Antigua Photos

Antigua, Guatemala

Located in Central America, Guatemala borders the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico; and the Gulf of Honduras (Caribbean Sea) between Honduras and Belize. It is the largest and most populous country in Central America. Its capital city is Guatemala.,

Hablas español!

La mayoria de la gente que viene a Antigua de paseo combina su estadia con un curso de Español (o a la inversa). Solo en Antigua hay unas 30 escuelas de español y ademas florecen y prosperan los “cursos de garage”, en los que un profesor se acerca al domicilio donde el turista esta alojado y por un costo generalmente menor a un curso contratado en una escuela recibe clases de español, salsa, etc. in situ, cosa no recomendable ya que este tipo de aprendizaje no ofrece ninguna garantia ni acreditacion academica que asegure el aprendizaje.

Lo cierto es que un minimo de español facilita las cosas aquí, ya que si bien es cierto que aquí la gente se ha armado de un “vocabulario internacional basico” para allanar las dudas clasicas de los turistas, yendo mas al interior eso no existe.

Gusta (todavía) algo mas?

Si a todo esto le sumas un Cyber Café con conexión muy rapida a Internet en cada esquina, posibilidad de efectuar llamadas internacionales a costo razonable y de muy buena calidad, la opcion de salir de excursion los fines de semana contratando muy buenos servicios a distintos puntos paradisiacos del pais,… pues habra pocos motivos que te puedan hacer pensar en regresar a casa!

Uno muy fuerte –como es mi caso- es el amor… no creo que haya muchos mas!

Graciela Berton

Gastronomia à la Carte en Antigua

Salir a comer en Antigua es una experiencia cosmopolita y multicultural. En una ciudad que podes recorrer a pie en una hora de extremo a extremo, gastronomicamente das la vuelta al mundo en pocos dias: podrias empezar en un restaurante chino, seguir por una Trattoria italiana de absoluto nivel, fumar un narguile en el restaurante arabe acompañado de un café con cardamomo y menta, al otro dia intentar culminar un menú frances con todos sus platos, probar una sopa de camarones en el restaurante especializado, pasar por la taberna griega y probar el tzaziki que sabe totalmente original, comerte unas carnes en el restaurante argentino, incursionar en la cocina thai y si estuvieras harto de tantas pruebas, habria dos alternativas: visitar un restaurante “natural”, donde NADA tendra ni conservantes ni colorantes para desintoxicarte o bien el extremo opuesto: una hamburguesa en el local chatarra mas conocido del mundo y que aquí –obviamente- tampoco podia faltar. Buen provecho!

Y a proposito de esta frase, les comento una costumbre que me llevo unos dias entender: cuando uno se levanta aquí de la mesa y la ha compartido con otras personas que aun siguen sentadas, debe decir “Muchas gracias” y los demas le contestan: “Buen provecho”. Si la memoria no me falla… siempre hasta ahora lo habia hecho al reves, verdad?

Ropa & Beauty

El equivalente a la gastronomia lo encontras tambien en la ropa y los accesorios. Naturalmente prima la oferta de artesania tradicional –gigante, omnipresente: en todas partes hay mujeres ofreciendo montañas de prendas tipicas y telas en todos los colores del arco iris y todas las combinaciones posibles,… en todas partes hay mujeres ofreciendo collares de piedras semipreciosas a puñados,… De donde sale tanta artesania?? Donde se produce?? Donde estan los talleres y en que lugar fisico se hilvanan las cuentas de lapislázuli, granate, nacar de los collares?? La oferta es impresionante, el regateo una rutina y la versatilidad de las mujeres para manejar distintas situaciones comerciales, asombrosa.

Pero ademas podes encontrar ropa y accesorios de otros lugares del mundo y otros estilos: India y Nepal, plateria de gran calidad, ropa y bolsos de cuero, ropa de camping importada de excelente nivel, ropa chic a la ultima moda, ropa hippie en un revival de los ’70, ropa de lino absoluto, que en otros lugares cuesta una fortuna, ropa de puro algodón,… Basta con dedicarle un fin de semana a las tiendas y te podras dar unos cuantos gustos!

Últimamente tambien proliferan los lugares donde uno puede dejarse malcriar y mimar de pies a cabeza, a un monto irrisorio para quien viene de Europa o EEUU: los Spa que ofrecen distintos tratamientos de belleza, relajación, masajes, todo junto o por separado, por dia o con abono mensual, como a uno mas le plazca. Justamente este –junto al Agroturismo- seria un nicho a explotar por el sector: el Turismo Antiestrés! Lugares para “desenchufarse” (literalmente, donde no haya ni luz electrica) sobran en el interior de Guatemala y gente estresada que viene de otros paises –lamentablemente- tampoco!

Graciela Bertón

Antigua for import

Hoy Domingo salio un articulo bastante extenso en el diario “Prensa Libre” de Antigua acerca del turismo en la region.

Según este articulo, si bien en los ultimos años la situación ha mejorado considerablemente, se explota una minima parte de las posibilidades reales que el lugar ofrece.

El Turismo (la industria sin chimeneas) es en Guatemala la tercera fuente de ingresos, después de las exportaciones de productos naturales (café, frutas, jade,…) y las remesas (colaboración monetaria de los familiares de guatemaltecos que residen en EEUU).

En cuanto al ingreso anual que este rubro produce, esta Guatemala en el cuarto puesto de la region, después de:

- Costa Rica (que en el mundo ocupa el lugar 41)

- Mexico (que en el mundo ocupa el lugar 49)

- Panama (que en el mundo ocupa el lugar 55)

- Guatemala (que en el mundo ocupa el lugar 69)

La mayor parte de los turistas –ademas- se concentran en la Capital (Guatemala) y en Antigua, por falta de una politica estatal que promueva otros destinos y les provea de los servicios e infraestructura necesarios para albergar a gente de otros lugares del mundo que –de existir estos- sin lugar a dudas gustosamente se abocaria a descubrir y explorar las innumerables maravillas naturales y culturales que esconde este bellisimo pais.

Destino final: Antigua

Por el momento -sin embargo- los visitantes deben “conformarse” con –por ejemplo- Antigua. Y las comillas están colocadas con muchísima ironía, ya que si uno dispone del efectivo necesario y ademas el cambio lo favorece, va a sentirse en Antigua –al menos en lo que a los elementos de la vida cotidiana se refiere- literalmente como en su casa (o mejor aun).

Es que esta ciudad esta hecha para que los que vienen puedan vivir en un marco paradisíaco, con una temperatura anual media muy agradable, en una ciudad asombrosamente limpia, conviviendo con los lugareños que son gente muy amable, silenciosa y discreta, y por si todo esto fuera poco… puedan comprar en negocios decorados con muy buen gusto absolutamente todos los productos gastronomicos “extraños” que en su país están acostumbrados a consumir, e incluso comprarlos a precios aun mas accesibles que “en casa”.

Desde la Nutella, los Gummibärchen y el chocolate Ferrero para los alemanes hasta todas las salsas imaginadas o no para los estadounidenses,… variedades de te exoticas producidas en Gran Bretaña, mermeladas importadas de Francia, cafes saborizados con los gustos mas locos, pasta de aceitunas, alcauciles, yogurt hungaro, quesos de todo color, sabor y origen, alimentos sin gluten para celiacos, sin azucar (incluso el famoso chocolate guatemalteco) para los diabeticos, mermeladas light para quien quiera cuidar la linea,… TODO es posible encontrar en Antigua.

Pasteleria tradicional, pasteleria suiza y alemana, pasteleria “natural” sin conservantes, con harinas integrales y nueces, trufas elaboradas artesanalmente, “doblones” de chocolate y mazapán, pasteles de queso, pasteles de zanahoria y miel, pasteles de lo que se te ocurra… y una variedad mas, donuts para llevar en su cajita original como si uno saliera de un local de USA, café y te helado, crepes originales hechos a la vista… por dos franceses que vinieron por unos meses y se quedaron…! (Este fenómeno es muy comun de encontrar aquí y quiza ahí radique la explicación de todo este confort a medida, ya que nadie mejor que un compatriota para saber que cosas añora otro compatriota cuando esta lejos de casa).

Empowering the children – Culture, Education & Milk

Location: Alotenango, Guatemala

There is a project supported by the foundation in which you can work as a volunteer: the education project in Alotenango. This village is located 14 kilometers (8,70 miles) outside Antigua and is very easy to reach by bus. Led by Guatemalan teachers, primary education and home work support is provided for children who are between the ages of 5 to 19 years old. Examples of such activities are: helping the children study, teaching them how to read & write, mathematics, physical education, handicraft and English classes). There is also a carpenter’s workshop, a sewing studio and computer education. Besides this, there are supporting projects focusing on health, hygiene and food.
While working in Alotenango, volunteers can easily live in Antigua and travel every day to the project area. Antigua is a beautiful colonial town of 40,000 people with a spectacular backdrop of volcanoes and green foothills and therefore attracts visitors from around the world.

The task of the volunteer is to teach children how to live according to certain habits that are necessary in their daily lives as well as for their insertion in society, instructing them on knowledge of hygiene, but also on how to build schools and houses. Another important task is to visit the local families and tell them about the importance of their children’s education.
The project in Alotenango has recently moved into a new school to give room to almost 200 children.
Furthermore, it is equally important that the volunteers give warmth, love and friendship.

Are you interested and would you like to help? For more infomation, please contact us !

Beach Wildlife Rescue Centre – Breeding program for turtles, caimans and mangroves

Location: Hawaii, Guatemala

The project, also known as Hawaii Park, consists of a 3-hectare protected area on the beach, 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) west of the village of Hawaii and 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) east of the eco-resort town of Monterrico.
There are three crocodile and iguana breeding pens. The main sea turtle hatchery, turtle rearing/educational tanks and a lookout tower for those long, Hawaiian sunsets are just one hundred meters away on the beach.

There is a variety of activities that volunteers will often be asked to perform in addition to the care and feeding of animals. Examples of these activities are: construction of cages or extra buildings, trail maintenance, gathering of wild food for the animals, research into the wild diets of the animals, giving environmental tours in the Education Centre and other environmental education opportunities.
As a volunteer at this Rescue Centre, you will have a fulltime job. In many occasions, working on this project implies working early in the morning and at night. The majority of the activities are performed during the evening, night and morning. In the afternoon, when the climate gets humid and hot, there is time to rest and relax.

Are you interested and would you like to have more information about how to volunteer here?

Please contact us !

The Children’s House – Helping single parents out with daycare

Location: Antigua, Guatemala

This project, The Children´s house, functions as a day care center for single parent families. It began 15 years ago as a day care center for mothers who were working at the local market in Antigua.
There are more than 50 children between 9 months and 6 years old. It is a typical day care center, but with extra emphasis on personal care and education. The children arrive, take a bath, then the foundation provides each child with a proper breakfast and they begin with classes. This is a very well organized day care center, with ample facilities and a small but professional staff. Volunteers help organize recreational and educational activities and support the staff in maintaining childcare. There are a lot of activities and responsibilities that volunteers can do and have to do. All children in the day-care centre need help with their daily personal care. This includes bathing, feeding and playing with them.
Volunteers work every day from Monday till Friday, but can choose if they want to work the whole day or only in the mornings. The afternoons are optional and most volunteers work just in the mornings.
It is important to consider that volunteers must be able to work with very little supervision and thus should be independent and responsible.

Are you interested and would you like to volunteer in this project? Contact us !

A Home for Us – A shelter that assists terminally ill children and adults

Location: Barcenas, Guatemala

This AIDS hospice was founded in 1989 and originally located in Guatemala City. Later, it moved to San Lucas and nowadays it can be found in the quiet and isolated area of Barcenas. The hospice was and is the last refuge for terminally ill people, the majority of whom has been abandoned by their families. The hospice provides them with medicines (at no cost), food, clothing, a home and the love and care they need to face their last days.

The staff of the hospice consists of Guatemalan nurses and doctors, volunteers from the Red Cross and some international volunteers. Besides taking care of the terminally ill, the staff also teaches relatives how to take care of their sick beloved ones, especially when this person has HIV or AIDS, and the Community Service of the hospice visits other patients in their homes. Many of these home-visited patients come once in a while to the hospice when they are very ill and return to their houses when they feel better.

There are also children with HIV and AIDS in the hospice. Most of them are orphans whose parents have already died because of AIDS and who have nowhere else to go. The hospice provides them with education and as normal as possible life.

Are you interested and would you like to have more information about how to volunteer here?
Please contact us !

Home of the Community – Taking care of children and giving them a place to play & grow

Location: Antigua, Guatemala (and surroundings)

Home for the Community is organized and administrated by the Guatemalan government and the program is a part of the national orientation plan “Social Development Action” for those who need it the most in Guatemala.The emphasis of the care goes to the children, youngsters and women, especially to children in need of special care such as active prevention in health care, nutrition, and psychosocial development. It offers support in the social development and participation of adolescents. For women, it has a special program, which offers workshops about work and health. Besides, it provides support and guidance to pregnant young women.

Volunteers will be assigned to various day-care centers in Sacatepéquez. In the day-care center they will take care of children of single mothers who, because they have to work, don’t have the time to look after their children. The children are between of 3 months and 7 years old and the amount of children differs in every place. The children are overseen by a “Madre Cuidadora” (a caring mother) who lives at the site. Besides her, every place has a social worker that visits the place once or twice a week and there is a teacher that works on a daily basis with the children from 8.00 till 15.30 hrs.
Volunteers will assist the Madre Cuidadora with her tasks and will have the liberty to organize activities for the children. Obviously, playing with the children and entertaining them are also important parts of the job, as well as teaching them about hygiene and respect.
The majority of the volunteers work only in the morning, but volunteers are welcomed and needed from Monday till Friday, from 9 o’clock till 16 o’clock.

Are you interested and would you like to have more information about how to volunteer here?
Please contact us !

Living, Caring & Loving - Organization for the elderly, the disabled and the orphaned

LOCATION: Antigua, Guatemala

This project is based on a non-profit, non-governmental organization that provides several services and protection to that part of the Guatemalan population that suffers from (severe) poverty. It is also founded on the catholic inspiration, opened for the ecumenical cooperation, and administered by the Franciscan Parents. The institution was founded by Brother Guillermo Bonilla in the year 1981. From then on, the Franciscan Friars give love to the most needy and poorest people, and nowadays is lodging up to 500 persons. Those people, men, women and children all together, suffer from extreme poverty, are homeless or have some kind of disability. There is also a special recovery unit for babies who suffer from undernourishment. The complete programme of Living, caring & loving is made of different sections such as:
· The centre of nutritional recovery for children with serious undernourishment,
· Homes for children or teenagers with cerebral palsy
· Homes for adults with disability
· Special schools for children with serious difficulties
· Temporary homes for the relatives of operated patients
In all these parts of the programme volunteers are needed and they can collaborate by providing food, clothing, rehabilitation, medical attention and religious formation to more than 500 persons of diverse origin and race that live or receive attention in these centres. Medicine students or specialized doctors are especially needed.

Are you interested in volunteering in this project and would you like to receive more information? Please contact us !

Building the Children’s Future – Education, Care & Hope

Location: Antigua, Guatemala

This project supports and educates needy children in a variety of areas. Nearly 2,600 children and their families benefit from this project. There is a free clinic, a full time psychologist, a Mothers Club which supports civic events, there are social workers that visit families, and there is a school and reinforcement or remedial work for children who are attending public school, a library, a dental clinic and a food distribution program. Building the Children’s Future intends to break the cycle of poverty by empowering children through education.

Volunteers can take their own initiative and organize events through which they use their personal special skills such as: sewing, music, sports and art. Or they can help the children by letting them enjoy the volunteer’s (work) experiences, leading discussion on family planning, AIDS / HIV, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. Volunteers should realize that they should bring and prepare their own material in order to carry out these activities. Volunteers can also help with newsletter mailings; they can work in the kitchen, and organize activities for the children. Some volunteers can assist the teacher and tutor the children in the afternoon. As a "tutor volunteer" will always be in a one on one-situation and, therefore, this requires an advanced level of Spanish. Volunteers that have an education in social work, dental and medical care or handwork (such as carpenters) are also very welcomed.

Are you interested and would you like to volunteer in this project? Contact us !

A Roof for Everyone - Building a home for Guatemalan People

LOCATION: Antigua and surroundings

The main goal of this project is to offer simple houses to impoverished families, so that their health and living conditions will be improved. The project offers the families a possibility to obtain a newly constructed house for a small amount of money. The house is constructed of concrete blocks, with a corrugated iron roof and a concrete floor. Families can choose between different types of houses and the construction of each house takes about two to three weeks. Depending on which type of house the families choose, they pay a contribution. Volunteers will help the construction workers and the families during the whole process; from bying the land and building the walls, till actually opening the door of their new home.

Are you interested and would you like to volunteer in this project? Contact us !

Jungle Wildlife Rescue Centre – Taking care of and re-habilitating wild animals -

LOCATION: Petén, Guatemala

The established project of the Wildlife Rescue Centre is situated on 45 hectares of forested land on Lake Petén – Itza near the town of Flores in the northern Petén region of Guatemala and 45 kilometers (27.96 miles) from the worldwide famous Mayan archaeological site of Tikal. Volunteers at the Rescue Centre help feeding and caring for animals like parrots, macaws, spiders and howler monkeys that are sheltered in the center.

Are you adventurious and interested in this project? Contact us !

Creating New Hope – Helping children in need

LOCATION: Guatemala City & San Pedro - La Antigua

Creating New Hope is a project of a non-profit organization founded in 1999. Its main goal is to provide hope and assistance to the children of families working in the Guatemala City Garbage Dump. The founders of this project believe that every child should have the opportunity to receive a proper education and to advance as far as they are able in school. The aim of the project is that every child can gain the skills needed so that they can obtain stable jobs and, in this way, lead their families out of poverty in a dignified and permanent way.Volunteers play an essential role in this project. In general, they work together with the Guatemalan staff (and other volunteers) on educational and emotional supporting programs. These programs are aimed at giving the children something beyond the poverty that surrounds them. The emotional support program, for example, is about sharing and learning emotions and experiences so that children can develop qualities and skills, like a sense of self-worth and dignity, the motivation and perseverance to overcome a difficult challenge, creativity, confidence and respect for others. Working hours are from Monday to Friday from 8.00 till 16.00 hrs. The required Spanish level is high Intermediate. To feel at ease working in this project it is important that the volunteers should be able to speak, at least at this intermediate level, Spanish in order to be able to communicate effectively with the staff members and the children.

Would you like to live this great volunteer experience and make your own contribution? Don't hesitate to contact us! It will be our pleasure to inform you about the possibilities.