Believe it or not, the dry green river bed is El Pensativo River. The other day while driving on Calle Chipilapa, which takes you to La Ermita de la Santa Cruz Ruins, I saw this huge bougainvillea tree on the other side of El Pensativo River, dry now but soon it will have running water. I never seen a bougainvillea tree so big; my girlfriend and I saw a midget bougainvillea tree—about 1 meter in height— in Tapachula, Mexico.
This photo is needed to clarify a confusion about the coffee trees and their height. Nathalie from Sydney DP asked if coffee trees grow very tall in La Antigua Guatemala, while referring to this photograph which showed coffee trees and their shadow makers the gravilea trees around Antigua, San Pedro Las Huertas to be precise. I posted a Close-up photo of coffee plantation before to show the coffee bushes (tree could be considered an exaggeration) and the shadow trees known here a gravileas. So, to answer Nathalie’s questions, coffee trees (ed. bushes) do not grow very high; they can be harvest by Guatemalan farm workers on foot.
Here’s your illustrated Spanish word of the day: Bugambilea for Bougainvillea. Even though La Antigua Guatemala is known as “the city of …
The slogan of Antigua Guatemala is “La ciudad de las perpetual rosas” which translate as “the city of the perpetual roses” more …
Exactly two years ago I shared with you the biannual procedure of pruning the gravileas trees to keep a balance between shade …
As mentioned before the Gravilea trees are planted next to coffee bushes to provide the necessary shade for the coffee plants. Once …
There is nothing like rain water to make all the flora grow and in Guatemala we have a very copious rainy season …
Often the perimeter walls for residential homes have carefully guided bougainvillea trees flowering all year long along to the top. In a …
Today, I continue learning about the Guatemalan coffees. In the past I have mention how I thought coffee plantations were beneficial for …
The Panchoy Valley, where La Antigua Guatemala is located, used to be a lake at the time the Conquistadores arrived and when …
Back in May 11th, 2007 I showed a picture of the Río Pensativo which was nothing more than a dry river bed. …
Today’s is Earth Day and to celebrate it, I am posting a desktop wallpaper photo for your computer which shows the harmony …
The hoja de falsa uva (false grape) or Parthenocisus inserta as it is known scientifically is a trepadora (climbing) plant. In the trepadoras category the most often used are the hiedra (ivy), uña de gato (cat’s claw), falsa uva (false grape), collar de la reina (queen’s collar), and of course the ever-present bugambilea (bougainvillea). The trepadoras (climbing) category in the Guateflora book has 34 different plants, so I have homework to do. 😉
We continue our Guateflora series with the omnipresent coffee bush or tree, which has manage to leave the coffee plantation to become a hedge. The coffee bush is one the most often seen plants around La Antigua Guatemala, but not often I’ve seen it used as hedge. The above photograph was taken at the Compañía de Jesús building, with the ruins in the background.
A simple old and weathered arched doorway in Calle de Chipilapa. Believe it or not, there’s a matching window photo belonging to the same house… can you tell us under what name or date was published?
Recently while reading the National Geographic en español, I learnt that not all instances of the use of wood as fuel are bad. According the article about barbecuing wood and charcoal do indeed pollute the atmosphere with smoke and ashes, but it is a recycled-type of energy when compared to other energy sources like gas or electricity.
