502) 832-2605, www.allgodonesmayas.com