(continued from Part one: The holiest of weeks in Antigua.)
It is dawn. Spiralling upward, a rickety metal staircase presents the first task of the day: climbing up from the kitchen to the rooftop terrace with a full cup of coffee, each step creaking and tentative, and hopefully not losing my precious liquid along the way. As I emerge victoriously to the open air from the shadowy indoor light, the sun simultaneously crests an uneven horizon, casting its first light …
(continued from Part zero: From here to there.)
Church bells rouse the city in the middle of the night, yet no one is woken. Restless with anticipation everyone is already up and waiting for this exact moment, because this particular April evening is not an ordinary one. The repeated clang of metal on metal rings out from the bell tower’s lofty nest above the city and beckons the community to gather at its feet. There, from the aged doors of the church-front, a formal procession…
A packed backpack leans up against the wall of a tidied apartment; the bed is made, the floors are swept, and the garbage bins have been emptied. The plants stand sentinel, and aside from the occasional visitor letting themselves in to quench their thirst, this place will sit untouched until my dusty boots walk back in to flip the calendar to the next month. When I return to this space that has stayed the same, I will be seeing it with different eyes. After a quick look back,…
Guatemala is a vibrant country. The people and their culture are as diverse as the land and animals that they live with. It is a relatively small country, but sharp elevation changes between sea level and the highest peak in Central America translate to an incredibly varied set of ecosystems and a density of life that few other places can boast.
There is a lot of history in Guatemala; from its role as the heart of the ancient Mayan empire to the civil war that ended…