A visit to Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala

Santa Maria de Jesus sits on the side of Vulcan de Agua, rising above this central square

We took a public van from near our B&B to a small town up the slopes of the volcano that looms over Antigua, Vulcan de Agua, to Santa Maria de Jesus at the suggestion of our host Daniel. As he promised we were the only tourists there and we doubt they see many at all. Despite it being a Monday the market in the town square was bustling. After a while people got used to us and I was able to take pictures and just sit and watch this vibrant scene. Hope you enjoy this photo visit.

Multi purpose checkered cloths serve as head coverings

Dried Fish anyone?

That's various herbs on the right

The vegetables looked very fresh

Children help out their mothers or

Scott towers above everyone

Another use of the cloths is carrying children or parcels

Notice the ubiquitous flip flops

This little girl is helping with the weighing

While this one is fascinated by her diapers

And this lovely little girl by my camera and myself

Blouses on display

I bought a blouse very similar to the one on the left

These women are filling their clay water vessels to bring home

A big celebration was planned that night

Many of the men in the town were lined up outside

The local laundromat

Wood for the cooking fires

Another view of the hard work of cleaning clothes

Kids everywhere have fun

A wide variety of skirt material

That's a selection of belts on the rack

Everyone needs toilet paper and paper goods

This looks like a selection of modern clothes - one women appears to have already succumbed.

These are 17th Century towers at the gate to the square

Vibrant colors are everyone's favorite

scarfs or cords are used to bind up your hair

Tomatoes anyone?

Sundays are the big market day but this was busy enough

It seemed most of the town was there

These women got a kick out of Scott and I

As did this woman - we bought some of her fried potatoes

Behind the scenes as they get ready to serve lunch

Too bad we weren't provisioning for the boat

I'm sorry I didn't buy any aprons to complete my costume

Last minute fun in Antigua

Lovely squares are scattered over the city

Bakeries are everywhere, but mostly sweets

Church of San Francisco

It was a six hour bus ride from the Rio up to Guatemala City (it's supposed to be four and a half but that's never happened to us) and like last year the connecting bus to Antigua had already left. Happily they put ourselves and the French cruisers with us on a van right away. It was only an additional hour more and then a short taxi ride before we arrived at Chez Daniel, our wonderful bed and breakfast. This was our third visit here and we love the place - and Antigua itself.
We had 3 nights before flying on to Baltimore/Washington. There are such wonderful restaurants in this city that it's hard to choose. But we visited two old favorites; Pena del Sol and Hector's (in previous posts) as well as 3 new places, Fusion, Rainbow Cafe and Sabe Rico. You can read our reviews of all the places we visit on Trip Advisor - we're Senior Contributor's now.
There's only one more post coming before we return to the U.S. - our visit to Santa Maria de Jesus.

A sample bedroom using Guatemalan crafts

Seven foot puppets sport bright fabrics

These owls have found a nice perch

There's a tiny tienda on every block

And each one is the pride and joy of it's owner

Guatemalans love color!

The garden of the church above

A charming alleyway

Or arcaded walkways

Rare modern dress girl

My charming saleswoman sans belt

Chicken bus frontal view