Chichicastenango to Rio Dulce, via Antigua

Aca estamos tomando mate y baniandonos en una piscina, aprontandonos para salir a Livingston. Despues de un par de dias de manejar entre montanias, volcanes, subidas y bajadas,y a veces hasta sin frenos!, finalmente decidimos quedarnos por estos lados para descansar y disfrutar este paraiso. Hoy voy a mostrar mi hilacha y sin ningun tipo de vergüenza hacerles saber que no tengo ni un poquito de ganas de escribir en el blog. Asi que por favor miren las fotos que de ultima lo dicen todo. Prometo? Escribir pronto….
The town of Santiago Atitlan is famous because in 1990, in the middle of the war, the community got together as a group and said no to the military and the guerillas, that what they wanted was peace. One night, Dec 2 1990, the military targeting one family and everyone else in the town tried to protect them by standing together. At one point, someone fired their gun into the air and the soldiers started to fire into the crowd, killing 13 innocent bystanders, known as “los inocentes.” Right down the road from our hotel, we visited a memorial site called the Peace Park. Of the 13 people killed, two were children and it was definitely a sobering moment to find their graves. This incident was the first catalyst for a movement for peace, which was finally declared in 1995. One of the guys who was working at our hotel, Salvador, gave Eva and the kids a 45 minute testimony of that time, as he worked for an American priest that was very well loved by the people and spoke the languages, took care of the orphans and widows. He was murdered by the military while inside his church, becoming a martyr. Apparently, when he died, his family back in the United States wanted his body, but he had said in his will that he wanted to stay with his pueblo. So, before they shipped the body, the townspeople kept his blood, brain, guts, and heart and apparently they still have them in the church. I guess this means that, in some way, his heart is still with is people. That afternoon, we took another boat back into Panajachel (this time the water was calmer) to pick up the westy, which was safe and sound. We had heard of a place to camp, close to the Reserva Natural Atitlan, where they have created a jungle setting in amongst the oak forest and coffee plantation up the side of the mountain, with a butterfly enclosure, hanging bridges, and monkeys and coatis. The Vision Azul camping place was a bit dirty but was right on the edge of the lake with an amazing view, but the local high school students were having a big Valentine’s Day celebration when we got there, with loudspeakers and music, so we decided to check out the nature reserve. They had some pretty cool “ecological” cabins with giant bamboo theme, so Eva and Mary stayed in one while we camped out in the parking area, which did not have the view but was much quieter! The next day, the kids woke up early and went bird-watching with Mary, helping her to identify the birds with the help of a book of local birds that the office provided. That afternoon, Mateo could not resist jumping off the side of the mountain strapped on to a cable called a “zip line,” which allows you to zip down the mountain over top of the trees! (video to come later) Later on we decided to try the camping place, so after the school party was over for the day (we found out that it was happening over three days!) we set up camp close to a kitchen/bar area they had set up beside a pool under a palapa and had a fire where we cooked fresh onions roasted in tin foil, peppers stuffed with cheese, salad and some little sausages. Earlier we had gone into town and bought some delicious desserts from a bakery that makes the most delicious macadamia nut pie and brownies, as well as cheesecake and great bread.
In the morning, we were greeted with the arrival of yet more high school students with their loudspeakers and music, so after hanging out and observing them for a while, we relocated over to Eva and Mary’s cabana only to find that they were both sick, with a combination of stomach bugs and Mateo’s cold. They were still willing to move, so after a hair-rasing drive of 20 km (which took two hours!) through mountains up and down and 180 degree turns, we reached the town of Chichicastenango, which is well known for being the site of one of Guatemala’s largest indigenous markets. Our timing was perfect, as the market is on Thursdays and Sundays and we arrived on Saturday afternoon, just in time to see all of the sellers begin to arrive and get set up. The drive here was pretty scary, especially since the brakes began to fail once again! Before Gustavo took the vehicle in to a mechanic that was recommended by the owner of the hotel we are staying at called Posada el Arco, we went out for lunch. We invited Diego along with us, a kid we had met soon after our arrival in town, who asked us for our soccer ball. He is a very chatty little guy who is 8 years old (or at least, that is what his mother tells him!) He goes to school during the week, but on weekends helps his mother to sell different handicrafts, mostly to gringos like us. The problem with the car seemed to be with the brake fluid overheating, so the mechanic drained it and filled with a different kind and hopefully it will not happen again! The market day in Chichi is difficult to put into words: we spent the entire day wandering amongst the stalls, filled with clothing, fruits and veggies, wooden toys, household articles, and anything else you can imagine, people watching and learning the art of bartering (actually, Eva was the expert in this regard). It was the most colourful and “authentic” scene we had ever seen in our lives and became at times overwhelming. The best thing about this place is that unlike Pana, it is not built for tourists (although lots come here) and people are just going about their thing and for the most part completely ignoring us (except to try and sell us stuff). We eventually got used to getting out of the way of people carrying enormous loads on their heads and backs, because if you don’t you will get stomped on! Same goes with the traffic….We spent some time in the Iglesia Santo Tomas, apparently one of the oldest in the Americas, observing them burning copal incense and lighting candles and making offerings. This town is well known for its interesting mix of Christian and Indigenous traditions (with the indigenous ones winning out more here than in other places). The church, built around 1540, was plunked right on top of an already sacred Mayan site, so it really feels like the church still is just a cover for what they are really doing. Apparently the Mayans had hidden their sacred book, the Popul Vuh, behind something in the church, and it was only in the 18th or 19th century that it was “discovered” by Europeans and taken to a museum in France! The steps of the church pre-date the church itself, and a lot of the supposedly Christian symbolism is connected to earlier beliefs; there is still a rich shamanic tradition here in Chichi, and the rituals are more Mayan than Catholic. At the church, Gustavo got talking to some guys from the local TV station, and they interviewed him and Mateo about our trip and our impression of Guatemala (I don’t think we will ever get to see it though). That night we were so tired that we just hung out by the fireplace in our room, eating tamales (rice and chicken wrapped in banana leaves) and chuchitos (chicken and corn masa wrapped in corn husks) that we bought from a local woman on the street.
The trip to Antigua was very hilly and twisty again, but we made it with no problems. Eva and Mary found a hotel room, and we ended up parking the westy for the night in the tourist police barracks – very strange, but it ended up being fine. Mateo was a bit sick in the middle of the night and Gustavo almost got shot at by a nervous officer while taking him to the bathroom! We didn’t feel like spending much time in Antigua, too much traffic and pollution (it is in a valley). After taking some photos of a smoking volcano, Fuego, that you can see from the city, we took off early the next day towards the Caribbean side, and made it before dark to Rio Hondo, which is about halfway. The detour around Guatemala city was hellish, as there are no signs to direct you where to go, but we asked about a billion people and it was fine. In Rio Hondo we stayed in this place with lots of birds (in and out of cages) and a great pool which was perfect for the heat. Out of the mountains and into the jungle, it is starting to get hot! The next day we made it to Rio Dulce, where we are now, and are planning a boat trip up the river to the Caribbean town of Livingston before Eva and Mary have to leave on Monday afternoon.