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This year the rainy season has been fabulous so far. Crystal clear skies and sunny mornings to mid-afternoons with some light rains in the late afternoon or evening. The average temperature is about 20C/68F. The picture above was taken this morning when some rebel clouds were caressing the volcanoes Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. It was simply breathtaking. If you’re planing a visit to Antigua Guatemala, now is when.

Lenticular cloud aside: (Altocumulus lenticularis) are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes, normally aligned perpendicular to the wind direction. Lenticular clouds can be separated into altocumulus standing lenticularis (ACSL), stratocumulus standing lenticular (SCSL), and cirrocumulus standing lenticular (CCSL). Due to their shape, they have been offered as an explanation for some Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sightings. (source: Wikipedia)

Okay, thanks to my friend Norman Ávila from ClimaYa.com I’ve learned the proper name for this kind of cloud formation. A lenticular cloud was first shown here on the entry The War of the Worlds, a contribution of my friend Pascu Robredo of Finca Filadelfia. Check out it, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the parody of Orson Welles radio show.

I know that to keep abundant richly verdant mountains in Guatemala we have to have a 6-month rainy season. But, enough is enough, ya basta; we don’t need to have a full week of constant rains. Too much rain is not good for Guatemala either since too much rain breaks the country’s infrastructure, people’s lives are at risk with so many landslides, overflowing rivers and the collapsing of some bridges.

Just take a look at the report about the state of roads in Guatemala by PROVIAL at 6am. PROVIAL, short for Protección y Seguridad Vial (Road Protection and Safety), is part of the Ministerio de Comunicaciones, Infraestructura y Vivienda (CIV) or Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing. You can request information about the state of any given road in Guatemala or follow the punctual updates by @Provial in Twitter or by dialing 1520. (more…)

Today’s entry is a follow up to Camouflaging Cellular Towers where I mentioned how fortunate we are in La Antigua Guatemala where efforts are being made to reduce the visual pollution found elsewhere in Guatemala.

Here’s what posted before:

Sometimes we don’t realized how lucky we are for living La Antigua Guatemala until we take a little trip beyond the municipal boundaries and we are assaulted by all kinds of visual pollution. Yes, outside the Antigua Guatemala municipal borders capitalism is violent. Billboards everywhere, ugly banners on doorways and windows, huge advertising painted on walls, cellular towers along the roads, et cetera.

So, as we drive back to La Antigua and we see all the efforts that are made to reduce the visual pollution within the municipal boundaries, we are thankful, or at least we should.

Simple things like painting cellular towers, adding fake branches, disguising them as colonial street lighting poles, et cetera, goes a long way to reducing the visual ugliness inherent in the telecommunication era. We are not completely free of visual noise, but we are getting closer, poco a poco.

What efforts are being made in your municipal district to reduce visual pollution?

This kind of stoned wall is found through out Guatemala, especially, in the highlands. The purpose of this kind walls is to prevent landslides, deslaves in Spanish, or rather to prevent the landslides from damaging the roads and ridges. Of course, trees are the best defense agains landslides and campaigns against deforestation are the best prevention.

Just yesterday, Zach was asking what is your favorite viewing spot of the Antigua Guatemala area? Well, I don’t have just one. Obviously I like the views from Cerro de la Cruz, Finca Filadelfia and Santo Domingo del Cerro. Nevertheless, I finding the views from the road that takes you to El Hato village quite refreshing and unique. Today’s panoramic vista of Finca Filadelfia for instance even took by surprise the general manager of Finca Filadelfia who jokingly said I must have taken it from the air.

Anyway, once again AntiguaDailyPhoto is participating in the monthly theme day organized by the Daily Photo community which has decided to have as theme for August 1, postcard-worthy images. I believe this panoramic vista of Finca Filadelfia, a renown coffee plantation located on the outskirts of Antigua Guatemala is postcard-worthy, don’t you agree?

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Before you leave Santo Domingo del Cerro, make sure you make a couple strategic stops, especially around the heliport to take some panoramic pictures from La Antigua Guatemala.

In the picture above, we get an bird’s eye view of the Santo Domingo residential neighborhoods, which are located to right, on Calle de los Duelos, of the main entrance to La Antigua Guatemala.

Please, let me know, if you have seen photos from Antigua Guatemala taken from this perspective?

With this last entry, we finish the overview mini series about Santo Domingo del Cerro. I hope you have enjoyed this overview. There’s plenty more to cover in Santo Domingo del Cerro, but for now, you get the picture, so to speak.

The restaurant located on the best spot of Santo Domingo del Cerro goes by the name of Tenedor del Cerro. The views from this restaurant are simply breath-taking, especially during the dry season when you can see all three volcanoes hugging the Panchoy valley. Next to the restaurant there are a couple of terraces with magnificent views; plataformas they call them and there are many tables and lounge chair for you to sip a hot cup of coffee or cool down with Moza or Cabro as well as your favorite cocktail.

I recommend a visit to Santo Domingo del Cerro as well as Cerro de La Cruz and Finca Filadelfia to get the best panoramic vistas from the quincentennial colonial town of Santiago de Guatemala, also known as La Antigua Guatemala.