At the last minute we decided we would pack up and go on a weekend getaway to Guatemala. We live about 20 minutes from the border so it is easier to go into Guatemala than to go to other Honduran cities. We went to a city called Esquipulas which is about 2 1/2 hours away by public bus. We had to take 3 different buses to get there but the timing worked out perfectly and we arrived around 5pm on Friday. Esquipulas is famous for the Basilica. This giant church turned 250 this year and is quite a stunning piece of architecture. As you can see from the picture it has a dominating presence in the valley. The thing we really liked about this town is that it has a lot of visitors but hardly any foreign tourists. This made things cheaper for us. We were surprised how it came alive with thousands of Guatemalans making a pilgrimage to see the famous black Christ statue. We spent the weekend touring the church, attending mass several times and going to a park/zoo. It was a perfect place to tour for the weekend, for Valentine's day, and it felt so good to get out of Copan.
Here is a view of the Basilica from a hill looking into Esquipulas. It looks enormous even from far away.
Here is David in front of the Basilica. This park was full during the weekend of people standing in line to see the black Christ statue. The line on Sunday zig zagged back and forth through the park walkways. It took us 45 minutes to get through the line when it was already at the church. We can only imagine how long people waited in the line when it started at the back of the park.
Here it is. This is the statue that brings people from all over to see it.
This is in another section of the church where people lit candles.
One of our favorite pictures from the zoo. We think they try to save money by doubling up on cages. Some of our favorite animals included alligators, lions, ocelots, deer, ostriches, crazy monkeys, anteaters and a variety of birds.
The zoo is in a park that has many picnic areas, hammocks everywhere and sports areas. It also advertises a cave which really is just a mine shaft. We really enjoyed our morning here and spent some time relaxing in the sunshine.
Here is a view of the Basilica from a hill looking into Esquipulas. It looks enormous even from far away.
Here is David in front of the Basilica. This park was full during the weekend of people standing in line to see the black Christ statue. The line on Sunday zig zagged back and forth through the park walkways. It took us 45 minutes to get through the line when it was already at the church. We can only imagine how long people waited in the line when it started at the back of the park.
Here it is. This is the statue that brings people from all over to see it.
This is in another section of the church where people lit candles.
One of our favorite pictures from the zoo. We think they try to save money by doubling up on cages. Some of our favorite animals included alligators, lions, ocelots, deer, ostriches, crazy monkeys, anteaters and a variety of birds.
The zoo is in a park that has many picnic areas, hammocks everywhere and sports areas. It also advertises a cave which really is just a mine shaft. We really enjoyed our morning here and spent some time relaxing in the sunshine.
1 comment:
How fun! It looks like you two are having so much fun and enjoying your adventure. I have had fun checking in on your blog every once in a while to see your adventures.
Natalie Jensen
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