Chichicastenango Cemetery, Guatemala

Chichicastenango is a city in the Guatemalan highlands with Mayan roots. It means “the place of the stinging nettles”. It’s also the home town of our guide Tomas. He told us that the families paint the graves - it’s often a colour associated with the person’s Mayan birth-sign or a favourite colour.

We had a lovely surprise when Tomas took us to meet his wife Rosa and their daughter in their family restaurant Casa Mash and made us all lunch on the house! We took a walk to see the other sights of the city including its famous market and Santo Tomas church in which Mayans and Catholics worship together. It was built in 1545 on top of a pre-Columbian temple. The 18 steps to the entrance are the very original ones, that’s one for each month of the Mayan calendar.

Earlier we were at beautiful Lake Atitlan taking a boat from Panajachel to San Juan La Laguna. It’s in a fabulous setting with three volcanos around its shores. The town is so colourful - full of murals and other fun street art.

The long drive today was so worth it!