Happy Mother´s Day to all Guatemalan Mothers, and to the mothers living here, even Google  Guatemala changed it´s doodle today to celebrate Mother´s Day.  But why is it celebrated on May 10th in Guatemala, I really do not know, as I understand it is celebrated this day in Mexico, Chile, El Salvador and other countries. The only credible explanation I have found was here. And is related to the original U.S. celebrations, one made to commemorate Ann Jarvis mother, and the other by Julia Ward Howe. The date in the U.S. was later changed to the second Sunday of May, so I guess we never found out when they changed it, and now is too late.

But how it is celebrated in Guatemala? as I understand today is a official holiday for mothers only. So if you are a mother in Guatemala, you can take your day off. Most schools have a celebration on the day before mother´s day and holiday on mother´s day, or at least that is what I remember that happened when I was a kid. My old son did not have a holiday this year, the small one has a celebration today, and will rest tomorrow. So I guess there are not many strong rules of what to do today, and being a workday for anyone who is not a mother, it goes on almost as a normal day, with many women missing from work.

Happy Mother´s Day

I received a mail today:

“Just wondering if you had a list of activities I could do with my 8 and 6 yr old.  We are visiting my husbands family and will be staying in la capital for the entire month, with maybe a trip or two to Antigua or maybe el puerto, but otherwise mainly our time will be in the city.  I really want the kids (and myself) to be occupied so that we make fond memories in guate and will always want to return.”

I believe there are many suggestions in the site already, but I wanted to share the answer, in case someone else need the information:

Having two boy 6 and 9 myself, here is what I recommend:

Guatemala Zoo, a full day activity, you can spend all day there, half on the zoo, and half of the mechanical games. Closed on mondays

Children´s Museum, in front of the zoo, for a full afternoon, It closes on midday, but get to there early, as time will not be enough, maybe from 2:30 thru 5 or 6

Relief Map, or Mapa on Relieve. It is a great place to see the whole country, in miniature, also there are mechanical games there.

Laser Hero, at Centro Comercial Pradera or Pradera Concepción. Gotcha but with laser guns instead of paint balls

Parque Cayalá (not to be confused with Paseo Cayalá) for a walk in a forest without leaving the City. There are two parks there, very similar. Paseo Cayalá is nice also, but there is not much to do there with children, except have lunch.

You should really try to go Irtra in Reu (Retalhuleu) is a two hour trip, and spend there at least three days, including a weekend when the parks are open, monday everthing is closed, except some pools. It is a must for your children, no matter what.

Irtra Petapa, is a small version of the site at Reu, but a great place to spend a day, also closed on mondays,

Movie theathers at Okland Mall or Miraflores are great, but children movies are in Spanish, most of the time. At Miraflores you can also visit the museum.

Parque La Democracia is a very nice park, to ride bikes just around
Bowling at Metro Ball Zona 15 or Tikal Futura in zona 11.

Ruins at Kaminal Juyu in Zona 7

If you are going to Antigua, visit the ruins, specially Capuchinas, Santa Clara and Catheral. Also if you can stay a night a Casa Santo Domingo it would be great. Also Finca Filadelfia is a great visit.

Iximche ruins and Tecpan, are about and hour and a half a great place to be.

Mixco Viejo ruins is another great Mayan site about an hour from the city, but take your lunch with you, and make a Picnic, there is nothing more than tortillas there.

Amatitlán Lake is about 45 minutes from Guatemala City, you can go to the town of Amatitilan to see the lake, take a ride on a boat. You can algo go to Parque Naciones Unidas, I haven´t been there for a while, but it has reproductions of some places in the country, and was nice. Or you can go fishhing in El Relleno, if you don´t mind being followed
by 20 more children.

On Sunday morning you can go to Pasos y Pedales in Avenida Las Americas.

Cerrito del Carmén, has been refubrished and last time I was there it was very nice.

Cervecería Musuem at zona 2, I believe you have to make an appointment
Museo del Ferrocarril at zona 1.

I enjoyed a visit to El Amate, where you can buy fake brand name everything and pirated movies with a secure parking.

I haven´t been there in a while, but walking on 6a Avenida is supposed to be very nice, including a visit to Central Park, the Cathedral and maybe the National Palace

Depending on thte date, you can look for a Fair, they are very nice.

Hope this helps, I guess you can have a great time here.

Hope this helps somebody else too.

Semana Santa is around the corner. Most schools are now on vacation, others will finish clases tomorrow. But what is this all about, and what is the fuzz on Semana Santa in Guatemala. I tell you how I see it.

First Semana Santa is a long holiday, the longest official holiday of the year, at least a week for schools and colleges. From four to five for most of the rest of the people including the weekend (Wednesday for some, half Wednesday for others, Thursdays for most, Friday for almost all).

And what can you do on Semana Santa, most people go to the beach, as it is the peak of the hot season (let’s call it summer), Antigua, Panajachel and Monte Rico are usually also packed. I have been in all the three places and by far the most unique is Antigua and it’s processions. I believe the bigger processions are in Guatemala City, but the ones in Antigua have an unique mystique. You have to love being around people and be catholic or open minded to enjoy them, because Antigua is full of people, and the processions are images of Christ during his last week on earth. This year I have heard that the road to Antigua is very complicated, as they are fixing it, so plan to be there early, leave late, and go to restroom before leaving, each way. If you have a place to stay and eat, great. The best day is Friday, when the most important processions go out. The carpets, made of sawdust are really amazing, and cover the floor for most of the way, so be sure to go and see them and not just wait for the procession to come by. The processions in Guatemala City are also impressive, maybe a little bigger than the ones in Antigua, and a nice activity for the week.
As for the rest of places, going to the beach can be a real pain, as thousands of people are gathered in a not so great environment, but again if you love crowds, this could be the biggest one of the year.

As for me, I have borrowed a 18′ by 36″ pool this year, and plan to spend most of my week there. I hope I “can find the time” to go at least to a couple of processions in Guatemala City this year.

Have a great Holy Week.