GUATEMALA, CELEBRATING LENT IN THE HISTORIC FORMER CAPITAL: Guest Post by Tom Scheaffer

Antigua, Guatamala. Former colonial capital.

My brother Tom Scheaffer loves to travel and has recently returned from a trip to Guatemala. I thank him for sharing his excellent pictures and impressions of his trip.

Antigua, Guatemala, a colonial city going back to the early 1500s was once the capital of Guatemala. Now it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated at the base of a volcano, it is famous for its celebrations of Semana Santa (Holy Week), the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. My brother Tom was there at the beginning of Lent. On the first Sunday of Lent processions of people carrying huge shrines march around the city on streets carpeted with colorful floral designs. Crowds of people dressed in purple line the streets to watch. It is an impressive sight.

Here are a few photos taken by Tom during his visit:

Painting the carpet.

Tom writes, "They are painting these huge carpets with flowers and other things on the street because today is Cuaresma, the first Sunday of Lent. There is a huge procession with people carrying huge shrines through the streets." (Cuaresma is the Spanish word for Lent, the forty days before Easter. It comes from the Spanish word for forty--cuarenta.)

Cobblestone streets and colorful buildings are typical. (Paint colors are restricted to a few choices.)

St. Catalina Arch. Volcanos tower over the Antigua. Some of them are active.

Waiting in front of the historic Church of San Pedro for the Cuaresma procession to arrive.

Enormous shrine carried through the streets by teams of young men dressed in purple.

Antigua, Guatemala. High altitude (5029 feet) promotes a mild climate.

For more information about visiting Antigua, Guatemala go to this website.

JAPAN: Train Ride to Nikko, from the Memoir of Aunt Carolyn

Carolyn T. Arnold, Nara, Japan 1969

My husband's Aunt Carolyn traveled to Japan in the 1960's and 70's as the leader of a tour group. Here is an account of one of the challenging moments of her life as a tour leader. Although she took many photos during her years of traveling, some, including those of Nikko, were on film that deteriorated. For photos and information about Nikko, click HERE.

    One day in Tokyo, my group was scheduled to go by train to Nikko, a mountain resort and national park. All were assembled in the hotel lobby and were casually visiting with one another. The transfer bus driver had reported early. I was relaxing while I waited for Mike, our Japanese guide. (Japanese guides always assume American names.) Suddenly, an uneasiness made me check my watch and I realized it was high time we were leaving. As I was going to the desk to inquire if there was a message from Mike, I was paged to answer the phone. It was Mike calling to tell me his taxi had been involved in an accident; he was being held as a witness. I told him there wasn’t any problem; I could take the group to Nikko, but he had the train tickets. What to do? We agreed that I should immediately “kidnap” one of the hotel bellboys to act as my interpreter, get my flock on the bus, and head for the station immediately. Mike would call the stationmaster, explain the situation, and after lunch in Nikko, he would join us. So off we went all alarmed about possibly missing the train and the day’s excursion.
    We hopped on the bus, drove through the early morning traffic to the station. I led the group to the proper platform where we were stopped at the gate. There stood the train, and the large clock showed just five minutes for us to negotiate. I pushed the bellboy under the barrier and into the office to get an okay from the stationmaster for us to board the train. We all watched the clock. Four, three minutes until departure time and still no word from the office. Wildly gesturing I pointed to the clock, to my group, and to the train. Evidently, Mike’s call to the station had just come through. We had two minutes until departure when the stationmaster slowly rose from his chair, walked to where we waited, and personally escorted us to our coach, where he bowed and left us. Without any warning or fuss, promptly on the last minute, the train slowly moved out of the station as I collapsed in my seat. As Bob said later, “Now you know how to get twenty people on a train without tickets.” Mike met us at Nikko, and we continued with the scheduled sightseeing.
    Nikko is a delightful place, ninety miles north of Tokyo. The scenery of mountains, lakes, and waterfalls is spectacular. The Toshogu Shrine is a Shinto shrine built in the 17th century. The Yomeiom Gate to the shrine is very elaborate, almost gaudy. It is awe-inspiring to walk along the long avenue approaching the gate between the towering cedar trees arched overhead. Before entering the Inner Court, we removed our shoes as is customary before entering anyone’s home or shrine. Here we were provided with cotton slippers, so ill-fitting that I felt like I was a web-footed duck.
    To one side of the Yomeiom Gate is a five-storied pagoda dedicated to Buddism.
    There is so much to see in Nikko. My groups always enjoy the bus ride from Nikko village to Lake Chuzenji at 1,000 feet elevation, at least until we start the uphill climb. Judging by the chorus of shrieks from the women on the bus, the ride is a real thriller. The narrow, twisting road has 47 hairpin turns as it rises sharply up the mountainside. The up-grade bus always has the right of way. Each switchback was numbered so we knew how many there were to go. This did not help the nervous ladies. At the parking place there are always “ohs” and “ahs” as we looked down at the twisting road over which we had come. The thought that we must return by the same road was not reassuring. Today the road to Chuzenji is one way as another approach has been built. However, there are still those sharp curves and breathtaking views below. Yes, I am glad we did not miss that train to Nikko.

Perhaps the original intrepid tourist was Carolyn Arnold, my husband’s aunt.  A single school teacher in Des Moines, she began traveling abroad when she was in her forties, beginning with a bicycling trip through Ireland in 1950.  She went on from there to spend a year as a Fulbright Exchange Teacher in Wales, to more trips to Europe and beyond, and eventually became a tour leader, taking all her nieces and nephews (including Art) on her travels.  When she retired from teaching, she wrote of her experiences in a memoir called Up and Down and Around the World with Carrie.  Today, as I read of her travels, I marvel at her spirit of adventure at a time when women did not have the independence they do today. 

KYOTO, JAPAN: 1000 Shrines and Temples

Heian Shrine, Kyoto

In July of 1995, I accompanied Art to Kyoto, Japan, where he was attending a conference. Kyoto is renowned for its beautiful shrines and temples and on our first afternoon we did a walking tour of several of them.  We first went to the Heian Shrine, famous for its gardens.  On our way out, two uniformed school girls stopped us and asked if they could interview us–obviously an English class assignment.  One question was, “Do you know any Japanese words?” and they giggled when Art rattled off the few phrases that he knew.

Bamboo.  Path to Shoren-in Temple

We continued southward until the street narrowed and we came to the Shoren-in Temple, surrounded by enormous one thousand year old camphor trees and a beautiful ancient garden covered in moss.  By the time we reached the next stop–Chion-in Temple–it was 5:00 and the temple was closed.  The “walking tour”, described on the map as taking 50 minutes, was clearly much longer as we were not even half way to the Kiyomizu Temple at the end.

The next afternoon I took a bus to the Golden Temple (Kinkakuji).  By the time I got there the sky was overcast and as I walked in I could hear thunder.  I walked around the paths, which were shaded by a canopy of beautiful large maple trees, and arrived at the lake where the temple, covered on the top two floors with gold leaf, stood like a shining island.

Offerings at Kiyomizu Temple

Another day Art and I caught a bus to the Kiyomizu Temple–one of the most famous in Kyoto.  One walks up a narrow road–called Teapot Lane because of many pottery shops–past all kinds of tourist shops, many of them selling bean paste candies.  We bought some small round cakes–like pancakes with sweet bean paste in the center.  They are cooked on a machine in which metal rings about three inches across move around a griddle and are then filled and flipped before the cakes slide down a chute to be packaged.  We ate our picnic lunch at the entrance to the shrine–under a huge orange Tori gate.  The temple is perched on the side of a hill and is supported by huge interlocking timbers–no nails.  Unlike at other temples, we were allowed to take off our shoes and walk inside the building.

Water cups at Kiyomizu Temple

We then walked along a path to a small pagoda on the other side of the hill and then down past a small waterfall where people held out long bamboo sticks with cups on the end.  (The water was meant for cleansing the mouth, not drinking.)  As at the other temples, we saw rows of paddles with writing on them and white paper “wishes”.  Monks from the temple, wearing long black robes covered by a sort of overcoat, walked around the temple grounds in wooden clogs.
Kyoto claims to have more than 1000 shrines and temples.  We only saw a few, but found each one different and interesting and in harmony with nature.

Stepping Stones at the Heian Shrine

NARA, JAPAN: The First Capital of Japan

Gate to Tadai-ji Temple, Nara, Japan

In July of 1995, I accompanied Art to the beautiful city of Kyoto, Japan, where Art was attending a conference. While he was at his meetings, I toured the city (on foot and by bus and subway) and joined several activities provided by the conference for accompanying people like me. One day I took a tour to the ancient city of Nara.

Nara was the first capital of Japan and dates back to the 8th century. The trip to Nara had been billed as an “excursion through the countryside” mainly because the drive took 45 minutes each way. We stopped first at a Buddhist Temple which houses the largest brass Buddha in Japan.  The pillars of the temple are trunks of cedar trees.  In one of them a hole about 15 inches across was cut and we were told that any person who could fit through the hole was closer to entering heaven. Two teenage boys in our group tried it and managed to slither through.

Stone lanterns along walk to Kasuga Shrine

Our next stop was at the Shinto Kasuga shrine, with 3000 plus ancient stone lanterns lining the walkway up the hill to the shrine. Each lamp represents a donation to the shrine.  Originally the lamps burnt oil. Now they are lit twice a year with candles.

Paper "fortunes" at Kasuga shrine, Nara

At the shrine we could buy our fortunes by choosing a numbered stick from a long cylinder–similar to a fireplace match–and then showing the number to the fortune seller. Each fortune is printed on a long slip of white paper–usually the fortunes are in Japanese but at this shrine you could get them in English.  The idea is that if your fortune is good, you keep it; but if it is bad, you tie it to some object near the shrine–usually a bush or branch of a tree–in hopes that the spirits of the shrine will neutralize the bad fortune, or at least dilute it.

We learned from our tour leader that most Japanese practice both Buddhist and Shinto beliefs, depending on the situation.  Shintoism is more connected with beginnings, so wedding ceremonies are usually in the Shinto tradition.  Buddhism is more associated with the afterlife, so funeral rites are usually Buddhist.

Shrines and temples offer a variety of opportunities to buy spiritual help.  Another way you can beseech the help of the spirits is by buying a wooden paddle.  You write your wish on the paddle and hang it up on a rack near the shrine.  Most of the inscriptions were in Japanese, but one we read in English at the Kiyomizu shrine in Kyoto said he hoped his girlfriend would love him again.  Apparently, a typical Japanese wish is to pass the entrance exam to the university.

Sika deer at Nara

According to the legendary history of Kasuga Shrine, a mythological god Takemikazuchi arrived in Nara on a white deer to guard the newly built capital of Heijo--kyo-. Since then the deer have been regarded as heavenly animals, protecting the city and the country. Tame Sika Deer roam through the town, especially in Nara Park.


Nara is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

NEPAL, Shrines, Temples and Breathtaking Mountains: Guest Post by Owen Floody

Nepal. Machhapuchhare Sunset

In March, our friend Owen Floody went to Nepal.  We have known Owen ever since he and Art were graduate students at Rockefeller University in New York.  Owen recently retired from a career of teaching and research at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. Here is a short reflection on his trip to Nepal and a few of his amazing photographs. 

Buddhist Stupa at Boudnath

Owen's post: I've been celebrating my recent retirement with a flurry of exotic trips.  On most, I've either assembled or joined a group of like-minded travelers, the latter by signing onto a trek advertised by a well-known specialist in all things outdoors.  Heading into one of these, one can worry about the group being too large and the experience too impersonal.  But is it possible to experience the opposite, to be overdosed with individual attention in an overly small group?

From L to R, Annapurna South, Annapurna Fang, Annapurna One

My most recent trip, an early-March camping trek to the Annapurna Sanctuary, in Nepal, certainly put this possibility to the test.  This was advertised as a group effort, but I was the only one to sign on and the outfitter generously elected to run it anyway.  So it was just me and my entourage of 7 (no sedan chair or gun bearer, but 1 guide, 1 cook, 2 kitchen boys, and 3 porters) hiking up and down the trails on the way to and from the Machhapuchhare (at an elevation of 3700m) and Annapurna (4100m) base camps.  Now there were advantages to this arrangement: If the pace or anything else wasn't to my liking, I had only myself to blame.  At the same time, I found it to be a peculiarly isolating experience and more than a bit anachronistic--not the happy medium that I will shoot for in the future.

Rhododendron of the season

The weather on my trek was a bit of a mix. It generally was clear in the mornings, so that it was then that I had my best mountain views.  On most days, it was cloudy much of the rest of the day and rained and/or hailed for at least part of the afternoon.  Not surprisingly, it was cold at the highest altitudes--39 and 34 degrees F at night, and that was inside of the "teahouse" rooms they put me in when snow at the base camps prevented camping.  The early spring weather also affected the rhododendron crop.  I had timed my trip partly to see these, but did not realize that the different colors bloom sequentially.  So rather than the array of different colors that I had hoped for, I saw pretty much only the deep red that is pictured.  It's great, to be sure, but perhaps not absolutely ideal for the color-vision-limited.

Durbar Square, Kathmandu

Of course the high point of this trip was the mountain views, especially of Machhapuchhare and several of the Annapurnas.  More of a surprise to me was my enjoyment of my walking tours, some guided and others self-guided, in Kathmandu and other former royal cities or attractions in the Kathmandu valley.  Each city's Durbar (royal) Square was chock-a-block with temples, as might be expected. 

Buddhist shrine encountered on walking tour of Kathmandu

But throughout at least the older parts of these cities, it seemed impossible to walk for more than a few yards without stumbling across a Buddhist or Hindu shrine or temple, all still in use, many very attractive, some also very old. If and when you visit Nepal, I'm sure that no one will have to tell you to seek out and enjoy the mountains.  But also spend some time walking the streets of old Kathmandu, and enjoying the shrines, temples and other buildings.

You can find out more about Owen's recent travels and see more of his amazing photos in his May 6, 2012 post about his trip to northern Tanzania.