We got to Antigua about 1500 and quickly checked in to a lovely, old colonial hotel. Emilio offered to take us as a group for lunch which about half accepted and we walked to a beautiful restaurant nearby where tables were set up in the lush gardens.
As always there were road works just near our hotel - no machinery in sight, it's all done manually. (maybe because of the cobbles?).
Unfortunately for me, but luckily for the birds, these lovely cages were empty but we did spot a hummingbird briefly flitting past.
Antigua is fab-u-lous, it looks just like it does in magazines and is as wonderful example of Spanish colonial architecture as places like Trinidad in Cuba.
A quick word of warning, we plan to get up at silly o'clock in the hope the nearby volcano will be visible so no doubt many of these shots will be repeated in different light.
Antigua's most famous building, the magnificent Santa Catalina arch - built
in the 17th century it originally connected the Santa Catalina
convent to a school, allowing the cloistered nuns to pass from one building to
the other without going out on the street. The clock on top was added in the era
of the Central American Federation, in the 1830s.
Apparently the central Post Office building in Guatemala City is based on the same design so maybe before the clock was added the sides would have been open too. (Internet image courtesy of Guate360).
Hat balancing seems to be a local skill.
I love the way this little girl was resting so nonchalantly on the bag, patiently waited for her mum to finish texting.
These lads were sitting along one of the colonnades and actually an old chap sitting next to them caught my attention and motioned me to photograph them - I'm so pleased he did.
By nightfall (around 1800) we were both shattered from the early start and still full from a late lunch so we decided to just have a few crisps back at our room and an early night.