This week's Photo of the Week was taken in February 2014 by John Berry from Santa Cruz la Laguna of a classic Guatemalan tienda in the town of Concepción high in the hills above Sololá. A riot of color and signs!
If you have any photos you would like to submit for Photo of the Week, please let me know through the Contact Form. Photos of the Week can be anything related to the Lake Atitlan area.
View the Photos of the Week archive at: http://santacruzlalaguna.weebly.com/photos.html
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Nada..... Am thinking we need some special events to liven up the rainy season! Meanwhile, check out the regular weekly listings on the Lake Atitlan Events Calendar,
http://ev-cal.com/fb/106177
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IMAP in San Lucas Toliman is hosting a new workshop on how to build simple and effective systems for water purification and furnaces to make biochar.
Cost: Q750 which includes 2 nights at a hospedaje, 7 meals, snacks, and workshop materials.
Participants will have the opportunity to camp all week until the end of the construction of these systems at no cost, covering personal expenses only after the workshop (3 days).
Contact: 4549-0578 or 4631-1890
[email protected]
http://imapermacultura.wordpress.com
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The First Symposium of Scientific and Technological Research in the Lake Atitlan basin will be held in Panajachel on 11 and 12 September 2014. The Symposium is being organized by the Centro de Estudios Atitlan at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and AMSCLAE. Resumes are currently being accepted for presenters and papers.
http://amsclae.gob.gt/simposio/
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Amigos de Santa Cruz, headquartered at the CECAP vocational center in Santa Cruz la Laguna is looking for someone with bookkeeping and accounting in Quickbooks. We envision this being a 4 to 6 hours per week job. Anyone interested and qualified, please contact Pat Torpie at [email protected]. Thank you!
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Here is a message from a reader....
"Hello, I will be in the Atitlan, Guatemala area in July. I am a practitioner of Brasilian Jiu Jitsu, I have lived in Brasil for 6 years training Jiu Jitsu. I would like to keep training and teaching while I'm traveling. Anyone interested in training or learning Jiu Jitsu in the Lake Atitlan area or know of a place to train Jiu Jitsu or Judo in the area. I am will to share my knowledge to anyone willing to learn for FREE. No experience needed just the willingness to learn. Contact: [email protected]"
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Two weeks ago I reported about the new low phosphorus fertilizer formula that is being distributed by the Ministry of Agriculture in coordination with AMSCLAE, and that the Solola municipality wants to see proof of its effectiveness before committing to it.
On July 3 sacks of the new formula 20/03/17 that is mixed with agricultural lime and compost were delivered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food-MAGA in coordination with FONADES AMSCLAE. Test plots in the Lake Atitlan basin will be established to show that the new formula is more effective and does not effect productivity.
Of the 105 sacks received so far by the Department of Solola, only 35% are of the formula 20/03/17. It is expected that in 2015 only the new formula that is low in phosphorus and mixed with agricultural lime and compost 20/03/17 will be delivered.
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I don't know about you, but a lot of the animals and insects around here are pretty foreign to me. Lately, several people have been trying to identify bugs, spiders, caterpillars, etc. I have put together a list of some websites that I have found to be good at helping to identify some of these critters. I am listing them here but will also be putting them on the Links page of the Santa Cruz website: http://santacruzlalaguna.weebly.com/links.html
If you know of any website that you think should be added to this list, let me know through the Contact Form and I will add it.
By the way, the critter in the photo (courtesy of Marianne Davis) is a Tetrio Sphinx caterpillar. It is long - 6 to 7 inches - and will become a moth with a wing span of 5 to 5.5 inches. The caterpillar feeds upon the leaves of plumeria or frangipani, allamandra, and other members of the dogbane family.
If you have a photo of an animal, insect or plant you want to identify, you can also use Google Images. Go to: http://images.google.com. To the far right of the search bar you will find a little camera icon. Click on that and upload your photo. Google will search for images on the internet that are similar. You can then see if any lead you to your answer.
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Rainfall in Paxanax for the week of June 30 - July 5: 0.9 inches or 2.286 cm.
Now hold on to your hats, boys and girls, but the MONTHLY rainfall for June (again in Paxanax) was 20.65 inches or 52.451 cm!
It was reported (I won't say by whom) that on Guatemala TV they said that the canicula was expected to last 2 months this year and then be followed by unusually heavy rain in September and October. What are the locals saying?
Click this link to view the Rainfall Report on Google Drive: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b6pM1oRFAZl-UdQzrF7a4XzKMDCb8V36it5Fcj4859I/edit?usp=sharing
*** The Mayan glyph Kawoq symbolizes rain, lightning and thunder, water and air. It also represents the collective consciousness. ***
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