It’s time for the umbrellas and you probably should buy one in you plan to visit Guatemala for the next 180 days or so. Sorry, it’s like that and there is no way around it. Heck some people, like Eric from Boston, have never seen the beautiful and dry Guatemala; can you believe that?

If there ever it was a place where abandonment looks good that would be La Antigua Guatemala, which by the way is city taken out of 1773 and it is possible today because it was abandoned, or rather people were forced to abandon it.

Anyways, most of the ruins and old monasteries still looked abandoned, with cracks, broken arches, fallen down cupolas, rusted metalworks, chipped paint layers, et cetera. Basically, half the city looks like is in ruins and it is, but that’s precisely appealing architectonic aesthetics of La Antigua Guatemala, don’t you agree?

What other details would list as part of the architectonic aesthetics of abandonment of Antigua Guatemala?

I am truly convinced that Guatemalans can not do anything in a mild, neutral, gray manner. Guatemala is a country of extremes and there’s no middle ground here. So it comes as no surprise that everything has to have rich, saturated colors with wild patterns that under normal circumstances could not go well together, but somehow they do. One point in case are the textiles with some many colors, shapes, and textures that somehow manage to look awesomely well, especially while worn by Guatemalan women. Another good example are the colorful and kitsch paint jobs and decor of chicken buses, don’t you agree?

Last night I received a text message with the following orders: Get the camera and take photos of Volcán de Fuego; lots of lava and lighting storms. So, as instructed by Nelo, I took my camera, mounted it on the tripod and shot a few photos. I must say these were the largest eruptions I have seen of Fuego volcano since I’ve been living in Antigua Guatemala.

According to Guatemala’s Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrología, INSIVUMEH for short (Guatemala’s National Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology Institute), lava rivers reached up to 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) in length and ash was shot 16,400 feet (5,000 meters) into the air. CONRED, Guatemala’s national disaster agency ordered the closing of highway RN14 which connects Antigua Guatemala with Escuintla and serpents down between volcanoes; no evacuations have been ordered yet.

I will keep you posted about new events with Fuego volcano is the volcanic activity increases.

If you live in or around Antigua Guatemala you get used to coffee farms, coffee lots and coffee orchards and cupolas very fast. Here I was able to get both on the same shot. This photo was taken on the back end of the San Cristobal El Bajo church.

Have you visited San Cristóbal El Bajo yet? If not, why not?

Okay, I will tell you, but please don’t go telling everyone about it. In Guatemala we have a rainy season that lasts between six and seven months. Also, Guatemala has vast amounts of underground waterbeds; is this they correct term? Check out the Water Series for many of the different angles of water in Guatemala. Furthermore, Guatemala is geographically located in the Tropics, although it is hard to realize this unless you spend most of the time on beaches and coastal areas, and that’s why the humidity on the atmosphere is very high, especially during the rainy season. All this water makes Guatemala so green. Okay, please, don’t tell anyone, it’s our own little secret.

By the way, the photo was taken in my garden after a heavy rain yesterday.

Sometimes it pays to be present at the right moment with the camera ready to capture a fleeting instance. Such was the case of man paying for his order of chiles rellenos. By the way, did you know that chiles rellenos are normally sold on Sundays, so it was a surprise to see the sign of Hoy Chiles Rellenos on the door on a Wednesday.

When was the last time you had Guatemalan chiles rellenos?

One thing I have noticed reviewing the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto is that I have yet to visit all the villages of Antigua Guatemala. This year I plan to visit and photograph all the villages of La Antigua Guatemala. To that end, here’s the church of San Gaspar Vivar, a small community sandwich between San Pedro Las Huertas, San Juan del Obispo and Santa Catarina Bobadilla. I will also spend sometime going through the archives reclassifying old post so they appear on the correct village categories.

How many villages of Antigua Guatemala or nearby municipalities have you visited?

Siesta time used to be sacred in Antigua Guatemala. Almost all business stop for lunch and siesta time between 12pm and 3pm or 1pm and 3pm. Nowadays, many businesses are owned by foreigners and the tradition of siesta is being lost. Heck, many businesses are not even closing for lunch anymore.

Even though it’s convenient to have everything open at lunch time, something very important is being lost, does anyone know what it is?

“I have everything I ever wanted, nothing I ever really needed,” I read in Twitter.

In Guatemala is quite the opposite most of the time for most Guatemalans. Often I see Guatemalans, young and old, have so much fun with so little. Kids buy an inexpensive colorful plastic ball or natural membrane ball and have an informal foot ball match, and I mean real foot ball, not what North Americans call foot ball; a chamusca pues. Adults can spend a few hours playing cards at the park.

The image above brought back memories of a family spending quality time at the green areas of the ruins and where I wrote “the best things in life are free or nearly free as Claudia said it, “… simple times, simple pleasures, family, friends, nature… ” feel her heart with nostalgia.”

And that image triggered this comment from Claudia, a long time reader of AntiguaDailyPhoto:

“No helmets, no amber alerts, no Wiis, just a plastic ball or if lucky a real soccer ball…”

“… I feel one component that I loved of living down there was that you knew everyone and everyone knew you, or of you, do you know what I mean? You spoke to your neighbors, you knew their names, where they worked, etc. Heck, you could even have refaccion together, at night you could hang. . have some decent conversation about everything and nothing…”

Oh such is life deep on the highlands of Guatemala and just about any country of the infamous “third world.”

There are three public spring-water pools inside Finca El Pilar. One pool for kids, less than one meter deep, a medium size pool which is about 2 meter deep and a large three-meter deep pool, or tanques, water tanks as they are called there.

All three pools are filled once or twice a week completely with mountain spring water from a spring located about 300 feet away. Although I believe the pools are continually filled since I noticed the water valves were running the entire time I was there. The water is chilly and refreshing, especially in hot days like we have had this week.

Entrance fee for the pools is a mere Q15/$2 for an entire day of fun (7am to 6pm). Finca El Pilar is located about two kilometers up the hill from San Cristobal El Bajo, one of the Antigua Guatemala villages south of El Calvario church; a good 45-minute walk from Parque Central. Besides the pools, you can hike and take nature walks among the trails of this farm-turned-into a nature reserve.

Here’s your Spanish word of the day: Nacimiento, birth, is the word most often used for water springs.

If I were you I would be very careful about walking around Calle del Arco. See, there’s guy selling dreamcatchers, atrapasueños in Spanish, so imagine somebody catching your dreams as you stroll by. What if you’re a dreamer, would yourself get trapped inside this web? Seriously, I hadn’t realized that dreamcatchers were being produced this far south and adopted by the Maya as part of their handicrafts. I’ll make sure I buy an atrapasueños next time I see this fellow. The going price was between Q25 for the little one and Q120 for the large ones.

While dreamcatchers originated in the Ojibwa Nation, during the Pan-Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s they were adopted by Native Americans of a number of nations. Some consider the dream catcher a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures. However, other Native Americans have come to see dream catchers as over-commercialized. Non-Indians have also used the dreamcatcher for their own purposes. (source: Wikipedia)

Here’s a video clip showcasing the magic found in and around Antigua Guatemala. The video was sent to me by Lico Rosales to share with you. Enjoy!

Mother’s Day always falls on May 10 in Guatemala. Thus, today is a holiday for mothers in Guatemala and many mamás get the day off from work.

I’d like send a very special Gracias to my own mother for teaching me how to be a fairly decent human being (most of the time; maybe?!). I am glad I was able to spend some time with you recently. Let me share with you the Guatemalan classic marimba Un vals para mi madre (A waltz for my mother) and wish you a very happy Guatemalan Mother’s Day!

Tiendecitas or tienditas, little convenience stores, have to be the most popular business enterprise in Guatemala. I can not imagine living without a tiendecita in each block or several tienditas for the matter. These convenience stores are very convenience and they sell many items in small quantities. For instance, who would thought that you can go the tiendecita and purchase just one, 1, cigarette or an ounce of margarine or one egg, etc.

What’s the weirdest thing you have bought at a tiendita?

We Guatemalans are the best recyclers in the world. That’s what I was trying to convey a couple of weeks ago with the entry Recycling Around Antigua Guatemala where a list some of the ways we recycle in Guatemala.

Well, today I happy to share another way we recycle in Guatemala: Bocado de Reina, a cake made with bread leftovers. But, don´t believe me, I’ll move aside and let Cynthia Rothwell from Guatemalan Genes describe Bocado de Reina and a quick, kids approved, recipe. If you don’t already follow Guatemalan Genes, you should, Cynthia is very good at covering all aspects of the Guatemalan DNA, culture and traditions.

Here’s a bocado of Guatemalan Genes to your tasting:

The Bocado de Reina is a cake made with leftover bread. It is not bread pudding because the consistency is that of a cake. The literally translation Bocado de Reina is “Bite of a Queen” now to really carry the meaning I suggested “Food fit for a queen”, although I couldn’t figure out why a cake made of left overs would be fit for a queen…

RECIPE (Kids approved)

2 cups of crumbled bread
1 can of condensed milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp of cinammon
2 bananas
Raisins (optional)

Mix all ingredients. Bake it at 350F for 45 minutes. Makes one 8inch round cake.