Blogs from Quetzaltenango, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 5

Having been in Quetzaltenango over three weeks without managing to get to a museum, I eventually spared an afternoon to pay a visit to the Casa de la Cultura which sits at one end of the Parque Central. This now ranks amongst my Bizarrest Museum Experiences Ever (Right up there with the Lake District Pencil Museum). The first room I entered featured details on industrial uses of various chemical elements beside a display of old money, a fossil of something called a Gliptodonte and information on how to make chewing gum. The next room, the Natural History room, was both lined and filled with stuffed animals, with a few painted sea shells and human fetuses thrown in for good measure. Just when I thought I'd seen everything, I noticed that above my head, balanced precariously atop ... read more

Yesterday was an exciting day. Yesterday I was reunited with my bag. Guatemala City airport sent it swaddled in cling film, covered in a variety of red stickers, directly to the door of my room. The important thing about my bag arriving was, of course, that it was full of lots of lovely donations for the Nuevos Horizontes shelter. And as yesterday was my first visit, I think that's perfect timing on the part of the airport. I met Allison, the volunteer co-ordinator, and the two other new volunteers outside El Cuartito cafe and we walked to La Democracia (where the main market is) to get the bus. The shelter is spacious, purpose-built house set in an almost Mediterranean landscape. At the moment, it's overflowing with small children, mostly boys, who were very excited to see ... read more

Directly up 15a Avenida from the Hostal (and not at all in the place given by Rough Guide), La Dispensa Familiar sits hidden behind the busy market of La Democracia. Since I gather Steve is interested, I thought I´d give a little description. There are two guards and a row of lockers just inside the wide door, but inside things are much like a normal small supermarket, except a lot dirtier and more chaotic. I was somewhat surprised to see a man´s full torso sticking out from one of the top shelves - turns out he had climbed up to do the stacking. There´s not much fruit and veg inside, as why would you buy it from a supermarket when you could barter for it in the market? (This is something I´ve not quite had the ... read more

I finally arrived in Quetzaltenango (Xela) around 6pm. My host, Thelma, was stood at the door of an alleyway to meet me from the shuttle which had bought me to her door. It seemed her home had been built on a tiny patch of land that lay between houses in the middle of a block. There was no hallway to speak of, just a series of doors off the alleyway which led to the kitchen-diner, a sitting room, and Telmas room. There was a small bathroom next to the stairs. Under the stairs lives an aggressive Chihuahua, which I am permanently fighting the urge to drop-kick down the alley. Upstairs, corrugated plastic keeps the rain off the balcony, which leads to 2 bedrooms, one belonging to Telmas middle aged son. I have forgotten his name, but ... read more

The last day of building stoves is here, it seems like just yesterday we were stepping off the plane in Guatemala City. We are a smaller group but still have 3 groups building stoves. Marvin is training a new mason and that is interesting for us to see. Keith and Lisa worked with them while Paul and George worked with Oneisimo and Jim, Dana and I were with Don Juan. The spaces were very small so really assisting the masons was almost impossible, we mainly wondered about interacting with the families and taking pictures. The families today were probably to poorest we have worked with so far and along with that a number of the members were deaf mute. One of the younger boys was absolutely besotted with Lisa as she was able to sign to ... read more