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Belize!
The view of the ocean from our hotel in Belize. Hi again everyone!
I apologize for taking so long to send another blog. Our schedule got really crazy recently and I wanted to send a blog with pictures. Each time I had an extra 30 minutes to work, my pictures would be in the hotel ... or just not with me.
It's been way too long since I've written. So, of course, I have a lot to tell you all. :-)
Right now, our group is in Suchitoto, El Salvador. We spent Easter week in San Pedro, Belize for a break which was incredible. I went snorkeling for the first time and it was GREAT! At first I was really freaked out about trying to breathe while in the water and stayed attached to the boat ladder for about 30 minutes; but after I got the hang of it, I didn't want to leave the water! I saw lots of cool fish, little squids, a manatee, turtles and even (nice) sharks!
Some of the interesting things we've done over the past few weeks:
* After a brief 2-day 'vacation' in Playa Congrejo (Crab Beach), we went full force into our last city in Mexico, San Cristobal
de las Casas (in the state of Chiapas). We had so much to do every day and did so much travelling to neighboring communities for speakers, that I was really exhausted at the end of each day. I think the most interesting experience there was visiting two Zapatista communities. The communities of indigenous people eventually got so fed up with the government not addressing their needs that they decided to declare themselves autonomous (their own 'country,' kind of, within the country of Mexico). The Zapatista mask is their trademark (either a ski mask or a hankercheif) that they use to, both, protect their identities and as a symbol of their rebellion. They look a bit scary ... but they're not. Their movement also centers on fairness and equality.
* We crossed the border into Guatemala on April 1st - on foot. We had to get out of our van at the border patrol, get our suitcases and walk across the Mexico-Guatemala border to meet our new guide. It was quite an interesting experience. It was sweltering (we'd just left the chilly highlands of Chiapas, so we had on jeans and fleece jackets) and it was market day, so there
Zapatista Territory
The sign (more or less) says: "You are now entering Zapatista territory that's in rebellion. Here, the people mandate and the government listens/obeys." were tons of people selling things EVERYWHERE. After we got past the border, we drove through the mountains which are beautiful.
* We stayed in Quezaltenango, Guatemala for one night and drove to Chichicastenango the next morning. It was market day when we arrived so most of the streets near our hotel were lined with vendors and packed with shoppers and more vendors. The market went for blocks. I didn't buy much, but I did see a part of a Mayan ceremony that was on the steps of the Catholic church. Apparently, while the Catholics are celebrating mass inside, the indigenous people who still adhere to the Mayan religious traditions conduct their own ceremony right outside. (*note: a number of the churches built by the Spanish invaders/conquerers were built on top of the religious temples of the indigeous people. A lot of times, the church would be built with the blocks from the destroyed temples. So the site is now a holy site for both the Christians and the Mayans). Unfortunately, my friends and I were walking right in front of the church when the really noisy incense fire-cracker/bomb thing went off. I thought I was going to suffer
Zapatistas
Zapatistas. permanent hearing loss.
* We left Chichicastenango and went to Lake Atitlan which is BEAUTIFUL. I got lost on my way back to the hotel from town after lunch one afternoon and this nice little boy on his bike helped me find my way back. It was pretty crazy. I saw my hotel along the shore, pointed it out to him and he told me to follow him. We took a path that went by the shore and I got to see Santiago de Atitlan "up-close-and-personal." I watched people working in their fields as we went through them; passed the women washing their clothes; etc. We celebrated Jennifer Skates' birthday after dinner one night with a piñata. We´d carried it around for 3 days looking for a place to hang it, so we were glad to get rid of it. :-)
* A lot of interesting and, unfortunately, sad things have occurred in Santiago de Atitlan. Just recently (in October of 2005) a mudslide covered a huge portion of a residential area and a lot of people were buried alive. Right down the road, a number of people were killed during Guatemala's civil war when they protested the
Border crossing
Jen and Patrick - ready to cross the border into Guatemala. army's presence in their town. And further down the road, an American priest was killed while defending the people of the town in a meeting. But the people we met there aren't terribly sad or hopeless, even though they've been surrounded by terrible events - it's really amazing.
* From Atitlan we went to the city of Antigua. It was one of the most tourist-student friendly places we´d visited since Mexico, so we got to go out and explore a lot on our own. As a group we got to tour a coffee plantation that was 3 minutes away from out hotel. Some of Starbuck's special blend coffee comes from the plantation we visited.
From there, we went to Livingston and had a lot of fun. Since this is already a bit long, I'll start my next blog from there.
I´ve added some extra pictures of things I mentioned in other blogs, but didn´t have the pictures with me at the time. So I hope you enjoy them!
(look for the next blog soon!! Later today/tomorrow-ish).
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morganajones
Morgan Jones
no me digas!!!
vamos a la playa a comer congrejos! Tia, I miss you soo much! I'm so glad that now I can share some Guatemala memories with someone. yes! I can't wait to hear about your adventures in Livingston!! So glad that you're having a blast. With love and a giant abrazo, morgan