PROCESSIONS IN ANTIGUA

Antigua's Holy Week celebrations are attended by people from all over the world and are very elaborate. Most of the processions have large floats, some weighing as much as 3 tons and requiring 100 men to carry them. A few are carried by women dressed in either white for purity or black for mourning. There are Roman soldiers, mournful music, burning incense, and hundreds of volunteers who make these things happen. I think i got a little out of sequence with my photos, but it gives the idea of how elaborate this particular procession was. It stopped in front of the Cathedral in the main square, and there were many people singing along and taking pictures of the whole thing. Pretty amazing and
truly a once in a lifetime experience.

These are pretty happy looking Roman soldiers. It made me laugh

that some of the participants were taking pictures too!

This shows how many men were carrying this float. I counted 85+, and there were some I couldn't see in the front.

Love this picture with the incense.

VIDEO CLIP OF PROCESSION

Here's just a short video clip of the float with Jesus carrying the cross.

"ALFOMBRAS" (CARPETS)

One of the things you'll see during Lenten celebrations in Antigua is the
famous carpets made out of flowers.
When you get an "up close" look, you can see that the edges are made out of carrots, radishes, pineapples, cabbage,
and different kinds of melons. You can't see that when you're standing really far back, but up close it's fascinating. This one is in the
cathedral on the main square.

LA AZOTEA COFFEE PLANTATION

Near Antigua, there is a coffee plantation called La Azotea. I'm not a coffee drinker, but it was very interesting to hear the story of how it grows. Guatemalan coffee is shade grown, and most coffee drinkers rave about its quality. We have sold a different type of Guatemalan coffee at our church for a fundraiser, and thus far, I think we have sold about 800 bags.
Here we see who the biggest growers of coffee are.
The grounds of the plantation were
beautiful!

MAXIMON

The little museum at the coffee plantation had this display which is of Maximon. We saw the "real deal" in Santiago at Lake Atitlan. He is the Mayan God of the underworld, according to my guidebook. He is known as the saint of gamblers and drunkards, and is thought to give wealth and worldly success to his followers.
When we visited a place that was worshipping him, we couldn't believe our eyes -- he had a lit cigarette where someone would occasionally remove the ash, and in front of him was a case of 24 bottles of beer! We really didn't know what to make of all this!

There were candles, a Mayan priest chanting, and lots of heavy duty incense burning. I think they were chanting in the Mayan language Quiche. This is just the display at the museum, but the real version that we visited was downright creepy!

IS THIS MAXIMON?

I saw these dolls at a store and wonder if they are supposed to be Maximon dolls! According to the guidebook, "He is kept in the house with his whereabouts changing regularly. Locals will usually bring you to see him. If you go, be sure to bring a cigar or some rum to leave in offering."

PORTA HOTEL ANTIGUA

For my sixth trip to Guatemala, I decided it was time to just go on vacation rather than lead a mission trip! My sister (Ruthie) and I spent two days in Guatemala City and visited the world famous Archeology Museum and saw many Mayan artifacts and a beautiful jade collection. Enjoyed shopping at a market that sells a lot of handicrafts. After that it was on to Antigua, which is about 30 miles away. Our "home away from home" was this reasonably priced hotel, which was also very luxurious. I couldn't resist taking pictures of the bathroom! Each room had a name, and we were in the Santa Cruz La Laguna Room. We even had

a working fireplace, but it was too warm for a fire -- darn!

THE LAND OF VOLCANOES

On a day trip to Lake Atitlan, our guide told us that there are 33 volcanoes in Guatemala -- with 3 of them being active. The scenery was wonderful. Part of the fun is that there are launches that ferry people back and forth between the different towns around the lake, although later in the afternoon the lake has a tendency to get REALLY rough! I tried to take a photo of the little launches, but it was pretty hard. My sister and I were waiting for the launch to leave in the last two photos.

WALKING AROUND SANTIAGO AT LAKE ATITLAN

We really enjoyed walking around the town of Santiago on Lake Atitlan. Can't remember what this lady and I were talking about, but it looks like a pretty serious conversation! She definitely was trying to sell me something!

Our guide suggested this really good restaurant for lunch called El Pescador. The guide's name was Humberto, and he was really interesting and knowledgeable.
Taking more pictures.
Long day -- very tiring, but well worth it.