Ruins of Antigua
Day 2 (June 30, 2018) - Antigua, Guatemala
Today we spent most of the day just walking around town. We started our morning off by taking a short hike up Cerro de la Cruz (literally "hill of the cross"). The hill overlooks Antigua and there's a nice path that winds through forest on the way up. Apparently the hike used to be somewhat dangerous, as many tourists were robbed in the forest walk. However, there is now a police presence that deters any would-be robbers. There were many tourists on the walk and we felt safe the whole time.
We next took a stroll through the ruins of Cathedral of Santiago de los Caballeros, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1773. The ruins are sprawling and cover a pretty large area. There's even a crypt we walked through, but there wasn't much there except darkness (i.e., no light...but it did feel a bit creepy).
And finally, we also walked through the ruins of the Church of San Francisco. The original church was built in the mid 16th century, but already in 1565 it suffered a major earthquake that damaged the building. Several other earthquakes in the 1700s and 1800s further damaged the structure. The main building has been restored over the years, but there is a large area of ruins that we explored and has been converted to somewhat of a garden.
This church is somewhat famous for Saint Hermano Pedro, who was said to have miraculous healing powers. There's even a museum section of the church containing countless crutches and walking sticks of the believers that were supposedly healed by Pedro. Although Pedro died in 1667, Pope John Paul II made Pedro a saint in 2002 as a result of Pedro's miraculous healings.
Today we spent most of the day just walking around town. We started our morning off by taking a short hike up Cerro de la Cruz (literally "hill of the cross"). The hill overlooks Antigua and there's a nice path that winds through forest on the way up. Apparently the hike used to be somewhat dangerous, as many tourists were robbed in the forest walk. However, there is now a police presence that deters any would-be robbers. There were many tourists on the walk and we felt safe the whole time.
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| View from Cerro de la Cruz. Volano Agua is on the left and Volcano Fuego is on the right |
We next took a stroll through the ruins of Cathedral of Santiago de los Caballeros, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1773. The ruins are sprawling and cover a pretty large area. There's even a crypt we walked through, but there wasn't much there except darkness (i.e., no light...but it did feel a bit creepy).
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| Ruins of Cathedral of Santiago de los Caballeros |
And finally, we also walked through the ruins of the Church of San Francisco. The original church was built in the mid 16th century, but already in 1565 it suffered a major earthquake that damaged the building. Several other earthquakes in the 1700s and 1800s further damaged the structure. The main building has been restored over the years, but there is a large area of ruins that we explored and has been converted to somewhat of a garden.
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| Ruins of Church of San Francisco. Volcano Agua in background. |
This church is somewhat famous for Saint Hermano Pedro, who was said to have miraculous healing powers. There's even a museum section of the church containing countless crutches and walking sticks of the believers that were supposedly healed by Pedro. Although Pedro died in 1667, Pope John Paul II made Pedro a saint in 2002 as a result of Pedro's miraculous healings.
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| Mark in the ruins of the Church of San Francisco |
Looks like a beautiful place. Enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteYes, Antigua is in a very scenic setting!
ReplyDelete