Panama Canal Cruise - Puerto Quetzal and Antigua Guatemala - December 25, 2015

Our visit to Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala on our 18 day Panama Canal Cruise, fell on Christmas Day.  Our cruise partners were friends from Germany, Georg and Gisela Schmid. We were concerned that many places would be closed due to the holiday but that was not the case.  When a cruise ship is in port, everything is open as usual.

Of the many options we had for shore excursions, we chose to visit Antigua because we love historical places and different cultures.  It was a two hour bus ride from the ship to Antigua.  We enjoyed the opportunity to see the Guatemalan countryside and many small villages along the way.

Antigua was founded on March 10, 1543 by Spanish Conquistadors.  The population was about 46,000 at the time of our visit.  The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The city is adjacent to active volcanos and also suffers from damaging earth quakes.  Volcan de Fuego is the most active with frequent small eruptions.  The last major eruption took place in 2018.

Below, are photos taken during our visit.  Some were taken from a moving bus which is just part of touring on a shore excursion.  Most of the photos would fall into the "Street Photography" category in that they are not posed or setup in any way.  They simply represent what we saw as we walked through the city of Antigua.

Volcan de Fuego was showing off for us.  No lava, just smoke a a few cinders.

Our walking tour started at Jade Maya, a jade factory, museum, and showroom.  Guatemalan jade is the rarest and most expensive type of jade.  On a per ounce basis, it is more expensive than gold.  The founder of Jade Maya gave a presentation of the history of jade before we toured the manufacturing area of the operation.

Local artisans create the jewelry and other items made from jade in the factory.

This is a solid chunk of raw jade worth over a million dollars.

There must be a 1,000 street vendors in the city.  As a tourist, you are a sitting duck no matter where you are.

Our tour guide for the day.  We walked for four hours non-stop.  He had the flag on the pole so we could see him when we were surrounded by vendors as we walked.  I became suspicious that he walked us through the most heavily populated areas of street vendors to help his city's economy.

No need for a camera bag.  My Canon 5D with a 24-105mm lens was all I needed or, for that matter, had time for given the pace of our walking tour.

Sigrid and I are attracted to doors and windows so you will see several more of them in this post.

Volcan de Fuego erupting over the roof tops of Antigua.

Many beautiful old buildings and churches are in ruins due to earthquakes.  They now are historic sites to document the violent land surrounding the city.

Government offices including City Hall.

One of many amazing churches in the city.  Sigrid and I enjoy visiting the old cathedrals and even small churches as we travel.

Gisela Schmid and Sigrid Browning take a short break.

Services in process on this Christmas day.

The Virgin Mary and a celebration of the Immaculate Conception.

The same photo with different editing to emphasize the subject of the alter.

Don't ask me what this is about.

The beautiful Guatemalan countryside.

Georg and Gisela totally enjoyed our excursion and the entire cruise.

Off to another port tonight.