Antigua, Guatemala: On My Way to School

I did three weeks of Spanish classes for four hours every morning, Monday - Friday, in Antigua. The school I chose was, I don't know, a mile or so from my airbnb lodging. My airbnb was very close to the historic San Francisco church; my school was quite a few blocks on the other side of Central Park.

Below is a pictorial story line of my typical walk to school.

I lived in a small enclave at the top of East 7th Street, at the intersection of Chipilapa Street. Looking down 7a Calle Oriente (East 7th Street) from Chipilapa, you can see San Francisco Church on the left. Not to mention a volcano.

View of San Francisco Church from top of 7a Calle Oriente, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

View of San Francisco Church from top of 7a Calle Oriente, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

Much of 7a Calle Oriente is congested with vehicles and people. Noisy. The aroma of vehicular exhaust. Woe to the pedestrian walking this and some other streets when the students are arriving or leaving school or when they are out and about during lunch hour.

Traffic approaching on 7a Calle Oriente, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

In the beginning of my stay, I usually turned right onto First Avenue South next. On this road are well-known tourist businesses such as Café No Sé, Café Sky, a hostel or two, and one of the more publicized language schools, La Union. 

Intersection of 7a Calle Oriente and 1a Avenida Sur, Antigua, Guatemala. Courtyward wall to San Francisco Church is on the left. April 2016.

Cafe Sky on 1a Calle Oriente, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

When I arrived at 6a Calle Oriente, I'd hang a left and presently run into one of my favorite spots in Antigua, La Tanque de Union.  There'll be a post dedicated to La Tanque de Union later, so I'll just offer some glimpses below.

Tanque La Union, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

Tanque La Union, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

Birds singing at dawn at Tanque La Union:

Hospital at Tanque La Union, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

Courtyard of an Antiguan museum. Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

Depending on whim, I might proceed north on any of these three avenues: 2nd, 3rd or 4th. If I took 3rd Avenue and went all the way to 3rd Calle (notice the important difference between Calle and Avenue!), and take a left, I'd pass Doña Luisa's restaurant, home to my favorite yogurt. Regardless of which avenue I chose, I'd end up walking through Central Park.

Parque Central, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

Once I passed through Central Park, I'd go by the CPCE, which began its life centuries ago as a Jesuit monastery.

Old Jesuit monastery, now the CPCE historical center. Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

At this point, I'm still about four or so blocks from school. But I'm not finding any pertinent photos to take us the rest of the way.

Sometimes I took different routes, and these scenes will show up in one way or another in future posts.