Traveling While Introverted

Buildings that on the outside seem banal or a bit rundown, yet go inside and the paseos and interiors will astound you. They are spacious, elegant, and beautiful. Yahm and I have been staying in a cafe that doubles as a hotel with spacious downstairs and upstairs balconies and patios that look European. However, the tropical climate, plant and animal life (especially the birds), and landscape gives away that you are not in Europe. Three volcanoes surround the city: Volcán de Fuego, Volcán de Agua (which looms over the cityscape most prominently), and Volcán de Acatenango which offer exceptional hiking opportunities. (Sadly we will not partake in during this trip, maybe next time).

But, back to the buildings. They are equal parts unassuming on the outside and surprising on the inside. Photos do not fully do them justice but they form a unique part of this interesting city that blends the colonial past with the uniqueness of Guatemala’s culture and its deep connection with the former Mayan empire. The street vendors, who are mostly women, wear beautiful traditional garb and the blend of Mayan, Spanish, and Central American cultures and traditions abound.

Pictured above: an example of a paseo from the outside and then its interior. Pictures cannot fully capture these buildings but this is hopefully is a decent illustration of what I am talking about.

Now, focusing on the other subjects of this post: the street dogs and the birds. Many of the pups you see walking the streets are either strays or pets, but they are not collared and they roam around almost as wild animals. That said, these dogs are a colorful part of the fabric of Antigua. They mostly keep their distance, unless you have food, but even then they approach with caution. They walk through town with a confidence and ability to navigate busy roadways that is truly amazing to behold. During the peak of the afternoon heat, before the rains and winds come, they lie on the sidewalks napping, waiting for it to cool down to continue their busy days pacing around the city. They are fun to watch and make an impression on many of the tourists here. 

Pictured above: The street dogs in and around Antigua.

Guatemala is part of a realm of the planet known as the Neotropics. The Neotropics extend from southern Mexico to central South America and includes eight major ecoregions and dozens of smaller ecoregions consisiting of tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, cloud forests, alpine forests, mountain environs and wetlands (Wikipedia, 2025). The most notable of these ecoregions is the Amazon Basin, the world’s largest rainforest. While much of the diversity of the Neotropics is in South America’s Amazon Basin, the entire realm from southern Mexico to southern Brazil and northern Argentina is the most species-rich area on earth. Almost one-third of all known plants and animals exist here, and many of which are found nowhere else on earth (Meseguer et al., 2022). When it comes to birds, my favorite group of animals, 31 families of birds live throughout the Neotropics, over twice that of any of the planet’s other seven realms (Wikipedia, 2025). 

Birds are not always easy subjects to capture, but Yahm took some exceptional photos of a female great-tailed grackle capturing what these wonderful characters are like. Grackles, brush-tailed jays, woodpeckers, and sparrows have been most of what we have seen. We have much more of Guatemala to see and some of these species exist in the United States or travel to the U.S. during their migrations. Still, the aggregation of them here can be truly astonishing. In the morning or late-evening when they are gathering to start their day and roost for the night, respectively, they can be incredibly noisy. You will be awakened by them in the early morning hours and you will be amazed at how loud some of them can get, but after some time you get used to it and it becomes the rhythm of the day. Well, that is the end of this first entry in my corner of this blog. The next entry to come will be after we spend a few days in our next destination: Lake Atitlan.

Pictured above: Great-tailed grackle female captured in downtown Antigua.

Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to Traveling While Introverted so you don’t miss our next post!