Friday 22 April 2011

Scenes of Semana Santa

I don't really have the words right now to sum up the last 25 hours. Easter is a BIG deal in Guatemala, and in Antigua especially. Thousands upon thousands of people have converged on our little town. The term 'Eat, drink and be merry' is not necessarily the first one which springs to mind, but it has certainly been an experience.

Here a few photos from Today and last night

One of the many floats, they weigh a ton (or two) and are carried for hours on the shoulders of the devout

Part of an Alfombra (carpet) made from sawdust, and trampled by the floats!

It's all about the Big JC

I don't really know what crocodiles made out of bread have to do with Easter...

But hey, it's an excuse to wear a big ass hat...

... and pose for cheesy photos...

They finished this one seconds before the procession hit, I won't show the 'after' picture, too upsetting!

cucuruchos (or pilgrims) follow alngside the floats

Some take it more seriusly...                                                       




... and some not so seriously...

Wednesday 13 April 2011

So I guess I actually have to write something now then eh?

I've blogged for work, I've "microblogged", but I've never actually suceeded in keeping up an actual blog for longer than a couple of entries. I have been living in Antigua, Guatemala (You always have to qualify it with the Guatemala part by the way, otherwise people think that you sit on a beach all day sipping rum and playing the offshore markets) for about a month now, and so far, so good.

I have lived in a good few places over the last decade. Here I don't get marriage proposals shouted at me as I walk down the street, I'm not living with 200 of my students and developing my tolerance for large spiders, and I don't get to slope off at the weekends to play golf and drink too much red wine. Life in Guatemala has already presented me with it's own unique set of challenges and opportunities. The language barrier is a bit of both, sometimes in the most absurd ways. Google, for example, is obsessed with my location! It seems to view my modest IP address as some kind of shining beacon, saying Give me everything in Spanish! Even the spellcheck on my blogger account! 

But the opportunities are great too. I'm looking forward to being able to experience some of the great work that GVI are doing out here, with schools in the local communities of Itzapa and Santa Maria. In other news, Semana Santa (That's Easter week to you non 'espanolophiles') is fast approaching, and my home town will be playing host to the biggest celebration of Holy week in the whole of Latin America, nay, The World! Hey, maybe I'l even blog about it.  

      You can just about make out some of Antigua here, and  a volcono,                                                   there are lots of volcanoes...

 So, if you fancy it, please join me on this journey. I'l ramble on, you can thank a deity that I'm no longer your neighbour, housemate, work colleague, that girl you used to hang out with at gigs sometimes...