Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Antigua Guatemala

Tyler and I spent our last day in Antigua Guatemala.  We decided to splurge for our a tour guide, a very nice man named Frederico.



The view of Fuego over the city's central park area:

Some of the beautiful colonial style buildings in Antigua and the traditional Spanish colonial courtyard, que son muy tranquilos.







Antigua hosts elaborate processionals each Sunday during Lent and particularly big ones during Semana Santa, or Holy Week (the week before Easter).  These are some of the floats (not sure if that's the right term - may be too similar to homecoming...) in the courtyard of a church.

La Merced, the most beautiful and well-known church in Antigua.  Interestingly, it's run by a very poor order of monks and much of the interior was donated by international donors, including one Jewish Israeli.

This floor mural is made completely from dyed wood shavings.



As we were nearing the end of our tour, walking down the street, we heard: "Tyler!  Rachel!" in a familiar voice.  It was Carmen!  She and Josh Knight, both classmates from UNC, were based in Antigua for a medical service trip.  We knew they were in Guatemala but had no idea where - such a small world!

Last dinner in Guatemala, also with some familiar gringos.  Ian (right) and Tyler worked together at the NIH. He and his medical school classmate Jane were both studying Spanish in Antigua so we were able to meet up for some Thai food - this meeting was actually on purpose, though, and a little complicated by our lack of GPS/cell phones.  

One more post will finish off the blog, which has been delayed months.  It's amazing how quickly old routines replace new ones once you're back home!

xoxo,
Rachel