Potpourri

Al left his reliable G11 Canon camera in his suitcase in Burnsville, MN, when we went on this trip to Guatemala.  So Al had to rely on his iTouch for photos.  It did pretty well but it was a nuisance to upload the photos to the laptop.  So there is not the usual number of photos available for use. 

This then is a potpourri of images and thoughts that we had during the trip.

Food

These are plantains.  Different from bananas in that they require cooking to become edible.  We went with a team to San Salvador in 2010 and most team members did not like the fried plantains on their plates at restaurants.  We were instructed in Guatemala that one must allow the plantain to ripen at room temperature until the skin is almost totally black.  This process develops the internal sugars and makes them delicious.  An alternative method is to chunk the plantain and boil for a few minutes in hot water flavored with cinnamon and a little sugar.  

From left we have a delicious soup, meatless tamale cooked in a banana leaf and a drink made of rice.  

This is paella, a food of Spain.  Our hostess went to a nearby store with this bowl and came back with this delicious meal of rice, sausage, mollusks, chicken and giant prawns or shrimp.  Really quite remarkable.

TRAFFIC

The roads are congested everywhere in Guatemala City.  Our hosts sometimes were delayed by up to an hour by unexpected traffic as they made their way through the city.  

In additions to cars and trucks, there are buses, pickups and small motorcycles weaving through the traffic.  The motorcyclists are required to wear a vest with the license number of the cycle attached to the back of the vest and helmet in 2 inch high letters.  In the past, assassinations of government officials were carried out by persons on motor cycles who then just disappeared into the traffic.  Now there is some means of identification.

There must be a Bluebird bus manufacturing company in Guatemala or nearby.  Most of these red buses are of that make and are privately owned.  There are some green buses with wi-fi and such amenities that are municipally owned.  However, they are rare indeed.  

Our host has grown up here and drives as all the locals do; weaving from lane to lane searching for the best route.  Approaching a blind intersection, a quick beep lets all know they are coming.  Finally, after seeing such havoc and yet no fender-benders, we came to think of it as a dance.  Each knew his or her role and they have worked it out

A new re-visitation of colonial Guatemala. 

We visited this area which is brand new and combines architecture of the colonial era with condominiums and up-scale shops to create an experience of what the old streets might have looked like.  

 

A sample of the new neighborhood.

A cathedral anchors one end of the project.

People

This Mayan woman vendor allowed us to photograph her in the central plaza.  We gave her a tip for the privilege.  They are short people and Sue, also vertically challenged, found many her size.

Nery and Al at a 3D map of Guatemala.  The mountain are more "spiky" than their normal look as a result of the scale used in the map.

A view of a mountain with levels of 3000 meters [9800 feet] plus a bit more above sea level.

This monument honors a colonial engineer doing survey work to lay out cities.

My visit to Guatemala as a sailor in the US Navy.  We were invited to the retreat center created by the United Fruit Company, a major exporter of bananas to the the US at that time.  I saw the name "Banadera" on the train station from Puerto Barrios where the ship was tied up.  It turns out that that was the local name for the United Fruit Company. [Sorry about the misspelling of Guatemala captioning the photo.]

All in all, a great trip and we may make it back there sometime.

Spiritual activities

We went to church with the Perez family and then went to the Nazarene Seminary.

This church is one of Nery's responsibilities a District Superintendent of one of four didstricts in Guatemala City.  It uses a tent on rented property and land has been purchased nearby for the construction of a permanent facility.

 The interior before Sunday school and services.  All the chairs, furnishings and all sound equipment are stored in a building on the property. 

The sign above says "Happy Mother's Day".  The day is celebrated on the Saturday of the weekend Mother's Day is celebrated in the USA.  Kids got up to sing songs and read bible verses.

This the entrance to the Nazarene Seminary.  There seems always to be the presence of a guard at the gate or entrance to many other facilities. 

The entrance to the main seminary building.  It once was a colonial estate and has a lot of facilities such as the usual classrooms such as dormitories and meeting rooms for district functions.

Bougainvillea, the flowers to the right, are everywhere.  We were told that they bloom all year long.  Sue is holding her present of a handbag she received when we arrived here.

While we visited this site on another day, we want to include the Cathedral of Guatemala.  The banners show popes John VIII and John Paul II.  After the deadly earthquake at Antigua, the capital of the country was moved here.  The construction of this cathedral was started in 1880 just after the move.  Most of the area around the central plaza was built at that time including the home where we are staying.

The interior of the cathedral. 

A closeup of the front.

A side chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Antigua, Guatemala

Our first trip here was to Antigua, Guatemala. 

This is the district headquarters for a portion of Guatemala involving seven churches under the stewardship of Pr Perez.  It also serves as the home for the superintendent.  This area goes back many years and was at one time the homes of wealthy persons.

This is a street in Antigua, Guatemala.  A volcano is partially visible in the distance.  The city of Antigua, capital of Sacatepéquez Province, Guatemala, is a charming old colonial city that for many years was the political, religious and economic heart of Central America.

The time of European settlement began in 1523 in the area of the Mayan civilization which had diminished by that time.  It was originally called the “City of the Knights of St. James of Guatemala.”  Lacking in mineral wealth, it instead was a trading center between the mineral centers in Mexico and Peru.  It became the capital of Guatemala and many Catholic orders had buildings there. 

This is the church of San José.  It was on one side of the central plaza. 

The interior.

This was the government center on the plaza.  An arts building and a market completed the square.

This fountain is in the center of the plaza.  

In 1773, a series of major earthquakes leveled the city, destroying most of the buildings, even the ones which had been well built. Thousands were killed, and the region was ultimately abandoned and the capital relocated to Guatemala City.  Ironically, “new” Guatemala City would be pummeled by a major earthquake in 1917: Antigua largely escaped damage.

Constructed in 1736, Capuchinas was the last female convent in the city.  Its true name was Our Lady of the Pillar of Saragossa. 

The architectural complex was the work of Diego de Porres, a great architect of Antigua, Guatemala.

This was the laundry room in the convent. Clothes were pounded clean in the four sinks, and rinsed with water trapped in the cistern.

There is a chamber below ground level that has fantastic acoustics.

There were plans for a wedding in the hall below in the evening. Sue is carrying her gift from our hosts.

The first days in Guatemala.

Friends from Guatemala met us at the airport La Aurora in Guatemala City.

From the left, Dr Rivas's son, Dr Rivas, Pr Nery and daughters Cindy, in hand, and Sophie and Favi and wife Kasandra joined by Sue.

 Sue is talking with the mother of Nery who lives with them.

 Favi with her Hillcrest shirt.

Kasandra, or Kasita, with her gift of a bracelet with pictures of her three children.

As we were moving through the TSA inspection at Minneapolis, Sue was pulled to one side.  The inspector went very carefully through the suitcase, opening each bag inside.  Finally they ran the suitcase through the X-ray again and finally let her go.  

In Guatemala City, Al opened small bags in his suitcase and found a scissors and then found another.  The inspector at Minneapolis looking at the screen must have detected these but indicated the wrong bag.  So we gave these to Kasita as we could not count on the above happening again.