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Definitely, blue skies are us during the dry season. During the rainy season, the sky line remains white and gray most of the time. No wonder I love the dry season with its clear skies, wonderful light, cool climate and colorful celebrations.

You have to visit Antigua Guatemala at least once during the dry season to enjoy blue skies like the above.

Okay guys, today’s game is very simple: find as many kinds of contrasts as you can in this image of the San Pedro Las Huertas cathedral. I already gave you the color contrast.

The person with the most contrasts listed wins today’s photo as a post card. Good luck to all participants!

What’s inside this passageway?

1. The largest fountain in Central America
2. Ruins of a monastery
3. Mayan arches used in colonial architecture
4. Access to the rooftop of La Merced Church
5. All of the above
6. None of the above

Please, help us determined what’s inside the passageway by sharing your answers in the comments area.

Like many firsts of the month, AntiguaDailyPhoto is participating in the theme day of the City Daily Photo community around the world. To see how others in the City Daily Photo community have interpreted today’s theme please click here to view thumbnails for all participants around the planet.

Even though I have shown quite a few photos of Iglesia de La Merced, I believe this is the first time I actually show you the entire front façade of La Merced church. Oops, sorry! I guess my approach is to skip the obvious shots at first and to share with you less common angles or perspectives. Over one year and half had past before I published the first photo of Calle del Arco. I hope you don’t mind seeing other parts of town or perspectives first.

The last time I showed you La Merced church from this perspective I forgot to include this vertical shot, which has a warmer light and better contrast between the yellow church and the blue sky. Go back to look at the previous photograph and tell me what you think?

I wander what those dog figures are guarding. What do you think?

There are two ‘official’ snack times in Guatemala known as refacción; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I have shown you the morning refacción before, but this is the first time, I believe, I show the afternoon refacción.

Refacción, however, is much more than a simple snack time. Refacción is the time where workers get together to gossip and catch up with personal details. Refacción is the time when couples in love get together for a quick snack along with hugs and kisses; such was the case of the man and woman in the foreground crossing the street that arrived in horse-pulled carriage (see refacción can also be romantic). Refacción is also a family time. For instance, the lady from yesterday’s photo was there with her children, parents and their grandchildren to have a snack before attending the mass service. Refacción is a friendship time too; as often you can ask your friends to meet with you for atol and tostadas at El Calvario, La Merced, o La Escuela de Cristo, just to name a few of the refacción venues.

What do you think of the Guatemalan refacción? Do you think it would be good to have refacción in your neck of the woods?

¡Adiós dos mil nueve!

This is also goodbye to a decade.

That’s it. At the closing of the 31st of December, we’ll be saying our goodbyes to 2009 and looking forward to a new tiger. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful people who have left comments or sent feedback. I want to send a big THANK YOU to all of you who supported my efforts through donations towards the hosting bills, gifts from my Amazon wish list or purchases of high quality prints from the over 2000 photos available in the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto. A very SPECIAL THANK YOU to all the guest contributors who made AntiguaDailyPhoto a richer, polyphonic resource for all things Guatemala.

We close the year 2009 with 1368 pages, 9691 comments and 1,408,105 visits (at the time of writing).

Please, let us know what were your favorite entries, your favorite series, or your favorite photos of the year. THANKS!

Christmas Eve or Noche Buena in La Antigua Guatemala is celebrated by staying up all night burning firecrackers and fireworks, eating tamales, turkey, or roasted pork leg, and drinking real fruit punch or hot real chocolate, visiting family, friends and neighbors for the respective abrazo de Noche Buena and buenos deseos (Christmas Eve hugs and best wishes); many even go to midnight mass. At midnight the presents under the Christmas tree, around the nacimiento (nativity scene), are opened and everyone laughs and hugs indiscriminately everyone around.

These celebrations rate the highest on the nostalgic memory scale; everyone who is living abroad wishes to be in Guatemala for this season and for this night in particular.

A todos los chapines en el extranjero, y en especial a mi familia, les envío mis más sinceros abrazos de Noche Buena y mis mejores deseos. Les prometo que por ustedes, este día no haré dieta alguna. ¡Qué tengan unas felices fiestas!

Best wishes and Noche Buena hugs to all the visitors to La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo.

San Felipe de Jesús is just a small town next to La Antigua Guatemala, which has its own particularities. San Felipe’s church is gothic, its market is cozy, there are many options to have some delicious food… So, why not pay a visit to San Felipe on a Saturday or Sunday? I guess I am becoming a bit obsessed with Sundays, as there is plenty to do Don’t forget to tour around all the villages of La Antigua Guatemala; there’s more to come. Stay tune!

text and photos by Arturo Godoy