Antigua, Guatemala

Antigua is perhaps the most beautiful city I've ever seen. It served as the capital of colonial Guatemala, which included all that is currently Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and several of Mexico's southern states for over 200 years. Most of the city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1773, and the capital was subsequently moved to Guatemala City, which has remained the capital of Guatemala ever since. While most of the city was restored in the following centuries, several of the city's colonial churches and convents still remains in ruins. Towering over the southern end of the city is Volcan de Agua, standing 12,336 ft. tall.  

The first two pictures below are looking south toward the volcano from different avenues, while the third is an early morning photograph from the roof of our hotel, just outside our room. The arch pictured on the left is a prominent symbol of Antigua, and was built to provide safe passage for nuns belonging to a local convent so that they could remain secluded from the common population.

These three pictures below were taken at the Convento de Las Capuchinas, a convent established by nuns from Madrid in 1736. In some of the rooms, there are mannequins of the nuns, the creepiest of which are those asleep on wooden boards surrounded by candles. The picture to the right is from a stairway leading up from a large circular chamber that provided much enjoyment for me and Amy for its acoustics. We yelled liked little kids for entirely too long just to hear the echoes.

La Merced is one of the most important churches in Antigua, and is the starting point for its famous Semana Santa procession. The photos that I've seen make the event look incredible, and I really hope to be able to see it in person at some point in my life. El Fuente de Pescados (Fountain of the Fish) is part of the monastery that adjoins La Merced.  

The Catedral de Santiago sits on the east side of Antigua's central park. The current church (where Amy and I watched the end of a wedding) is only a small portion of the original design, which lays in ruins just behind it.