We
trotted to school this morning and at coffee break we were asked if would like
to go on todays activity. Back we went after lunch, (with no books, dictionaries
or pens) thinking we would be straight out like we did on Friday. No. We did an
hour with our afternoon teachers, then off we set for the Cathedral. My brain
was hot with the verb ending AR.
Saint Joseph’s Church (Iglesia de San
José) is
the Roman Catholic Church that provides the facade for the ruins of the
Cathedral. The original cathedral was built around 1542, but suffered several
earthquakes throughout its history, the original building was demolished in
1669.
We walked around the church to enter the side entrance to the ruins.The cathedral was rebuilt
and consecrated in 1680. By 1743 the cathedral was one of the largest in Central
America. However, the devastating 1773
Guatemala earthquake
seriously damaged much of the building, though the two towers at the front
remained largely intact. These have undergone restoration work, and the ruins of
the cathedral have been stabilised and partly rebuilt.
Nothing could have prepared us for the sheer size of the structure
We wandered
around with Claudia (my afternoon teacher) giving us a talk in
Spanish
Incredibly, some of the
carvings have survived despite being open to the
elements
Bear looked small beside a
collapsed column
A workshop and a
cabinet used in processions took up two chapels
Claudia, right,
telling us more as we took it turns to visit the
crypt, below where the main altar would have
been
In the crypt, now serving as a chapel, we
saw a smoke blackened crucifixion
scene
