early start
The square held very few people and lots of pigions. There was a large group that look like a school field trip so I was able to learn a litte more about the square by eavesdropping on their guide.
There didn’t appear to any other tourist, the street vendors were relaxing under a tree.
A very helpful person in the tourist info kiosk gave me a nice overview of the city, along with a map and reassurnce that the areas I wanted to visit we save at that time of day.
The buildings were interesting, nice example of Spanish architecture. There are many examples of Spanish architecture in this city. Having seen lots of Spanish architecture in Spain, it didn’t really seem that interesting. To me, the buildings marked invasion by the Spaniards and the end of much of the indigenous culture.
The UBER driver had duped me and doubled the fair by taking a circuitous route. It seemed like we were going the wrong way but traffic was heavy and I didn’t think much about until I saw the receipt. Feeling stung and distrustful, I decided to walk awhile, see a little and call for an UBER later.
The street shops were opening and what looked like only locas were already on the hunt for goods. So many stores, aso much stuff. There were guards at the entrance to quite a few buildings. At one, I asked if it was a museum and learned that it was a bank. I set my destination as Museo del popol vuh and headed in that general direction. It showed an hour long walk. I ended up walking the full distance, taking little diversions to look at interesting buildings.
There was a political rally on one large intersection. Other than that, the most engaging part of the walk was negotiating crossing the large, busy street.
The museum was small but full of very well written history and artifacts. From there, I UBERed back to the hotel with no difficult.
Now that I have seen many of the attractions generally recommended for the city, I wouldn’t recommend it as a place to spend any time. I sort of wish I had simply gone to Antigua. Didn’t know what I didn’t know.
