Antigua Oasis

I can remember everything about this Antigua moment except exactly where it is. All the recent discussion about water reminded me of this place.

We had been following Holy Week Processions, walking for hours or pressed into dense crowds standing under the mid-day sun inhaling dust from parched roads and the time worn pavements. Our heads were throbbing from the heady mixture of heat, sound and an intense alchemy of perfumes rising from the street—pine needles, flowery corozo palms, fruit, sawdust, and of course incense—now forever linked in my mind, with the colour purple. Tired and our senses over-stimulated by the days intensity we stepped through a doorway and into this —an Oasis of coolness and calm. It was like plunging into a deep pool of liquid shadow, and we immediately inhaled its green watery atmosphere with a deep intake of breath. A little bird had also found its way here, drinking and splashing in the fountain with evident delight, creating a perfect image of that moment.

text and photo by Michele Woodey.

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