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Ask yourself, when was the last time I visited Ciudad Vieja? If it’s been a while, perhaps it is time to put it in your list of places visit soon. Especially around the Christmas season since Ciudad Vieja has all kinds activities and events for the season, such as their patron town fair around December 8.

Ciudad Vieja was the second colonial capital of the country. Ciudad Vieja is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez. Don’t forget to also visit San Miguel Escobar which is the modern name for the district that contains the ruins of the second colonial capital of the Guatemala region. The Spaniards founded their capital here in 1527, after their previous capital at Tecpán Guatemala became untenable. The city was destroyed by a catastrophic lahar from Volcan de Agua in 1541, and the survivors had no choice but to abandon the site. Source: Wikipedia.

One thing I have noticed reviewing the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto is that I have yet to visit all the villages of Antigua Guatemala. This year I plan to visit and photograph all the villages of La Antigua Guatemala. To that end, here’s the church of San Gaspar Vivar, a small community sandwiched between San Pedro Las Huertas, San Juan del Obispo and Santa Catarina Bobadilla. I will also spend sometime going through the archives reclassifying old post so they appear on the correct village categories.

How many villages of Antigua Guatemala or nearby municipalities have you visited?

There are three public spring-water pools inside Finca El Pilar. One pool for kids, less than one meter deep, a medium size pool which is about 2 meter deep and a large three-meter deep pool, or tanques, water tanks as they are called there.

All three pools are filled once or twice a week completely with mountain spring water from a spring located about 300 feet away. Although I believe the pools are continually filled since I noticed the water valves were running the entire time I was there. The water is chilly and refreshing, especially in hot days like we have had this week.

Entrance fee for the pools is a mere Q15/$2 for an entire day of fun (7am to 6pm). Finca El Pilar is located about two kilometers up the hill from San Cristobal El Bajo, one of the Antigua Guatemala villages south of El Calvario church; a good 45-minute walk from Parque Central. Besides the pools, you can hike and take nature walks among the trails of this farm-turned-into a nature reserve.

Here’s your Spanish word of the day: Nacimiento, birth, is the word most often used for water springs.

Slowly, but surely we progress in our own unique way.

Just before we leave Ciudad Vieja, I wanted to share with a follow up post to Having Ice Cream in Antigua Guatemala where I tried to explain that despite the crime and violence that is shown in the news, most people in our Latin America find the time and love to spend quality time with friends and family. We can not negate the violence, it’s all there in the statistics, but most of it happens in Guatemala City, sadly. Take a look at the picture above, this is not the violent country you see on the news all the time.

But don’t believe just my words, let’s hear from a group of students from Northeastern Illinois University who took an alternative Spring Break:

… This weeklong trip was a combination of cultural immersion and community service. During the first full day in Guatemala, we were given a first hand look at coffee farming, from seed to cup. Who would’ve thought that the coffee you drink in the morning starts as a pebble sized fruit similar to a cranberry…

One of the most rewarding experiences of the trip was helping Timoteo, a local craftsman, build a middle school for his community. Prior to this, middle school students in San Miguel Escobar attended classes outside of the primary school. Knowing that a small group of farmers took it upon themselves to fund and build a school for future students is inspiring. Overall, this was an experience of a lifetime and the lessons learned about community, collaboration, and sustainability will not be forgotten. Read the entire story about the Alternative Spring Break at The NEIU Independent.

It’s good to see the natural drains for Volcán de Agua sort of clean since the rainy season will soon begin discharging enormous amounts of water all around Guatemala and Water Volcano is a natural formation that accumulates lots of water, thus its name, and often the excess water runs down the natural drain channels. When these drains are blocked, we end up with lahars and lots of destruction in San Miguel Escobar and Ciudad Vieja.

In my recent incursions to Ciudad Vieja I’ve happily surprised of all the new improvements done around the town. The plazuela right in front of the Ciudad Vieja cathedral is one good example of the new works being performed by the Municipality. I also two municipal pools and improvements to the municipal stadium and children’s park. I guess that when our local governments really do work for the people and not for themselves, one gets to see a lot of progress; don’t you agree?

It had been a while since I visited Ciudad Vieja, the town about two miles from Antigua Guatemala. I was surprised to see all the changes and improvements made around Ciudad Vieja.

Ciudad Vieja is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez. According to the 2002 Guatemalan Census, the municipality has a total of 25,696 people. Ciudad Vieja was the second colonial capital of the country. Many of the recent photos have been taken in Ciudad Vieja and/or in San Miguel Escobar, a community of Ciudad Vieja.

San Miguel Escobar is the modern name for the district that contains the ruins of the second colonial capital of the Guatemala region. The Spaniards founded their capital here in 1527, after their previous capital at Tecpán Guatemala became untenable. The city was destroyed by a catastrophic lahar from Volcan de Agua in 1541, and the survivors had no choice but to abandon the site. The capital was again refounded several miles away at Antigua Guatemala in 1543. (source: Wikipedia)

Make sure you pay Ciudad Vieja and San Miguel Escobar a visit next time you come to Antigua Guatemala.