Semana Santa means crazy, loud, Easter

Guatemala leaves western countries to shame when it comes to Easter celebrations.

In Melbourne, we've got the Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday appeal, a few days down the beach, and an Easter Egg hunt.

In London, it's usually a short flight over to somewhere warmer for a few days of overpriced hotels.

In Guatemala it's a week long celebration that culminates in five days of 20 HOUR processions through the town. Literally. I arrived last Wednesday as celebrations were gearing up. Hundreds of 'carpets' made out of coloured sawdust, straw and flowers were being laid over dozens the cobblestone streets. Each taking about 4 or 5 hours to create, it's a community art project that has thousands of tourists elbowing each other out of the way for the best photo.

I was impressed with the effort. Especially the 2 year olds working tirelessly to get the design of Jesus' crucifixion exact. But early the next morning I was shocked to wake to a huge procession of 'floats' carried by people dressed in purple stepping all over the intricate designs. Not only that, they were followed by a very loud, very large brass band playing a repetitive, depressing tune which I only assume has something to do with the 'mood' of Easter Thursday and Good Friday here. This 'mood' was lifted somewhat by the dozens of people selling Virgin Mary dolls filled with lollies.

It seemed as though the whole of Guatemala had descended on the town of Antigua. Which was just as well because they needed the thousands of people to build new 'carpets' once they had been trampled on. Over five days, I'm guessing each carpet was rebuilt at least 4 times, each taking hours.

After a couple of days of following the celebrations, and getting stuck in crowds, I decided to escape to Honduras. For the day. Just over the border is an impressive Mayan site, strangely reminiscent of Ankor Wat in Cambodia, for its intricate designs. While much smaller, it was still quite cool to sit on top of a pyramid built by slaves 1300 years ago, and lived in by kings.

Back in Antigua, I've been spending my time in Spanish classes, and people watching. Last night I was invited to a birthday party for the nephew of the woman I'm staying with. I thought my family gatherings were loud and slightly crazy. But it's nothing compared with an extended family celebration for a 17 year old here. Four trestle tables were pulled together to sit dozens of adults and a group of kids - all boys aged about 2 or 3. Needless to say it was very loud. But I managed to make myself understood to a certain extent, and I think I even followed part of the conversation. Not the part when one of the sisters doubled over laughing so much she ended up on the floor though. Wish my brain would remember more Spanish words.

I'm out of here in a few days to check out more Mayan ruins, then to hit the beach in Belize. Money’s running a bit short so I might need to hitch my way north to Canada to start working … but I’ll figure that out in a couple of weeks.

Until then, Hasta Luega.