here some impressions from the former capital of guatemala.
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pacaya
We knew that october isn’t the most reliable time to climb the volcanoes in guatemala and so the weather forecast wasn´t very good. We waited for a day, when at least no rain was predicted.
At 2pm we started with our guide, and walked the narrow path which was covered with horse droppings towards the vulcano pacaya. The weather worsened, the wind revived to a storm, the fog began to drizzle. Almost at the summit we met a tourist with her guide on their way down and they reported that they heard the pacaya hiss but couldn’t see anything. We also wanted to see that anything, so we stomped in the loose lava rocks upwardly. At the edge of the crater we were almost blown away by the storm and ran for cover behind some rocks. And then, for almost 5 seconds, there was a gap in the clouds. Then it was gone again, the pacaya.
alvaro sanchez
Last year the guatemalan artist alvaro sanchez had visited the californian artist heather wilcoxon in her studio in sausalito. At that time she was working on our co_works project. That was what alvoro had told me when I met him in the capital of guatemala. I had the opportunity to visit and photograph him in his studio, and we also agreed on a joint co_works project. He will work with a picture that I had captured in chichicastenango. Let us be curious what the result will be.
chichicastenango
Every wednesday and every saturday, they set up one of the largest markets in central america in the narrow streets of chichicastemango, and on the following day farmers and dealers come to offer their goods.
Here are some impressions from the city and the market.
tikal
once tikal was one of the most important mayan sites and the ancient city is located in the rain forest of the petén. The petén was considered as the seventh largest rainforest area on earth but on our way from rio dulce to tikal we hadn´t seen rainforests – instead there was maiz fields, cattle pastures, oil palm trees and waste land.
From the beginning of the 3rd century there was a lot of activities in tikal and in honor of the gods they had to build temples, pyramides and of course residential sites for the kings. Tikal subdued neighboring cities and had a long enmity with calakmul from which it was hammered down 562. But in 695 there was the revanche and calakmul was subjugated, this meant for tikal a new heyday.
in the city and in the surrounding area there once had lived up to 200.000 humans but in the beginning of the ninth century suddenly the game was over. Why the exodus came remains unclear up today but one assumes that an extreme drought happend between 800 and 830.
Perhaps the mayas had cleared too much rainforest for growing crops etc. and thus might had changed micro climate?
Quiriguá
We arrived in the lowlands of guatemala, the petén. from now on it’s humid and warm. Quiriguá, meanwhile unseco world cultural heritage, was founded in 426 a.d. by „yax cow mo“, the god king of copán. Says our travel guide. Here you can see the most beautiful steels of Central America, large stone squares, covered with hyroglyphs and reliefs.
The zoomorph „p“ is probably the most impressive object and the laymen is amazed, what the experts can read from the engravings. The covered objects are now protected from the sun and rain, understandable but unfavorable for taking photos.
cabaña suiza
Overlanders going through Guatemala City will know the “cabaña suiza”. It is like an exotic oasis on the edge of the huge city and offers a safe harbor and engardiner tart to travelers. The bernhardiner avalanche dog became a life guard, the black and white cow is made of plastic, but who needs to get married urgently: the chapel is genuine.
