Lake Atitlan: Relaxing and Regrouping

After the non-stop craziness of Good Thursday and Friday, we were glad to be getting out of Antigua to Lake Atitlan, for some much-needed R&R, especially since we had both picked up somewhat minor stomach bugs from the street food in Antigua and Peter´s throat was a little scratchy. Our first stop around the lake was Santiago, where the townspeople kicked out the army and the police during the years of the civil war by witholding food and bathroom facilities from them! Peter also thought Santiago would be an interesting town for me to see, because the men, in addition to the women, wore traditional Mayan dress. When we first got off the dock, we had some cheap hotels in mind and asked our tuc-tuc (a three wheel scooter with a covered area for passengers in the back--sort of like a modern rickshaw) driver to take us to one. Peter inspected it and deemed it to be too sketchy. The other one, it seems, had gone out of business!! Then, we were taken to a VERY high end hotel and then one slightly less fancy (but still with a helipad!), that we settled on. It seems that there was just nothing in the middle.

After getting settled in, we went out exploring and to find food. We had a great dinner of fresh black bass from the lake and then stumbled upon a night market near the church. In addition, the church was having a bonfire to celebrate Easter Eve. In the church, we found many effigies of Jesus and his disciples, nattily clad in homemade colorful shirts and myriad ties and scarves(one statute of Jesus bore at least 20 neckties!), given by the town as offerings. There were also statues of Mary in traditional Maya dress. Most amazing to me, though, were the offerings by the alter, where the townspeople had hung bananas, rice, and big sticks of sausage wrapped in colorful, metallic ribbons! It was very festive. After wandering around for a bit and talking to folks near the bonfire, we went back to our hotel. The next morning, we came back to find the church packed and overflowing with people out onto the steps. We stayed for a bit to listen to the service, which we soon figured out was being delivered mostly in the Mayan language of Tzútujil, rather than Spanish! We then moved onto the artisinal market, where we got some souvenirs, then retired to our hotel, where we called family for Easter and then had a traditional Mayan temazcal sauna.

The next day, we really needed to get away from our ridiculously fancy hotel! So, we set off (first stopping off to see Santiago´s version of evil San Simon) in a boat for the other side of the Lake. On the boat ride, we ran into a local gringa named Lizzie, who managed one of the hotels on the lake and recommended another hotel in our price range--she was even nice enough to call from her cell phone to make sure that there was space. Through this serendipitous arrangement, we found our hotel, the Isla Verde, where we have been ever since. We have a beautiful lake view and have been doing nothing except hiking, sleeping, swimming, and enjoying the delicious , mostly-vegetarian food at the hotel. Tomorrow, we will head to Mexico for Nick and Elizabeth´s wedding, which should be a huge adventure!

Semana Santa Craziness--Alfombras, Parades and Effigies!

Back in Antigua, the town was buzzing and so much more full than when we´d been there just a week earlier! Vendors were selling toys, sweets, and food of all types, and there was an air of festivity everywhere. Most windows were draped in purple cloth for Easter and little storefronts that had once been bookstores or laundry shops had transformed into eateries or travel agencies for the weekend. We arrived at our hotel and checked in with no problem, then went out to get a lay of the land. At the central park, among the ice cream and balloon vendors, were some helpful information booths, where we were informed that there would be three parades that evening (of Good Thursday or Jueves Santa), and four parades on Good Friday. Lining the parade routes would be alfombras (translated as rugs) that local families and business owner s would create out of natural materials such as pine needles, seeds, fruit, flowers, and colored sawdust, for the procesions to tread upon.

I was VERY excited to see the alfombras and sort of threw myself into an alfombra fervor, dragging Peter up and down several side streets to check out the alfombras. My original intent had been to photograph every one, but that soon become too onerous a task! Every now and then, we would happen upon one of the processions, that were weaving their way through town, in clouds of incense. The processions were hundreds of people long and each church seemed to have its own. The general format was: small kids and men dressed as Romans in front announcing Jesus´ doom; then, came a long line of men dressed in purple robes on Thursday and black robes on Friday, who were marching (amusingly, we caught some of these on their cell phones) and filling the streets with incense from censers. Finally, came the floats, which were huge wooden and styrofoam creations born upon the backs of up to 70 penitents, who were groaning under the float´s weight. Generally, there was one float depicting Jesus, either carrying the cross or in death, and one float of Mary sobbing. The Jesus float was borne by men, the Mary float by women.

The two days came to a culmination on the evening of Good Friday. At noon in the town square, there was a mock crucifixion of Jesus´effigy. Then, at night, the largest, most ornate processions filed through the streets by the light of lanterns. Although the processions were clad in black and the subject matter of the floats was somber, the atmosphere remained extremely festive with food and balloon vendors all over the place. During the time we spent in Antigua, we met Susan and Lauren, from Eugene, OR, who we´d hoped to travel with later, but then lost. ..we hope they are having fun wherever they are!

Quetzaltenango (Xela) with Doña Gloria and the Family

We left Antigua, having secured our hotel room for Semana Santa, and took the first chicken bus to Xela, which is also known as Quetzaltenango. It was here that Peter spent a good 6 months of his year in Guatemala--both as a student and then as an intern for the Human Rights Omsbudsman. So, it is a town that is close to his heart and as we got closer, I could feel him becoming more excited and nervous at the possiblity of seeing the town and (hopefully) his host family after all these years. After a somewhat harrowing bus ride, we made it into town around 6:30 p.m. and caught a taxi straight to his host mother´s old address. Peter had not been able to get in touch with the family, either by phone or email, so we were not really sure what we would find. When we got there, though, there was Doña Gloria! And, she was looking not all that surprised to see Peter. . .seems the family had been talking about him at lunch, wondering why they hadn´t had any news in so long! Even better, her last two language school students had moved out at 1 p.m. that day and she was happy to have us stay with her!

It was wonderful to stay in a Guatemalan family, have some good home cooking (excellent tortillas and tamalitos!), and feel taken care of for a bit. The family (pictured above at lunch) was so warm and hospitable to us. Doña Gloria´s memory of Peter´s stay with her, too, was incredible. He was the first student she had ever hosted, so she remembered many tiny details from his stay, which was fun for me! The town of Xela was also fun--not too large, but not too small, and an excellent place from which to take day trips. While there, we went out to the village of Olintepeque, where we saw a Palm Sunday procesion; we visited the town of Zunil and paid our respects to evil San Simon (pictured above); and, we stayed overnight at the Fuentes Georginas hot springs, stopping at the market in Almolonga on the way home. We stayed in Xela for 6 days--long enough to get a taste of the highlands, Mayan culture, and Peter´s experience with his wonderful host family. On the last night, we went out salsa dancing and were glad to discover that we could more or less hold our own. We weren´t as good as the Guatemaltecos, but were some of the best gringos, by far! The next morning, we were back on the bus for Antigua and Semana Santa. . .