These are our fellow students from our Spanish language school in Xela when they visited us last weekend in Antigua. We have been so lucky to be befriended by amazing ¨kids¨ - most in their 20´s, as these friends are, and a few in their late teens, as are two of our current housemates, both from Maine. One of the teens, Mia, has just helped me to upload photos from my camera onto this blog. Hopefully, I´ll be able to do it again by myself. I´m not counting on it, though. Mia arrived in Antigua this week and will begin with Safe Passage tomorrow - with us. She´s from Freeport. At the moment, Bruce is out watching a ball game at a sports bar with the other Maine teenager living at our house, Campbell, from Yarmouth. Campbell, too, is working at Safe Passage. These are bright students, taking a year before or during their college careers to do some service work and some exploration of the world.
This is the Cathedral of Santiago, which dominates the Central Plaza in the middle of Antigua. It is magical when lit at night. Construcion on the cathedral was begun in 1542, but it was wrecked by the earthquake of 1773. Only this front facade and a small space behind was saved. The rest was left as ruins which can be toured. The city has many, many colonial churches and ruins of churches, as this was the city where everyone wanted to be at the time of the Spanish dominion. After a number of destructive earthquakes, the Spanish decided to move the capital to its present location in Guatemala City, leaving Antigua in its original state until the last 50 years or so. Much of it has been restored, though it still oozes old-world charm.
The architecture in colonial Antigua is so European in its provision for privacy and safety. You walk along the streets and have no idea of what is behind the pretty pastel-colored walls and doors, large and small. Houses have very few windows, street-side, and those that do exist are usually frosted and barred and often hidden by plants. They´re like coy Spanish ladies, hiding behind mantillas. If you should be walking by a door just at the moment that it´s being briefly opened - and you get a glimpse inside, you are apt to see a beautiful interior courtyard with a tiled sitting space around the perimeter and a lush plant-filled interior space, maybe a fountain. All very enticing at the same time that it is closed off from you.
This is another colonial church with big rosary beads hanging in front.
This is the famous arch in Antigua which is an icon, apparently, for Guatemala. Done up in my favorite color for buildings! The arch is the remnant of a convent that was here in the 1500s. Such amazing antiquity, right in our own continent. Note the cobblestoned streets, lower in the middle to offer a place for rain water to settle. We´ve been sloshing through them for the past week. My shoes are still drippy.
This is the closest volcano to the town - Vulcan Agua. Luckily, it´s inactive. There are two other volcanoes hovering over the town, also, just not as prominently at this one. The photo is taken from the town plaza, with Catredral Santiago just out of sight to the left. The large colonial building in the foreground is being restored.
Look carefully to see the lady and her leaky breasts, one of four mermaids making up the large fountain in the center of the plaza. The plaza is where the action takes place. Mayan women and men wander around looking for likely candidates for their beautiful handwoven textiles (my weakness) and jewelry and wooden whistles. Around the perimeter, people sell street food + newspapers, shine shoes, offer horse and buggy rides or taxi rides or tuk-tuk rides (small 3-wheeled vehicles with canvas-plastic sides). A few old folks beg for money. Sometimes there are outdoor performances. In the past week, at different times, we have heard a Peruvian pan-pipe band, seen a political demonstration with lots of soldiers carrying guns encircling the square, a handful of young models being tutored by their agent as they paraded elegantly around, and great clumps of school kids all dressed up in crisp-looking uniforms.
Another remnant of centuries past, though I read that it is still used sometimes. This is the outdoor community laundry area with cement wash basins all in a row. Very picturesque and timeless and located on the same street as our house.
And finally, this is the view from the terrace on the roof of our house, where the laundry is hung. Most of the household laundry is done in a modern washing machine by Vickie, the Mayan household helper, but I often hear the sounds of her scrubbing clothes by hand, in the open patio area just outside our room, as I heard in our home in Xela. Can´t quite give up the old ways, I guess. I can identify.
Well, this project has been a fun activity for a damp Sunday afternoon. I expect that we will be very busy and tired this week with our new responsibilities at Safe Passage. We¨ll catch up later.
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