Parroquia de Santiago El Mayor

Parroquia de Santiago El Mayor is the second oldest church in Central America. It is located in San Cristobal in the department of Totonicapan. It was constructed between 1535 and 1567. It is recognized as one of the seven wonders of Guatemala. It's known with its well-preserved decorations.

Acampar en volcán Tajumulco

The Volcán Tajumulco is the highest of Guatemala and Central America. The altitude is 4220. It is located in the department of San Marcos, which is 1-hour bus ride from where I live, Xela. Yesterday I took a hiking tour to this volcano. Even though it is higher than The Volcán Santa Maria, it is an easier hike. Because it is less steep and there is actually a road for the half of the hike. On the other hand, Santa Maria is almost like a jungle.

Today, Tajumulco is not active. Even though there were several eruptions reported, none were officially confirmed. In 1956 it was announced as one of the protected areas of the country.

On December 20, 2009, for the first time ever the temperatures dropped below zero and a snowfall took place on the peak of Tajumulco.

Raisa Bingelli, 20, of Switzerland is trying to sustain the campfire by blowing in it on Volcano Tajumulco. She took a hiking tour with 4 other people from Europe and Middle East on October 27, 2010. While she found it extremely challenging due to cold weather and steepness, she said "it was great". Raisa has been traveling for two months now. So far she has visited only Utila, an island in Honduras, where she got her dive master class and Xela, where she studied Spanish for two weeks. She said "It's the most beautiful language in the world", for her motive to study Spanish. In Central America she has two more months to go.

I shot this photo at 4220 altitude, when we went up to see the sunrise at 4:30 a.m. I have no clue what this thing is on the top. And I was too cold to investigate it. I could barely took some photos.

This is the crater on Tajumulco. At the far right end, it is possible to see another volcano, called Tacana. Because of its high cost, there aren't tours organized for Tacana. When I shot this photo, it was possible to see a slight shadow of Tacana at the background.

Homesick(?)

My lovely country is famous for its food, Kebab. It's a dish, of which main ingredient is beef or lamp. And there are many different types of Kebab. But in the simplest form, it is known as Shish Kebab. In Turkey, pretty much wherever you go, you will find kebab restaurants. Some of them can have this kitsch/cheesy design art on their windows or walls.

The store you see in this picture is right in front of my place. And it is a jewellery store. But lately i have been having these hallucinations, that make me think that this word "KEDAR" is actually "KEBAB". And every time this happens, I get excited with the idea of eating kebab for a few seconds and then I face with the green reality of the building, where I live. So I feel like I am missing Turkey a little bit...

Aceite de Oliva Español

How can I not like this place?

Altar en La Pedrera

A while ago when my friend, Giovanni and I climbed to La Pedrera, we came across Diego, practicing some kind of Mayan spiritual ceremony by himself. Diego, 23, has been practicing this for almost three years now. He said he used to have a hard time sleeping and had nightmares. One day, while he was hiking in the mountains, he got lost and ended up in La Pedrera. He saw an "altar" where some people were also practicing a spiritual ceremony. He got close to them and started to talk about what they were doing. Eventually this conversation lead him to a peaceful night sleep. Since then he learned more about the practice itself and has kept doing it.

Los colores

Just beautiful...

vista de Xela desde La Muela

This morning, my Spanish teacher, Martin Díaz, who is also a tour guide, and I decided to do our class in a different environment. So we met at 6 a.m. and hiked at La Muela. It is relatively an easy one. The hardest part is at the end, where you need to climb on the rocks to reach the highest point of La Muela. But this part is quite short. It took us three hours to climb up and come back with extensive breaks to enjoy the views from different spots. It is definitely worth to take some time and visit. In addition to the beautiful views that you will encounter every once in a while, there are some surprises, waiting for you, on the way to the top, too.

otra feria desde Xela