So we're driving along and decide that we need a beverage and . . .
. . . to check out the amazing shot of ANOTHER volcano!
The Hostels of the IRTRA (Los Hostales) are a beautiful, modern hotel complex located in San Martin Zapotitlan, Retalhuleu a little over 1010 miles from Guatemala City. There are four hotels (Hostal San Martin, Hostal Santa Cruz, Hostal Ranchería and Hostal Palajunoj). There are a total of 669, a spa, bowling alley, mini golf, about seven swimming pools and peacocks and parrots abound. It's the largest hotel in Guatemala and "one of the largest and most beautiful in Central America."
Our room.
I wish he'd relax more.
Map of the entire property.
They get MUCH more proud later on.
I guess things are more refreshing when they're spewing?
Coconut shell chandelier.
Crowned Mary and Jesus Statue. I THINK that it's based on a Black Madonna or Black Virgin, a statue or painting of Mary in which she, and often times the infant Jesus are depicted with dark skin, especially those created in Europe in the medieval period or earlier.
The Black Madonnas are generally found in Catholic and Orthodox countries. The term refers to a type of Marian statue or painting of mainly medieval origin (12th to 15th centuries), with dark or black features.
The original statues are mostly wooden but occasionally stone, often painted and up to 30 inches tall. They fall into two main groups: free-standing upright figures or seated figures on a throne. The pictures are usually icons which are Byzantine in style, often made in 13th- or 14th-century Italy. There are about 450–500 Black Madonnas in Europe, depending on how they are classified.
There are at least 180 Vierges Noires in France, and there are hundreds of non-medieval copies as well. Some are in museums, but most are in churches or shrines and are venerated by devotees. A few are associated with miracles and attract substantial numbers of pilgrims.
Isn't EVERYTHING better with frogs and crocodiles?
Rafa and Silvia.
There's so MUCH to learn in this world!! See the mixture of Mayans and monkeys?
Among the Classic Mayas, the howler monkey god was a major deity of the arts - including music - and a patron of the artisans, especially of the scribes and sculptors (and ARCHITECTS!) As such, his sphere of influence overlapped with that of the Tonsured Maize God. The monkey patrons - there are often two of them - have been depicted on Classic vases in the act of writing books (while stereotypically holding an ink nap) and carving human heads. Together, these two activities may have constituted a metaphor for the creation of mankind, with the book containing the birth signs and the head the life principle or 'soul', an interpretation reinforced by the craftsman titles of the creator gods in the Popol Vuh.
In the mantic calendar, Howler Monkey (Batz), corresponding to Spider Monkey (Ozomatli) in the Aztec system, denotes the 11th day, which is associated with the arts. In the Long Count (see Maya calendar), the Howler Monkey can personify the day-unit, which connects him to the priestly arts of calendrical reckoning and divination, as well as to ritualistic and historical knowledge.
Maya stelae (singular stela) are monuments that were fashioned by the Maya civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. They consist of tall sculpted stone shafts and are often associated with low circular stones referred to as altars, although their actual function is uncertain. Many stelae were sculpted in low relief, although plain monuments are found throughout the Maya region.
The sculpting of these monuments spread throughout the Maya area during the Classic Period (250–900 AD) and these pairings of sculpted stelae and circular altars are considered a hallmark of Classic Maya civilization. The earliest dated stela to have been found in situ in the Maya lowlands was recovered from the great city of Tikal in Guatemala. During the Classic Period almost every Maya kingdom in the southern lowlands raised stelae in its ceremonial center.
Hundreds of stelae have been recorded in the Maya region, displaying a wide stylistic variation. Many are upright slabs of limestone sculpted on one or more faces, with available surfaces sculpted with figures carved in relief and with hieroglyphic text.
Stelae were essentially stone banners raised to glorify the king and record his deeds, although the earliest examples depict mythological scenes. Stelae were considered to be invested with holiness and, perhaps, even to contain a divine soul-like essence that almost made them living beings.[37] Some were apparently given individual names in hieroglyphic texts and were considered to be participants in rituals conducted at their location.
Stelae!!!!
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