This week my quest to find natural wonders brings me to Guatemala. Half the thrill of the quest is the seeking. When you fly into a destination and it is a totally blank slate and you are not entirely sure what you will find, that is magic to me. Many times I deliberately don’t research a destination before I get there because I don’t want to spoil the excitement of being surprised. When you read the guidebooks and look at the photos online, you already know what to expect and what it looks like. I find it takes away from the adventure of the days when you had no google maps or guide books. You flew by the seat of your pants. Arriving in Guatemala today I have not read a single thing about the country. My colleagues in Guatemala have arranged a tour for me and aside from glancing at it, I have no preset expectations. I have learnt from experience that most cities that have international airports are never anything wonderful. Guatemala City is no exception. Smog filled and run down, I breathe a sigh of relief as we climb out of the city up the mountain. As we snake our way down the other side, a hint of lushness emerged. Then we turn onto a cobble stone road and straight into the historical wonderland that is Antigua. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Antigua has had a tough time with nature. It was originally constructed in 1524) as Santiago de Guatemala but a fire forced a rebuild in 1527, and a volcanic eruption in 1541 forced it to be moved and rebuilt. Thereafter it became known as Cuidad Vieja (Old City) and functioned as the capital until another earthquake destroyed part of it and prompted the capital
This week my quest to find natural wonders brings me to Guatemala. Half the thrill of the quest is the seeking. When you fly into a destination and it is a totally blank slate and you are not entirely sure what you will find, that is magic to me. Many times I deliberately don’t research
