Vacation in Guatemala

      December 19th, Kelsey and I left early to catch a bus all the way to Antigua, Guatemala. The ride and border crossing were uneventful but we arrive late in Antigua. Thus we wandered the streets in the dark looking for the school, finally giving up, we just looked for a place to stay the night.
      Our first day dawned clear and cold. The views from the city are amazing! Antigua is situated between several volcanoes that rise above the clouds and frame the vastness of the sky in green. We walked down the street to grab a cup of coffee to go before going to the school to arrange our classes and accommodations. We are staying with a host family that has several other students from the school. For the first week, we are with Linda, from Australia, and Zac, from the States who lives in Germany, who welcomed us and showed us around the city. The host mom is Cornelia, 84, who seems very resilient as she works everyday at the market. That night we went to Las Palmas for salsa dancing!

      Saturday (21st) we booked a hike up Volcan Pacaya. It was a nice bit of exercise and we met lots of interesting people to walk to. Unfortunately, we couldn't hike all the way to the rim because it is currently active. After returning and cleaning up, I went for a cup of coffee before walking around the beautiful city. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a well maintained and preserved Spanish colonial city. The people are very kind and its nice to be able to walk around the city. Mayan women walk the streets selling all kinds of things. We went salsa dancing again!
      The next day we toured Finca Filadelfia where they produce organic coffee. The guide was really informative as he explained the entire process. We started in the nursery of grafted coffee plants composed of robusta (roots) and arabica (stem). Then we watched the harvesters, hand sorters, and explored the buildings for drying, milling, machine sorting for density, more hand sorting, and bagging. They only roast a little for local sales, most is shipped unroasted to Japan or the US.
      Monday (23rd) we started classes with out teachers one-on-one. The school rents a little garden where everyone goes to have their lessons. My teacher is great; she is very patient and has been teaching for many years. The nights and mornings are very cold (12/52) and windy. We get a break in the mornings when all the students have time to chat (in their native languages).

MERRY CHRISTMAS

      In Central American December 24th is almost more important that the 25th. Posadas starts on December 16th and continues for 9 days, culminating on December 24th at midnight, when (according to legend) Jesus was born. These days are marked with non-stop fireworks day and night. Christmas Day we slept in and hung out with Linda and Zac until a big Christmas dinner that Zac planned which ended up being some 30 people. That evening, there was a procession through Colonia Manchen which consisted of live music, continuous fireworks, torito (a man carrying a wooden structure that shoots fireworks out of his head), and a float of the Virgin Mary. It was quite an evening!
      I am constantly amazed by how little supervision parents give to their children shooting off fireworks! Kids just light them and hold them in their hands to shoot them off or throw them in the streets.

Atitlan

      Friday (27th) was my birthday which i celebrated by eating a Nutella crepe with Chocolate and Vanilla ice cream. On Saturday, we took a a long bus ride to Atitlan, a lovely lake surrounded Volcanoes. We took a group tour on the Lake to three small villages where we could buy fabrics and crafts or just have a great cup of coffee. I surprised me how many backpackers are everywhere. Guatemala certainly has a strong tourist industry, especially compared to Honduras.

Atitlan, Guatemala

     Kelsey headed back to Antigua and I stayed the night on the lake at Panajachel. In the morning, I ran into the tour guide from the lake and had breakfast with him. He speaks a couple Mayan languages in addition to Spanish, English, and some Italian. His wife wife is a teacher and his daughter is studying to be a lawyer. Then I was on a bus for what seemed like a long time to Chichicastenango. Sunday is market day in this city, which means street after street is packed with people buying things from traditional textiles to live roosters. Rising above the chaos of the markets is Iglesia de Santo Tomas with white walls and striking dark panels along the sanctuary walls. Honestly with all the candles and incense burning  I found it rather creepy. The mostly Mayan population "accepted" Catholicism to survive though the worship changed very little. I was overwhelmed by sadness to think that these people may worship whom they call "Jesus" in a pagan way. Just around the street corner was an evangelical preacher with a microphone. Anyway, then it was back to Antigua.

Chichicastenango

      After class on Monday, we climbed up to the Cerro de la Cruz, built by the Spaniards to protect the city. Tuesday was New Years Eve, so we stayed out late to watch the fireworks from the streets. Two more days of classes. Our host mom is very sweet and the food was pretty good. I lie the vegetables they cooked with rice for every meal. However, the house was not particularly clean anywhere and the hot water was heated by the electricity.
      One of the best parts, besides the coffee, is hearing all the stories of people who are passing through! I loved it and am so inspired by all these people that travel alone around the world!!

Cruz

Happy New Year