Blogs from Capital Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 4

I had finally started to feel well enough again so booked a bus up to Guatemala. The journey back up was a real luxury, with big leather reclining seats, air conditioning, films shown on various screens on the bus and drinks and meal service throughout. It made the journey back up to Guatemala very easy. I arrived just after dark in zone 10, an area which is known to be one of the safest areas in Guatemala City. I walked for about 10 minutes to get back to the hotel, although it didn’t really feel so safe. After arriving at the hotel, I asked the hotel security and reception staff if it was ok to go for a walk in the area, both which responded that it wasn’t advised or recommended. The next day I decided ... read more

My last day with Guise in Guatemala City was spent running errands as she continued to show me around town. We delivered some of her freshly made bread to friends of hers across town and in the evening, made homemade pizzas while drinking boxed wine. The next morning we woke up early for our mini road trip to Antigua and Guise had made fresh banana cupcakes to drop off at her church. She sent some with me as part of a care package along with a loaf of fresh-baked bread. Guise had volunteered to drive me to Antigua so that we could enjoy a farewell breakfast together and she could buy some goods to send to her daughter Jennifer in the states. We hugged each other goodbye when she dropped me off at the Central Park. ... read more

JADE: THE STONE OF METAMORPHOSIS by Dennis Cunningham Antigua, Guatemala Little birds flutter within the Cathedral de Santiago. Craning my neck, I can see them silhouetted against an electric blue sky. They descend through open domes that once soared, intact, above apse and transept. The birds land on the dusty tiles and hop about nervously, as if they are never comfortable, and would be quick to ascend again into the open sky at the first tiny tremble beneath their pennyweight feet. And they may have reason to be jumpy. Guatemala has the unenviable distinction of sitting above, not only a fault line, but also a fault zone, known as the Motagua and Chixoy-Polochic fault complex. The earth has history of shivering here. The birds seem to posses a Darwinian memory, and the Cath... read more

ANTIGUA: A TALE OF TWO CULTURES by Dennis Cunningham Antigua, Guatemala Brilliant white cathedrals rise in Antigua, ancient and skeletal, standing fractured and broken against an electric blue sky. Inside, their dinosaur bones are frozen in mid tumble, column leaning against wall. I can almost feel the fierce rumbles of earthquake and hear the magnificent domes collapsing high above me. I can imagine frescoes shattering, Saints and Virgins falling to the tiled floors. Apse and transept, nave and chapel, that once so classically defined these colonial cathedrals, are today bathed in intense mountain light that pours not through stained glass, but through the remaining arched openings high above me, open to the sky. Birds come and go like tiny parishioners and dance at my feet. Outside, huge black volcanoes surround Antigua like sentinels. If the ruins ... read more

January 22. Guatemala It sounded perfect. Ride a tour bus to Antigua, the colonial capital and a UN historical site. The ride was 1 1/2 hrs and we got a glimpse of the countryside and the way the locals live. This is a very poor country and the houses reflect the reality. Antigua is nestled between volcanos, one of which is active, and is at 5,000' altitude. We expected the bright sun and moderate temps. What surprised us was the chilly breeze from the north. All of Central America has been experiencing cooler than normal temps. It's Sunday and what we didn't know is the the Capital seems to empty, everyone heading to Antigua for Mass and visiting. The first thing we notice is the traffic, the second is the street vendors. Costumed in traditional dress ... read more