I love Central America.  I’ve traveled through Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and parts of Nicaragua for weeks at a time, mesmerized by these half-Spaniards /  half-Indians that carry some of the same DNA I do.  There is something so magically forgotten about this little pocket of the world that is right under our noses.

My maternal family has a long history in Central America… My Uncle was Secretary of State in Honduras as well as the Honduran Ambassador to the UN, and is the current head Magistrate of the Central American International Court.  My Grandmother was the reigning Miss Central America before her death.  So I am always interested in exploring new parts of this little strip of land that connects the massive Americas, and me to a piece of my ancestry.

I’m currently desperate to check out Antigua (no not the island!), the former Guatemalan capital located just west of Guatemala City. Founded by Spanish conquistadors on March 10, 1543, Antigua retains many of the brilliant colonial architectural gems that qualify it as a premier UNESCO World Heritage Site.  And then there are the chicken buses – basically American school buses driven south from the US that are now privately owned and decorated according to the driver’s tastes – usually with the name of his current girlfriend blasted across the top of the windshield.  They run between the country’s Mayan villages, often crammed full of people, farm goods, and yes, chickens.

The best time to go has to be Semana Santa or Holy Week  - Antigua hosts the Western Hemisphere’s largest Lent and Easter celebrations, with elaborate processions that make their way through the streets.  The pics say it all…