Our Carpet!

Our carpet was made under the direction of Marcos and his uncle, outside his uncles home. It was made entirely from sawdust, died a variety of colours, and with the aide of wooden frames.
It is definitely not a project for someone who wants to see results quickly!
As the sun came out, and the sawdust dried, it was necessary to spray it all down, both to renew the color, and to keep the carpet in place.
One of the challenges was to keep the stray dogs off!
Once finished, the carpets do not last long! Sixty men in a procession manage to destroy it pretty quickly!

Carpets around the town, March 26

The carpets take hours to create, and are made from a wide variety of materials. Sawdust, flower petals, pineneedles, other branches, fruit, vegetables, coffee, beans, even eggs can be used to add details to the design.
The colours are truly spectacular and the detail intricate.
It is unfortunate that the lifespan of these creations is so short! My favorite ones were the flower-petal carpets. You could smell the aroma from quite a long ways away.

The Procession, March 26

This procession started at one of the churches just outside Antigua, and would go on for approximately 10-11 hours. It started at 1:00PM, and would not complete its rounds of the city until close to 11:00PM.
There are people everywhere, dressed in the purple robes, who will take over periodically for the "bearers".