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Week 1 Adventures

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Some highlights from our first week in Antigua:

1. El Cerro de la Cruz

From one edge of downtown, we hiked up a steep but relatively short paved path to El Cerro de la Cruz ("the hill of the cross"), and were rewarded with great views of downtown and the surrounding mountains and volcanos. Well, almost great views of the volcanos - that big cloud behind the cross is covering the top of one volcano.



2. Iglesia y Convento de la Merced

We tried to see this church last Saturday, but the church itself was closed for a morning mass. The attached former convent was open, however, and we practically had it to ourselves. A series of earthquakes mostly destroyed it in the 1700s. The girls and I returned yesterday to check out the church's mosaics.

3. Valhalla Macadamia Nut Farm

We drove 15-20 mins outside Antigua to a nearby organic macadamia nut farm, where we took a short free tour to learn about the farm and their mission to provide free trees to rural farmers. The girls got to help sort nuts by size, and we each got a mini-facial with macadamia nut oil. Fun facts about macadamias:

  • It takes 8-9 months for a nut to grow.
  • No picking is needed, they fall off the tree when ready.
  • They absorb a lot of CO2 compared to other nut trees.
  • They originated in Australia, not Hawaii.
  • Hawaii imports some of its nuts from Guatemala. 
After our tour, we ate lunch there, including waffles and pizza made with macadamias, a macadamia-crusted eggplant sandwich, and dark chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Yum.


4. Corpus Christi

Last Thursday, we were headed through the central square when we saw a huge group of people outside a church. A procession was heading out of the church, with music and firecrackers shooting confetti. The square and many of the surrounding streets were decorated with yellow and white streamers and paper flowers. We learned later that it was the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi. Throughout the day, we saw similar processions and mini-parades outside other churches. Zadie was NOT a fan - the firecrackers were way too loud for her liking, and went off constantly. Here was her solution the following day, headphones to the rescue!:


Video of the festival:


5. The Hunt for Playgrounds

So far, we're striking out in our search for local playgrounds. We'd read about and found one near some church ruins, but it was permanently closed. The next most frequently recommended option is the playspace inside the McDonalds, go figure. After all the flack I gave Dad for joking about McDonalds in Spain, here we are. :) We bought Ruth some McCafe and hung out while Zadie played. We'd read it described as the most beautiful McDonalds in the world, and have to agree that the courtyard's fountain, volcano view, and flowers were pretty. 


The playground search continues in week 2. Fortunately, our AirBnB has a shared pool and trampoline, so the girls have spent time in one or both of those every day. Zadie also loves chasing the pigeons in the central square.

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