Blogs from Chichicastenango, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean

Another early morning and we are on the road toward Antigua. George, Dana and I had breakfast at a wonderful little restaurant along the alley in San Pedro, Jim was not feeling well enough to move from the bed just yet and was gathering strength for the day. Today Dana and I ordered French Toast with fresh fruit, I have to say it was probably one of the best meals of French Toast I have ever eaten, there was no need for syrup as the toast was full of cinnamon and was light and tasty, with the fruit adding just the right amount of sweetness to the meal. Back at the hotel, Jim took a Cipro and was starting to pick up a bit, at least he felt well enough to travel. Again in the trucks ... read more

Via Guatemala city I arrived in Chichicastenango on a Saturday morning, in time for the famous Sunday market. I had traveled together with the two Ozzie ´moles´ from El Péten region the day previous, and then taken a chicken bus (3 hrs) to the market town which lies at 2175 meters! The roads lead through mainly mountainous terrain, making the bus trip a rollercoaster ride of the type that might give you a whiplash. With sweaty palms we held on to the bars on top of the seats in front of us for deer life. Equally sweaty buttocks caused some serious sliding movements, which meant the poor soul at the window was being absolutely squashed. The term chicken bus refers to the fact that livestock used to be transported on these buses alongside people. I have ... read more

This weekend, on a whim, I took a trip to the department of Quiché, where I stayed in the capital, Quiché, for a night, and in Chichicastenango for another. Two weeks ago I met two girls who were from there. They invited me to go visit them and I took them up on their offer. I had been in Quetzaltenango for nearly a month without leaving, besides a day trip to Lake Atitlán, and, thus, was feeling a little restless and keen on a trip. I decided to do the trip around noon on Friday, and after having lunch at the project, I took off for the house to pack my backpack and go to the terminal, narrowly catching the bus at two thirty. Here in Guatemala nearly all the buses that travel outside of ... read more

(Day 826 on the road) After a few weeks in Guatemala now I have to say that I am properly impressed. Of course by the beauty of the country, but even more so by the honesty of the people and the absence of hassle. It is by no means standard that in a poor country like Guatemala tourists are treated equal. Despite how much I love Asia for example, the omni-present foreigner pricing and rip-offs there are one thing I can really do without, and which make travelling much more tiring and troublesome than it needs to be at times. In contrast, how refreshing it is to travel across Guatemala! Of course there were a few instances where people have taken advantage of us, but for the vast majority, we have been charged the normal price ... read more

San Miguel Allende is a very beautiful town. Almost Moroccan in style with roof gardens and narrow entrances to opening courtyards with cafés, stalls and shops to explore. However before this we need to get there and the road works means diversions through narrow cobbled (more like rocked) streets in small side towns. Then we need to navigate through San Miguel Allende itself. This took only two attempts. The hotel is indeed an old converted monastery and while basic the rooms surround and large courtyard, now festooned with motorcycles. No luxuries like air conditioning or too much hot water. We wander about the town and head for a recommended restaurant called Mama Mia's, for Pizza. Yes Yes I know but there are only so many tacos, enchiladas and burritos you can have. As Kevin says Mexican ... read more

Day 777 (16.05.09) We´ve had to buy a new holdall to carry souvenirs from a recent spending spree in the lovely Otavalo market in Ecuador and since we´d managed to leave that behind in Antigua for collection in a few weeks we had some space in our backpacks itching to be filled - we really must do something about this market addiction of ours! So we´d made our way to Chichicastenango (thankfully shortened by most to Chichi) as we´d heard the twice weekly market was not to be missed. We would be there for the Sunday session, the other big day being on Thursdays. After a boat back across Lago Atitlan to Panajachel we'd grabbed a couple of local buses, named chicken buses as they´re often spotted loaded with crates of chickens on the roof, and ... read more