Santa Fe means Holy Faith and holy moley these buses are impressive!

We went to the bus station in Antigua's marketplace and for 1.5 Quetzales each, purchased a ticket to the pueblo of San Juan del Obispo. After riding 15 or 20 minutes on roads through the colorful shocks of bougainvilleas and trees heavy with mangos, we arrive at our destination for the day.

This Church is nearly 500 years old

Unpretentious and solidly built, this old church stands in the town's central plaza.

The renovated bell tower is on the right

Surrounded by hills and simple buildings, this quiet village is far different than cosmopolitan Antigua.

Like a window into Old Spain

Got one photo off inside the church before being told 'no photos allowed.'

The church still had its original beams, the old carved wooden statues and paintings darkened by age. Walking through here was like walking through centuries past and the antiquity was palpable.

Broad vistas from San Juan

Looking around from this mountain top town you can see the surrounding hillsides and the famed domes of Antigua below. The area has a distinct European feel to it. The words peaceful and tranquil come to mind.

Billy ringing the church bell

A very narrow, winding carved stone stairway led us to the bell tower. One of the workers in the church accompanied us to the top and explained that this tower had been repaired. Years ago in the great earthquake, the roof had fallen down.

It wasn't clear if he meant the 1763 earthquake that ravaged Antigua forcing the Spaniards to move this country's capitol yet again, or if he was referring to another earthquake. If it was the one in 1763, that’s a long time to wait to repair something!

Bell tower view

Everywhere we looked the scenery took on the appearance of Italy, Spain or Portugal. We had to keep reminding ourselves that we were in Guatemala.

In the 'olden days,' people who were in charge of ringing the church bell on schedule would often live there in the tower. The area was spacious, airy and had great views! Not a bad place to live, really. That is, until the roof caved in during the unspecified earthquake.

Rectory attached to the church

As is often the case, rectories for the parish priest are attached to the church. Today, this small building is another special chapel.

We kept thinking that at any time we'd see vineyards, smell tomatoes cooking, find a cheese store and be able to purchase prosciutto. Oh wait! That's Italy!

Some students who want to learn Spanish and avoid the hassle of living in a city come to this cobblestoned pueblo of San Juan. Here you can arrange a homestay with a family and live in the culture on an every day basis. Then if you want to visit the capitol city of Antigua for international cuisine, free jazz concerts, and large colorful markets, just hop on a bus and you are minutes away.

Entrance to the Palacio del Obispo

The first Bishop of San Juan was Francisco Marroquin, and this is the entrance to what used to be his home.

This ornate doorway is on the street behind the attached church. Bishop Marroquin assumed a great deal of responsibility for the building of the second Spanish capital city of the country of Guatemala, which is now known as Antigua. Many Guatemalans consider him to be one of the first Fathers of the nation.

for the The impressive Palacio del Obispo

The nuns living here are happy to show you around if you ring the bell at a reasonable hour.

Which is just what we did.

A resident sister opened the door a few moments after we buzzed, then gave us a personal tour in Spanish.

Central fountain surrounded by gardens found in upscale Spanish style homes

The palace, which served as the original home of Bishop Francisco Marroquín, was restored in 1939 to its previous condition.

These days, this serene location with its manicured gardens serves as a place for spiritual retreats.

The museum featured historical posters of the area as well as fascinating old time maps of Spain. Several rooms showcased the vestments of the Bishop, his Bible, some letters, his desk, his bed and the old wooden dining room table.

I wondered what sorts of conversations took place over those dinners.

 There were also some ghastly items such as the instruments of self-flagellation that were commonly used by the faithful at this time in history. For those of you who don't know what these are, they are basically instruments of self-torture to bring about not only discipline in a believer,  but also, through tremendous physical pain, a transcendence of the boundaries of reality.

Today, we might call them sport heroes or some type of warrior.

Sharing a papaya smoothie

After visiting through ancient Spainish and Guatemalan history, we walked across the street and had a modern day fruit smoothie.  

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