An afternoon adventure!
We arrived at the language school and were given the opportunity to visit the quaint village of San Juan del Obispo. Students and their tutors learned about life here at the 500 year old palace and cathedral of Guatemala's first bishop, Bishop Francisco Marroquin. We were given an informal tour of the 16th century palace by the nuns who currently live there.
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| Courtyard inside the palace. |
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Old church behind the palace.
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The church and convent have been beautifully restored. We enjoyed a wonderful and breathtaking vista of Antigua and the volcanoes. We could only imagine how beautiful this view is at sunset and sunrise.
Along with visiting the impressive Palace and museum at San Juan del Obispo, we enjoyed a tour of a factory of one of Guatemala's tasty specialties, traditional Mayan chocolate. The chocolate produced in San Juan del Obispo is important to the culture and economy of the village. However, my favorite locally made chocolate outlet is Antigua (Guatemala) Chocolate, located just two blocks from this palace. Here a very nice woman, one of ten children, told us all about this 73 year old family owned business that her mother, Dona Maria (who died 4 months ago) started when she was "8" years old. At the shop, we appreciated an "altar" created in honor of her mother. We also bought packages of one pound chocolate tablets to make hot chocolate. We chose from the cardamom-infused to almond and cinnamon circles that come four-to-a-pack.
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Amy and her tutor coming back from our day trip.
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Hasta luego!
Along with visiting the impressive Palace and museum at San Juan del Obispo, we enjoyed a tour of a factory of one of Guatemala's tasty specialties, traditional Mayan chocolate. The chocolate produced in San Juan del Obispo is important to the culture and economy of the village. However, my favorite locally made chocolate outlet is Antigua (Guatemala) Chocolate, located just two blocks from this palace. Here a very nice woman, one of ten children, told us all about this 73 year old family owned business that her mother, Dona Maria (who died 4 months ago) started when she was "8" years old. At the shop, we appreciated an "altar" created in honor of her mother. We also bought packages of one pound chocolate tablets to make hot chocolate. We chose from the cardamom-infused to almond and cinnamon circles that come four-to-a-pack.
Yesterday, I got the privelage that was built in 1530. This is was the highlight of my day. We had a fifteen minutes bus ride to the church. Then once we got there, we got to explore the church which was very fascinating because there were lots of ancient artifacts. Max got to buy some chocolate that you have to stir and it turns into hot chocolate.
ReplyDeleteThen we got to go to this chocolate factory which I'm sure was a lot of the people's favorite part of the day because we got to see what this chocolate was made out of. I got to see what the coca beans looked like. The day of work ended with an hour and a half of studying with my Tudor. That was fun because I feel like I am really getting a better grasp on how to speak Spanish.
Yesterday we embarked on a small journey to the first convent built in Central America. The convent was built in 1530, but the first patio was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1700's. After the convent we then did a quick trip to see an awesome view of the mountains. Later, we went to a family run chocolate factory that is 2 generations old! The chocolate had many interesting ingredients, such as rice. I am very excited to see what is in store or today!
ReplyDeleteThe trip to the church today was so much fun. At first I though it was going to be a normal church that I see everyday, but when I arrived there my opinion changed completely. It was amazing because almost everything single thing there was hand made and the architecture was amazing. There was a lot of history to the church was I found extremely fascinating and we had a very good tour guide that knew what she was talking about and explained everything in great detail. It was definetely a fun experience and I was glad I got the chance to go.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if I need to post my comment for yesterday on both of yesterday's posts. I put it on the first one published yesterday around lunchtime titled "Collegiate Students Preparing to Educate." The content will be the same for both comments, but if it needs to be under both posts, here it is.
ReplyDeleteTuesday, 11 June 2013
Upon being divided into two groups, I was designated the leader of Group A. My group is tasked with identifying the problems of the current water situation in the villages to begin educating the children on Thursday the importance of clean water and that a major issue does in fact exist. We began by listing 10 problems -- some more prevalent and momentous than others -- and their subsequent effects. For example, the practice of boiling water not only is expensive -- sometimes costing the residents over one thousand Quetzales per year -- but also damaging to the environment by adding to another world-wide problem, deforestation. After we identified the problems, ranging from dirty vessels to chlorine and bottled water, we began to put them in order and draw images of the most important issues (chlorine, flies and bacteria, and sugary sodas) to make them more presentable to the children of the villages. I am excited to put the written facts on the poster-boards and the final touches on the presentation tomorrow in order to present to Chris, Lencho, and Sam.
After a delicious lunch of rice, chicken, carrots, potatoes, and tortillas, I attended language school again where we took a field trip to "San Juan del Obispo," a convent build in 1530 and the oldest Catholic building in Central America. One of the most interesting things I saw was the hand-carved wood furniture and doors -- many of which were replicas -- that were present throughout the building. Another part that struck me as fascinating was the private chapel for only Francisco Marroquín, the founder. We were not allowed to enter or take photos, but the interior was covered in gold and silver, all of which, including the altar and the ornate trim detail, are still remaining and authentic since 1530. After visiting the convent, we briefly stopped at a house known for making delicious chocolate. A woman showed us the seeds and the beans and explained to us, among many things, the importance of the best seed quality, capable of affecting the taste, fat content, and other attributes of the final chocolate product. I am very excited to continue reading and writing with my tutor at the language school and to present my group's topic to the ecofiltro:one staff and eventually to the clients. See you tomorrow!
I really enjoyed visiting the church today. I noticed a bird that was submerged in a fountain, and could not fly away, so Mrs Sharlin dove in, grabbed the screaming bird, and somehow managed to not get wet. The chocolate we had was quite different, and I did not like it very much. For dinner we had a plate of nachos that were the size of a small child, and Ross ate more than half by himself. Looking forward to a visit to the macadamia farm in a half hour.
ReplyDeleteYesterday we went to the church of San Juan. At the church we found a bird that was stuck in a fountain and señora went for the double...food poisoning and the bird flu. Also, at the church I bought some local chocolate made without sugar. Finally, we saw a local chocolatier which will help me with my project
ReplyDeleteToday we visited the first church to be built in Central America and it was awesome. From the private room that the nuns use for prayer (which is completely original and untouched from the renovations that the rest of the church has received) to the statues with axes in the heads, I was amazed by what I saw. I found interest in the statues because the axes in the head of a certain statue meant that he was a martyr. This was really interesting to me because you would never think that an axe in a statue's head would represent being a martyr. Also, we went to a chocolate factory and saw a chocolatier. She said the chocolate factory was a family business and at the end we had a chance to buy some chocolate. I bought the chocolate with rice because I want to compare it with a Crunch bar. This whole experience was so amazing and I'm curious to see what's in store for us next.
ReplyDeleteWe visited a beautiful church In San Juan and it was very elegant. There were many different statues and beautiful architecture. It was was really a great place for me to visit because I am doing my project on the churches in Guatemala and their architecture. During our tour in the church, Evan noticed that a bird had been stuck under water in a fountain with its head sticking up. Mrs. Sharlin came to the rescue and leaned over the fountain and saved the frightened bird. Later that day Evan, Ross, Aaron, Sidak, and I ate the biggest plate of nachos that I had ever seen. Today's experience was a great one!
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