LA ANTIGUA GUATEMALA - Guatemala - page 127

travel gear and handwoven Guatemalan brocades in beautiful muted hues and earth tones.
It also has a fine collection of Southeast Asian antiques and wooden furniture in its by-
appointment-onlyshowroom.Oneofmyfavoriteshopsforhigh-quality(thoughsomewhat
expensive) crafts and textiles is Colibrí (4a Calle Oriente #3B, tel. [phone], textile-
[e-mail], 9 A.M.-6 P.M. daily). I particularly like their bedspreads, though
a Queen size will set you back about $200.
JEWELRY
Guatemala produces some of the world's finest jade, including rare black jade, found only
in this part of the world. You can buy fabulous jade jewelry here tax-free. The best store
forperusingwonderfuljadecreationsincolorfulhues,includingemerald,yellow,andlilac,
is Jades, S.A. (4a Calle Oriente #34, tel. [phone], www.jademaya.com , 9 A.M.-7 P.M.
daily), where you'll find a vast array of items varying from 18-karat gold/jade earrings to
a unique $3,800 jade chess board. All of the jade found here is mined from a quarry in
eastern Guatemala. The store doubles as a jade museum and you can also visit the factory
behindtheshop.GuidedtoursareavailableinGerman,Spanish,English,French,andItali-
an. For fashionable and exotic jewelry, handbags, and sunglasses, visit Joyería del Ángel
(4a Calle Oriente #5A, tel. [phone], 9 A.M.-6 P.M. daily). For silver jewelry, check out
Pablo's Silver Shop (5a Calle Poniente #12C, tel. [phone]).
BOOKS
Hamlin y White (4a Calle Oriente #12A, tel. [phone], 9 A.M.-6:30 P.M. daily) has a
good selection of topics and international magazines.Underthesameownershipis Tiempo
Libre (5a Avenida Norte #25, tel. [phone], 9 A.M.-7 P.M. daily), with a wider assort-
ment of topics in English and Spanish, including Moon Handbooks. On the west side
of the plaza in the Portal del Comercio, La Casa del Conde (5a Avenida Norte #4, tel.
7832-3322, 9 A.M.-7 P.M. Mon.-Sat., 10 A.M.-7 P.M. Sun.) sells an assortment of travel
guides in addition to material specifically relating to Guatemala, Central America, and the
Mayan world, mostly in English. A few doors down in the same complex, Un Poco De
Todo (tel. [phone], 9 A.M.-1:30 P.M. and 3-6:30 P.M. daily) also sells topics, though
mostly in Spanish.
ART, ANTIQUES, AND FURNITURE
Panza Verde (5a Avenida Sur #19, tel. [phone], www.panzaverde.com ) is a gallery
housed inside its namesake restaurant/hotel; a new exhibit usually opens every second
Wednesday of the month. La Antigua Galería de Arte (4a Calle Oriente #15, tel.
7832-2124, www.artintheamericas.com ) exhibits the work of numerous local and interna-