Antigua is even better the second time around. The streetscape of the colonial town is magnificent; the vibrantly colored colonial buildings and old churches (most destroyed in the 1776 earthquake which triggered Guatemala to move the country's capital from Antigua to Guatemala City) line the street with a single facade offering magnificent streetscapes throughout the city. The town is filled with beautiful buildings, a variety of ethnic cuisines and, my favorite, vanilla lattes. In fact, I would venture to say they might have the best vanilla lattes in the world here. Nights are filled with salsa dancing. I have been taking lessons and I really enjoy it. My dancing might be a bit better than my Spanish, but that isn't saying much. The hostel we are staying is in a great location and after they moved us from the tiny box room with a window that opened to the neighbors sewage drain trap, the experience got even better.Semana Santa in Antigua is the largest celebration of Semana Santa in the Western hemisphere and second largest in the world. The cobblestone streets are decorated with elaborate carpets created from fresh flowers and/or dyed sawdust.
The carpets are an amazing display of artistic creativity and are placed along procession routes and serve as a welcome mat for the many processions celebrating a variety of religious symbols, including the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Thursday night was the biggest night for the creation of carpets. Starting at midnight and going until the wee hours of the morning hundreds of people worked diligently to create beautiful carpets for Friday's crucifixion procession.
The processions include floats carried by large groups of people bearing the weight of the floats on their shoulders while walking and swaying in unison. The main float in the procession walks over the newly created carpets and the remains are removed by a dump truck immediately following. The floats were amazing. There are no words to accurately describe the setting;maybe it is best represented in photos and video. The link should be up shortly.
Tomorrow we are heading to Mexico. We should be back at the beach in a few days.
