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Dangling like a spider on a web, he slightly rocks back and forth in his harness as he awaits the “okay” to go. At the cue, he lifts his legs, bends his knees… and takes off, plunging into a tunnel of thick, forest foliage. A whirring sound follows in close pursuit as he soars above the sloping forest floor, suspended meters – at times more than 100 meters – above the ground. To onlookers below, he looks like nothing more than a fragile doll that is somehow managing to cling to a nearly invisible cable as he races across the treetops.

Do you want to be next? Antigua Canopy Tours wants to know who is the next brave soul that will dare to glide suspended over the forest at Finca Filadelfia. The adventure company describes the experience as “more than 500 meters of pure adrenaline only ten minutes from La Antigua Guatemala.”

Thanks to Rudy and Antigua Canopy Tours Manager Pascu Robredo, I was next. I got to experience what was, for me, a sensational rush through the treetops and rolling landscapes above the Panchoy Valley. Yeow!

This marks the first of a series of posts about the Finca Filadelfia canopy adventure, where I’ll fill you in on the Antigua Canopy Tour experience, facts of the canopy tour industry and even the man who made it all happen for antigueños and La Antigua Guatemala visitors alike.

First, a brief summary of what Antigua Canopy Tours is all about:

The adventure company describes itself as a family-oriented eco-tourism initiative that offers the brave and the willing the thrill of launching from treetop platforms and soaring across forested ravines and canyons. The course is located 3,000 meters into the rolling mountainscape of Finca Filadelfia, located in La Antigua Guatemala between San Felipe de Jesús y Jocotenango.

Visitors have the chance “fly” above La Antigua three times daily, Monday through Sunday, at 9am, 11am and 2pm. Each tour lasts about 3 hours and Antigua Canopy Tours offers free transportation from La Antigua. You can find the tour’s military green Unimog Mercedes monster vehicles in front of the Cathedral every hour beginning at 8:30am until 1:30pm.

Antigua Canopy Tours has two canopy circuits the Forest Express and Canopy Express that offer up to 8 zipline “flights,” sending participants gliding anywhere from 50 to 520 meters through the forest. Visitors do not need to have any prior experience and the tour is open to all ages provided they have a sound medical history.

The company promises its adventure course is very secure, complying with all international standards recommended by the ACCT (Association of Challenge Course Technology). Antigua Canopy Tours is insured and says it uses only the best equipment available, including internationally recognized brands such as Petzl and PMI.

You can find a preview of the adventure at Antigua Canopy Tours Youtube channel or by playing the Youtube video embedded below:

A quick video of my own experience will be available in a following post. (Pictured is canopy tour guide Carlos Antonio aka “Tono”)

text and photo by Laura McNamara

Can you have too many shots of La Antigua Guatemala’s volcanoes? I think not. This one was taken from the rooftop view of Hotel Centro Colonial Antigua. I think the railings along the terrace offer an interesting perspective and great “leading lines” for the photograph. Just yesterday I was headed to Antigua Gardens with a friend. For much of the drive Volcán de Fuego looms before you. I couldn’t help but comment on how it felt like I could just reach out in front of me, right from where I was, and touch the volcano’s massive slopes. There is something so surreal and deceiving about the formation of a volcano’s slopes. Just a short while later, as I was gazing out from an Antigua Gardens terrace, I was mesmerized by the misty clouds circling the same volcanoes you can see from LAG. Sometimes I feel as if I could sit all day simply watching such awing interaction between land and sky. In this photo, it appears Volcán de Agua reaches above and beyond the clouds.

One of the most interesting photos I’ve seen of LAG’s volcanoes lately is from the photo library of LAG’s rock climbing club (AANSAC ). While hiking up one volcano, they were able to capture the full shadow of Volcán de Agua that spread like a huge, dark cloak over the hilly terrain below. I’d very much like to copy that idea! Anyone up for a volcano trek?

text and photo by Laura McNamara

Visitors can easily spot the Maya people dressed in rainbow colors weaving their way throughout the renowned colonial architecture of La Antigua Guatemala. But, sometimes, such prized culture and striking architecture can distract one from noticing the more obscure, yet just as captivating beauty that’s found in this city. For me, the bright, exotic flowers scattered throughout the city perfectly accentuate the traditional dress and handcrafted goods of the indigenous Maya. The Maya must have drawn their inspiration and favor for such a collage of brilliant color from the exquisite flowers and plants that ornate their world.

text and photo by Laura McNamara

Sweet. Juicy. Succulent. Happy. Fresh. Inviting. These are just some of the words that come to mind whenever I spy the overflowing mounds of fruit at the market. With such a flood of rainbow colors, I find the market is an excellent spot for a quick pick-me-up! But it’s not just the colors. It’s the hustle and bustle and the everyday bargaining. There are days that I just love to be caught in the middle of it all! I remember the first time I encountered the true market bartering game in Thailand. Used to the fixed prices of immense supermarkets in the U.S., I was a bit frustrated as I attempted to try and figure out what I should pay for various goods. At first, I didn’t even like the business of bartering. ‘Just give me a fair price!’ I cried out inside my own head. But now, I LOVE IT! It has become a fun game of battle-of-the-wits to see who can out-charm the other… vendor or buyer?? And still, it’s more. Market bartering offers a window of opportunity for me to better communicate with, learn about and learn from the Maya.

More photos of succulent fruit to come!

text and photo by Laura McNamara

Since Rudy is such a fan of framing I thought I would toss in a few framed shots of my own. Has “arches framed with arches” been done? Rudy’s post Stairway to Heaven actually managed the feat though he failed to mention it. But, this photo from Hotel Centro Colonial Antigua frames two full arches and two partial arches within one closer arch. Geez, how many times can you say arch in a sentence? Anyway, shall a competition commence Rudy? Can you beat the number of arches I framed within another arch? I imagine he’ll have a photo topping mine up in no time…

text and photo by Laura McNamara

As you’re gazing at Enchanting Nook #1 at the Hotel Centro Colonial Antigua, spin your head around to your right and look up. There you’ll find Enchanting Nook #2. These beautiful doors at the hotel always leave me wondering about what may be behind them. I picture myself there, peeking out from the tiny balcony so that I might soak up the energy from the single ray of sunshine that is perfectly highlighting the golden door. If a wanderer moves past, I might glance down with an innocently nosy curiosity about who would be treading below me… I will wonder if that wanderer will find the hotel as beautiful and alluring as I do.

text and photo by Laura McNamara

Rudy previously called it Stairway to Heaven. I call it The Enchanting Nook. Months ago, during my first visit to La Antigua in December of 2008, just a quick peek into the entryway of Hotel Centro Colonial Antigua was enough to draw me in so I could explore the beautiful grounds further. I had to laugh when I realized on this trip that I had been lured back to the very same place! It’s not just the decor, design and color of the hotel’s entryway… it’s the light. This place seems to be perfectly positioned to bounce and reflect everyday, natural light so eloquently – lighting up the neon-fanned leaves, the bronzed railings, the warm mossy and earth hues of the walls. This time, I was brave enough to venture beyond the magical stairway and the first floor.

Entonces… more photos of Hotel Centro Colonial to come!

text and photo by Laura McNamara

If you are a fan of people watching you are hard-pressed to find a lovelier place than La Antigua Guatemala to enjoy the lazy hobby. Whether you find a bench in Parque Central, Tanque de la Union, Cerro de la Cruz… or perhaps, you simply prop yourself against one of the many boldly-colored walls that line the calles and avenidas, like this man… the scene before you is always beautiful. I don’t think a day has gone by where I haven’t outwardly expressed my fascination with the beauty that abounds in this city. She’s like a diamond. You can look upon her faces, her edges, her corners from different angles and each time you will find a new hue to appreciate.

text and photo by Laura McNamara

Michele Woodey already so eloquently described the emotions La Antigua’s ruins evoke. In her Antigua Abstracted #3 post she wrote: “These are places where episodes of history become entangled with our dreams- where stories and fables are as intricately woven together as the creeping vegetation that threatens to overwhelm the architecture itself.” Yet, the very people of that “fabled history” are there, displaying their wares on the cobbled streets just as their ancestors did. The experience is surreal and I feel like I’ve stepped into a living painting. The entire city – with its colonial ornamentation and kaleidoscope of color – feels like a living painting. I know I have a fresh set of eyes but I just don’t think I’ll ever become weary of venturing out into the city each morning to find whimsical scenes such as these – scenes that I too get to color with my very own, unique hue. This certainly beats U.S. Midwest suburbia. The next time you pass by the Ruins of El Carmen, where the rainbow-colored wares of the Maya people are displayed under the looming, colonial fossil… I beg you to stop… breathe… and take a moment escape to another time, another era.

This city truly romances me like a lover…

text and photo by Laura McNamara

For me, nature’s patterns are often works of abstract art, displayed before humanity in a living, outdoor gallery. These leaves are unknown to me. But, I think each one looks like a little, oriental fan, delicately spreading out from its stem. What do they look like to you? Does anyone know what kind of tree these leaves represent? There is also something about green. I love the myriad of greens that spring from nature.

text and photo by Laura McNamara

If you are a tourist just passing through for a couple days you are probably not one to find time to discover and appreciate the stunning view from Cerro de la Cruz. But, locals, ex-pats, Spanish students and the traveler who kicks off his shoes and stays awhile eventually find themselves huffing up the winding road to Cerro Santo Domingo. I wonder if the lookout point has been dubbed “make-out point.” This couple is certainly enjoying the ambience of the hilltop vista. Can’t say I blame them…

text and photo by Laura McNamara.

During these last few days I’ve spied two different mimes performing on the Calle del Arco. The only way I can really tell the difference between the painted faces is the height of the two characters: one is tall and the other is quite short. Both seem to be a hit with onlookers: adults and kids alike. The two seem to have similar tricks as well, which include shaping colorful animals from tubular balloons, asking someone from the audience to slingshot what seems to be a giant yoyo, and teeter-tottering on a small unicycle. In all honesty, the acts aren’t overly impressive – especially when you’ve encountered them on a number of occasions. Nonetheless, each time I see one in action, I stop to watch. I’m not just watching “Coqueto y Cortito”, as I have fondly named them. I’m also watching the people. Whether it’s Coqueto o Cortito, each invariably bring smiles to the faces of passersby and that’s something I’ll never tire of appreciating. Try as I might to engage these two in conversation, I can never get a peep out of them. Not to say that I’m surprised a mime won’t talk…

text and photos by Laura McNamara.

Observing indigenous Mayan people is one of the many charms of La Antigua that has captured me. One of the things that strikes me most about this intriguing culture is the maturity I see in the young Mayan children. This little girl, who looks to be no more than five-years-old, is calmly sitting by herself watching the daily activity and buzz on the cobbled street before her. Her hands are folded neatly in her lap and her feet are held together “ladylike.” She appears perfectly grown-up in her behavior. At the time I took this photo, there was a mime performing in the street entertaining me and many other tourists. Other non-Mayan children were actively engaged with the mime, falling prey to his silly tricks, giggling all the while. Yet, this little Mayan girl simply watched on from her curbside perch – interested, but not engaged. This is certainly not the first time I’ve witnessed such adult-like behavior from Mayan children at such a young age. Of course, I’ve seen plenty at play as well, but through my observations, I find that Mayan children possess a maturity level that is often well beyond their years. Even now, I must admit, I wouldn’t possess as much grace as this little girl while sitting on a curb. The maturity must come from their culture of working early and young. While hawking their handmade goods, many Mayan children display expert sales skills that could rival that of any high-pressure salesmen in the States. Often, I see five-year-old children caring for newborns. For them, it’s normal. For me, they’re little grown ups.

text and photo by Laura McNamara.

About Guest Contributor: Laura McNamara is a Web-savvy new media journalist well-versed in all facets of reporting and coverage. She has blogged her way through more than 20 countries across the globe. Yet, it’s La Antigua Guatemala that has captured her heart. Currently, she’s setting up “base camp” from the charming, colonial town surrounded by fuming volcanoes. You can look for her work around town as she begins writing for The Revue as a freelance contributor. She is also hunting for venues to sell her photography.