Hopefulist in Latin America: April 2015

Hi, all!

Here at last, my final post from this visit to Guatemala.

Just up the street from Ti Wachooch.

Someone's offering to street dogs.

5 photos in and around the park.

A Beca Project abuelita (little grandmother).

A string of shopping photos, starting with treat - roasted peanuts.

The market, again.

With Josefa

Egg plants with thumbs and noses.

Another lovely birthday present, in this case purchased from an artisan who is a Beca Project dad.

Huipil detail - the 1 I wore to Easter Mass that will eventually adorn a Ti Wachooch wall.

Kitchen

Looking from the bedroom into the bathroom (yellow) and dining area (left).

Last view from the terrace.

Last cat photo (Tom).

Last evening with Josefa and the boys - Manuel, cousin Antonio, and Antonio with my Spirograph set. Mynor didn't get to play - he was working with a prospective Spanish school teacher in the next room.

Last goodbye.

For some reason we chose to head straight to Guatemala City by road instead of my preferred way - to Panajachel by boat and by road from there. The new driver was too fast and so swervey (pretty sure that's a word) that my stomach flew out the window; stopping for half an hour for road construction was a highlight. Enough said.

So grateful for this sweet landing spot - the suite at Villa Toscana, 2 minutes from the airport.

Troublefree flights - GUA to DFW and home to Oregon; this is Crown Point (less than an hour west of our house) on the Columbia River as viewed from the plane.

Landing at PDX.

Driving up the gorge - I never take this gorgeous stretch for granted.

I also never take for granted how special it is that we get to travel so often and have the privilege of putting down a few roots in San Pedro La Laguna. We already treasure this wonderful collection of new memories but it feels nice to be back home in Oregon for awhile.

You can find the complete photo collections for this trip HERE.

Happy trails!
Stacey

Hi, all!

I winnowed down my Semana Santa photos to just over 200 and then selected 70ish to post on this blog; if that's too many for you, feel free to scroll through really fast, like a linear kaleidoscope.

The events featured here spanned 10 days, ranged from somber to celebratory, took place - literally - at all hours of the day and night, and included all ages from babes to ancients. Many of the processions featured the 14 Estaciones de la Cruz - Stations of the Cross - which are images that depict the day of Jesus' crucifixion; tables were set up and decorated along the procession route and special prayers were said at each station. I haven't chosen to label most of the processions - let me know if you have questions about what you see.

I feel privileged to have had this 2nd opportunity to watch and to participate in this important season in San Pedro La Laguna and am grateful to have shared it this time with Mike. Enjoy!

Domingo de Ramos - Palm Sunday

The town's patron saint - San Pedro

The littlest guy insisted on riding his noisemaker like a hobby horse. :-)

The veneration of the cross

When Thursday night's procession ended after midnight, work began on the alfombras (carpets). These photos were taken beginning at dawn on Viernes Santo - Good Friday.

When the procession had passed around the corner, relatives of our friend Mynor began making an alfombra for the procession's return through the park and into the church. It took us several hours; the teamwork and then the waiting and watching together were a highlight (among many!) for me.

The next 5 photos were taken in the neighboring town of San Juan where the procession is held in the evening and the alfombras are created during daylight hours. The alfombras there are mostly artistic renditions made with fine, brightly-dyed sawdust.