Live and Learn in Guatemala

Tikal and Flores

2009-08-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

We've had 2 amazing days in the beautiful, hot and muggy northern part of Guatemala. Sunday morning we flew from Guatemala City to Flores, then shuttled to Tikal where we stayed at the Tikal Inn (PHOTO 1) - rooms and pool were lovely. We headed out to explore the ruins. PHOTO 2 is a group shot, missing Perry and Jodie who had flown home. PHOTO 3 shows the view from the top of Temple 5; the dots on the acropolis to the right are Holly and Judy who we could hear talking - great acoustics. PHOTO 4 shows the climb down (see the little ant-sized people at the bottom for perspective). We saw spider monkeys and some black howlers treated us to their incredible roaring voices.

Monday morning we headed back into the ruins with a truly fabulous guide, archaeologist Roxy Ortiz (PHOTO 5 - top of Temple 4). She gave us a great background into the history of the site as well as information about the plants and animals. With her help we watched spider monkeys jumping from tree to tree and scrambling on the ruins and spotted rare emerald toucans as well as keel billed toucans, aracaris, oropendolas, and several types of parrots.

Enroute from Tikal to island town of Flores we stopped at Ixpanpajul nature park. Some folks tried out the canopy ziplines (PHOTO 6: Sharon) and Judy and I hiked to the Sky Walk canopy bridges (PHOTO 7: Judy). PHOTO 8 is the large male black howler monkey in a family group we watched at close range from one of the longer bridges.

We checked into our hotel, La Mesa de Los Mayas (The Table of the Mayas), had a dinner out by the lake, and prepared for tomorrow - the end of Live and Learn in Guatemala 2009. In the morning 8 of us will fly to the Guatemala City airport and home and 5 will head by road into Belize. This has been an amazing few weeks with a wonderful, interesting, and interested group of people. If you'd like to follow my adventures into Belize, the new blog starts here (click "Newer Post" at the bottom):
http://holemansandbrinksinbelize.blogspot.com/2009/08/we-arrive-in-belize.html
HAPPY TRAILS!!

San Pedro to Panajachel to Antigua

2009-08-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

Before 8:30 we had all said goodbye to our families and made our way to the dock for our boat ride to Panajachel (PHOTO 1). The ride took about a half hour and when we landed, Perry gave our Captain, Leo, the University of Oregon baseball cap he'd been admiring (PHOTO 2).

We had just over 3 hours to shop and eat in Panajachel and made lots of purchases since Pana is a great place to shop and many of us had waited to buy gifts and souvenirs until now. Well, honestly, few of us had resisted the urge to buy things earlier, but most of us really went to town with the shopping in Pana (PHOTO 3: me with Juana, a little woman selling beautiful huipiles and other weavings that my friend Sylvia and I purchased from 2 years ago and Rosie and I did this year.)

We loaded into a tour bus again and enjoyed a little show and tell as well as amazing views (PHOTO 4: Pana and the Santiago volcano (I think) from the road. Back in Antigua, we checked into our hotel, Posada La Merced (PHOTO 5: Jeannie, Michon, and Holly), strolled around town (PHOTO 6: street performers doing a conquistador dance) and some of us reconnected with our beloved Benjamin. We walked (PHOTO 7: the ruins of Santa Teresa, I think) to a nice restaurant and had our last meal together (PHOTO 8) since Jodie headed to Guatemala City after dinner to stay close to the airport for an early flight, and Perry is flying home shortly after the rest of us fly to Flores.

Last day in San Pedro La Laguna

2009-07-31T08:34:00.001-07:00

Trust me that I’ve taken far more food pictures than I’ve posted; I couldn’t resist posting this morning’s breakfast (PHOTO 1). PHOTO 2 is my wonderful host family.

The next 3 photos are street scenes. Most of the streets in town are narrow, many too narrow for cars or even tuctucs to drive on. PHOTO 3 shows one of the wider streets but no room to spare; the top of the truck’s windshield says, “We have confidence in God”. As I walked up the street today I saw groups of young people passing an old man who was walking the other way; as each passed him they kissed his hand - very sweet (PHOTO 4). The produce market days in San Pedro are Tuesday and Friday (PHOTO 5).

PHOTOS 6 and 7 show a view of the Cooperativa Spanish school garden (the palapas are the study areas) and the teachers at the school. Each teacher in the school has selected 2 local families who are in grave need of support. Every other Friday students at the Cooperativa school travel to meet the families and take clothing, school supplies, and food; the school buys supplies with tuition money and many of us contributed additional items or money. PHOTO 8 shows a wonderful family that Rosie, Sam, and I visited this afternoon that included 2 of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen. The school is also collecting money to build a new home for a local family.

Tonight was the final event of the school Olympiad featuring rhythmic gymnastic routines and lots of trophies for the champion basketball and soccer teams in each age group (PHOTO 9: the littlest ones with more enthusiasm than rhythm).

The San Pedro photos in this blog represent just a fraction of the things that happened this week. Various members of the group went kayaking and/or swimming in the lake, ate out and took families out to eat, enjoyed extra salsa lessons and/or walks in the country, shopped and bought bread and pastries from the ladies combing the streets and restaurants for customers, and found various causes deserving of time and donations. The weeks have flown by and our study time is behind us - in less than 4 days we’ll be going our separate ways. HAPPY TRAILS!

Thursday - to Santiago and back

2009-07-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

Some of us headed by boat on July 30th to Santiago Atitlan, another village on the lake. We visited Maximon, the patron saint of prostitutes, alcohol, and tobacco (PHOTO 1). There are at least 2 cofradias (church groups) in Santiago and the shrines are moved to new houses each year; guides took the morning visitors to a different shrine than the one Perry visited outside of town in the afternoon.

A highlight of my visit to Santiago 2 years ago was an incredibly hard working bucket brigade doing a cement pour on the roof of a building. They were working away again this year (PHOTO 2). I was also able to hire the same guide as last year, Salvador (PHOTO 3); as we each had our picture taken with him the cement workers hollered and whistled - hilarious. We also thought the sign in PHOTO 4 was hilarious: “Urination is prohibited in this place, 100 Q ($12) fine”; La Muni is the municipal government.

PHOTO 5 is Mary Ann, Judy, and me with a tiny Maya woman and her son who sold us beaded jewelry and key chains; her huipil (blouse) is typical of Santiago - woven vertical stripes and richly embroidered with birds. In the background you can see edges of a carnival - you would not believe how rickety the ferris wheels looked or how fast the went. The church, also in the background, has a beautiful wooden alter and a memorial to Father Stanley Roth, an American priest who was devoted to his indigenas parishioners and who was assassinated by the government in 1981.

At 6pm we had a guest speaker at the school who talked about the Maya calendar and view of the world, then a few group folks met for dinner and 4 of us passed a very pleasant hour or 2 in a hot tub. HAPPY TRAILS!

Wednesday

2009-07-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

With some studying in the morning and some in the afternoon we choosing activities with varying numbers and groups. This blog is obviously textured with my interests and activities but I hope it will still give a feel for what our lives are like here. One of my favorite things to do is engage old men in conversation (PHOTOS 1 and 2 - 2 of my favorites).

I watched a little more basketball, volunteered at the disability program a bit more, and hiked way up a steep hill (even though no less than 5 people told me it was just around the next corner) to watch some “futbol” (PHOTO 3).

After that I walked back into town and caught a ride in the back of a pickup to San Juan, a neighboring town; I wasn’t hitch hiking, the pickups run every 10 minutes or so both ways and the standard fare is 2 quetzales or about 16 cents. PHOTO 4 is the cemetery in San Juan and PHOTO 5 was taken outside a fabric store. There are also several women’s weaving cooperatives and a cheese “factory”.

This evening the school offered salsa lessons with Luis, one of the instructors at the school (PHOTOS 6, 7 (Jodie), and 8 (Rosie).We also met at a local restaurant for dinner or dessert - another full day. HAPPY TRAILS!

Tuesday

2009-07-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

This week in San Pedro it’s the kids’ Olympiad - no school and lots of soccer and basketball. This morning the 8-year-old girl in my family had a basketball game. PHOTO 1 is Micaela getting Jullisa ready for the big game in the open area of the house. PHOTO 2 shows the game (Jullisa is #10). In the background are the Municipal building, Somos Hijos Del Lago (Our Children of the Lake - the program for kids with disabilities where I volunteer), and the top of the white cathedral on the upper left. In addition to cheering in Spanish I enjoyed the enthusiastic coaches in traditional attire and the women crowding around the meat shop on the corner of the square for the opportunity to buy the freshest chicken (PHOTO 3: the women on the left watching the game over their shoulders are Andrea who is the wife of Lorenzo, our Spanish school’s director, Micaela’s sister Maria who is the mom in Judy and Mary Ann’s family [and Sylvia’s in 2007!] and Micaela. There’s no refrigerator in our home and daily trips to the market are important for social reasons as well as sustenance. No washing machine and limited water at home mean washing clothes in the lake, another social time that included Jullisa and her friends.

While the population in Antigua is largely Catholic, in San Pedro it’s split between Catholic and Evangelist (PHOTO 4: “Only Jesus can change your life”).

Our days are full of new experiences, like the dog that strolled into the restaurant this evening and raised a leg on Sam, eating fish served with eyes, teeth, and fins intact, and the tuktuk (golf cart taxi) ride that Michon and I shared with the sweet old lady in PHOTO 5; the cost of the photo was her fare.

There are also threads that tie all families and all countries together, like the silly antics of the 3-year-old in Lorenzo’s family (Rosie and Sam’s hosts), Jullisa’s missing teeth and avoidance of vegetables, and coaches and families cheering on their teams. HAPPY TRAILS!

July 27th, exploring San Pedro

2009-07-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

Half a day of classes means half a day to explore; here are some photos from my first morning in San Pedro that will give you a feel for the place. PHOTO 1 is a group of teachers and students heading down the hill and PHOTO 2 is a group of soccer players heading up.

San Pedro La Laguna is 95% indigenas Maya who are native T’zutujil speakers (one of 23 Maya dialects) and who tend to be empathetic and clear Spanish speakers. PHOTOS 3 and 4 show the traditional local attire, common for women but less so for men, mostly seen on older guys. PHOTO 5 is my home away from home, la casa de Micaela y Jose Mendez. HAPPY TRAILS!

We arrive in San Pedro

2009-07-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

From Corazon del Bosque we headed down the steep, serpentine road to our next stop, San Pedro La Laguna on beautiful Lake Atitlan (PHOTO 1: our 1st glimpse of the lake). After arriving at the school and connecting with our new host families, we met for dinner at a local restaurant on the lake (PHOTO 2: Michon and a meal we know her husband and my husband would have loved).

PHOTOS 3 and 4 are Rosie and Diana with their teachers at the school. HAPPY TRAILS!

The Heart of the Forest

2009-07-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

We left Chichi as the day visitors were arriving in droves and stopped for lunch at Corazon del Bosque, “Heart of the Forest”. The product of a local Maya community, it features cabins, hiking trails (PHOTO 1), traditional food, and Maya temascales (steam baths) made of stone that many of us enjoyed. We also took part in a Maya spiritual ceremony high on a hillside (PHOTOS 2, 3, 4, and 5). HAPPY TRAILS!

Chichicastenango

2009-07-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

We arrived in the highland market town of Chichicastenango as night fell and shared a meal at a restaurant dispensing cheap, good food typical of the area ($2.50 for meat, rice, tortillas, local cheese, and black beans). PHOTO 1 is the “death head” shower in our hotel room, similar to the ones we have in our host families - yikes!

PHOTOS 2, 3, 4, and 5 are some of my favorite market scenes. A highlight for me was reconnecting again with an old couple in the market I spent time with when I was in Chichi 2 years ago. HAPPY TRAILS!

July 25th: Maya ruins and a musical surprise

2009-07-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

Our next stop was a visit to the Maya ruins of Iximche, an important site that became the capital of all of Central America nearly 500 years ago on this date. The ruins were a treat (PHOTO 1) but the special surprise of the day was a musical celebration featuring Maya groups from different parts of the country. We enjoyed a picnic surrounded by Maya families (PHOTO 2), then were entertained by the vocal virtuosity of 4 impish boys (PHOTO 3) and traditional music and dances (PHOTO 4). As with the parade, the crowd was nearly as interesting as the performance (PHOTO 5: Judy in a colorful sea of Mayas). HAPPY TRAILS!

A parade!

2009-07-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

July 25th is the annual day to celebrate Antigua’s patron saint, Santiago, and one of the highlights for locals and visitors is a parade. It lasted nearly 4 hours (no joke) and included representation from every school in the area (PHOTO 1, coming later: for some reason a grim reaper lead each school’s delegation). There were also wonderful bands (PHOTO 2), several “preserve our streets and historic buildings” contingents (PHOTO 3), and others displaying cultural and geographical highlights of the area (PHOTO 4).

Almost as interesting as the parade were the spectators (PHOTOS 5 and 6). As the parade wound down we packed up, loaded into a tour bus, and left our busy study week in Antigua behind us. HAPPY TRAILS!

More Antigua adventures

2009-07-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

Thursday night there was a concert featuring 3 popular Guatemalan bands including Vientos en Contra and Malecotes Trebol Shop. Some of us attended and felt as though we were in a mosh pit (PHOTOS 1 and 2).

Friday morning Rosie and Sam made another run at the Pacaya volcano, having been rained out and chased off the mountain the previous day by lightning - success! (PHOTO 3).

Friday afternoon we visited the nearby village of Jocotenango where there are beautiful museums focusing on Maya music and coffee production (PHOTOS 4, 5, and 6). The village also has a wonderful old cathedral (PHOTO 7).

Friday night a Mexican ranchero band played in the parque central (PHOTO 8). PHOTO 9 is a public washing station and PHOTO 10 shows a 100 pound man with a 200 pound dresser (I’m guessing at the weights). HAPPY TRAILS!

San Juan del Obispo

2009-07-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

This morning I stopped by a cafe on the way to school to check email and the resident cat jumped up on my lap and fell asleep (PHOTO 1) - good karma and probably pay back for the persistent cat in heat that yowled outside my window most of the night.

This afternoon many of us gathered at the school for another trek to the bus station, another crowded chicken bus round trip, another fascinating village near Antigua: San Juan del Obispo. The village is famous for being the base of Francisco Marroquin, the 1st bishop in Guatemala and an important historical figure. We visited the museum, preserved living quarters, and convent (PHOTO 2) and the town square with its beautiful old church (PHOTOS 3 and 4).

The tropical flowers are beautiful in Guatemala so I've included a sample (PHOTO 5). HAPPY TRAILS!

A (phony) marriage, an extra meal, and exploring ruins

2009-07-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Teachers and students at the school visited a nearby village today, San Antonio Aguas Calientes. Five families have formed a cooperative to keep their Maya culture alive. One of the woman talked about the traditional clothing, explaining designs on the huipiles (women's blouses) and how the various wraps are used. They dressed 2 of us as a couple at their wedding and 2 more as the groom's parents and taught us about who gives and receives which gifts, the dances, the customs surrounding work and children (PHOTO 1: celebrating the new baby). The skirt I'm wearing in the photo is 5 yards of the most beautiful fabric I've ever seen; I purchased it to make a bedspread. The families also prepared a traditional meal for us including pepian (a spicy soup) with chicken, tortillas, and local coffee (PHOTO 2).

This afternoon some of us headed up the Pacaya Volcano, others to a tour of a local jade factory, and a few of us to several of the local ruins. PHOTO 3 is the facade of the cathedral on the central square. We toured the ruins behind, including underground crypts. This is my 4th visit to Antigua and on each previous trip I've purchased a necklace made of seeds. They're a little hard to find but behind the cathedral we met a wonderful woman who was making and selling just what I wanted (PHOTO 4). We also explored the fascinating ruins of Las Capuchinas, a convent including a circular tower edged with the cells of the nuns (PHOTO 5). I'll try to post photos of the other activities another day). HAPPY TRAILS!

2nd day of class and a hike up the hill

2009-07-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

Class again from 8 to noon, spiced up with a parade of old people that passed right by the school during break time (PHOTO 1). In the afternoon most of us hiked up the hill to Cerro de la Cruz, a huge cross and overlook on the north edge of town (PHOTO 2).

PHOTO 3 is a collection of painted wooden figures in a store in town and PHOTO 4 is Sam, Rosie, Kim, and BreAnn in front of their house.

This evening some of us gathered to celebrate Jeannie’s birthday on the terrace of the house where she, Judy, and Carla live (PHOTO 5). Happy birthday, Jeannie, and HAPPY TRAILS to the rest of you!

First day of class and first bus adventure

2009-07-20T17:18:00.001-07:00

At 8:00 Monday morning we met at the school, a milling mass of gringos. School staff sorted us out, 1 student per teacher (PHOTOS 1 and 2: Michon with her teacher, Holly playing Spanish Scrabble with another student and their teachers). Most of us are pleased with our families and teachers, though there are a few rough spots to iron out.

At noon we met briefly to discuss activity options, headed home for lunch, and met back at the school for our first adventure: a chicken bus ride PHOTO 3) to an organic macademia nut farm. After a brief tour (PHOTO 4) and taste testing, facial massages with macademia nut oil were offered - aaaaaaaah (PHOTO 5).

In addition to walking back and forth between homes and families and hiking to and from the bus station, some of us walked across town with a salsa instructor for a great work-out in a small café. HAPPY TRAILS!

The group arrives!

2009-07-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

Another long, interesting day:
I had a wonderful buffet breakfast at Fernando’s that included lots of fruit and typical accompaniments plus pancakes plus incredible eggs with Portobello mushrooms (PHOTO 1) then headed to the airport after dropping my bags at my host family’s home. My shuttle introduced me to the driver, gave me his cell phone number, and told me to borrow a phone from “the man with no legs” when the group was ready. The group showed (PHOTO 2), the driver arrived without need for the elusive disabled man, BUT….the van wasn’t big enough for all of us. 10 headed out to Antigua and homestays and the othe 4 of us grabbed a shuttle which took us to the school where - gratefully - Olga was there to hop in and direct the driver to our homes (PHOTO 3: Perry at his doorstep).

We met at the square at 2pm and, over the course of 4 hours, found the necessary purified water, TP, towels, phone cards, and meals (PHOTO 4: Mary Ann, Judy, Carla, Jeannie, Sharon, and Diana) to meet our needs, not in 1 group or necessarily in that order. We also took in the sights and sounds of Antigua (PHOTO 5: Maya mom and babe) until our tired feet took us home. HAPPY TRAILS!

Stacey in Antigua

2009-07-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

My trip south went smoothly, just a few crying babies, a lightning show before we landed (plenty far away) and slow traffic on the drive to La Antigua to spice things up - The Dalles to my hotel in just over 12 hours.

I dropped my bags in the room and headed to the parque central via a buy-by-the-slice pizza cart. There was a wonderful marimba band performing and I enjoyed the music and crowd watching before heading "home".

This morning I bought a breakfast pastry and some dried bananas at a wonderful cafe a few doors down from my hotel, Casa Cristina (PHOTO 1); I enjoyed them on the roof of my hotel. I met briefly with the agency that is covering our ground transport and spent an hour with Olga from the school discussing activity options, homestays, and teaching ideologies. The school has a laundry on one side, an ice cream shop on the other, and an internet shop 2 doors down - very convenient (PHOTO 2). At the ice cream shop sat an adorable 85-year-old man named Benjamin; I bought him a cone and learned about his life in one of the most engaging and relaxing hours in all of my travels (PHOTO 3). He lives behind the ice cream shop so our paths will cross again.

I strolled the streets (PHOTO 4) and and enjoyed conversations with a jade salesman, Adolfo, and a talented painter named Gabriel who I plan to revisit with money in hand. I eventually settled on the steps of the La Merced church with a Maya woman named Laura and her granddaughter (PHOTO 5) - such friendly, warm people helping me with my Spanish! So far, no English for me.

I'll be moving my bags from the hotel to my homestay tomorrow morning before heading to the airport to meet the group. HAPPY TRAILS!!