Advertisement
Published: June 14th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Guatemala 166
Iglesia de Santos Tomas Since arriving at Lago de Atitlan we have come to love Pana, the variety of cosy eateries and the quite gentle bargaining of the local tradespeople. We have found a lovely garden restaurant surrounded on three sides by trees and foliage out of which birds sing and dart out to peck crumbs. We have also enjoyed a vegetarian Indian restaurant which we frequent and we even got stuck in there when a sudden thunder and lightening episode was followed by REALLY heavy rain! No wonder it is so green and lush here!
We sat sipping soup and chewing warm bread watching the sides of the red dust road transform into two rivers broken by a gradually lessening track in the centre. A man selling t-shirts on a stall opposite kept moving his plastic chair further and further up until he had to lift his feet to avoid the 'river-road'. We headed back in a covered tuk-tuk which was extremely exciting given the speed the driver chose to use in these challenging weather conditions. I had the impression we were in a tuk-tuk chase like in a film and kept glancing behind but only mystified, soaking wet stray dogs stared back
Guatemala 154
The flower market Chichicastenango in disbelief! I swear one of the back wheels left the ground at one part!
Another day, another adventure and todays was Chi-Chi, or Chichicastenango to use it's full name, and let's face it we should! It is a town in the El Quiche region of Guatemala known for its K'iche Mayan culture. The town itself lies across the mountains in the Guatemalan highlands at 1965m. The overwhelming atmosphere to this place was holiness. The whole place felt untouched and sacred. One of the things that stuck us most the whole time (aside from the great shopping opportunities!) was the ancient Mayan religions and traditions being practised alongside Catholicism, when I say alongside, the Mayan shrines in the aisle of the main church Iglesia de Santo Tomas and the live animal sacrifices taking place in a room just outside the back door. The local were equally as pious with both religions and we had the upmost respect for this.
Chichicastenango is well known in the region for its famous market days on Thursdays and Sundays where Guatemalans from the surrounding areas come to trade. They sell handicrafts, food, flowers, pottery, wooden boxes, condiments, medicinal plants, candles, pom and
Guatemala 148
The most beautiful faja (woven belt or sash) stall copal (traditional incense), cal (lime stones for preparing tortillas) alongside the most beautiful clothes. The Mayans of the highlands of Guatemala are famed for their colourful woven clothing. The huipils are region specific and the origin of the wearer can be deduced from the design and colours woven there. The faja or belt/sash are scarily intricate and the corte or skirt can also be very detailed. We had a great time browsing, bargaining and enjoying the occasional snack from the street stalls.
Our guide Gabrielle was keen to show us Pascual Abaj, a holy site for the Maya where rituals and ceremonies are carried out on a daily basis. It was a pleasant uphill stroll past the colourful town cemetary to the top of the hill. It was a peaceful if a little unimpressive site, obviously todays rituals had been completed as all we could see was a small blackened rock with a small pile of rubbish and some incense next to it.
As the day wore on and early evening came we retired to a local hotel and enjoyed a dinner of enchaladas in a beautiful courtyard where a mariachi band were playing. A wonderful visit to
a magical place.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.047s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0254s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb