Antigua, Guatemala - CHECK!

Kicking off the new year with a trip somewhere new felt so good!  Living here in Roatan, I tend to travel less, and when I do it's more often to visit Oregon where my family and friends live.  A little exploration was calling my name.

For about $400, I was able to fly to Guatemala City from Roatan, via El Salvador.  Once Krystal and I arrived in Guatemala City, we threw our luggage in the hotel room and sprinted towards the mall!  We spent many hours in what seemed like the biggest mall in the world.  I'm guessing it was the same size as most malls, but when you come from a place where the grocery store is bigger than the airport; things start getting a little skewed.  We caught a movie at the movie theater, complete with fountain sodas and popcorn, more treats for these island girls!  We treated ourselves to the hotel's fancy continental breakfast, a trip to the salon before meeting our driver to take us to the beautiful town of Antigua.

Our fancy hotel, Grand Tikal Futura

Treating ourselves to the salon inside the MALL!

Antigua, the capital of the Captaincy-General of Guatemala, was founded in the early 16th century. Built 1,500 m above sea-level, in an earthquake-prone region, it was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1773 but its principal monuments are still preserved as ruins. In the space of under three centuries the city, which was built on a grid pattern inspired by the Italian Renaissance, acquired a number of superb monuments.

The pattern of straight lines established by the grid of north-south and east-west streets and inspired by the Italian Renaissance, is one of the best examples in Latin American town planning and all that remains of the 16^th-century city. Most of the surviving civil, religious, and civic buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries and constitute magnificent examples of colonial architecture in the Americas. These buildings reflect a regional stylistic variation known as Barroco antigueño. Distinctive characteristics of this architectural style include the use of decorative stucco for interior and exterior ornamentation, main facades with a central window niche and often a deeply-carved tympanum, massive buildings, and low bell towers designed to withstand the region’s frequent earthquakes. Among the many significant historical buildings, the Palace of the Captains General, the Casa de la Moneda, the Cathedral, the Universidad de San Carlos, Las Capuchinas, La Merced, Santa Clara, among others, are worth noting.

Delectable dining and exceptional cocktails and wine list at Micho's Gastro Pub

Mercedes Escobar treated us to her epic Ranchero performance, with a twist!

The building exteriors are mostly concrete, but all of them have their own flair

Antigua is overflowing with creative, artistic and unique restaurants, bars, coffee shops and boutiques

I have no idea what sort of celebration these statues are for, but they're quite impressive!

Island Sisters ~ Relaxin in Antigua

Handcrafted art everywhere you turn.  So beautiful!

It's nearly impossible not to be able to see a volcano from any vantage point of this city

Volcan de Agua

It's so beautiful I don't even care what is behind it!

Morning hike to see the city from afar

Cerro de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross)

So much simple beauty in Antigua

The central park, a very common theme among Latin America.  I could spend hours here watching the day go by.

Cathedral De Santiago

Santa Catalina Arch & Volcan de Agua

I couldn't stop snapping pictures, it was just too beautiful.

One of my favorites.  Vibrant and clean, with a reflection of the clouds off the glass.

Antigua lent itself a whole heap of fun for Krystal and I, and also couple of chance meetings with some friends!

Katie over at Nature Nibbles and Luke, host of Luke Massey Images, hadn't planned to overnight in Antigua while I was there, and their trip to Lake Atitlan started many days earlier than mine, so our paths were running pretty parallel, and fortunately crossed at the last minute.  Katie and I met on Roatan where her family owns land and she worked as a Scuba Instructor, and made some pretty great memories playing drunken volleyball Friday Nights on the beach!  She left the island to manage a bush camp in Zambia, where she met her now boyfriend Luke, who is a Wildlife Photographer.  The 3 of us shared a handful of beers and decided to try out the Illegal Mezcal accompanied by Orange slices dipped in Cayenne Salt.  Yummm!  Fortunately, they are headed to the island after their trek around Guatemala, so we will be lucky enough to stir up a volleyball reunion!

Lindsay and Brian over at Sintopes are friends from Oregon, who actually drove from Washington State!  Check out the link to their story, it's a good one!  We spent a couple of evenings telling stories and catching up, tasting Margaritas & Mezcals, indulging in late night Grilled 'Cheesus' Sandwiches and sampling the occasional Pesto flavored ice cream!  Lucky for me, they had visions of exploring Lake Atitlan as well, and we ended up spending a few days exploring the lake and the towns surrounding.

Sharing beers & stories with Lindsay & Brian.  (Brian conquered SIX Chili Dogs that night)

Stay Tuned, Lake Atitlan on deck...

Something about old ruins alongside bright colorful purple flowers, the rustic freshness caught my eye.

Remedy or not, here it comes!

Years ago I worked with the sweetest little Colombian girl names Tatianna.  She stood about 4'8 and was pushin 100 lbs on a good rainy Oregon day.  You'd never know it by her work ethic though, Tatianna was tougher than the toughest.  She ran a tight ship both in and outside of the workplace.

She used to tell me stories about her life back in Columbia growing up, and interestingly enough, lots of things she brought with her as a lifestyle and taught her kids, even in the US.  The whole family takes cold showers.  Always.  'You get used to it' she'd remark.  'The littlest one hates it, but she'll thank me later when her skin is tight and fresh at age 70'.  I couldn't dream of climbing out of bed on a cold and dark winter morning and slipping into a cold shower to start my day.  But in Colombia, and most of the countries South of the US, it is not uncommon.  Not then, and not now.

She also taught me about a cold remedy she called her 'Witch's Brew'; some concoction of onion, garlic, spicy pepper, radishes and who knows what else, intensely boiled into the cure-all for colds, fevers and flus.  Her littlest one hated the Witch's Brew too...

I think of her often, as I am now living in Latin American, a few countries North of her homeland.  These last few days especially, as I've been trapped at home fighting a nasty cold.

Although I didn't get out of the house to purchase the ingredients to brew up the Colombian Cure-All, I did get some fascinating remedy recommendations, mostly from the locals.

• Boiling Ginger, Lemon and Onion to create a illness fighting tea
• Eat homemade & hand delivered  hot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Take a good healthy shot of fresh Lime Juice + Rum + Honey  'You'll be back at work tomorrow!!'
• Sniff rubbing alcohol to dry out your sinuses
• Snort salt water from the ocean and let gravity take care of the rest
• Purchase 'ViroPulmin Siete' from the local pharmacy and drink every 2 hours
• Squirt nasal spray up your nose until it runs down the back of your throat.  Wait 2 minutes and blow your nose
• Smoke pot
• Sinus rinse using a syringe and salty filtered water (sans needle please)

I won't lie, I have tried a fair amount of these remedies, desperate for any inkling of indication that my sinuses will indeed not explode.

So far, the winner is.........       A tie between the epic Home made Chicken Noodle Soup delivered to my door AND this Spanish cough syrup I just learned about tonight - ViroPilmin Siete.

What strange, interesting or curious remedies do you use to fight illness?