Guatemala - 2010

Day 10 - July 29 - San Felipe

Showing how small the doors are. Even without my backback I have to turn sideways.

Cleaning the clothes washing pool. Here I taught Maria the difference between algae and moss.

Finally we got to go into one of the ruins: Capachinas.

The courtyard.

Notice all of the people. There was a group here for the preservation of the ruins of Antigua, so there were some parts of the ruins we were unable to see.

Maria showing one of the holes in the ceiling. She thinks that it is a sort of torture, but who knows.

The outside garden.

My camera struggled for this photo. After capturing it, I accidentally bumbed the plant and the flowers feel out. They were from another plant and fallen in.

I LOVED the cellar. Click to see why.

The mortuary.

The laundry fountain.

Upper floor.

Inside the sanctuary. Notice the fake domes they put over the ruins to protect the interior.

Also, as I was reading the signs of the group meeting at the front of the church, I realized that Maria is almost blind, even with her glasses on.

The church archives. Supposedly each church has its own.

In the afternoon Hugo took me to San Felipe. First we went to the serpentarium. It is where the government is trying to protect threatened wildlife and to educate the population.

A fish that has lungs, too. It can survive three days out of water. They are very threatened.

A leopard geeko. It is not native to Guatemala. They have several specimens were gifts from other countries.

Every other time I've been to see reptiles, they just lay there. Click here for a very active snake.

Chacote: the Jesus Christ lizard. So named because it can walk on water. What it really does is use speed and its wide webbed feet to run across the water for short distances (up to 6 or 10 feet).

The church of San Felipe, which is just a mile or so to the north of Antigua. It is one of only 2 gothic style churches in Guatemala.

The interior.

Messages to God at the back of the church.

Click for the ladies praying at the back of the altar.

A look out of the front of the church. Across the highway is a small local mercado (market). It is not very touristy.

A ruin in the courtyard in front of Elsa's house. Hugo said that people are not allowed to remove ruins. This fountain is why this ruin is important.

The Inca Cafe's owners. I bumped into him one day walking home. He is SO nice. He is from New York and Miami. He offers free wi-fi (why I'm here) and free calls back to the states and canada (wow!). Also it is wonderful that he is trying to give some variety of food while staying hispanic. I had a chicken and rice dish with some sort of tasty chilis. It was very good.

And even after two meals tonight I am not that full. Boy, do I need to rethink the way I eat back in the states. I've moved to the next tighter hole in my belt at least once, maybe twice.

Here's their website:
www.incarestaurante.com