Onward we march to Calle 4 – and find La Fonda without a problem. And what a great find it is. A wonderful little respite with a lovely courtyard filled with umbrella covered tables. We plop down for a lovely lunch of mixed sausages for Ed and for Kris and me, a shared plate of Pipian, the national Guatemalan dish – a sort of stew made in this instance with chicken and lots of great veggies and sauce. Yum.
We relaxed and cooled off, and prepared ourselves for our eventual return to the heat of the streets as we headed back to our meeting point.
Of course, on the way, we stopped for plenty of photos opps – from convents converted into a hotel and restaurant (with that beautiful courtyard) to brightly colored houses lining the streets to falling down churches….
…all peacefully coexisting to create a magnificent city.
Our last stop is Santo Domingo, which Malbi mentioned as we passed it on the bus, and Carlos raves over. We didn’t know what to expect, another church? And boy were we surprised to find the former church is an exclusive hotel/resort in the most lush and beautiful setting! A very pretty shrubbery lined covered entry walkway…
…opens up into a reception area with gardens and fountains – and a Quetzal! Our first sighting – we will have luck! (If you count a tamed domesticated bird as luck – probably not what Carlos meant when he said it is lucky to sight the bird! LOL.)
The public areas here are incredible. Walls and walkways lined with statues and old church relics, plus a beautiful garden area in the back with more Quetzal and more ruins (that cost money to go into – so we just took pix).
Pretty impressive to say the least! We agreed would all come back here and stay, for sure.
It was, alas, time to head back to the bus and our 2 hour drive. We queued up in the Jade museum, had a last beer (well, Ed did) and waited somewhat patiently in the crowd with all the other zillions of cruise passengers waiting for their buses. #7 finally rolled up and we boarded – only to find another couple in our seats! What? Bus etiquette please! Honestly – rude – and to make matters worse, we knew them. So, pooh, we sat behind them, but then did make a display of asking for our water, which we had left on the seats for our ride home. So there rude people!
We spent the ride back chatting with Kris and others and managed to pass the time pretty well. Malbi handed out friendship bracelets to all of us – those cool braided thread bracelets you see all over. Supposedly if you tie it with 3 knots you will return to Guatemala, and I’ve been wearing mine ever since with the requisite 3 knots.
Back aboard, we cool off, wash up and get ready for our first port in Mexico tomorrow – Puerto Chiapas.
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