Antigua, Rhapsody, Guatemala trip

At this time, I gently turned around to face the whiteboard, rolled my eyes, and then turned back to face him: [Because using formulas can simplify the differential process, you don’t need to use definitions anymore. Differentiated. ],[Oh, okay. ] He answered, and the class continued to improve. Less than two minutes later, his voice was heard again: [Hey sir, I have a question. ], [What happened again?] I asked patiently. [Can you tell me how memorizing these formulas will help my life?] Oh...!

In this way, I came to Guatemala with such a tired mood. It was almost 9:30 pm when we transferred from Houston, Germany to Guatemala City. The driver we had booked with our hotel to pick us up was already waiting outside with a sign with our names on it. It took less than ten minutes to get to the hotel, and you could see military police with firearms along the way, which was a bit scary.

As soon as the car entered the hotel gate, the driver immediately got out of the car and closed the two large iron doors. This move further deepened our view that Guatemala City is a high-risk city. When we checked in, we learned that all large buses might be suspended tomorrow due to the Easter parade, so we paid $150 to reserve a special bus with the hotel to go to Sierra, and thus began our ten-day trip to the Guatemala Plateau.

Is Guatemala really that dangerous? The U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs lists Guatemala on the list of high-risk tourist destinations every year. In fact, after going to Guatemala, I don’t think it is more dangerous than any other country we have traveled to. But as a worried family, every time we mentioned a vacation to Central America, concerned calls would come in one after another.

Watching him explain to his family on the phone: [....We are just two civilians, and we are surrounded by bodyguards. Does this look reasonable?]. [What's wrong?] I couldn't help asking after that, and he smiled: [Ana and her mother think that after we arrive in Guatemala City, for our own safety, we should consider hiring a local bodyguard. ]. What? [Are they going to pay for us?].

Yes, Guatemala does have a high crime rate, and the rate of people owning firearms is no less than that of the United States. Coupled with the trafficking and smuggling of drugs, it is even more dangerous, but compare it with some major countries in the United States. Cities such as Chicago don't seem to be more dangerous. In short, you just have to be careful when you go out, right?

Based on my personal observation, the safety of traveling to Guatemala is okay. In several places we visited in Guatemala, we could see police patrolling the roads everywhere during the day. Even on the highway from Guatemala City, there were many military police checking, so it felt quite safe. . But traveling by car at night in Central America is absolutely out of the question for us, and we try to avoid high-risk areas.

On this trip to Guatemala, we safely passed through Sierra, Lake Atitlan, and the most unforgettable place for me, Antigua. My motivation for writing a travel diary of Antigua is that the beauty of Antigua to me lies in its people and buildings, especially the use of colors in the buildings that touches me the most. During my travels, I was not someone who took photos diligently, and I never thought about writing travel notes. It wasn’t until I came back from Spain in January this year that I changed my mind.

So I combined the few photos I have of Antigua and the photos I found on Blink that best represent the Antigua in my memory to write this travelogue to share with you. The beauty of Antigua is very special.

Antigua’s geographical and historical background. Once a Spanish colony, Antigua is located in the Central Plateau of Guatemala. It is famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque architecture and some church ruins that survived the earthquake. Antigua is now listed as one of the World Heritage Areas.

Antigua was the capital of the Spanish colony in Central America in 1543. After experiencing damage from a series of major earthquakes, the Spanish colonial administration in Antigua ordered the capital to be moved to Guatemala City in the 1770s, and renamed present-day Antigua Antigua Guatemala, meaning old Guatemala.

Activities in Anjo

Antigua City itself is not very big, but there are many foreign tourists traveling here, so it is actually very convenient in terms of food and accommodation. , but its material quality is relatively expensive compared with other tourist areas in Guatemala. Even so, its charm in attracting tourists is still slightly better. Many Americans come to live here after retirement.

During the four days we stayed in Anseong, we enjoyed the slow pace of life in Anseong. Although we missed some places because of lack of time, we gained a lot from what we saw and heard in Anseong. For example, in terms of churches and ruins, we visited many attractions:

In addition to the above activities, we also visited two attractions in the coffee garden and city tour through the Elizabeth Bell Antigua Tour. Antigua's rich and fragrant coffee is recognized as the best coffee because it is grown in rich volcanic ash soil. However, the one I would like to recommend to you most is Elizabeth's City Tour.

Because Elizabeth moved to Anseong with her parents at the age of 14, coupled with her long-term and unremitting efforts to preserve Anseong’s monuments and its cultural heritage, and with her background as a historian, I I believe it will be difficult to find another person in Anseong who has such an in-depth understanding of this city like her. If your English listening skills are good, you can try her city tour. We bought tickets at a private venue in the business district east of Central Park. This also includes visiting the following two interesting museums:

The problem of changing money

Not every restaurant or hotel in Anseong accepts credit cards. Before leaving, we forgot to call the credit card company, which resulted in us being unable to use our ATM card upon arrival. It took us half a day to contact the credit card company in the United States to solve the problem. So remember to notify the credit card company in advance about your overseas whereabouts.

The best place to change money at the airport is after you exit the security checkpoint. Banks usually have better exchange rates, but remember to do the math after you get the money. In our three experiences of exchanging money with local banks in Guangdong, we had the experience of being undercounted the second time. Currency of Guatemala. The U.S. dollar to l is almost the ratio of the U.S. dollar to the Hong Kong dollar: 1:7.5.