PhotoWalkPro

Well, like most good things, it’s time for my trip to Guatemala to finally come to an end. I was blessed with one final gift before leaving in the form of clear skies and a beautiful sunrise. I grabbed my camera and headed out the door around 6:30 this morning for one last chance at a few pictures that had been eluding me due to morning clouds. Enjoy the photos while I finish packing my bags and head for the aeropuerto.

I had a great time yesterday exploring some of the locations around La Antigua, Guatemala. Ciudad Vieja used to be the capital until it was hit with a giant flood from a lake atop what is now known as Agua Volcano. The capital was moved to La Antigua until an earthquake convinced the Spanish, who were in charge at the time, to move the capital to its current location, which is Guatemala City. La Antigua went on to rebuild itself and maintains its colonial beauty and architecture to this day. So much so that it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of three in Guatemala (the others being the Mayan ruins of Tikal and Quirigua).

Some of my highlights from yesterday were my trip to the Cerro de la Cruz, which sits on a hill above the city and offers a spectacular view, when the weather cooperates.

After leaving the small park, we continued up the mountain until we ran across the small pueblo of El Hato, perched high on the side of the mountain. They had just finished their small festival and still had some of the carnival rides set up in front of the church. How they ever got them up there I will never know.

After making our way back down the mountain, we headed off to the Valhalla Macadamia Farm just outside of Ciudad Vieja. I didn’t get any shots there, but I did eat some fantastic chocolate covered macadamias. On the way back, I couldn’t help but stop to take of picture of the patch-work farming plots on the hillside. It was a pretty amazing site.

Speaking of Ciudad Vieja, we stopped there on the way back so I could get a few shots of the church. It’s a small town that was hit hard by the last tropical storm, which dumped several feet of water and created a pretty big mess. Cleanup was still going on in areas but the central park was in great condition.

After lunch back in Antigua we did a little walking around to check out some of the very cool churches and architecture.

I ended the day by making a mad dash for a Tuk-Tuk to avoid walking back to the hotel in a huge downpour. It’s not uncommon this time of year to have thunderstorms in the afternoon but a ride is usually no more than a wave of the hand away.

I’m heading back to the states tomorrow so I will wrap up my Guatemala pics tomorrow with some of the sites that I see today. Have a great Tuesday.

Last Thursday I traveled to Chichicastenango to visit one of the largest market places in the World. People come from all over Guatemala to shop and sell their wares at this sprawling market. I spent most of my time in the market just photographing the wonderful people that call this place home.  Here’s a few shots from the day.

Congrats to my two winners from this weeks “Where in the World is Jeff” contest. I’ll be getting in contact some time soon to see what book you want. I am very impressed that you were able to correctly guess that I am in Guatemala from the images that I posted. The reason I picked the pictures that I did was kind of two-fold. First, I didn’;t want to make it too easy, and second, I wanted to show off a little diversity of Guatemala. Most people only hear about it when there is a sink hole, which is a real shame because it is an amazing place with something to offer for most everyone.

To end this week I am posting a few images of Guatemalan icons that might have made it a little easier for many of you to figure out where I am. Have a great weekend. I know I will.

Congratulations to Michael J. and Jan W. for guessing that I am in Guatemala. Extra brownie points to Jan for guessing that part of the series of photographs were taken in Guatemala City, based on the architecture.  I’m getting ready to run out the door and catch my ride to Chichicastenango to visit the markets, which are supposed to be amazing. Then it’s down to Lake Atitlan for a couple of days. If I have time (and Internet) this evening I will cover all of the locations that I have visited and post some more photographs.