La Merced
The Church of "La Merced" (Mercy in english) at Antigua Guatemala, the one I liked the most.
Monday, March 31, 2008
La Merced
La Merced
The Church of "La Merced" (Mercy in english) at Antigua Guatemala, the one I liked the most.
Carpet on the La Merced Church
Carpet on the La Merced Church
Part of what makes the Holy Week different in Antigua, is the "Alfombras" or carpets.
On the streets where the procession is going, people create those carpets, some with plant, and with other kinds of materials.
Lots of pretty and colorful designs.
This was the first "Alfombra" I saw that day, outside the church of La Merced, the starting point of the procession.
Lomo Relleno
Lomo Relleno
I was told the name in spanish is Lomo Relleno, is pork meat, in a roll , filled with more meat.
Domingo de Ramos in Antigua
Domingo de Ramos in Antigua
The day I arrived to Antigua, was sunday, when its the festivities of "Domingo de Ramos", translation would be something like "Palm Sunday"
I liked the palms that were on sale, so I decided to take a photo.
The Palm Sunday festivity, is because of the day Christ entered to Jerusalem, and begins the Holy Week. People buy the palms, go to mass, where they are sprinkled with holy water. Those palms, are then burned, and the ashes are used next year, on "Miercoles de Ceniza", Ash wednesday.
Volcan de Agua in Antigua
Volcan de Agua in Antigua
This is a photo of the "Volcan de Agua" outside Antigua
Antigua was the city of Guatemala I was the most days, used the time to see how Holly Week is on that city.
Around Antigua there are 3 volcanoes.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Its Lava
Its Lava
The most interesting part of climbing the mountain, was to see lava, from little place where little lava was slowly coming out of the rocks, to lava in an almost solid state moving really slowly, to hole where one could see lava like in the photo, or full rivers of lava moving.
And the amount of heat is amazing.
Top of the Pacaya Volcano
Top of the Pacaya Volcano
This is the view from near the Top of the Pacaya Volcano.
All volcanic rock and ashes, had to be very careful when walking, since the rock moves, breaks, sometimes is really hot when there is lava moving under it, can even break open a lava outing. In fact one person in the group cut himself with a piece of rock.
A very impressive thing to look, like a view of another planet.
Pacaya Volcano
Pacaya Volcano
Once in Antigua I took a trip to the Pacaya Volcano, although there are taller volcanoes around, the interesting thing is that is an active volcano that has lava flowing.
According to a sign at the entrance, its a 2200 meters climb, a good exercise.
This photo is a look of the volcano from the base.
Tamal Guatemalteco
Tamal Guatemalteco
This is a Tamal, Guatemalean Style.
Inside it, thre is a full piece of chicken (leg) in tomato sauce
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Sunset on the Peten Itza Lake
Sunset on the Peten Itza Lake
Well a photo of the Sunset over the Peten Itza Lake, I like it.
At 9 pm, it was time to take a bus again, now more to the south towards Guatemala Capital City. Luckily it was of the Pullman type buses, so it was comfortable, so again, one night sleeping on a bus. To Guatemala City arriving at 4am.
Turkey Plate
Turkey Plate
As I was saying, I took the time in the island of Flore, Guatemala, and decided to eat something.
So I eat a delicious plate of Turkey, prepared guatemalean style. It was delicious.
Peten Itza Lake
Peten Itza Lake
Well I am back after one week away on Vacations, for the Holly Week
I made a whole circle around on my trip.
Lets see, I started on my island, friday night at 9pm, from there a bus to Chetumal at the east, where I arrived at 4am, well most of the time was sleeping on the bus, so really didnt felt time passing, of course, not the best way to sleep.
At 5 am, take the bus from Chetumal to Flores,Guatemala, to the south and a little bit to the west. Arriving around 2pm.
Once in Flores, Guatemala, had to wait a little time, that was good, I took the time to eat, and stretch the legs a bit.
Took one of the boats to the Lookout point, from where one can see almost all the Peten Itza Lake.
The photo is my attempt (badly done) to do a panorama with Photostitch, one can easily see (even in this small version) where the photo join points are.
Other is since my flickr account is of the free ones, the maximum side has to be 1200 pixels, so it looks all tiny. But still one can see the lake, the island of Flores, a couple more islands, the town of SantaElena, and a bit of jungle.
Because walking 5 more meters (15 feet) is so terrible
Because walking 5 more meters (15 feet) is so terrible
Ok, I understand that it is more desirable to park close to the destination, specially if one is to carry things to or from the car.
But there are timers, in which in some people, that need to park as close to it, makes it look as if for them walking those extra 5 meters is harmful. It is interesting to see how sometimes just to save walking a few more steps, people keep driving around or waiting for long times.
One example from the other day, on the store park place, there were a few park spots like around 100 meters away, but there was one car that looked like going out just 20 meters ahead (or 80 away), so the vehicle in front decides to go and wait for the car that might go out in the not so closer spot. And it waited long for the people and kids to put the bags and then go inside. It was waiting even after I walked the 100 meters of the other park spots, and entered the store. So just to avoid walking 20 meter, waited for a few minutes. Well it might not look like if a few minutes would be such a big deal, indeed, but there are other times when people would go for longer times just waiting for that park place.
But the most ridiculous was yesterday night, at the park place outside of where I go to do exercise, while I parked, get all my stuff out of the car, a car went around the whole parking lot 3 times. At the end it parked "far from the entrance", or in other words, next to where I parked. I listened how one of the girls said to the one driving "Great, now i am late for my class, while you were here just driving around"
The other girls says "I wanted to park closer, so not to walk that much"
I was totally like "WHAT???", it was not even 30 meters(10 feet) to the entrance, and that was for her to walk that much, and her destination was to a place to do exercise, so what would be so bad of just walking a few steps more , even might be good for warming up (well not really being such a short distance)
Anyway, thats just how humans are.
Kisses
Jessica
Purple and Black
Purple and Black
I love how purple and black go together
Purple blouse whit decorations
Straight black skirt
Black boots
And a fairy necklace.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Murmuro
O rojos que con fuerza fluyen
libres impulsos os alimentan
alcanzad vuestra meta deseas
surgir y bañadme completa
decision que por las sombras surge
encuentra en la luz su termino
Silencio que ocurre cuando os miro
anhelos y esperanzas buscando ser hundidos
no temo ante el color de vuestra fuerza
generoso y vibrante escarlata
recibid con gusto mis latidos
explotad y regalarme el olvido.
Sorry no english translation this time
Arita
Arita
-Mom, do you know someone by the name Arita- asked Matilde, that night after deciding that no mater how much she tried to remember, the name didn't brought a memory.
-Not exactly by that name, but you were the only person who called her that.
-I used to called someone like that??? How could I not remember.
-You really don't remember??? I can understand it was in your early childhood, but I would think you would remember your Aunt Sara, or Arita as you used to call her.
And like if the memory long gone started to come back, Matilde's memory slowly build a face, first a small head, with a pair of tiny squared glasses in front, that were more likely floating in front of a pair of eyes in a color so dark it was almost black, with a tender but sad look. A mouth with a tiny hint of a smile. Certainly it had been a long time since Aunt Sara's death, and almost that time since Mathilde stopped thinking about her.
Slowly a few memories started to surface, the day Arita showed her the new swing installed in her garden when she was 5 years old, and that for many visits would be her place. Or the day they went shopping for the little gnome statues for the front garden, and she picked the one who was carrying the toolbox. Or the year the two of them decorated the Xmas tree with teddy bears instead of the usual decorations.
And then she remembered, how just a little before she became 8 years old, she went to her first funeral, a dark room, the ugly noise of several voices all talking in whispers, like wanting to hide. The long lines of chairs with too many people she didn't know. The tears in her mother's face and her shaky hand as they walked through the room, towards the big wooden box that looked so strange, so new and old at the same time. Her curiosity to look inside, the feeling of danger as she hold the border of the box while making her feet go up, and then
-Matilde, Matilde, are you okay - said the voice of her mother through the phone
-Yes, mom, is just that I started to remember- said as a little tear started to appear.
-Are you going to Sara's house? Do you want me to go with you?
-No mo, thanks, but I think from her letter that she wanted me to go alone.
Aunt Sara's house, Arita, a place were she created memories on her childhood and somehow she had forgotten them all. Why, why????
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
A brief memory
A brief memory
The following days Matilde tried to find something in her memories that could give her a clue about the letter contents, but no matter how hard she tried, all she was sure was that indeed the word Arugai seemed familiar to her.
On the weekend visit to her mother she tried to find another clue, but the kind of writing was not something her mother saw or remembered, to her Arugai was a word with no meaning, and as for the reference to someone Matilde was brought to as a child and visited several times later, it could be any of many relatives and family friends.
Her mother gave her the names, of all those that she remembered they visited either regularly on occasionally, and from them which ones she knew that have died. But from those 12 names in the list, none of them caught Matilde's eye.
Her mind kept active, thinking, trying to remember for a couple of more days, but as time passed, the mystery of the letter was pushed by her daily activities until it was lost on her memory.
Almost two weeks later, she went to the market to buy some fruits for the week. While she was walking to the place where she usually bought apples, she saw something that caught her attention, one of the baskets was red. Not an usual color, being that most where not painted. And with that a memory came back to her head, a piece of furniture under a window, on top of it a little red basket filled with yarn, suddenly a cat jumped through the window, knocking the basket as it went inside and ran to its left, while Matilde heard herself scream "Arita, Arita, a cat is inside"
That moment she realized that the scream she heard, actually came from her mouth, and people were starting to stare at her. A bit hurried and excited she finished shopping. On arrival to her apartment she just throw the bags, she had a memory, a clue, a name, but just like in her mind the idea that she was finally close to know who had written that letter, it disappeared, for on the name list, there was no Arita.
Was it a real memory, or something her mind created to remind her of the letter?? Or maybe her mother just forgot to put that name on the list or the name was somehow wrong. But for now, more than a lead her memory became just one more question.
----
Kisses
Jessica
Jessica dressed college-girl-like in Zona Rosa
Jessica dressed college-girl-like in Zona Rosa
With this outfit is that I went dancing Saturday nigt, a look a little bit like a college girl.
Just that before going to the dance place, I had to wait for my friend to arrive, so I went to wait to a Sanborns in Zona rosa.
And kind of like with this look I draw more looks than usual. ups
Kisses
Jessica
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