Blogs from Quetzaltenango, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 3

Last Thursday was Halloween! In Xela it's really not celebrated and the local's seem to view it as a Devil's holiday of sorts. There are bars that cater to students and offer a free shot or something if dressed up. Roger and I ended up going out last minute the night before to meet up with some friends. We obviously didn't bring costumes with us so we had to improvise. We ran to a secondhand store, a paca, and found a red and white striped winter hat.... obviously that would be a perfect Waldo costume. Roger claimed it and bought a white shirt to go with it that he later colored with red stripes (via red Sharpie). We made some cardboard cat ears at home and I attached them to a headband, dressed all in black ... read more

Okay, so not really crazy, but there are definitely a handful of things that are so different from the U.S. that Roger and I have made note of them. Some were mentioned already (like roof dogs, and the park that's only a tree), but most we've kept out of blogs. We're not complaining at all - we really love this country and that includes all it's quirks. These are just a few things that have most surprised me in the 3ish weeks we've been here. 1) No recycling. This one might be a bit of a complaint, because it would really help beautify the place. There's garbage all over the place, and no places for recycling anywhere. However, you can leave your bottle (of pop, or adult beverage) at the store you bought it at, and ... read more

Roger and I are both volunteering for the most wonderful organization. It's a woman's co-op called TRAMA Textiles. We are officially in charge of photographs (since Roger has the nicest camera) and updating/re-organizing their Etsy page. Since neither of us are very familiar with Etsy, we definitely signed up for a challenge. We have plenty of time though, and all the people we've met so far have been so kind and helpful. There's a mix of English and Spanish being spoken there, although I think among the volunteers, it's usually mostly English. About TRAMA: It's comprised of over 400 women from 17 different areas of Guatemala. Almost, if not all, of the women are victims of civil wars, or other internal battles that have essentially left them as the sole breadwinner for their family. As a ... read more

Seeing as how the local high school marching bands have started up with Feliz Navidad over and over again, Roger and I are once again getting out of town -- this time to a "hill" called Cerro El Baúl. It's apparently a forest on top of a lava dome. As far as I can make it out, it's one of the only protected national parks in Quetzaltenango. We've heard it's an hour hike, and then there's like a flat, sitting/rest area which I think is as high up as you can go, then of course, an hour back down. We're making a light lunch, and we'll be sure to pack our camera. Tripadvisor has quite a few different reviews from people who have made the trip. So far, the only real complaint is that it's not ... read more

Yesterday Roger and I decided to try and walk to the base of the volcano, Santa Maria. According to google maps, it would be about a 10k walk there (obviously 10k back too) and all together probably take 4 and a half hours. Since we like sleeping in, we got a late start and decided to just walk as far as we wanted to on the same route. We were gone total for 2 hours and 18 minutes so we assume we went about half way. I'm putting up pictures from the walk there. It was so nice being out of the city for a little bit. We were surrounded by corn farms and mud! There were lots of animals too, like cows, chickens/roosters, a goat thing (we were too far away to tell if it ... read more