Posts tagged guatemala

Standing at Acopolis del Norte, north of Gran Plaza in Tikal, Guatamala. The structure consists of more than 100 structures. Templo I (The Temple of Grand Jaguar) can be seen on the left side of the plaza and Templo II (The Temple of Masks) to the right.

Standing on the Templo II (aka The Temple of Masks) in Tikal, Guatemala. On the opposite side you can see Templo I (aka The Temple of Grand Jaguar) which was built to honor King Moon Double Comb who designed it. When looking at the opposite temple you can see Acopolis del Norte to the left consisting of more than 100 structures.

Standing before Acopolis del Norte, in front of Gran Plaza in Tikal, Guatamala. Templo I (The Temple of Grand Jaguar) can be seen on the left side of the plaza and Templo II (The Temple of Masks) to the right.

Temple V is 58 meters high. To prevent damage to the original stone stairs on the temple there is a very steep wooden staircase which you can use to get to the top. Don’t climb up if you are afraid of heights as you might have difficulties going down after looking to the staircase from the top ;-)

View from the top of Temple V (58 meters), Tikal, Guatemala. There is very little room on the top (less than 1 meter). You can see the profile of the Temple of Masks and Temple of Jaguar on Gran Plaza

The ceiba tree is the national tree of Guatemala. According the ancient Mayan religion it was the symbol of the sacred world-tree. This particular one here in Tikal is covered with epiphytes, plants are sometimes called “air plants” because they do not root in soil.

View from Temple IV

Standing in a shelter built as the tribute to archaeologists who excavated the Temple V. Notice how the temple looked like before they uncovered it.

Main Street in Panajachel

Lake Atitlán (Lago de Atitlán) is a large endorheic lake (one that does not flow to the sea) in the Guatemalan Highlands. While Atitlan is recognized to be the deepest lake in Central America, its bottom has not been completely sounded. Estimates of its maximum depth range up to 340 meters. The lake is shaped by deep escarpments which surround it and by three volcanos  on its southern flank. Lake Atitlan is further characterized by towns and villages of the Maya people. Lake Atitlán is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west-northwest of Antigua. (text from Wikipedia)

View of Lake Atitlan

Lake Atitlan

Mayan Storekeeper. The storekeeper had a great smile and was very shy. This was one of the hundreds of small shops selling Mayan art in the streets of Panajachel. Many of them were just stands next to the street or actually Mayans were just sitting at the street, selling their beautiful colorful stuff. Unfortunatelly, this photo is a very bad quality, because I failed to set my camera properly, and took the photos very underexposed and as jpegs instead of raw, and a very high iso, but I think it’s still interesting to share anyway because of the at least remotely shows a glimpse of what it was like to be there.

One of the most interesting places in San Pedro. Actually, they all were very nice, but this one was especially nice. It’s the place where one of the main streets crosses the one going to one of the local harbors. It was being reconstructed at the time this pano was taken (in summer of 2008). There’s so many people around and so many interesting things to look at. The streets in Europe are just plain boring compared to their counterparts in Guatemala. It was also very peaceful and enjoyable just to stand there and enjoy the people and the environment. I need to go back one day :)

Big Foot Tours

This dock servers boats going to Panajachel on the other side of the lake.

Storekeeper and her kid

Overview

Lookout Tower

Riding a moto taxi south of San Pedro near Lake Atitlan, southern Guatemala.

Bus

Zocalo

Bus in a narrow street

Girl on Bike

Backstreet

Hanging Shoes

Moto Taxi

San Pedro

Mayan lady tries to sell us colorful rugs during our breakfast in San Pedro, Guatemala

View of Lake Atitlan

This guy sells a buch of stuff on one of the main streets of San Pedro De Laguna near Lake Atitlan. The sortiment of his stand ranges from firewood, beans, through tomatoes to drug-store goods. As was true with all the people in San Pedro, he was very friendly and enjoyed to spare a word. (the pano was taken in 2008 during my trip to Guatemala)