El viernes
- mimjo
- May 26, 2023
- 4 min read

I started out the day on the rooftop terrace having devotions and watching the mists clear off the volcanoes. Guatemala has 36 volcanoes but only four are active. I could see two or three but not Volcan fuego or pacaya which are active. They were a little further away and stayed in the mist. The outline of fuego could be seen in the haze.
The most gorgeous vines hung from our rooftop terrace with string of orchid looking flowers. A hummingbird also enjoyed the flowers.
Dad, Royce and I walked to buy sweet bread and eggs and hot cake mix. We came back and made breakfast and coffee. That was when I was talking to you on the phone before school.
We drove to the Santa Catalina arch and parked at the saint merced church. An older man named Marcos offered to be our guide for free, only needed a tip after. 😉

It was nice to have him. He explained how the catholics ruled here during the Spanish Inquisition. He talked about the start of the building construction in 1749 and it’s inauguration in 1767. It was only a few years old when Guatemala had its big earthquake that killed so many and that’s why it’s still standing.
There is a large Fountain of Fish with like four bridges you can walk over to get to the centre of the fountain. A man was pressure washing it. They don’t keep water in the fountain anymore because the children like watching the fish and one small child fell in and drowned. The view from up there was beautiful. Plus you could see down into patios and courtyards of many surrounding hotels/houses.

Then he took us into the main part of the church. You’re not allowed to talk in there because people are praying. We walked behind some praying to the various images of saints and one lady was crawling up to the front of the church praying all the while. It’s a large old church with stained glass up high and carvings in the stone. The large figure of San Merced is in front of the church. She is the saint that helps prisoners.
He especially wanted to show us the figure of The Nazarene. It is Jesus bowed under the load of a cross and bearing a crown of thorns with blood. They carry this figure in the procession of Lent when they make all those many carpets of coloured sawdust and flowers for the good Friday processions. He says you have to get up early to see them before the processions mess them up. It takes 500 men to carry the Nazarene.
The ladies/nuns carry the figure of Virgin Mary. Usually 50 of them carry her figure.
The Santa Catalina Arch was built for the nuns. They took a vow of seclusion and lived in a cloister. They also taught at the catholic school which was across the road . They would cross the street inside the archway so they would not be seen by the public.

The buildings in Antigua have an old feel and the streets are narrow. Most of the ones that survived the big quake are over 200 years old.
We ate at Pollo Campero for lunch. We almost all got crispy chicken sandwiches. Also a few cappuccinos to go. Their cappuccinos are really smooth and good.
We got to Guastatoya around 3 . Some went swimming. It’s HOT here. I went on a walk to enjoy the familiarity of the place. I looked in at sanatorio serví medí to see Dina. She wasn’t there but Suly was.
The hotel Santa fe is full of us gringos. Clark and Brenda, lee and Charlotte, various youth boys from Ga, Eddie’s, Michelle’s parent, Michelle’s brother and fam, Eddie’s boys.
We all made our way to the regadío for supper. Some went on tuk-tuks, some walked and some drove their rental vehicles.
It’s beautiful there at the regadio. (Maelsers house is there. He added a wooden part on top of his old part that always flooded. Berna built it from wood)
They’ve built a little gazebo at the regadío and the tables were covered with white tablecloths. The food was chalupa stack ups, chícharones with meat on them, and small pieces of meat like fried ribs. Dessert was cake.
It was so great to see all the Herreras. Especially Flor and Sheny. And Dina and Yuli. For some reason Sheny and I showed up in matching boughten dresses. (The one I just bought with blue and white stripes and the orange neckline). I got to talk with Maelser, Selvin for a good long while, Doug Benners, Papa Elias and Tío Isaias. I dropped in at Elias house to see mama Delfina because she wasn’t feeling good enough to come to regadío. Ay, so many old friends aquaintances I can’t list all their names.
There were a lot of youth there. They sang and it was beautiful.
Yulianna wore an olive green dress with a wrap blouse and Carlos wore a white shirt with small green designs of palm trees that matched the colour of her dress. She is really sweet. She looks a lot like her mom Vilma. Julio is her dad.
Ennio (Julios brother) and Brenda and their five daughters are also a gorgeous family.
Ronal (Shenys husband) is taking Dad and Wesley on a tour of his coffee farm tomorrow. They’ll come back in time for the wedding. Ronal is a really nice person. Your dad went with him on a coffee tour when we were here 11 years ago.
Oh I wish you could see the path lined with bird of paradise flowers I saw, the jasmine vines, the call of the forest trees all filled with orange crowns that stand out and so much more. At one place there was a wall that had every colour of bougainvillea flowers I’ve seen all blooming, planted in a long row all along and growing over and around. There were coral, blue, purple, red , and fuschia shades.
We got back here late so I’ll send this now and wish you dear ones a goodnight. I should get some rest and let you rest. nos vemos pronto…. Feliz noche.
PS . I don't know if this is legal to add photos here from google reviews of this stuff but I'm not making money off it so maybe it's ok. This last photo is our hotel. Dina said it's only a few years old.

Sounds like a great place to visit