Richard And Jo Demeester's photos with the keyword: Quetzaltenango

Beautifully lit cathedral of Quetzaltenango (also called Xela).

After we got out and waved goodbye to our travel companions. There were about 18 adults in the back, plus us, and some children and infants, about 160 kg of vegetables and fruits, and 3 or 4 people in the driver's cab!

A mud slide ripped through town, split the church, and deposited two parts on opposite sides of a newly created ravine! Nature is powerful, hey.

I don't really know if that is true, as it is an odd place for the first church, not being in the first population centres. Oh well, let's go with it. It is certainly amongst the first, being dated from 1524! Iglesia de San Jacinto, in Salcajá. Just a pity it was not open for viewing.

Again, probably some Mayan influences, but certainly there are some interesting symbols (not to mention colours) in use on the facade of this church of San Andrés, near Xela.

Every 20 to 40 minutes, Santiaguito erupts. This fantastic sight, an ash laden plume billowing in to the sky, is accompanied by a roar akin to an aircraft, and the sound of large rocks crashing into the ground. Even from this safe viewing distance, clouds of sulphur laden gasses would blow over us. We watched for about 2 hours (maybe a bit more), and witnessed four eruptions.

See our description of Maximón against another photo of a different Maximón. This one, in Zunil, was quite the cowboy, and didn't seem to smoke as much, but was tilted back by worshippers who would then pour alcohol into his open mouth (which would then empty straight in to one of the bowls below him).

Cobwebs in a tree in the mist.

Hmm, really stands out, doesn't it!