January in Guatemala

What a change from walking in the balmy sunshine every day in Guatemala, also known as The City of Eternal Spring because the weather is just perfect. Not too hot, nor too cold and it has flowers all year round.

In Antigua Guatemala, the ancient capital, we stayed at a hotel called El Convento. It was recently renovated and they had kept all of its original walls, plus it had two patios a big one in the middle, plus another one on the side, with a small fountain. It was tastefully done without losing the character and feel of an ancient monument, the rooms had names instead of numbers. We stayed at the " ermita " room which had a small interior patio inside it, this sweet patio, had a small stone fountain encrusted in the ancient wall, the water flowed from the mouth of a lion, similar in size and shape to the lions you see in door knobs.

The shower room, had floors with beige flag-stones and on one side of it, it had the original wall whilst on the other, it had crystal clear glass, this elongated shower-room had a high ceiling with a sky-light roof, plus huge shelves at the back, made out of beige flag-stones, so when you walked inside it, it felt like if you were having a shower in the middle of the rain-forest.

The doors were all hand-carved. Each door had a different motif and so distinctive. It was refreshing not having to remember your room number. Out of the room, in the small patio, there was an iron spiral stair-case which led to the roof terrace and when you reached the top, you are greeted with spectacular views to the volcanos and blue skies. There was white day bed with comfy cushions to relax on, plus sofas and round tables and chairs. On Sunday, they had a buffet breakfast up on the roof terrace. It was a day to remember, the food was exquisite and the attention was such, that it did not seem like a buffet but a la carte menu; since once you had made your choice, the waiter would bring back your plate to your table. It was a perfect temperature and soft music was playing in the background. It felt like a dream.

The next day, we visited the Cathedral. This cathedral is only one third of what it used to be, since the terrible earthquakes brought down most of these huge thick walls and even though the walls were strong, they did not have the iron support needed to hold down the structure, so the walls and ceilings came crashing to where they have stood ever since. There is another colonial church which originally had 40 steps, now you can only see two steps, the rest were buried in the incandescent lava that became solidified. Also buried across from this church was the house which once belonged to Don Diego de Alvarado the Spanish conquistador of Guatemala whose wife died buried by the lava, along with all her ladies in waiting.