One evening at Cafe Sky
Antigua is a very well protected city. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and a tourist magnet, it it is well taken care of by its inhabitants - and by the law.
In an effort to preserve the harmony and atmosphere of the center, many rules have been put in place since 1969 to define what may or may not be done. And so what may look like just a nice old town to the innocent tourist is actually the product of much careful planning and law enforcing.
Traffic, for example, may appear a little chaotic, with few visible rules applying, and drivers seemingly relying on general courtesy and desire to avoid accidents to get by (miraculously successfully, as far as we have seen). But it turns out that there are rules, and that one of them actually prohibits the use of traffic lights within the city. Likewise, houses must be painted in one of the 5 approved shades of white, blue, yellow, red or green, while their roofs must be made of a specific type of tiles. And, most interestingly, the houses may not be taller than two stories.
Only a couple of older houses have the right to stand tall... One of them hosts a bar and restaurant called the Cafe Sky, a favorite meeting point for the gringos in town to come look at the city from up high.
Matt and I, of course, quickly found our way up there, and enjoyed the view of the clouds hugging the hills and the slopes of volcano Agua.
