Antigua

June 5, 2019
by Michael Bjorn Huseby

After kissing my new favorite continent a temporary goodbye, I hopped onto a plane at the São Paulo airport. I flew standby, and much to my pleasure I was allocated a nice pod in the front of the plane with a fully reclining seat and champagne. Thank you Susan Young. My friendship with your son has finally paid off.

After two flights and roughly as many hours of sleep, we arrived in Guatemala. For the first time in my life, I was greeted with a sign bearing my name…kind of.

Our first night in the hostel included swinging in hammocks and a decisive victory over Brett in a game of cards. For the record (currently 16-13), Brett is the better player, which is why I feel the need to shamelessly tout my victory.

This morning, while Brett was recovering from his disastrous defeat, I decided to take a walk through the city and take a look around.

Antigua is filled with interesting architecture and narrow, cobblestone streets. It was the capital of Guatemala until a massive earthquake shook the city to its foundations in the 18th century. Afterwards, the capital was moved to Guatemala City (the current capital).

My instincts drew me to the central park, as is my habit. Green places are the best places.

I heard some chants coming from near the park and decided to investigate. The sound drew me closer to Antigua’s city hall.

It turned out there was a protest going on. Residents from a nearby municipality came to plea for safe drinking water. I spoke with a local man near the steps of city hall to get the full story. Evidently this has been going on for a while, but gridlock has prevented any action from taking place. The cries of “necesitamos agua” continued.

Antigua has a unique method of public transportation. “Chicken buses,” which are painted school buses used for general transportation, are all over the place. It definitely adds some color to the scene. Here are some of my favorites from the day: