Richard And Jo Demeester's photos

Some of the imposing structures at Tikal.

OK, the debate is raging. We were told on site that this was a poisonous snake, either a viper or a vine snake. Later, someone who seems to know a lot about snakes identified this as a parrot snake, which he said was not venomous, but was “all show”. He seemed to be the most knowledgeable, so we'll stick with that for the moment. This beautiful creature was certainly quite the showman, and quite a long beast, too, approaching two metres in length. He stuck his head up and remained in a strike pose, for a few minutes, then quickly shimmied somewhere else, where he would go back in to his defensive (or offensive) posture. Then down again, under some branches, and his head would just pop out from somewhere unexpected. This he managed to keep up for about 15 minutes. All the while, we kept a healthy distance, especially when we saw just how quickly he was capable of moving when he wanted to.

Good friends, or at least we hope so. If you can't find something comfortable to sleep on, find someone comfortable.

Taken while riding on a truck to Lanquín.

Well, only class travel. A few stay in the truck, the rest ride on the walls. With transport, sometimes beggars can't be choosers, but they just have to make the best with what comes along.

A fresh rose is placed on the Peace Monument in The Palacio Nacional de la Cultura, Guatemala City.

Jo carries in a tray with a fresh rose, to be placed on the Peace Monument in Guatemala City. It was an honour for us to be chosen to perform this ceremony. It is usually performed by a guard, and sometimes by important visitors (e.g. the Dalai Lama, or visiting Heads of State), so Jo is now in some very good company. We also received certificates declaring that we are Ambassadors of Peace in Guatemala.

The beautiful reception hall of the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura, Guatemala City. The chandelier allegedly weighs in at two tonnes!

Beautifully lit cathedral of Quetzaltenango (also called Xela).

After we got out and waved goodbye to our travel companions. There were about 18 adults in the back, plus us, and some children and infants, about 160 kg of vegetables and fruits, and 3 or 4 people in the driver's cab!

A mud slide ripped through town, split the church, and deposited two parts on opposite sides of a newly created ravine! Nature is powerful, hey.

I don't really know if that is true, as it is an odd place for the first church, not being in the first population centres. Oh well, let's go with it. It is certainly amongst the first, being dated from 1524! Iglesia de San Jacinto, in Salcajá. Just a pity it was not open for viewing.

Every 20 to 40 minutes, Santiaguito erupts. This fantastic sight, an ash laden plume billowing in to the sky, is accompanied by a roar akin to an aircraft, and the sound of large rocks crashing into the ground. Even from this safe viewing distance, clouds of sulphur laden gasses would blow over us. We watched for about 2 hours (maybe a bit more), and witnessed four eruptions.

Cobwebs in a tree in the mist.

See our description of Maximón against another photo of a different Maximón. This one, in Zunil, was quite the cowboy, and didn't seem to smoke as much, but was tilted back by worshippers who would then pour alcohol into his open mouth (which would then empty straight in to one of the bowls below him).

Hmm, really stands out, doesn't it!

Again, probably some Mayan influences, but certainly there are some interesting symbols (not to mention colours) in use on the facade of this church of San Andrés, near Xela.

Decoration in the room at the guest house Aaculaax, San Marcos La Laguna.