Siggi Observatory
San Miguel Dueñas, Guatemala
I recently met with Dieter Erhard, proprietor of Seadrift’s Art Boat, who was anxious to tell me about his newest project in Guatemala: the country’s first observatory. The structure is located in the village of San Miguel Dueñas, near La Antiqua. The 30-foot diameter, 36’ tall structure will house telescopes and a microscope and projector – for seeing “the macro and micro world”, according to Dieter.
In addition to viewing the stars, visitors will be able to view the three nearby volcanos: Acatenango, Aqua, and Fuego (an active volcano). All are approximately 11,000 feet high, and with San Miguel Dueñas’ 4,500 ft. altitude, using a telescope, observers can get a “close up” view, without risking the very dangerous climb to the top.
The idea for an observatory was Dieter’s, but he commissioned artist Pepo Toledo to design it. Dieter was able to fund a large portion of the cost with the sale of his whale sculpture, which was unveiled last year in a VIP celebration at the German President’s castle.
The grand opening of the observatory will be held on April 23. Envisioned as a place for both learning and enjoyment, a great many visitors are expected to utilize it. Proceeds from admittance fees will go to help fund the Centro Madre Teresa, a facility for underprivileged children, that Dieter has been helping for several years. Starting as a food program, the children’s center has expanded to include a doctor, dentist and psychologist.
The observatory will be called Siggi Observatory, in honor of a deceased Rotary Club friend of Dieter’s who helped him with this mission to Guatemala. Siggi’s company, Lukas Co., is funding one-half of the cost of the observatory construction. The Lukas Co. manufactures “the jaws of life” and other rescue equipment.
While in Seadrift for a couple of weeks, Dieter will be doing maintenance on the Art Boat and visiting with friends, including his newest friends, Nasta and Freddy. He met the couple while at the airport passport check station and discovered, oddly enough, that they are not only from his home town of Erlangen, Germany, but they were traveling to Seadrift to attend their niece Sierra’s wedding to Donny Heath.
Dieter, Nasta, and Freddy, with their daughter (middle) Marion.
