My Souvenir Memories: Puerto Quetzal

January 27, 2023

Bob took full advantage of the late 10 am arrival of the Zaandam at Puerto Quetzal and didn't get up until 8:00. I was up earlier and went to the buffet and filled my travel mug with coffee. After breakfast we hung out near the Sea View pool watching as the Zaandam sailed into the port. Once the ship had docked, I sat outside on the back deck and checked my texts and emails on my phone until it was time to meet for our excursion.

Watching as the Zaandam arrives at Puerto Quetzal. I found out the lady in white next to Bob (in the tie-dye shirt) lived in the same neighborhood as our son!

The volcano is just barely visible through the haze (which is most likely caused by sugar cane fields being burned off.)

Ships waiting to unload.

Pilot boat approaching the Zaandam.

Puerto Quetzal

Our "Antigua on Your Own" excursion left the ship at 11:00. To reach the bus, we walked through the visitor center and then through a maze of souvenir stands. We met two paramedics pushing a gurney towards the ship and I wondered if they were coming for either the passenger who fell or the one that needed the blood transfusion. (Note: A few days later a guy Bob met playing pickleball said they saw two body bags being taken from the ship. No other details and of course it was not something that was made known on the ship.) 😢

We were loaded on a large coach bus for the 90 minute drive to Antigua. Unfortunately a major traffic jam on the highway stretched the trip into nearly 2 1/2 hours! Construction vehicles working on a large landslide were blocking one lane of the highway and forcing the two lanes to take turns getting through. We assumed that this was a relatively new situation, but found out later that the landslide had happened months ago when part of the mountain tumbled down onto the road.

Landslide blocking the highway.

I assume this sign is warning about the landslide, but when I checked online for the translation it was "warning, burial mound".

On the way we had an excellent view of the active Volcan Fuego (Fire Volcano) and even got to see it spew out a stream of black smoke. Our first visit to Antigua was in the spring of 2018 and just a few weeks after we were there, the Fire Volcano erupted. Small eruptions were common so people were taken by surprise when the hot gas and ash from the pyroclastic flow buried several villages and killed a couple hundred people.

Volcan de Fuego (Fire Volcao)

Signs of the previous eruption are clearly visible.

The highway we had driven on the last time was buried after the eruption and we could see parts of that old road along the way. I had flashbacks to some of the news reports that we saw five years ago. The bridge we went over was where onlookers stood watching the eruption and then ended up running for their lives. Not all survived.

Bridge over lava.

Lava bed.

The old road that was destroyed by the eruption. The news reports from 2018 showed people standing on the bridge here watching as the cloud of hot gas and ash roared towards them.

The former road.

The new bridge over the lava bed. Our bus was stopped on this bridge for quite awhile waiting to get past the landslide area.

Once we got to the outskirts of Antigua, we transferred from the large bus into smaller busses that are allowed to travel on the city streets. Originally we were going to have to be ready to leave Antigua at 4 pm, but because of the extra time spent on our drive, our meeting time was extended to 4:45.

Ruins near where our bus parked.

Throughout the drive, I was texting a friend, Susy, who lives in Antigua. She and her husband, Bruce, are missionaries with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) and were going to meet us when we arrived. She had texted earlier that it was cool in Antigua and perhaps I should bring a jacket. It was so HOT when we left the ship that I ignored her suggestion, but I should have listened! Antigua is at a much higher elevation and when we stepped off the bus near the jade museum, the wind was blowing, clouds were blocking the sun and it was chilly!

Susy and Bruce were at the jade museum when we arrived (and had been for some time since our drive took so long!) Before our cruise, I had sent Susy a Google map that I had put together showing places we wanted to visit, including a restaurant that served traditional Guatemalan food. Susy led the way and we started by visiting Plaza y Tanque La Unión, a communal laundry from the 1800's. Women would gather there to do their washing and socialize with neighbors.

Women would dip water from the pool and do their laundry in the individual basins.

The restaurant where I wanted to eat, Rincon Tipico, was just around the corner from there. Women were standing in the doorway patting out corn tortillas and cooking them on a wood fired griddle. The small entrance opened up into a large outdoor courtyard with many tables...all mostly occupied. The menu was posted on a sign but neither Bob or I had any idea what each dish was. Bruce decided on a chicken dinner called “pollo a la leña” and we, including Susy, just decided to go with his choice. Susy, a native Spanish speaker, did the ordering for us. She confirmed that the restaurant did not take credit cards, but would accept US dollars. Each meal was priced at Q35.00 (35 Quetzales, the Guatemalan currency) but we paid an even $20 total for the four meals. We ordered at the counter and then our food was brought out to us.

On our walk to the restaurant...ladies selling fruit.

Scooters are a popular form of transportation in Antigua.

Daily specials at Rincon Tipico

Fresh corn tortillas were being made at the entrance to the restaurant.

Patting out the tortillas.

Seating was in the open air courtyard.

Chickens were being cooked on a large rack over an open fire.

Each meal consisted of a quarter of a roast chicken, seasoned roasted potatoes and the most wonderful slaw/salad. A tamarind drink was also included plus a large basket of the freshly made tortillas...too hot to even hold! The food was delicious and it was fun sharing it with Bruce and Susy.

Price...$5 USD.

After eating, the four of us walked through the streets of Antigua with Susy serving as our tour guide. The central plaza was literally packed with people...both tourists and locals, many who were trying to sell their wares. With the fluorescent colored tour stickers on our shirts, we were prime targets for the solicitors. Over and over we said "no gracias" as we were hounded to buy shawls, scarves, hats, wooden flutes and every imaginable kind of doo-dads.

Cathedral next to the central plaza. The original cathedral was built in the mid-1500's but destroyed by an earthquake. After being rebuilt, the cathedral has suffered damage from subsequent earthquakes and much of the building is in ruins.

Interior of the cathedral.

Street vendor.

Fountain in the center of Parque Central

Street vendor selling hats...LOTS of hats!

Santa Catalina Arch. On a clear day the Water Volcano is visible though the arch.

Floats pulled through the city at Easter.

Bruce and Susy said goodbye around 3:30 pm so they could get to a scheduled meeting. Bob and I continued to wander, taking photos of some of the ruins as we went. I had intended to get to the marketplace, but with our later arrival and longer lunch, there just wasn't time.

Walking on the cobblestone streets was difficult.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de El Carmen

We walked back to the Parque Central and sat on a bench enjoying all of the activity. There was a constant barrage of sellers trying to entice us to buy something but we just continued to shake our heads or say "no gracias." Sitting next to us was a fellow passenger that we had met on the ship .He spent some time talking to one of the ladies selling shawls and finally gave in and made a purchase. Once he did, the solicitors pestered him until he got up and left.

Parque Central

Our time went by too quickly and we walked the few blocks back to the Jade Museum, our meeting place to return to the ship. The small busses came to pick us up and transfer our group back to the large bus that would take us back to the Zaandam. The sun was setting as we drove, illuminating the clouds above one of the volcanoes.

I snapped a photo of this woman selling scarves as we boarded the bus. I am convinced it is the same woman who our friend, Danny, bought a scarf from in 2018.
Look at the photo below. What do you think?

Photo taken in 2018. Same woman as above?

Setting sun shining on the top of the volcano.

The Zaandam was all lit up when we returned at 7 pm. We went directly to the buffet for dinner along with several other bus loads of passengers returning from Antigua. It was too late to make the early show in the theater and knowing we had to set the clocks ahead again, we chose to sit on deck near the Sea View pool for sail away rather than going to the later show. Puerto Quetzal is an industrial port and we could see cranes transferring large shipping crates from a cargo ship. Long lines of trucks were at the port waiting to load.

Cargo ship being unloaded.

Trucks lined up waiting to load.

Off in the distance, Bob saw the orange glow of a fire. Thinking at first maybe it was lava coming from one of the volcanoes (wishful thinking) he ran down to the cabin to get his binoculars. The fire was at ground level, however, which ruled out the lava scenario and we realized that it was probably sugar cane fields being burned (which our tour guide had discussed on the bus ride.)