The spectacular Easter festivals in Antigua, Guatemala are beyond comparison to anything in the northern hemisphere. One of its most striking aspects are the carpets -- or alfombras -- that adorn the processional route. Residents along the streets of Antigua begin preparations weeks and even months in advance to create these beautifully intricate offerings. The carpets are painstakingly made by hand. Ranging in designs from biblical scenes to popular soccer teams, alfombras are often created a single spoonful of sawdust at a time.
Sawdust is the primary medium, though pine needles, wood shavings, bottle caps, and even tea bags are also used to create alfombras. Fruits, vegetables, and flowers like carnations, bougainvillea, chrysanthemums, and roses are often added as finishing touches. The finest carpets are recognized for their details and crisp edges.
The best time to see the alfombras is before the morning Good Friday procession. Starting around 9:00 PM on Thursday, artists begin laying the foundation for the carpets and finish just before the 4:00 AM Friday procession begins. The streets start to come alive in the early morning hours as people arrive to pick out their favorite designs. Come sunrise, many of the carpets are gone. Experience this unique Latin America celebration on our Guatemala Easter Festival tour.
More Easter Celebrations
Our Ecuador Easter Festival trip celebrates Holy Week in Quito. It includes the colorful procession of Good Friday which takes its 90,000 participants wending through the streets of Quito’s Old Town. The hooded cucuruchos are a distinctive feature in the procession. Dressed in purple robes from head to toe, the cucuruchos symbolize the penitents who are displaying not only their repentance, but also their will to change.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.