We were lodged at the Hotel Villa Colonial, which looked very particular as it was grouped in small villas, each of which painted in different colours. We would later find out it very much looked like some of the old colonial streets of Antigua.
The city situated in the Valley of Panchoy lies between three volcanoes (Agua , Fuego and Acatanango) was declared "Monument of the Americas" in 1942 having kept its former glory despite the numerous earthquakes it experienced. Given its histrical value UNESCO honoured the city with the title of heritage of Humanity in 1979 and although many buildings are still in ruins a number of them have been reconstructed.
As we walked out of the hotel we came across the Via Crucis Chapels with the barroque triple door of Calvario Church, whose construction took place between 1652 and 1655 and whose bright yellow coloured facade atracts the the attention of those passing by.
The Remédios Church dating back to 1587 was just close by. Inside its yard there was a
cart with wooden statues certainly used during the religious street
theatre throughout the Holy week focused on the life and death of Jesus
Christ.
We soon started walking towards the centre of the town led by our guide Pablo and on its way couldn't help noticing quite a few brightly coloured painted local buses (one of those even had my name written on the front).
We walked along Calle de los Pasos ...
until we reached one of the simplest churches in Antigua, the Church of Belén founded by the devout Hermano Pedro, whose image is to be seen on the central part of the facade within the Nativity scene. Although its interior was not as interesting as the outside it was still worth visiting.
(to be continued)
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