We left Panajachel for the drive to Antigua.  Along the way we stopped at a macadamia farm and then a stopped at a jade factory and shop.

We arrived at the Candelaria Antigua late in the afternoon.

The hotel had a hacienda design being built around an enclosed courtyard.

The courtyard was open to the sky and the roof was a nice patio kind of area.

The roof even had walls to prevent anyone from seeing in but of course it also prevented anyone from seeing out.

Next morning we went the the local market.

Luis divided us into three groups and sent us shopping to buy some food supplies to take to the school.

To get to the village of Santa Catarina Barahona for the school visit and home hosted lunch, we rode the local buses which Luis told us are referred to as chicken buses.

The buses seem to operate a bit like taxis in that several buses compete for riders on the same route so they race from stop to stop.

When we arrived at the school, the children came out to meet us and we had a short program of song and dance.  Then we walked the kids up the street for an ice cream.

We were introduced to our host for the lunch and walked through the village to get to her house.

Lunch was outside under a cloth canape in front of the house.

Third world countries often lack deeds to property or property surveys.  As a result, it becomes very important to define what is yours by surrounding your property with a wall.

After lunch Peggi and Charlene helped with the dishes.

After we booked the trip I found a hike up Pacaya Volcano near Antigua so the next morning Mike and I took this hike.

A local outfitter picked us up at the hotel and we were assigned a local guide when we arrived.

The volcano was very interesting as I have never been in that kind of environment before.

Mike is in front of the visitor center and store up near the crater.

Unfortunately we could not ascend all the way because of an eruption a few months earlier.

Mike and I pose in front of the crater.

I thought this was a good picture of me so I put it in the page.

All over the area there were these vents which allow hot air to escape from below.  The rocks are very hot.  You would burn your hand if you touched them.

Another view of the ash field below the crater.

 I thought it was interesting along the edge of the ash field. 

You get an idea of what the mountain would look like without the ash.

That evening we went to Baile de los Moros for dinner.  After dinner folk dancers performed.

Mike and Charlene pose with the dancers.

Before leaving Antigua we spent some time in the town square.  The local cathedral sits at the edge of the square.

 Another view of the area around the square.

We visited the Casa Santo Domingo Cultural Center and Museum.

Casa Santo Domingo was one of the grandest convents of America: the one that sheltered the followers of order of Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

The Colonial Museum contains works produced during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the beginning of the nineteenth century. 

It includes religious paintings, silver pieces, crowns, monstrances and chalices; sculptures in domestic woods of archangels, saints, virgins, cherubs, spirits, and painted metals.