A fellow WordPress Blogger, Ailsa over at “Where’s my backpack” did it again with this week’s travel theme of Street Markets. What a fantastic topic for who doesn’t love the vibrant colors and fragrances of a world market? Markets are amazing as they give you such a slice of culture. Whether it be the divine floral markets of Paris to the brilliant indigenous markets of Peru, a market always has a treasure to find.
One of my favorite markets of all is the souq. In the spring of 2011, I spent a week volunteering in Rabat, Morocco and had a wonderful time exploring the ins and outs of a Moroccan souq. You could truly find literally every thing for sale; pretty much whatever your heart desired. The colors, the sounds, the people, the smells and the diverse offerings of goods made the souq one of my favorite places to wander and buy gifts for my family and friends.
Follow me through the winding paths of Rabat’s central souq….
There is always a mosque shooting up towards the sky and summoning the daily call to prayer. The sound of the call echoes throughout the souq, bouncing off the curvy walls of the serpentine streets.
Doors are fascinating. They are also quite mysterious for who knows what lies behind the doors of a place. They are the gatekeeper when closed. Yet when opened, they offer you a look into a whole new world of possibilities inside.
When I think of doors, there is one place in particular in which I was utterly blown away by the doors: Guatemala. This colorful country had perhaps some of the most unusual and interesting doors I’d ever seen during my travels. For those of you who have been following my blog, you have already seen these photos. However, I decided to spruce them up a little by playing around with the colors.
Come, take a walk with me and admire some of my favorite doors I found…..
I promised I would move on to my next series and here it is: Sumptuous Spain! I am digging back through my archives a bit as I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from readers on it. So, I am going to go for it even though (a) The trip was 8 years ago (b) I had to scan every single picture as it was before I had a digital camera, and (c) I am going off my old, leather-bound travel journal as memory. (My own brain is way too foggy for a trip in 2004, especially after two kids).
Thus all in all, this series of posts will not be anywhere near as detailed as my recent ones on Guatemala, China, Nepal, Morocco, Costa Rica or Argentina, all relatively recent travels. But on the bright side of things I don’t have many pictures or stories written down thus it will mostly be a few fond memories per city. So here goes nothing, Hasta Spain!
I felt like I needed to spice my blog up a bit. Lately I’ve done an awful lot of posts on Minnesota and even have another one in the queue. When I started this blog it was mostly for sharing my stories and photos from traveling somewhere else. Yet I came to realize that many of my readers have never even been to Minnesota and perhaps don’t realize how incredibly beautiful it really is. Hence my recent focus on places around the land of lakes (we do have over 13,000!).
This morning I wanted to share some photos I’ve reworked from my trip to Iceland back in the summer of 2008. Iceland truly appealed to me. It has all the nature you could ever desire, loads of hikes, and not many people. I found a lot of peace and serenity in such a beautiful, magical place. It is my hope that I can return someday as there is much to see in this gorgeous land.
Here are some photos that will help illustrate what I mean. Hope you enjoy!
To my friend Lucy, who showed me her world in Antigua and how to love the art of photography. I will forever be grateful for your kindness and friendship. May our paths meet again!
“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.”- Flavia Weedn
I always find it hard to say goodbye to a place. I found it especially true with Guatemala. Over the last week I’d been as immersed as possible with the culture. I lived with a host family, took intensive spanish courses, climbed a volcano at the crack of dawn, took my first chicken bus and learned to slow everything down and take things as they come. All in all, you couldn’t ask for a better journey than that.
As Sunday morning came and went, I felt a sadness about leaving so soon. I could hardly believe how much I’d done and seen in only a week. Perhaps more than many people ever experience at all. I honestly believe that immersing oneself as much as possible in the culture you are visiting, is the greatest reward ever when it comes to traveling. It was no vacation, that is for sure. Every day I rose exhausted beyond belief and wondering how I’d gather the energy to make it through another long albeit exhilarating day. But one thing I’ve come to learn and understand about myself over the years is that this is how I like to travel. I would do it no other way. A vacation? No thanks. Sitting on the beach? I’d be bored in two minutes. Running around a country and trying to see and learn as much as possible in only a week with never taking a moment to sit still? That is what I do. That is what I crave. And most importantly, that is what I love.
Sensational, cloudless view of Agua Volcano on Sunday morning, the day of my departure.
I know that many people find my way of traveling absolutely crazy. They don’t understand me one bit.
But as I always love to say and quote my parents for reminding me “The world is your oyster”. With those encouraging, motivating words….there was no time to sit aimlessly in my room checking emails. I had to take advantage of every moment and opportunity I got to explore, learn and see my surroundings. For how else would I get a sense of compassion for Guatemala? It certainly wouldn’t be gained from laying on my bed reading a book.
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac
I woke up early Sunday morning, my last day in Antigua and in Guatemala itself, to a wonderful gift. It was sunny. I laid in bed rubbing my eyes as they slowly adjusted to a beam of light shining through the small, stained glass window above my door. Other than that beam of light, the room was pitch black.
I slowly rose my tired body out of bed, gently pulled back the heavy, dark drapes and lone behold, there it was….the sun, at last! I was overjoyed. It was only half past six in the morning. I could have slept another hour or so. I certainly was tired. My entire week in Guatemala was so intense that I was in desperate need of sleep. Yet that beam of sun was calling my name. It was like a beam of hope. A sign that I would finally get to see the peaks of the three dominant volcanoes that dominate Antigua.
Finally, the clouds had lifted and gave me a gift: An entire, unobstructed view of Volcan de Agua or “Volcano of Water” the most commanding volcano, to the south of Antigua at 3766 meters/12,356 feet which dominants the colorful city of Antigua like an omnipresent God.
Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness. -Frank Gehry
It was nearing the end of the day and perhaps Lucy chose to save the best for last. We had time to see just one more set of ruins in Antigua. The spectacular ruins of the church of San Francisco.
The building was constructed in 1542 only to be hit by a series of damaging earthquakes in 1565, 1717, 1751 and 1773. Thankfully a tremendous amount of reconstruction took place and the church remains the oldest functioning church in Antigua today. It’s gorgeous facade is perhaps the best part as it depicts intricately-sculpted saints and friars, who in a sense welcome the visitors inside. However, of course, knowing me and my passion for ruins, I found the ruins behind the church to be the real treasure of this site.
Come, follow me inside the spectacular ruins of Iglesia de San Francisco and judge for yourself….
The ruins of El Carmen are yet another set of impressive, post earthquake ruins that raise up to the Antiguan sky. Unfortunately these ruins are not open to the public, however, the colorful Mercado del Carmen, a Mayan textile market, is open and ready for business.
I found this series of photos around the ruins of El Carmen to be some of my most favorite from the trip. The array of colors, culture and architecture capture the heart and soul of Antigua and her mystical charm. Unfortunately there is not much information on El Carmen however the pictures themselves perhaps tell a story of what this lovely church must have been like before it became destroyed over years of earthquakes. And the lovely colorful market which surrounds the ruins provide one more example of the majestic Mayan culture in all its splendor.
After the delightful scene of the women washing at La Tanque de la Union, Lucy and I went to see the nearby ruins of Santa Clara where we were in for yet another surprise.
Established by two Mexican sisters, the Iglesia y Convento de Santa Clara was inaugurated in 1734 only to be destroyed 40 years later by a massive earthquake. Not much of this ornate structure was left intact however perhaps by an act of grace the church’s magnificent facade was left relatively unharmed and is still standing strong today.
Last Friday, we finally had a sunny day! As they love to say in Minnesota, April showers bring May flowers. However, this year due to an extremely early arrival of Spring, things have played out a little bit differently. The flora that we would normally be seeing in mid-May has come about a month early and is peaking now.
Remember that post I did on the gorgeous Spring flowers I saw last month in Virginia? Well, those same lovely flowers such as the crab apple and cherry trees, tulips, daffodils and irises are now blooming here. Even the wonderfully, fragrant purple lilacs are in bloom sweeping a delicious, sweet smell into my house. The only thing left to come are the peonies.
As I mentioned in my earlier post “Antigua’s Magnificent Le Merced“, the ruins behind this spectacular church, which resulted from a series of dramatic earthquakes over the centuries, are perhaps as equally impressive as the golden yellow exterior of La Merced herself. It is a tough call however I have to say that there is something haunting and exciting about ruins. I love them.
I’ve seen the fabulous ruins of Rome, spent four days hiking to the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, and took an overnight dilapidated Greek ship on my honeymoon (while sleeping on the stinky floor underneath the luggage holder) just to catch a glimpse of the Turkish ruins of Ephesus. Let’s just say, I really like ruins and there are many more that I desire to see. (Only problem of course is time. Most ruins are in far off destinations that make it hard for me to see at this point in my life).
At least I was able to get my fix of ruins in Antigua! Antigua is loaded with ruins thanks (or no thanks) to all the earthquakes. The monastery ruins behind La Merced proved to be quite impressive with its centerpiece being a 27-meter in diameter fountain which is believed to be the largest fountain in Central America.
Hands down, the most beautiful church in all of Antigua and perhaps all of Guatemala is the magnificent Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (La Merced for short). Construction began in 1548 by the Mercedery Fathers who dreamed of building a temple, yet the church suffered several setbacks due to Antigua’s infamous earthquakes which wreaked havoc and destruction throughout the city.
It wasn’t for another two hundred years that the cloister and sanctuary were finally built and finished in 1749. Then another traumatic earthquake struck Antigua in 1773 causing significant damage to the church and leaving its marvelous ruins behind it.
Today, La Merced is one of the only old churches that is still offering services on a regular basis and its brilliant yellow and white colors are a delight to the eyes and the soul. When the Antiguan sky is clear and royal blue, the brilliant gold-yellow of La Merced is perhaps one of the most glorious sights in all of Guatemala. Here are some photos of the magnificent La Merced and you can judge for yourself.
La Merced blends in perfectly with Antigua’s brightly colored colonial buildings and architecture. Here is a glimpse of the church on the lefthand side of the photo.
