This was the very first time I became aware of the location of the table with the antique map on top. The table’s got a map, a nice one at that, and Rudy took a very pleasant photo of it with a cup of coffee next to it.
Can you guess where in La Antigua Guatemala?
Hint, they make excellent coffee, excellent chocolates, the food is great, and the ambience is plain antigüeña authentic!
text and photo by Arturo Godoy.
Sabe Rico Restaurant, Chocolatería & Delicatessen is a great place to have delicious and nutritious breakfasts in La Antigua Guatemala. The range options goes from typical Guatemalan breakfast, tamales, et cetera all the way to fresh fruits and home-baked artisan bread slices with home-grown basil pesto and bacon.
The Sabe Rico large cup of coffee is HUGE; one of the largest cups of coffee I have ever seen. I am sure Starbucks’ largest size is much smaller than Sabe Rico large cup.
Another wonderful aspect of Sabe Rico is the fact that tables are randomly placed in a beautiful and quiet garden in the back of the restaurant.
La Antigua Guatemala is full of interesting looking automobiles. The Tomcar is just one among the strange, rare rather, vehicles found in the streets of Antigua Guatemala. I will make it a point to capture other rare vehicles I have seen around town to share with you. Perhaps, these are not rare in your neighborhood.
I had never seen a Tomcar before, have you?
So close and so far away, that’s how I feel regarding this rolling hill, so close to La Antigua Guatemala, yet I have not made the time to explore and photograph. I promise I will do my best to bring you an exclusive coverage of the things to do in Santo Domingo del Cerro.
Do you know what’s up there and what things you can do in Santo Domingo del Cerro?
Boots, boots, boots…
I bet you didn’t know that there is town near Antigua Guatemala where one can choose from a large selection of boots, or even have them custom-made for you. The town of Pastores, about 5 kilometers from Antigua Guatemala, is famous for the quality and craftsmanship of their custom-made shoes and boots. Of course, there are hundreds of ready-made boots and shoes to choose from at the many shoe-maker shops, but if there’s time it is better to have them made to your specific desires.
If next time you visit La Antigua Guatemala you have the time, make sure you have a suit and shoes or boots custom-made for you. You will appreciate the high quality of the craftsmanship as well as be surprised of how inexpensive custom-made goods are in Guatemala.
text and photo by Arturo Godoy.
We finish our little mini night photography tour with this simple image of a red wall and sign illuminated by a lamp. Depending on the quality of your monitor and its calibration, you may or may not be able to read what’s on the sign.
Since we are talking about monitors, calibrations and color profiles, let me share with you a little pro secret: if you surf the web with Safari browser, everything will look better than if you use any other browser because Safari reads the color profiles embedded in the images as well as it uses a better rendering engine to display, “print” really, the web pages. Please, keep it hush hush, we don’t other people to know. 
Do you know where in La Antigua Guatemala is this wall and lamp located?
I am really enjoying taking photos of beautifully illuminated signs and buildings in La Antigua Guatemala. This illuminated owl sign is very close to El Mesón del Obispo sign shown a couple of days ago.
Certainly owls are abundant in La Antigua Guatemala. Can you guess how many tecolotes (owls) have appeared in AntiguaDailyPhoto thus far?
About a month ago I shared with you photos of the new look of Palacio de Los Capitanes as well background information regarding the renovation. I mentioned that after two and half years and Q16 millions/$2 millions spent in renovations Palacio de Los Capitanes has finally opened again. The new façade is painted with yellow and white paint.
Here’s a follow up photo which shows the new spot lights which make Palacio de Los Capitanes the most visible building in La Antigua Guatemala at night. Honestly, you have to see it for yourself; it’s wonderful!
I really like the visual effect obtained by raising a metal sign a few inches off the wall and putting some lights behind it. In my opinion this kind of signage is more tasteful than say a neon sign.
I am sure you will agree with me that in general business signage is so much prettier and less repulsive in La Antigua Guatemala than in most other town and cities in Guatemala, don’t you agree?
In our never-ending quest to bring you rare or unusual vistas from the same hackneyed places, today I present you an example of a new perspective for the overly-exposed Catedral de San José, quite possibly Antigua Guatemala’s most often photographed church, since it’s located in the Main Plaza.
Have you ever seen a photo from this perspective?
As you may know, here in La Antigua Guatemala, like in many places, on odd-numbered avenues traffic runs North and on even-numbered avenues traffic flows South.
How many places North of Antigua Guatemala do you know where you can have these landscape views? Can you guess which place I’m referring to? How do you get to this place?
A hint: a few days ago the post would have been titled Sunset Amongst Volcanoes, any hypothesis as to why the change of title?
text and photos by Arturo Godoy.
Guatemala is a country with lots of stews. Let’s call Guatemala, Stew country!
Just yesterday Arturo Godoy was sharing with us the photos he took at La Cocina del Obispo, which included a not too tempting shot of Subanik. Since I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about one of the most important dishes in the Guatemalan gastronomy, I decided to immediately share with you another version of Subanik.
Subanik, also known as “God’s meal”, is the perfect bowl of hot reddish-orange broth according to Cia from Writing With My Mouthfull. Subanik is a ceremonial dish of the Kaqchiquel Maya of Guatemala. It is traditionally steamed in a nest of about 6 to 8 large mashan leaves tied at the top with cibaque, or decorative rope according information shared by Brigid Schulte for The Washington Post.
Luckily for us, both articles include recipes in English to prepare Subanik in the United States, both articles also include recommendations for substituting ingredients not available in the U.S. and Canada.
Without further ado, here are the recipes for Subanik in English:
Please, let me know if you try cooking Subanik at home from these recipes?
La Cocina del Obispo Restaurant is located in San Juan del Obispo, perhaps a 10 minute drive from La Antigua Guatemala. The restaurant is family owned and opens only on the weekends. You’d be amazed on the variety of food.
Anyway, this time I went with Lomi Kriel and Norman Ávila. Rudy was supposed to join us, but he cancelled. Lomi had the Pepián, which by the way they even have been awarded a first prize for the best Pepián in Antigua Guatemala! Norman had a Churrasco chapín (Guatemalan barbecue grill) and I had Subanik; a classic dish from Las Verapaces. All food is fabulous there; the prices are excellent and the atmosphere is just amazing. I wish Rudy would have been there, he is a far better food photographer than I am; anyway, here is my attempt at joining the food photos with a portrait of each of my friends 
The conversations were just great, we even talked about gadgets, geeks, history, and even beer
A bit later on, I’ll tell you about the other times I have been there. I just have to look up the photos in my external hard drives.
text and photos by Arturo Godoy.
For those who have never visited the Mayor’s office at City Hall, this is what it looks like. It may also come as a surprise that for most Guatemalans, City Halls are the only place where they can exercise Realpolitik. Anything else above the municipal level is mostly vaporware. 
What’s the highest level in politics at which you feel can have a say or make a difference?
I'm missing LAG! My wife and I married in La Antigua Guatemala in December 1983 and have always wanted a colonial home there. I check into your site at least once every day without fail....it keeps my dreams alive! —Hugo (El Canche)
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