I’ve recently arrived to my new home in Portland, Oregon and the first free weekend I get I take my car to the coast in order to gaze across the mighty Pacific. However, things were not the same as they were in Portland. Instead of a blue horizon, I am greeted with a heavy fog. I thought all was awash (wish I had a better pun for this) until I drove a little ways north and past the rock formations near Crab Harbor.
Kids
Volcano Pacaya lies 19 mi southwest of Guatemala City, which is about an hours bus ride from Antigua. The volcano sits inside the Pacaya National Park and touts an elevation of 8,373 feet.
So far, the last activity reported has been the eruption that peaked on May 27, 2010, causing ash to rain down in Guatemala City, Antigua and Escuintla. Since the last eruption, there have been visible lava flows where hikers can get close enough to cook a marshmallow.
I’ll be honest here, I don’t know anything about the people of Antigua. All I have is my week on the streets and my limited interaction with them. As far as I know, they are kindhearted and hard working people. I just wish I had a bit more time to actually get to know a few before I left.
“The Holy week in Antigua Guatemala is famous for its Catholic celebration, which commemorates the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The entire city participates in the event, and receives thousands of national and international visitors.”
– aroundantigua.com
We just so happened to be in Antigua at the time of this event. The main roads were closed off so people could build/design their sawdust carpets. And people all over adorned purple cloaks and robes. After the event kicked off, it seemed every road you turned down, there was another procession. It almost made it difficult to make our way through the city at times.
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