Blogs from Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean

Hola, Entry from Theresa: As Dave was enjoying his hike in the Altitudes of "way too high for Theresa to handle", I had some time to catch up on emails, watch TV, and read. Nebaj was a bit of a hole in that it rained every day, it was mucky and dirty, only about 10 C, and close to zero at night, and no place had any heat, or closed doors. I wore my thermal underwear and multiple layers all day and went to the only nice restaurant in town, on a daily basis. I was on first name basis with the waiters by the time Dave returned, 3 days later. Whilst checking emails, I had a time-line due to my hands freezing, so I lasted about 40 minutes. In the hotel room, the room was ... read more

I love the Mayans. Sometimes very shy and reserved, once you get them laughing and aware that you genuinely are interested in their culture, they warm immediately. They have been abused by nearly every outside people that have taken residence here. But they just keep going on, holding to their traditions. I saw young people in Todos Santos wearing the same thing that their parents and grandparents wear, which is a rare thing in this world. Even Hueheu, a bigger town, has a warm feel to it. Guatemalans are very genuine people, warm and friendly, more polite than Mexicans in general. Guatemala is also a very frustrating place in which to travel sometimes. The transportation is slow and not very convenient. But one can experience a lot on one bus ride (I don't really like the ... read more

And how do you like your chicken bus? Today was foggy enough for me to finally leave Huehuetenango for San Mateo Ixtatan, the mountain town in which I´ll be spending the next eleven months. All morning I prepared myself for this ascent. For breakfast I ate the best piece of dulce de leche cake, had my last double cappuccino and bought the two best bottles of alcohol I could find. Of course, best isn´t saying too much. Because they were out of Johnny Walker red (Julio had probably ordered the last bottle in Huehuetango) and I had to settle for ‘Black prince Whisky´, a flimsy looking bottle lauding its authentic Scottishness but with tiny print on the back admitting it was fabricated in Guatemala city. With the help of a few friendly Guatemalan men, I managed ... read more

I write from the only computer here in the small mayan villge of Todos Santos, Guatemala, population 800, where the villagers still where the traditional dress and exist with little to no mordern influences. Overall, the people are gracious, slow, and friendly. had an amazing photo shoot today. just to ease your mind, never to worry about me down here- there is absolutely no shortage of male (fellow travelers) escorts. i traveled up here with an Isreali guy i met down in Xela, where i was studying the past couple weeks. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fatimih/sets/72157594578122165/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fatimih/sets/72157594578050522/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/fatimih/sets/72157594554185366/... read more

Places Visited:- Nebaj, Todos Santos The next hike was a 7 day hike from Nebaj to Todos Santos. The main reason to go was to watch the day of the dead festival and the famous horse race. The day of the dead is a huge festival in Latin America and they celebrate it on the 1 & 2 of November. They take this time to remember past friends and family and visit the local cemetery with loads of different brightly colored flowers and celebrate the life they once had. In Todos Santos they also have a huge horse race, which is hundreds of years old. Before we came we weren’t sure what the race was all about and now after even more confused! Firstly the race is not a race as there are no winners, it ... read more

Semana Santa! Das bedeutet hier in vielen Teilen Guatemalas den Ausnahmezustand. Plakate werden ausgehaengt, wie man Staus vermeidet oder aushaelt, das Haus sicher hinterlaesst und wie man sich im Meer zu verhalten hat (schaetz mal ist das gleiche wie hier auch, Seepferdchen nur bis zur Markierung, danach muss man mindestens den Freischwimmer haben.... und natuerlich nicht direkt nach dem Essen ins Wasser!). An solchen Aktivitaeten nimmt allerdings nur der un- oder geringglaeubige Teil der Bevoelkerung teil, ansonsten hat die Kirche- bzw. eher haben die Kirchen- Hochsaison. Am schlimmsten ists wohl in Antigua, aber nachdem schon in Xela in der Woche vorher staendig Weihrauch geschwenkt und wahlweise Jesus, Maria oder jemand anders durch die Gegend gezogen wurden, haben wir uns in der Osterwoche fuer das Bergland und dort Todos Santos Cuchmantin entschieden. Ein rotweissgestre... read more