Blogs from Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 8

As we awaited our lunch, I couldn’t help but be distracted by the largest chicken I have ever laid my eyes upon as it was being wrestled out of a plastic bin bag by the owner of our chosen eatery. We were somewhere in the pulsing heart of the markets of Chichicastenango, renowned for being one of the best in all of Central America. Anyway, back to the chicken. Caroline and I were hungry and I wondered if this particular chicken would be the one that would end up on our plates. Alas, it lived to fight another day, with the lady who ruled over the cooking pots deciding it wasn’t worth spending her money on. It was plunged back into the bag, wings flapping and feet clawing and scratching in its vain search for some ... read more

8am in overloaded tuk tuk, heading up the mountainside at the beautiful Lake Atitlan wee village of San Pedro . I’m in the middle of Guatemala with German friend Regine, on board with her Mayan teacher Don Pedro, his daughter Marina and 2 grandchildren and a bag with candles, fire kindle, resin balls, liquor, cigars, all the materials for sacred fire ceremony on the mountain. 3 hours later hurtling back down in a luge like run and just as dangerous! very hot and smelly but all hopes surpassed, ceremony complete and enjoy the photos to just get a wee sense of this very special contact with the holy places of nature Mayan style. I met my friend who just happened to be in the beautiful colonial city of Antigua and we decided to travel to lake ... read more

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