Yesterday was our last day in Guatemala and we ventured over to another little town called San Marcos which is very small and quint and known as sort of a spiritual hippie town. We didn't do much beside walk around and have lunch but it was neat to see another distinctive location around Lake Atitlan. San Macros is much smaller than San Pedros and certainly felt more laid back. Truly wish we had more time to explore the lake and the other Lagunas more but perhaps another time.
We have spent 26 full days in Guatemala and have loved each one. The people here have been wonderful and willing to help at any request. We never once felt the least unsafe or threatened. The food has been great and, for the most part, we remained healthy, which is quite a feat during the first month based on others experience. We got cell phones working and were able to navigate our three locations with no major hitches. We do miss being able to turn on the faucet and drink or actually being able to throw your toilet paper in the toilet (have to put in trash here if you didn't know because their plumbing can't handle paper) and certainly our own beds, but the experiences we have gained here will remain with us for a lifetime.
We leave today for a long journey to get to Ecuador. We used miles to book the tickets so it's not the most direct route. It will take almost 22 hours in total due to our location and layovers. It's been great being in one country for almost a month and we are excited (and a little uneasy) as we consider our next month which is much more complicated with flights, boats, layovers and unique aspects of our plans.
All in all though we feel ready to move on and while we could easily spend more time here, we feel content.
Thank you Guatemala - I'm sure we will return someday!
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Chichicastenango - a Mayan Education
Chichicastenango, is a small town in the Western Highlands
of Guatemala, known for being the home of the largest market in Central and
South America (possibly all the Americas).
The market is crammed into 20 blocks filled with vibrant colors,
shoulder to shoulder people, and hosts flowers, weavings, live chickens,
raw/butchered meat, freshly made tortillas, fruits, vegetables, wood carvings,
second hand clothes, shoes, and more.
Because of its location, a 2012 consensus estimates that 98%
of the people are indigenous with many others coming here to buy and sell. The people and their dress are
beautiful. We were told that taking a
photo too close would capture their spirit, and so we did our best to be
respectful and non-invasive. Below is a
slideshow we put together from our day at market.
According to the Joshua project, "70 percent of these indigenous people are animists, who revere spirits in nature and of ancestors. About 30 percent are Christians, but their impact has been minimal. Mayan religion pervades traditional rites, customs, and ways of thinking. In recent years, foreigners have stirred a resurgence of interest in Mayan worldview, along with its religious practices."
We hired a tour guide to explain some of the Mayan history
and practices that we were seeing take place.
This was amazingly informative and interesting.
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| Santo Tomas Church |
Above is the Santo Tomas Church. It is currently a Roman Catholic church that
shares in worship with the Mayans. When
the Spanish arrived here there was an ‘X’ on the land where the church is. The Spanish thought this was a bad sign and
destroyed it and tried to build a church on the sight. However, the church kept falling down. A local shaman (Mayan priest), named Pasqual,
offered to help the Spanish build their church in return for a stone from the
completed church. In 1545 when he
received his stone, Pasqual was told to take it very far away from the church,
so he went up the mountain and disappeared, never to be seen again.
The place where the Mayans found Pasqual’s stone became the
place where they made their sacrifices to their gods. (Mayans used to sacrifice humans but when the Spanish came,
they convinced them that chickens and animals could take the place of human
life for sacrifices.) One day a Mayan
prayed for Pasqual’s return and got other Mayans to come up and pray for the
same thing. Then they realized that the
stone that had been given to Pasqual resembled a human face. While Pasqual’s
remains have never been found, to this day the Mayans wonder if maybe the sky
god turned Pasqual into the stone.
Meanwhile, the Spanish read the Mayan bible and realized the
‘X’ wasn’t evil but instead represented the 4 directions of the Earth (North,
South, East, and West). The church of
Santo Tomas was built on the Mayan’s North site, which is where they go to pray
for light and good things. On the
opposite side of the city is another site where the Mayan go to pray for dark
things, black magic as they refer to it.
Mayans do not believe in police, so if they are wronged, this is an
example of when they would go to the shaman at the South/dark site to pray for
revenge or bad things to happen to their wrong doer. The Mayans believe that there was a creator
of life and that the creator took the four colors of corn and combined them to
get different races and skin colors.
The Catholics and the Mayans both use the Santo Tomas Church
as their own. There is a crucifix on the
wall and mass is held here. However,
down the main aisle and throughout the church are areas where Mayans come to
light candles and pray. Along with the
Catholic priest, there are also shamans who sit in the church and advise
people. Mayans also offer burnt sacrifices on the steps leading up to the church.
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| Mayan prayer candle line the center floor |
Each of the 18 steps leading up to the church relates to a
month in the Mayan calendar year (18 months consisting of 20 days each, plus an additional
5 days for a total of 365 days to a calendar year). When a baby is born, the shaman is
immediately consulted and a book is read predicting the baby’s personality,
strengths, struggles, and path in life.
The details of this prediction depend on the year, date, time of day and
other factors, and much of the child’s life will be determined by this reading.
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| 18 Steps for the Mayan months and behind the boy is smoke coming from a recent sacrifice |
The extra 5 days in a Mayan calendar year are used for days
to decide and commit to making a major change in one’s life (for example
stopping being an alcoholic). In front
of the church is a large pole. People
who decide to make a major life change will climb up this pole, tie themselves
to it at the top, and then jump off! Similar to bungee jumping, but more extreme! We
found a framed picture of this in one of the local shops. It was explained to us that these people are showing their commitment to
change and the pain that goes with that!
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| This is a picture of a picture as this only occurs on Dec. 18th |
Growing up Mayan is not easy. Because Mayans do not believe in doctors, when
they get sick they go see a shaman. The
belief is that one is sick because of something bad they did, so they are hit
with sticks and beaten until they have confessed all of the bad things that might
have led to their illness. Then they
feel better. Being that the shaman is
also a doctor, he mixes up herbs for medicines and healings and is consulted
for health purposes, often using a temazcal, a Mayan sauna, in the healing prescription. When a woman is one month pregnant, she goes
to visit the shaman. She is required to
go in the sauna and the shaman massages her belly and foretells the baby’s
health while in the womb.
There is no divorce in the Mayan culture because when a
couple wants to marry (which can happen as early as 12 or 13 years old), they
bring their shamans together a month prior to the wedding date to meet and
discuss their compatibility. Going back to each
of their paths based on the date and time they were born, should there be
anything alarming about their paths joining together in harmony, the shamans
would not marry the couple. Being in love has no impact on this. Most marriages are free choice, but some
Mayan marriages are arranged and in some instances a dowry must be paid.
The Mayans have many gods that they pray to and worship. San Simon is a popular god as he is god of the ladies. Women present their requests to him (in a
statue form) and then give him a lit cigarette.
If the cigarette stays lit, the request will be granted, but if the
cigarette goes out quickly, the woman is not allowed to present her request
again for another full year. San Simon
also enjoys receiving alcohol and somehow it gets poured into a funnel in his
mouth, which will increase his favor towards the lady.
We hiked up to where the Mayans make their sacrifices and
where Pasqual’s stone is to this day.
While up there, a sacrifice was being made for a man, praying that good things
would come his way (maybe a new job, positive opportunity, or kind
gesture). The man sacrificing and
praying layered chocolate brownies into a cone shape, filled the middle of the
cone with jelly beans and other sweet delicacies and then placed light colored
candles around the sacrifice. He lit the
candles, covered his head, and read from a prayer book. Meanwhile the man who was being prayed for
received a call on his cell phone, so he started talking to someone, while the
other man was sacrificing for his well being!
We asked if this was considered rude or bad manners and was told that it
was not.
Near the rock of Pasqual there are what seem to be a pile of
crosses, which caused us to wonder their significance. However, we learned that they
are actually the Mayan ‘X’ and that one is placed their every time a shaman
dies and his name is written on it.
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| Center stone is Pasqual's rock |
Finally, we saw from a distance the colorful city
cemetery. All religions are buried in
this cemetery. The colorful mausoleums
belong to the Catholics and Mayans who celebrate the Day of the Dead, while the
plain cement mausoleums are the Evangelicals, who do not celebrate the Day of
the Dead. On November 1st
each year, the Catholics make large salads with different meats in it and pass
them out for their celebration, while the Mayans make a drink with the four
types of corn.
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| Cemetary |
We learned so much more about conquistadors, festivities, masks, and celebrations, but have shared some of the details that fascinated us the most. While it is interesting to learn about another culture and religion and think back to their history, we are so grateful to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. To know that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, that He took the burden of our sins when He died on the cross, and that as Christians we are redeemed by His blood and not our own efforts. The Bible tells us in Acts 4:11-12 that this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is one name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
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| Kids posing with Conquistadors |
Saturday, August 22, 2015
San Pedro & San Juan
Our journey from El Paredon to San Pedro started out a bit
questionable as the car we were in kept dying every 1000 feet. Dad would get out and twist some wires while
the driver gave the car some gas and then we would go a bit further. Thankfully the drive that we thought was
going to be 20 minutes only ended up being about 5! We then piled our large packs into a little
fishing boat and were taken across the river to another shuttle which drove us
the 2.5 hours to Santiago, Guatemala, going from sea level to over 5000 feet.
Dad put us on a boat to San Pedro, where our Airbnb stay is located,
while he journeyed to a local hospital, ATM, and pharmacy to get to the bottom
of his ear pain (swimmer’s ear), which made the journey from El Paredon rough for him.
The place we are staying in San Pedro is referred to locals
as ‘The Titanic’ as it has a Titanic-like balcony overlooking Lake Atitlan. It is a 3 level town-home-type place and is a
mix of a traditional Guatemalan style design with some modern updates, meaning that it is a unique layout with some funky aspects. There are 2 bedrooms near the entrance on the
bottom floor, each bedroom has a full bed.
There is a bathroom with a shower and while water is limited, this is
the first place we’ve had a warm shower in over 3 weeks! There is also the carved out area for a sink/scrubbing fixture that Guatemalans use. Upstairs is the kitchen, a bedroom with a
queen bed, a living room, and a small closet with a toilet and the sink for the
kitchen (so this is where we wash our dishes).
The top floor is a flat roof with railings, it has a beautiful view with a shaded seating area and bar. We eat our
meals and do schoolwork up here. It is
nice to have some space to spread out for a couple of days and we are happy here
with no set plans.
Lake Atitlan is a beautiful volcanic lake in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. It is surrounded by mountains and several volcanoes along with many little villages that boats ferry to throughout the day. The lake level fluctuates rapidly, it is said to have a 60 year cycle and has sometimes risen up to 18 feet in one month! However, they are currently experiencing a drought and have blue algae in the lake, so it is not recommended that we swim in the area we are staying. The temps are much milder here and we all wear sweatshirts at night.
Saturday we boated over to San Juan to see what was there to
do. We learned about weaving and using natural dyes from plants instead of the many artificial dyes used by the majority of Guatemalans. We ended up hiking half way up
Indian Head Mountain at the hottest time of day!
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| Boat ride to San Juan |
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| The Indian's forehead is to the left behind the kids, then his nose and chin extend to the right. |
We had a local guide who was amazed at SJ’s determination
to hike on her own, and G’s build when he took off his shirt - ha!
Along the way we hiked by coffee fields and learned about how they grow and harvest the coffee bean. Many Guatemalans claim to be the top producers of coffee; however according to world statistics they are about tenth in line.
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| Coffee beans |
The guys wanted to hike the entire mountain
but we decided it was best for the family due to how steep it was and how
little daylight was left, if we turned around at the half way point. I
Friday, August 21, 2015
El Paredon
El Paredon
Greetings, we have spent the last 10 days in a very small village on the west coast of Guatemala called El Paredon, which, literally, means “the sand wall”. We did not do updates while there because the Internet at our lodging had two modes: slow or broken. [We are at our new location now which has wi-fi].
There's so much to say about this place it’s hard to know where to begin, as it is so unique. We had a fantastic time and honestly could've stayed longer. At the same point, we were ready to move on and felt very content with our time and efforts in El Paredon.
General Info
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| Typical Beach Day |
This is a vast beach with no people - literally. There is our small place, another small hotel and a newly opened hostel and that is it. On any given day you would not see more than 30 people on the beach and over half of them would be surfers in the water. While they’re amazing local surfers, we learned that many of the parents in the village don’t let their kids surf so there are even fewer than you’d expect.
El Paredon is a village of about 1000 people. It consists of about 5 square blocks, and all of the roads are black sand. It is not uncommon to find a random dog, horse, rooster or even pig wandering around the streets. Virtually every local we met had lived here their whole lives. The only exception was an Israeli couple who visited here a few years ago and loved it so much that they saved up to return and opened a small restaurant (a large cheese pizza cost $5 and we ate several). Most the grandparents we met have been in their same home all their lives. Motorcycles are how most get around (if not walking) with the occasional car or 4-wheeler also being seen. There are no police, and no crime and everyone is extremely content. Most fathers fish while the mothers stay home. School exists but it does not seem to be emphasized too terribly much. Tourism is not prevalent here, so it’s difficult to see how they sustain themselves, but somehow it works. Several families operate very small stores (tiendas) which all seem to sell the same things.
What makes this place unique is that there is only one road to get to the village which then ends at a river, so it’s not the easiest to get to.
Its about 20 minutes by car on a very bumpy dirt road after the pavement runs out (ironically at a private gated community for wealthy Guatemalans). One oddity is that even though this is Guatemala’s west coast the beach actually faces straight south. This means the sun rise and sunset are to our left and right as opposed to setting over the ocean like one would expect.
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| Road to El Paredon |
While it is currently rainy season in Guatemala, there has been little rain this year. When it does rain, it is typically at night. We were able to see several storms while there and they were incredible! The temperature during the day in El Paredon is in the mid-90's, but with humidity feels like 105-110. The mosquitoes were a slight bother at dawn and dusk, but nothing bug spray didn't keep away.
Our Lodging
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| View from our bed :) |
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| Main level - nets hanging from ceiling & 2 beds under futon |
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| Front of Casita - "school day" |
The place we stayed was the called The Surf House and sits right on the beach. It’s a small hotel/hostel with different types of lodging offerings from a hostel-like room set up all the way to private casitas, which is where we stayed. Our little home had a main floor with a futon and small counter and an upstairs with a double bed. The entire casita was open air, meaning there were no glass windows, so we slept in mosquito nets at night. We had two kids on single mattresses on the floor and two sharing the futon. This and the kids stuff took up the entire main floor. We have our own bathroom with private outdoor shower (a pvc pipe run through bamboo – one temp only) and working toilet.
All in all, the place is awesome! It’s very quiet during the week and quite busy on the weekends as locals come to surf. That is typical most of the year they say.
All in all, the place is awesome! It’s very quiet during the week and quite busy on the weekends as locals come to surf. That is typical most of the year they say.
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| Shower |
In the common area, there was a fridge with beverages (which is on the honor system – a clipboard where you write your name and what you took), and a freezer with ice cream treats. Big breakfasts cost about $3-5 with lunch being slightly more and then for dinner everyone eats the same 3-course meal together at one big table, family style, for $10 each. The staff is extremely friendly and ranges from full time workers, to volunteers working for room and board. We have met locals as well as people from Spain, Switzerland, Holland, California, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Australia. We thoroughly enjoyed the location and people here.
Our Activities
Our time was spent mostly between hanging out at the beach and working with a local organization that focuses on trying to better the community. The volunteer side was challenging to figure out as communication was a little difficult (though not because of language) but once things got moving, we really enjoyed it. We spent time painting the walls of a new secondary school, helping at recess by introducing new sidewalk games, mom taught art class, and our oldest impressed the children with his map drawing skills as well as taught some guitar. We also enjoyed surfing and playing in the waves, chatting with a local grandmother who invited us to her church (which we attended) and playing soccer (some village kids played barefoot while others wore cleats). We ate a BBQ dinner at local family's home, boated up the river to see large sea turtles and paddled through the mangroves catching crabs and viewing that unique ecosystem. We brought one crab back and had the kitchen cook it up for us – the kids thought it was delicious! We also took a short trip to San Jose, which is a large port town and famous for the United Fruit Company, which at one point in history controlled the entire country’s fruit exportation business. There we ate fresh sushi and saw some of the local daily catch. Our last day the hotel manager invited the local soccer team to come and swim and BBQ to celebrate their recent success at some tournament. He invited the kids to participate which was a very sweet gesture.
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| BBQ Diner at local family home |
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| Some of T's art students |
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| Our oldest giving a guitar lesson to Danny |
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| Teaching a new game |
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| Painting school wall |
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| Drawing the globe freehand garnered attention |
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| G's buddies |
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| Korean sushi in San Jose. Friend on left from Australia. |
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| Lots of reading was done |
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| Local catch in San Jose |
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| Local soccer team celebration |
For the most part everyone is healthy but we have had our first bouts with injury and illness here. Surfing has had its way with us as the waves are big, fast and strong here. Dad's whole body is sore for the effort. Just getting out is dangerous as you can see in the pictures. We have several ear infections, a cut toe and foot (nothing serious), some vomiting & high temps, and even some burnt feet from the black sand here, which gets extremely hot during the afternoon if you have to grab a screaming child who stops as it burns their little feet.
We also experienced our first earthquake tremor. This was nothing major as not everyone in our camp felt it. We think that only those up in the lofts were able to feel it because they were above ground, but mom & dad were about to yell at some kids (early in the morning) because we thought they were shaking the headboard of our bed!
As we post this we have just arrived at our third and final Guatemala location and it is different from where we have been so far. We have gone from the ocean to a large lake about 5000 feet above sea level. Fewer mosquitoes, no sand, and much cooler temps are certainly welcome!
Monday, August 10, 2015
Catching Up
A quick catch up on the last few days, as we've changed plans and are headed to the coast a day early, where we will have little to no Internet access while there for the next 10+ days. Excited about this place and the volunteer work we will be doing as well as surfing (links in itinerary if interested).
Our sweet host surprised SJ with an early birthday fiesta that included a 3 foot clown piñata (that terrified her as she thought it was real). Some of our host's friends came over and everyone in the home celebrated with cake, chocolate covered bananas, and pineapple. We hope that she knows how much we appreciated her thoughtfulness, generosity, and hard work but we are a bit unsure with the language/cultural barrier. Interesting for us to be on the receiving end of this situation. Needless to say, the next several days our sweet daughter woke up with one thing on her mind - CANDY!
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We wrapped up serving at God's Child on Friday with handing out vegetables to the moms. A company had also donated office furniture and the moms were thrilled to receive room dividers and desk tops.
Friday evening we had dinner at the Kid's Restaurant, a place where underprivileged children receive after school help and have the option to learn restaurant skills from cooking and preparing food, to serving, and waiting on guests. We were served a wonderful three course meal by Diego and left extremely full.
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| Diego, our waiter |
Saturday Dad was thrilled to complete his first chicken bus experience as we ventured out to a local macadamia nut farm.
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| Bus run "Duenas" |
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| Chicken Bus selfie |
The macadamia farm is well known for their amazing pancakes! They offer free tours which end with a two minute facial (tips appreciated). We then hung out on the beautiful grounds all day reading.
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| Pancake breakfast |
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| Facials for all |
On Sunday the church had a much larger attendance than the previous week. Afterwards we invited a college girl traveling solo from the States to join us at a restaurant up the mountain for lunch. It was quiet and had beautiful views of the city below and volcanoes in the distance.
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Monday we took a tour with Ninos de la Guatemala to the old city, which was the second capital city of Guatemala (a mudslide moved the capital to Antigua where an earthquake caused the capital to move again to it's current location of Guatemala City). We traveled via chicken bus and then toured a barn where they refurbish the chicken buses from old school buses. We learned that being a chicken bus driver is the most dangerous job in Guatemala (some have said the world) because people will demand money from the drivers (mostly during their off hours) and if they do not pay, they are killed. There is a documentary called La Camioneta (available on Net Flix - trailer here) which covers the colorful process of a retired USA bus being transformed into a Guatemalan bus. We have not seen it but our guide said it is very good. Part of the filming was this very garage which is in the trailer. Additionally, a NY Times article is here.
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| Bus chasis |
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| Floors typically completely replaced |
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After touring the chicken bus barn, we visited a school supported by the NGO Ninos de la Guatemala. We ended our tour with a visit to a local carpenter's home to see his coffin making business. He did beautiful work and we learned that coffins sell for roughly $200. A coffin can be made in roughly one day, but it takes several days for it to be sent off to be painted and lined inside. When someone dies, the family hosts a three day open house for friends and relatives who would like to pay their respects. A lot of money is spent on feeding these people as well as providing beverages, which is all done and prepared by the immediate family. Finally, land must be purchased in a cemetery for the coffin to be placed, usually near family. The coffins are not buried, but are placed above ground in the cemetery.
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| Finishing area |
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| Assembly portion |
We wrapped up Monday with the much anticipated chocolate tour where we learned how the cacao bean goes from bean to the bars and candies we eat. This was fascinating to learn the history of the Olmecs (who discovered
cacao), Mayans (who used it as a beverage in sacrifices to their gods
combining it with human blood & believed that drinking it frothy
guaranteed one long life), Aztecs (who learned of it as a red beverage
from the Mayans used much paprika & chile powder to get the red
color), Spanish (who drank it with anise, cinnamon & black pepper
and after transporting it to Europe, got the word out so that it has
become the chocolate we are familiar with today). We roasted beans and
separated the husks from the seed which we crushed into nibs. We used
the nibs to make Mayan and Spanish hot chocolate, and the husks to make a
chocolate tea. We also all made chocolate candies that we were able to
bring home.
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| Customizing our candies |
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| Separating shells from nibs for beverages |
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| Bean Roasting |
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| Creating "froth" |
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