Blogs from Chichicastenango, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 2

Where did all those Guatemalan kidnappings take place back in the 60s-80s? Which area gets the most reports of children suddenly disappearing. Which region is most famous for tourist buses being hijacked. I don't know. But for the sake of argument lets say that's the Guatemalan western highlands. And that's where we were off to today. The Guatemalan highlands are where you get to see the real heart and soul of Guatemala (and I don't mean kidnappings and hijackings). This is where tradition and culture are clearly visible and where paganized Catholicism runs at full strength. Or at least that's what the guidebooks said anyway. Our destination for the day was Chichicastenango, a mountain village which has become a tourist hub due to its famed market - a central gathering point for the local villages to ... 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

For Mayan women from the highlands of Guatemala, the Traje (traditional dress) is a statement of her cultural and personal identity. Through her weavings she has an important role in both clothing her family and keeping the threads of the Mayan culture and cosmos together. Each Maya village has its own style of weaving and dress so you can usually tell which village a women is from the style of her traje. The traditional loom is the back-strap loom, a portable loom (see picture) that a woman can easily move as she conducts her household chores, watches her children or meets with friends at the market. The loom is made of 5 essential sticks with one end fastened to a pole or tree and a woman creates the tension for the loom by the belt or ... read more

The largest market in Central America, people flock here in their droves to buy crafts at hugely inflated prices. Inspecting a fluffy blanket, I was offered a starting price of 600Q and told that tomorrow (actual market day) they would be asking 1200Q. Further evidence of the abundance of dollar happy tourists was the flock of small boys that hounded me as soon as I got off the bus, offering to guide e to a hotel then chasing me around with dolls and fridge magnets, even lying in wait as I toured the museum. Another aspect of the town is it's strong mix of ladino and Mayan cultures, the parallel governments and the hybrid Catholic and pagan worship. The church of Santo Tomas is a perfect example of this. On the steps cofrades (the holy men) ... read more