Last week, I had an opportunity to fly to Guatemala’s former capital, Antigua.  This city is an anachronism, a landlocked island of Spanish Baroque architecture in a sea of Mayan heritage.  Although I was there for a meeting that kept me busy in the mornings and evenings, there was some free time in the afternoons to explore the historic buildings, plazas, and ruins along miles of cobblestone streets.

Even my hotel, Casa Santo Domingo, was an architectural treat, a combination of hotel rooms and museums that have been cleverly integrated into the ruins of a convent and church.  An unexpected highlight was the hotel’s outstanding view of a volcano that was actively spewing lava and ash on the first day of my visit.  The raw natural forces on display were a reminder of the 1773 earthquakes that forced the relocation of Guatemala’s capital, and what was an abandoned city is now a showcase of Spanish Colonial relics. 

My best photos from this all-too-short trip are featured in a new “Antigua Guatemala” collection, including this telephoto shot of Volcán de Fuego erupting at night: