Church Wide Dental Retreat - Antiqua

Elder Call decided the entire staff ( since there are only 2 dentists world wide and two assistants) of the Church-wide dental staff should have a retreat to discuss dental issues and concerns. He chose Antiqua for our retreat. Great choice. Antiqua is less than an hour's drive west of Guatemala City. Old colonial capital, the third most important city in the Americas until it was destroyed by earthquake and flood in 1773. It is carefully preserved to look like a typical Spanish colonial city of the 17th century. Famous for its jade factories. We visited two Jade museums. There are two types of Jade - Jadite - the strongest of the two which can only be found in Guatemala and Nepite - found in other parts of the world. Beautiful jewelry ... You never know what lies behind the old doors, or plaster peeling form the buildings. The outside of the hotel did not reflect what would see on the inside. So quaint, serene, beautiful flowers


A view of our balcony just outside our room. Here we discussed dental concerns, read, and played cards in the evening. Enjoyable weekend and well deserved.


Night lights in Antiqua - fountain in the Center of Central Park. We walked around the Central Park taking in all the Christmas lights, excitement of the night life - telling vendors - NO NO to their insistence to buy their goods. They are out in numbers for all the tourists.
A night view of our balcony. We arrived late to Antiqua and so we enjoyed all the lights of the city.

Cathedral located across from the Central Park area.

Arch way that separated the Convent and the Monast many year's ago.

Our room at the hotel - so quaint, peaceful and relaxing.

A picturesque view of the volcano from our balcony.

Two car parking space at the hotel. Where can you park a car that ends up in the sitting area for breakfast/courtyard. It was a snug fit for Elder Call to park his car.

Street Sights of Antiqua












Taxi - Taxi - Take us to The Apple Factory. Now this was a ride - bumps and all!!!!



The Apple Factory on the outskirts os Antiqua. Some of the finest wood items made. Many of the Senior Couples visit this family owned factory. He not only sold wood items, but sweatshirts too.

Shopping for wood items. Elder Call's has visited this family that makes all sorts of wood items. Craftsmanship at it's finest. Elder Johnson walked out their with a car.

Manual labor at it's finest. These men were laying a cobblestone road by hand all down this street. Where would you find this in the U.S. They are not afraid of labor. They take pride in their work.

After a day of visiting Jade Museums, shopping and just walking all over the town, we decided a 'cultural experience' was needed. Elder Call took us to the San Damingo Hotel. You know the old saying "you can't judge a book by it's cover", well this was true to the hotel we went too. On the outside, just like all the city walls and old doors, you never know what you will find on the inside. This was an old convenient at one time and was renovated to become a 5 star hotel. The grounds, greenery, existing walls and pictures from the convenient were breathtaking. i've never seen such a fabulous resort. This evening we splurged to enjoy a 9 course meal. The food was divine!!! The Dental Clinic Retreat ended with CLASS...



We carry cars with us at all times just in case we have a opportunity to hand them out. Elders' Johnson and Call left a few cars in the nursery at Church. The little girl was just a little timid and/or apprehensive (by looking at her expression) about what they were leaving. Pictures tell a thousand words!!


We attended Church in Antiqua and it was a much larger ward than our small Branch in Los Lomas. The outside of the Church was this bright yellow wall and we almost missed the Church sign. Every Church is behind walls with sliding doors that lock during Church. Headed back to Guatemala City after Scarament meeting. Our relaxing weekend at such a beautiful city, Antiqua, has come to a close.