Equinox in Uaxactún; Semana Santa in Antigua

SO MANY REASONS TO LOVE GUATEMALA

I'm writing from Antigua, Guatemala, where I am continuing to make my way 
  in Central America. I was fortunate to be in Uaxactun, the oldest and reputedly 
  most acurate astronomy site in the Maya world, for the spring equinox. It was 
  very magical to be in the ruins at night for the shamanic rituals and also the 
  reenactment of a Maya procession. The headdresses were very elaborate with 
  gorgeous feathers from the jungle birds, the stars beautiful and clear and the 
  candles on the steps of the observatory made the ancient stones glow. Also 
there  were about a hundred school kids to carry the Guatemalan flag. It was 
quite a  crowd for this northernmost town in Guatemala, home to chicle gatherers 
a  subsistence community living without electricity, and beautiful free horses 
who  graze in the ruins and the field which run through the middle of town. It 
is  usually one of the most peaceful places in Guatemala. The openess of the 
  children there is in incredible contrast to meeting kids who have grown up with 
  tv and computers. Not surprisingly, the children play together almost all the 
  time. Unfortunately, on the morn of the equinox the sky was overcast, so it was 
  not possible to see the path of the sun over the monument to the equinox. There 
  were however a group of shamans performing the rites of the equinox at the base 
  of the observatory, so there was plenty of celebration.

I returned to Antigua just before semana santa, the celebration of the week
  of Jesus's crucifixion. Antigua has the largest semana santa celebration in
  latin america and is justifiably famous for this event.. Literally thousands of
  Antigueñens participate in this event. For five days, elaborate carpets of
  colored sand, or long pine needles, flowers and fuits are created in the
streets  where the daily processions will pass. In minutes these creations are
destroyed  by the 60 - 100 people carrying the massive floats (weighing up to
two tons) of  Jesus carrying the cross or of Mary. In addition, the men carrying
the floats  and the many more men and boys in the processions wear stunning
purple robes for  the first four days, so it becomes normal to see purple robed
men and boys  around town eating ice cream or reading the paper. The girls wear
white and the  women black, with lacy veils. Antigua was awash with tourists,
mostly from  Central America. Unlike Mexico, there is no flagellation, weeping,
or walking on  knees as a form of sacrifice. While the figures on the floats are
impressively  tragic, the people are not. One reason for this lighter approach
may be the  belief that if you participate in this procession, you don't really
have to  attend church or think about religion for the rest of the year. I found
myself  moved by the extensive events -- not because of the religious story, but
because  so many people in Antigua devote themselves to working together and
coming  together to make it happen. In terms of the religious story, most of the
  visitors leave Antigua on the Friday or Sat. before easter in order to go to
the  beach before having to be back to work on Monday. And so the resurrection
of  Christ is l.ow key, just a small procession on Sunday. Antigua seemed
deserted  afterwards, the streets almost bare.
 
I am having a problem uploading my pics, but check back for an update with photos.

 I returned to Antigua because I have been given the opportunity to develop
  an intensive course for an English school. The course, "English for Guides,"
  will focus both on developing English fluecy in intermediate speakers and to
  encourage guides to expand their offerings to include more cultural and
  community based tours. I'm really looking forward to it and eventually I hope
to  be able to hire some of the guides to give tours for Bright Future Global
Tours.  In terms of my tourism business, I am now also focusing on custom tours.
So if  you know anyone who is coming to Guatemala and wants someone in country
to make  arrangements for them and help arrange their itinerary, I can do this.
And of  course I am still offering an incredible array of exciting group tours
this  year, Maya 2012. Truly there has never been a better time to visit
Guatemala. www.brightfutureglobaltours.com

For me, it is hard to find more wonderful people than the Guatemalans. This
  is a place where people say good morning, good afternoon, good evening and
  actually look at you as you pass on the street or when you buy something. When
  I'm eating and new people enter the restaurant, they wish me buen provecho, --
  good eating, bon apetit!. Many people walk around the parks and sit on the
  benches. It is easy to have conversations with strangers. Then there is Antigua
  itself, a gorgeous city of painted buildings, colonial architecture, the
  occassional unrestored ruins from major earthquakes. The roof line looks almost
  middle eastern with moorish domes dotting the skyline. These provide light to
  rooms without windows. And then there are the green mountains which hold the
  city culminating with the almost perfect cone of mountain Agua Volcan. There
are  no strip malls or walmarts or malls at all in Antigua. The streets are
  cobblestone, so cars go slow. It's a place where beauty continues to triumph.
 I
  know some of you are wondering if there is a McDonald's here. Yes in fact there
  is, it's in the restored family home of a rich Guatemalan who owns the
franchise  here. The McDonald's features a beautiful central garden with a
fountain where  you can eat as well as a number of other tasteful outdoor and
indoor areas. Also  there's a separate coffee bar with pastries. Yes, this is
McDonald's in  Antigua.

So for now I am quite happy in Antigua. I also recently bought a used
  massage table and am so happy to be using my hands in this way again.

I hope all is well for you. May
the  vital life of spring renew and inspire you. Abrazos, Luisa