Guatemala - Holy (Semana) Santa!

April 5-8

Hello everyone!

Sunday, April 9th is Easter. It is the reason I have two weeks off from work. It is also a very big deal in Central America. A very big deal.

Purple is the colour for Lent

A parade float depicting Jesus being moved into the cave

There aren’t many places that make as big a deal out of Holy Week - called Semana Santa - in the region as Antigua. That’s the city in Guatemala, not the country. 

The city's full name is Antigua Guatemala

The red dot is Guatemala City, the capital

Quick admission at this point: when Hannah and I decided to come to Antigua, we didn’t realise that we were trying to come at its busiest time. And boy is it busy in Semana Santa. 

The tradition of the carpets dates from conquistador times

The grounds of the Merced church were
packed throughout our time in Antigua

Why Antigua in particular? I’m not entirely sure. It certainly is a place steeped in colonial history, where the Spanish developed a settlement said to be their most important between Mexico City to the far north and Lima to the far south. The city, whose full name translates as ‘Old Guatemala’, was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala for 230 years after its founding in 1543. It suffered a horrendous earthquake in 1773, which resulted in the capital being moved to a new 'Guatemala City'.

The ruins of the Candelaria church date from 1548 

This cool structure was part of the city's laundry basket 

Antigua’s most iconic man made landmark is the Santa Catalina Arch. It was built in 1694 and originally connected a convent on one side of the road with a school on the other side. The nuns, who had to avoid all contact with the outside world, used a hidden passageway in the arch to cross between the two institutions.

The arch somehow survived the 1773 earthquake,
which decimated most of the city 

The clock was added in the 1800s and
needs to be wound every three days

There are many other colonial relics found along the cute, cobbled streets. Many are found around the Central Plaza (Parque Central), including the city’s massive cathedral and Palacio de los Capitanes.

From here, the governor ruled an area stretching
from modern-day Mexico to Costa Rica

The cathedral is built on the rubble of the
original, which was destroyed in the 1773 earthquake

I said man made landmarks for a reason. Visible from Antigua are three towering volcanoes: Volcan de Agua, Acatenango and Volcan de Fuego. The latter is constantly bubbling and spitting at a low level. You can hike overnight up Acatenango, which allows you great views of the Fuego and an incredible sunrise. This also involves advance booking…

Volcanoes are a key part of Guatemalan culture

Volcan de Agua is most visible from the city -
Acatenango and Fuego are to the west (to the right of this picture)

…meaning we hiked up part of a different volcano, called Pacaya. Though not as frequent or violent as Fuego, Pacaya has erupted as recently as 2021, as well as in 2010 and 2014. 

It rises to 2,552 metres above sea level

You don't climb to the top of the volcano -
this was pretty much as high as we went 

It took us a while to get to Pacaya, mainly because the roads were blocked for Semana Santa activities. You’ll see why later, but this resulted in having to backtrack multiple times and taking two-and-a-half hours to travel a journey which normally takes less than an hour.

It's a popular hike, probably because it can be completed quite quickly

Solidified lava from recent eruptions

The hike was gentle, particularly when compared to other volcano hikes which can be done here. Still, some opted for four-legged help…

In front of Pacaya's peak

There was a baby screaming his eyes out on one of these -
be thankful I didn't take a video of that to use on here

We didn’t go near the top, instead settling in a basin which had solidified lava from recent eruptions. The rock is warm to the point that the guides pull out their party trick: roasting marshmallows. It was a pleasant hike and a world away from the chaos of the town.

There isn't a fire over which to cook them...

...meaning they get put in the lava, and they get bits of
molten rock on them. Crunchy and underwhelming.

This was Good Friday. It seemed to be a good Friday to watch a parade. There were many of them. These actually happened consistently throughout our time in Antigua. Each different parade depicts a different aspect of the events of Holy Week, with Friday’s main parade of over 25 floats depicting the death and burial of Jesus.

It's suggested that up to a million people
visited Antigua during Holy Week before Covid

Whilst Wednesday and Thursday were purple,
Friday had more black being worn

It’s a bedazzling, strange experience. There’s an aura as the floats wobble up the street, being carried by people of any age or gender in traditional Christian clothing. The accompanying music is tuba-heavy, loud and sombre in its mood. Understandably given what they are depicting, the atmosphere is stuffy; not just because of the clouds of smoke from the incense being hurled around.

Floats ranged in size from small, like this
one above, to dozens of metres long

Incense adding to the atmosphere outside the cathedral

Yet then you notice one of the parade with a selfie stick. Or you see a parade being accidentally blocked because a woman has decided to try to sell socks in the middle of the road. Or the parade winds down a different road and you’re left with the usual tourist hawkers trying to sell water or hats which are precariously balanced high on their head.

Socks > important religious procession

More likely pollution, but maybe this incense-waving
explains the haziness of Antigua's air!

I've tried to count more than once. Failed every time.

One of the main elements of Semana Santa is the creation of colourful carpets, called alfombras, which are painstakingly designed, measured and created in the middle of the street. They're amazing to see but are soon deconstructed after finishing - I'm not sure why.

Incredibly beautiful but they disappear so quickly!

Lots of pretty patterns and colours on the cobbled streets

An alfombra was why our drive to Pacaya got diverted. Having seen the care taken to create these stunning designs, I’m happy our bus didn’t bulldoze its way over it!

The alfombras are made from sawdust and wood
chippings - they could be bought in the main market

We're not sure whether you can just rock up to do these or
whether you need council permission and get given a
particular place in which to build your carpet

Antigua is relatively close to us and easy enough to reach, even for a weekend. We’ll definitely be back, though probably at a quieter time! Even so, being in the city for part of Semana Santa was at times a powerful experience which demonstrated the power and reverence of religion in Central America.

Happy Holy Week

Spending time with friends in a tiny, adorable restaurant called Por Que No, which translates as 'Why Not?'

Gracias Antigua - we'll be back

Love you all,

Matt

Guatemala - Pick your Nose carefully

 April 2-5

Hello everyone!

About eight-and-a-half hours after leaving home, we rolled up to our AirBnB, situated a little bit east of one of Lake Atitlan’s larger villages: San Pedro la Laguna.

Sunrise over Lake Atitlan

We stayed at these two places, as well as visiting
San Marcos in the northwestern corner

You’d think that a day of relaxation and taking it easy would be in store after a long and mildly stressful journey. That would be preposterous. Why recover when you can wake up at 3:30am to go hiking?

The view at about 5am

It is a popular and well-advertised walk

The hike in question is up the Indian’s Nose, and is said to be the best place at which to watch the sun rise over Lake Atitlan. We were collected at 3:50am to be taken up some devilishly tight switchback turns in a minibus to Santa Clara la Laguna, from where we walked (I can’t call it a hike) up towards our vantage point.

The peak is 2200 metres above sea level

It is a popular activity, epitomised by the number of people already sat on the purpose-built bleachers. Hannah and I quickly realised that we were possibly the oldest tourists there, which possibly highlighted the lake’s appeal to young backpackers.

The platform was packed by the time our group arrived

There are many popular and
slightly treacherous 'photo spots'

People of any age would have appreciated the sunrise, which illuminated the lake and its seven surrounding volcanoes. In the far distance was the ‘Fuego’, a volcano which has been spitting and spewing smoke for a number of years.

Boats start moving across the lake at dawn

Guatemala's more famous volcanoes are visible
here on the right, the southern side of the lake

Having seen it from up high, it was now time to explore the lake itself. It’s a crater lake which only exists due to rainfall which has occurred over millions of years. As I’ve alluded to earlier, San Pedro is seen as a backpacker town, with bustle, bars and a lively atmosphere.

San Pedro is a very steep and narrow town -
this was probably the widest street!

View of San Pedro from a nearby jetty -
its namesake volcano is situated behind

We stayed nearby in a cute AirBnB with water access. The main reason was to be able to use our new toys…

We bought our inflatable paddleboard and kayak from Pricesmart
in San Salvador. They were a key reason for us wanting a car on this trip.

Kayaking around part of the lake is a pleasant and calm way of getting a different perspective of its features. The main feeling I got was how ominous and dominating the nearby volcanoes are.

The kayak worked well but I had pumped one side slightly
more than the other, causing it to spin 180
degrees if I decided to stop paddling

Though it measures 19 kilometres across at its widest point, it takes a lot, lot longer than you would expect to drive from one village to the next. This perhaps explains what we were told on our walk: at one point there were 22 different languages spoken around the lake. As it is so difficult to get from one inhabited location to the next, it is unsurprising that these languages stayed intact for a while.

As with many places in Central America, San Pedro
was preparing for Semana Santa: Holy Week.

Many different Mayans strongholds around the lake

After two chilled days next to San Pedro, we briefly stopped in San Marcos la Laguna on the way to the eastern side of the lake. San Marcos struck us as having a more ‘hippy’ vibe, and certainly felt different to San Pedro.

One narrow lane filled with wellness shops and clothing
stalls connects the main village to the lake

Dreamcatchers such as this one burnish
the alternative vibe of San Marcos

Lots of art depicting Mayans is available to buy

We were next staying in San Antonio Palopo, a very small and quaint settlement on the eastern shoreline. Staying here showed a different pace of life. Almost no other tourists outside of the hotel. The only food option aside from the hotel’s chicken and rice (though the breakfast was phenomenal) was a takeaway pizza parlour. Hastily-built houses of a variable quality leaning over one another on the hill above.

The village backs up onto the flank of the hill

The item on the left is a maize tortilla

The main reason for staying on this side - getting an incredible sunset - didn’t really materialise. Wisps of cloud haze the view across the lake and the Sun itself gets blocked by land - possibly the Indian’s Nose - on its way down at the end of the day.  Still, the light on the lake is a nice view for a beer.

Mayan influence is advertised on this shop

Sunset from the eastern side of the lake

San Antonio’s nearby neighbour is Panajachel, colloquially called ‘Pana’. It’s the biggest town and the one which draws daytrippers from the big city to the east. It is also different from other villages in that it seems to be the main shopping destination. Fabrics of vivid colours adorn a plethora of shops which line and branch out from Calle Santander, the main street which slinks down to the jetty.

Many people and many, many shops selling
a variety of clothes and knick knacks

Mangoes in a wheelbarrow. We actually bought the
little red balls in the basket - they're called
jocote and had a citrus, mango taste.

We didn’t have the chance to take a boat but this is the most common way of people moving between villages. Much faster than a car, anyway, which has to navigate steep hills, steeper speed bumps and inexplicable ‘taxes’ for driving through different mountain villages.

Boats leaving San Antonio Palopo were rare

The winding roads also led to the journey taking a long time

I can see why Lake Atitlan is such a popular spot to visit, not just for Guatemalans but also for visitors from farther afield. Whatever your holidaying preferences, there’s a strong chance you’ll find what you’re looking for. What they all have in common is sitting on the edge of this stunning and seemingly not-yet-spoilt lake. 

One of many colourful buildings in San Pedro la Laguna

Taking the inflatable kayak for a literal spin in the lake

On top of the Nose: hope it doesn't sneeze!

Love you all,

Matt

Guatemala - Hide your Wine!

 April 1

Hello everyone!

Buenos dias from El Salvador’s bigger northwestern neighbour. A place with more volcanoes, more tourists and more potholes in the roads. Bienvenido a Guatemala!

Our ultimate destination: Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Border sign: not overly prominent

The April break has given us an opportunity to explore Central America for the first time. A perfect time to put use our car to drive around-

Frijoles is currently with its...fifth...sixth mechanic?

Oh. I haven’t written in a while so you may not be aware that our car, Frijoles, is…well, as close to being dead as possible,frankly. It decided to stop working in the fast lane of a motorway about a week after we had booked everything for Guatemala…which relied on us using a car. The result was needing to find a car to rent which we could take across an international border.

This conversation explains that this rental car company - recommended
by someone who recently used them to rent a car to travel from
El Salvador to Guatemala - don't rent cars to go between
El Salvador and Guatemala. Of course!

Step forward this Nissan Sentra, which I collected the night before we set off on a long journey to one of Guatemala’s seemingly many jewels: Lake Atitlan.

Our rental car for the week

It's a long drive from home to here!

Knowing it would take a while, we set off a little after 8am from Santa Tecla. After navigating city traffic which seems to never cease, we were making solid progress, only to be halted for a while by a broken down lorry in the middle of a narrow stretch. Being just before the only river crossing for miles around, we had to patiently wait to squeeze by. It wouldn’t be the last truck we’d have to squeeze past.

Stuck in Salvadorean traffic

To the border, then. This was fairly straightforward, in spite of the fact that there were no parking spaces. We both have a ‘green book’, allowing us easy movement between four Central American nations. Our car was subject to a brief check before entering Guatemala. I had enough Spanish to explain enough of our trip, before playing dumb when she started asking about the car. Through we go.

There are many 'fronteras' between the two countries -
this is the southernmost of them, called Hachadura.

We had to park behind these cars -
luckily the process didn't take long at all

The magical green book also gives us easy
access to Honduras and Nicaragua

Unlike trucks going the other direction, it seems. Hundreds of them, a snake of immovable objects waiting to get into El Salvador. Some drivers had resorted to tying hammocks to the undercarriage of their vehicle so they could chill in the shade. 

As you'll see from the video below, this situation lasted a while...

This didn’t prevent many cars - and the occasional truck - passing the snake of trucks to get to the border. A tricky scenario when there is one lane in each direction, with one of those lanes taken up by hundreds of stationary lorries. Mild carnage and an interesting welcome to driving across the border.

We had another, more direct welcome soon after. A police officer, resplendent with dark uniform and enormous gun, motioned us to pull over. This car check was more thorough, including asking to see proof that we could actually drive this car, which had El Salvador plates, in Guatemala. We were prepared for this and handed over the documents, as well as our passports, whilst another officer rummaged through the bags in the bag. 

Well I'm obviously not going to take a photo of a police officer!

I had been calm up to this point as I had everything under control. When the man pulled out a bottle of red wine and started asking questions, my heart rate raised a jot. I’d forgotten that many countries have a limit of what can be brought into the country, and that alcohol is often subject to scrutiny. Was this the case here? “Vino tinto,” the man says. “Necesita,” Hannah replies with a smile. The man with the gun laughs. Panic over. We move on about five minutes later.

Vino: muy importante

The drive was pleasant and easy enough, though I hadn’t expected it to take us up into the clouds…

355 km in total

The lake is situated at a height of 1,562 m above sea level,
but you have to go up and over mountains/volcanoes in order to reach it

Much of the route was very green

A successful border crossing, a successful drive and now time to relax at one of the most spectacular volcanic lakes in the world.

View of the lake from our AirBnB

Much deserved!

Love you all,

Matt