A highlight of the Lent season here in Guatemala is the beautiful alfombras (carpets) that are made. I look forward to walking the streets of our town each season and admiring them. They are always so beautiful and detailed. The carpets are made with dyed sawdust, flowers, pine needles, and even fruits and vegetables. This year there were several that included baked bread and even eggs.
On Good Friday, your best chance to see the carpets fully intact is early in the morning, right before the processions begin. By midday, the andas (floats)
begin to pass, and with them, the carpets are slowly
trampled—intentionally, as part of the ritual.
David and I got up at 5:15 a.m. this year and walked into town to see them. Here are some of the photos I took.
an early morning view of Agua volcano on our walk into town
As we were roaming around, I
saw this lady walking our way from a distance. I immediately got
excited because I could tell she was Kekchi from her dress. They were
the first people group we worked with. As she got closer I greeted her
in Kekchi and it started the sweetest conversation. I used all the
Kekchi words I could remember and it made her so happy. She insisted we
take a picture before we left. It was the highlight of my whole morning!
The Kekchi people will always be my favorite of all!!!
This one was made with only vegetables. After the procession passes, the people rush in to grab what is left.
We stopped for breakfast at Cafe Condesa on the Central Park. I love sitting out in the garden area to eat.
We walked around town a little more before walking back home. It was a beautiful cool, crisp morning and a perfect time to be out walking.
That evening I returned to town with some friends. We were out another five hours walking around, eating, looking at carpets, and watching a few processionals. I had around 25,000 steps in all that day. It was a lot of fun!
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