Semana Santa en La Antigua, Guatemala

During the Easter holiday, we took our first vacation in a long time (since 2006 - certainly our longest stretch!) and traveled to La Antigua, Guatemala. La Antigua is a Spanish-colonial city about 45 minutes southwest of Guatemala City and served as the colonial capital for 233 years until it was transferred to Guatemala City in 1776 when Antigua was razed in the earthquake of July 29, 1773. Due to its Spanish and Catholic history, Antigua is full of impressive colonial buildings, churches, and ruins. La Antigua is both a national monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an impressive city with great charm and the week from Palm Sunday through Easter is filled with religious ceremonies, processions, and images to remember Christ’s Crucifixion. The streets come alive with alfombras (carpets) made by residents for the processions to pass over. They consist of grass, flowers, colored sawdust, sand, fruits (lots of yummy mangoes and aguacates), breads, eggs, and other things lain out to express religious and contemporary messages. Each is ornate and beautiful and no two are alike; the people who make them spend several weeks, even months, planning for their carpets and time them to be completed just before the procession passes so they will be fresh and look their best. We saw several carpets being put together and the time and dedication put into each one is a testament to the honor they place on the meaning of this week and its religious significance.

Here are some alfombras in our hotel main area

The fountain in the center of the Soleil hotel

We got right into the festivities of the processions on Palm Sunday when we wandered into town to get an idea of where things were and saw people making their alfombras. We headed down the streets lined with alfombras and just followed them through town. We ended up following the crowds and watching the procession of men in purple and white robes carrying a sculpture of Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus Nazareno) followed by women in white and black carrying a sculpture of the Holy Virgin of Sorrow (Santisima Virgen de Dolores) along with musicians and a lot of incense. It was a beautiful procession and just the start to what we would see for the remainder of the week. It is difficult to describe these processions, but the people who carry the sculptures (the brotherhoods, or hermandades, organize the processions and are responsible for the sculptures their members carry {the carriers are called cucuruchos}).

Church on the corner of 5a Calle Poniente

A view of a street in Antigua where an alfombra is being made

The reverend at TMS just did a lesson for the children on the symbol of the butterfly representing the resurrection of Jesus
Carrying a float of Jesus Nazareno

Los cucuruchos en la procesion

Two bystanders enjoying a refreshing Red Bull...

Throughout the week we stopped to watch the processions from the various churches, with the busiest day being Good Friday as the processions focused on the final moments of Jesus’ life and the cucuruchos wore black to symbolize mourning. There was also a Ceremonia de la Crucificcion at La Catedral de Santiago on the east side of Parque Central. We watched as they reenacted Jesus’ Crucifixion and later as they removed Jesus from the cross and carried him in another procession to be laid to rest at another church. Good Friday was the most packed day during our time in Antigua as people came to take part in the religious activities and show their devotion to Jesus. It was an impressive day and we enjoyed being part of the experience. Antigua really cleared out by Saturday and on Sunday as the final day of processions focuses on rejoicing the town was quiet again.

In addition to walking to see alfombras and processions, we visited ruins, churches, the Mercado de Artesanias, and several other sites in the city. We also enjoyed some down time relaxing by the pool and eating delicious foods we cannot get in Belize (because what would a true PCV vacation be without food as the central theme?). The week was a perfect trip for relaxation, cultural exploration, and traversing the cobblestone streets of this beautiful colonial town.

Seeing the Sites

We visited the ruins of Iglesia y Convento de la Recoleccion and were in awe at the ways in which the structure was destroyed by the 1773 earthquake. While several structural walls remain, the roof is collapsed and the area solely stands as a monument.

We also spent time in La Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Senora de La Merced, said to be Antigua’s most striking colonial church. The baroque facades on the church are ornate and beautiful, but are not original as the church was destroyed by two earthquakes and reconstructed in the 1850’s. Inside the church was an elaborate carpet set up for holy vigils (velaciones) to be held in the church prior to its processions. The monastery ruins house a 27m diameter fountain – one of the largest we’ve ever seen and purported to be the largest in Central America. We also had a nice view of Antigua from the top of the monastery walls and enjoyed the peace of the area. The monastery is adjacent to a primary school, so we were able to peak at that as well.

Arch on 5a Calle Norte; La Merced Church is seen through the arch

Exterior of La Merced at West Entrance & adjacent to monastery entrance

Alfombra inside La Merced

27-m diameter fountain inside the monastery ruins

El Parque Central is surrounded by el Palacio de Los Capitanes (the governmental center of all of Central America until 1773 and now home to the national police, the tourist office, and the governor of Sacatepequez department) to the south, Catedral de Santiago on the east, and Palacio de Ayuntamiento (home to city hall and two museums) to the north. It is filled with visitors and was often a central point for us as we traveled the streets.

View of Catedral de Santiago from Palacio de Los Capitanes

Fountain in the center of El Parque Central (note the lack of crowds, this will change by Good Friday!)

Just hanging out in El Palacio del Ayuntamiento overlooking el parque

We also visited art galleries, a delicious cookie shop, and several other churches, including Iglesia de San Francisco (said to be the town’s most notable church) where we saw the preparations for their Good Friday procession and watched the start to their procession on Holy Thursday (along with our friends Todd and Ashli who were also in Antigua and who we managed to bump into throughout town, which was nice since we wondered if we’d see any of the other PCVs in town with the large number of people there). We also stopped in at Escuela de Cristo church as we followed carpets to the entrance and saw a crowd of people awaiting the start to a procession on Wednesday. We went in the church to see their carpet and the scene set for their velacion. On Good Friday, we met up with Mica, John, Todd, and Ashli in the crowded Parque Central for the Ceremonia de la Crucificcion.

Sculptures lined up and ready for their coming procession from Iglesia de San Francisco

Inside Escuela de Cristo just before a procession on Wednesday afternoon

A jubilant young incense swinger in la procesion del Escuela de Cristo

Waiting for the procession to begin

Las Cucuruchas en la procesion del Iglesia de San Francisco - Holy Thursday

Reenacting the Crucifixion

Carrying Jesus to be laid to rest

Throughout the week, we often found ourselves strolling through streets encountering several markets where we saw artisans selling their crafts and women weaving, children and adults playing instruments, and women doing their wash in the large clay basins at the Plaza on Sexta Calle Oriente. The beauty of the colonial architecture and the vivid dress of the Maya women kept us walking for several hours each day, which also made us hungry, so we did eat quite well on this trip (and we'll definitely share in a coming post).

More Views of Antigua

A stairwell in a courtyard of cafes and galleries

Plaza on Sexta Calle Oriente

Doing the wash

Dulces! Anthony's favorite

Fun bread

The outdoor corridor to our room at the Soleil

How to describe this fountain? - Just look closely at the symbol on top...

This is just too cute

Putting the final touches on alfombras throughout the city




A little street music for our enjoyment

El Palacio de Los Capitanes under a full moon

El Parque Central on Good Friday - much different from early in the week

Scarlet Macaws at Iglesia de Santo Domingo

Visitors from a Distant Land - Darcy and Heidi's Big Belize Adventure

Our first visitors arrived on March 7th and got to experience some of the adventure of Belize. As Heidi said “Where else can you hold a monkey, ride a horse and pet a sting ray?” We really packed in a lot for their week, and it was definitely great to see them and to share Belize with them. We also must thank them for lugging out two suitcases full of treats and school supply donations for the schools! You are awesome :)

Onto the adventures

We started off by heading out west to Cayo to spend the weekend in San Ignacio and see one of the prettiest towns (in our opinion) and the one with some of the best eating. Darcy and Heidi really got to see Belize like the locals riding the regular bus; I think that was an experience in itself. When we got to Cayo, we checked in to our hotel and then immediately headed to Café Sol for lunch, then it was onto book our horseback riding tour with Rudolfo at Hannah’s Stable (recommended by another PCV and he was a great tour guide and excellent trainer for we inexperienced riders). Once all our arrangements were made for a day of outdoor adventures, we took time to explore the town and hike up the hill for soft serve soy ice cream at Cayo Twist (absolutely delicious!).
On the stairs to Heidi & Darcy's room

The girls with our soy ice cream (Ginnie should have gone for a cone...)

Horseback Riding and Zip-lining
Our morning began early for our horseback riding tour, which included passing through farmland, a creek, close to the Guatemalan border, and a small quiet village. We rode for three hours, which really does a lot of work on the legs and back, but it was well worth it for the beautiful scenery and the knowledge we gained as Rudolfo told us all about farming, his experiences as a primary school teacher, and the areas where we rode.

Ready to Ride!

Riding through farmland

Walking across the suspension bridge into the village

It was then back on the bus for a trip to Jaguar Paw where Heidi and Darcy traveled through the jungle on zip lines. Since we had already done the zip-line we hung out at the jungle lodge and listened for their screams (of which we did hear at least one). It was a long day between the horseback riding, buses, and zip-lining, but we had a lot of fun. In fact, as we waited for our transportation back to the highway, we spent some time hanging out with the local howler monkey who lives right outside the resort and was pretty open to being held and climbing on everyone. We even got really lucky and the driver offered to bring us all the way home for the cost of a bus fare – that worked fine for us and we had a nice comfortable ride back to Belize City.

Darcy & Heidi ready to zip through the jungle!

The resident howler monkey outside the Jungle Lodge

Belize Zoo and Old Belize
Next it was time for Darcy and Heidi to visit the zoo. That was a great morning – although it did not happen without its mishaps, a little bird biting situation occurred while taking pictures, but all turned out well. The animals were out that morning and we got to see the jaguars up close, it was incredible. It’s such a nice zoo that takes care of animals native to Belize who have either been orphaned, born at the zoo, rehabilitated, or sent to the zoo as gifts from other institutions and educates the public on Belize’s national wildlife. You can read more about the zoo and its work by visiting their site: http://www.belizezoo.org.

Belize's national bird, the Keel-billed Toucan

Jaguar

A view of a jungle path in the zoo

After leaving the zoo, we made our way to Old Belize for lunch, beach time and visiting the exhibit there. It began down pouring as we ate, so our plan to sit by the beach for a while was pushed aside. However, it was still a nice afternoon in a relaxing setting. Old Belize is a nice place to go to take a little break from the city and relax at their manmade beach or have a nice lunch at the Sibun Bite Restaurant. The exhibit also gives a little information about Belizean cultures and ways of life. It was a perfect complement to our morning at the zoo and the girls enjoyed browsing the shop for their gifts to take home.

Meeting the Kids!
In order to really share our experience, I asked if Darcy and Heidi would be interested in reading aloud to the Infant I class at Trinity and they readily agreed. On Tuesday morning, we headed over to school so they could meet my principal and the teacher and children of Infant I. Each of them read a Dr. Seuss book borrowed from the St. Luke’s School Library (and an author who the children have shown great interest in) and then spent time with the kids during their morning break. The children greeted them with their gigantic smiles and big hugs and would have easily kept them in class all day if they could. We got to watch as they learned about the letter B and helped them write their new letter. It was so nice to share the school with the girls and let them see the kids Ginnie spends her days with – they got a taste of how rewarding it is to spend just a few minutes with them. After school it was home for a quick lunch and then it was time to show them the city and see a little of our daily experience.

Lots of love from the pikni

Out in town, we visited some of the stores where we frequently shop and then stopped in at the Belize Museum so the girls could see the old prison and the exhibits. We then went to the tourist village and flea market and had the tourist experience for a few hours. Anthony and I rarely go to that part of town so I really did feel like a tourist that afternoon, but did let vendors know I am here for Peace Corps and not looking for souvenirs but enjoyed seeing what they had to offer. Several are expecting me back in 2009 to take stuff home before I go… Not so sure about that, but it was a nice afternoon. On the way home, we stopped at our favorite fruit & veggie stand to pick up fresh vegetables for dinner and for Heidi to get a pineapple that she’d been wanting for days. Sadly, the pineapple was rotten so that was a disappointment, but we had delicious oranges from our landlords that she was able to enjoy instead.

Fun in the Sun!
Our next adventure took us out to the nice, quiet, relaxed island of Caye Caulker. We got in and found a nice room at a great rate with a balcony looking out toward the sea and a small beachfront (oddly right next to a cemetery, but we tried not to think about that as we enjoyed beachtime). As we walked to find a hotel we passed by Anda de Wata tours and booked our afternoon snorkeling trip since you can’t come to Belize and not snorkel in the second largest reef in the world. After we checked in, we had a nice lunch and then got ready for the afternoon of snorkeling. The snorkeling trip consists of three stops to various sections of the reef. On our first stop, our guide took us through different sections to point out various types of fish and reef. We saw an eel during this stop, which is something Ginnie has not seen on any other snorkeling trips before. The reef and fish were beautiful as was expected and we spent quite a while out in the water. This was also the first snorkeling trip for Ginnie in which you just jump off a boat and head out to open water with no nearby land or giant platform (in the Great Barrier Reef we were out in open water but in a roped off section connected to a huge barge and a smaller barge so it didn’t feel too far from “safety”). It was good to experience and despite having no glasses Ginnie was able to see pretty well under water (though I am sure there are things I did not see as clearly as everyone else) and stayed close to people to be sure to return to the boat! Our second stop took us to Shark-Ray Alley. This was also a new experience as we swam with sting rays – rather large sting rays – and many of them at that. We all even pet a sting ray and it was a very strangely slimy puffy feeling. We were in about 4 feet of water, so we were all a little nervous about touching the ground and accidentally stepping on a ray, but we did well. It is really interesting to swim with several sting rays just swimming under you. Unfortunately for Heidi we did not encounter any sharks as they have not been coming around a lot recently our guide said and she seemed pretty excited to swim with sharks! Finally, we headed out further to a section where we were on our own to explore the reef for 45 minutes. We had to swim out several feet from the boat, so Ginnie stuck near Darcy so she wouldn’t get lost with the poor vision! We saw so many more fish here and several large schools of large fish that were eating along the reef and others just swimming around in groups. There were a lot of brilliant colors and variety of fish and it was definitely a great afternoon. The water was pretty cold though and we were all freezing when we returned to the boat, but we had time to warm up in the sun as we enjoyed fresh fruit and chatting with the other snorkelers who were in the boat with us. This also was a day with another couple mishaps involving some slipping on the boat, so all of us had at least one random funny thing happen on this trip. Although, in fairness, Heidi’s was probably the bestJ and since she is okay, we can laugh about it now.
On the water taxi ride to Caye Caulker

The rest of the evening was spent walking along Front Street and checked out more shops for the girls to find their gifts and then had a nice dinner at Rasta Pasta Rainforest Café. The next day we spent the morning on the beach relaxing and then finished up the souvenir shopping before heading out on the water taxi back to Belize City.

Darcy's Big Up Huge! Burrito at Rasta Pasta

The visit ended the next morning when Darcy and Heidi had to return to the states. We really enjoyed having them here and sharing Belize with them. We really packed in a lot in one week so they could get a taste of all the many different activities available in Belize. We hope their adventures inspire the rest of you to take the trip and spend some time with us in Belize!