August 20- Village Adventures

The day began with some time to visit some of the churches and ruins. The ruins are beautiful with eroded walls overgrown with plant material. The colors, shapes, and shadows make fascinating photos. I could easily spend days just wandering here. Our next stop was the marketplace. We were divided into small groups and given a shopping list to find on our own. With limited Spanish skills, and much pointing, we took our purchases and boarded a local chicken bus for the trip to the village of Santa Catarina Barahona. We were asked to sit by ourselves, to be able to interact with the locals. A couple of the adventurous sat on top of the bus with the packages. (Chicken buses are old US school buses which have been rejuvenated and repainted with bright colors. They are called chicken buses as they pack in people like chickens in a crate-and, they sometimes have chickens in cages on the top!)

We visited the Kindergarten School (ages 1-6) and the Primary School in the village. This school is well-stocked, as it is sponsored by the Grand Circle Foundation. It was fun to see the students excited to show us their work. At noon, we were taken in 2 groups to homes of selected students. My student was Genesis (pronounced Hennessee). The home was very intriguing, with a small walkway to enter, with caged birds and a squirrel. The kitchen was open-aired and covered with a tin roof. There were two small bedrooms and a tiny back yard with their pet/guard dog. The lunch was a local specialty, pepian, which is a stew made from chilis and tomatillos, with veggies and rice to add on your own. It was delicious, and a special treat for the family also. After lunch, Genesis shared pictures and her dancing.

After lunch, we left the village and made our way back to Antigua. Along the way, we stopped at Valhalla Macadamia Nut Plantation, where we saw the processing procedure, tasted some delicacies, and tried some macadamia butter products. As we arrived back in Antigua, we stopped at an overlook which gave a full look at the city, with the volcano in the background, although still cloud covered.

August 19- Mayan Markets and Assorted Artisans

Again today, as we traveled, we made many short stops to get a feel for the people and the culture. First we stopped at the Solola market, near the cemetery we visited before. It was a huge market with many items for sale, from crafts and fabrics, to a wide variety of foods. We even stopped at a shaman shop. We learned that lime is added to boiling water to boil corn and soften the seeds better. In ancient times, the Maya drilled teeth and inlaid jade, gold, or silver, so intricately that dentists today can't replicate. Unfortunately, today, graves are robbed for these teeth.

As we left the market, we noticed the terraced fields, using the many springs in this area. All agriculture is done by hand, with no horses, and goods are carried on heads or backs, even up to 200 pounds.

We stopped to visit some artisans also. We stopped in Santa Apolonia to visit Dona Basilia, who makes ceramics by hand from the clay in the hills near her home. She grinds her own clay, and makes the bowls or pots on the ground by bending over and walking around the piece, forming the shape. It is then fired in a pit with pine needles and a clay slip to glaze. Next. we visited a family of professional brick makers, again, all done by hand using brick molds and a machete to smooth. They fire in a huge kiln building, and can make up to $300 a month-a great salary for them.

Finally, we wandered our way to La Antigua Guatemala, or Antigua for short. Again, there are many foreigners here, as there are many Spanish language schools in the area. The streets are all cobble stone, and the town in shadowed by 2 volcanoes-Agua, and Santa Teresa. This was the third colonial capital. All of the churches have a building ruin next to them, as they have had many earthquakes over the years, so they just rebuild next to the ruins. The houses are small, and there are strict building codes to keep the colonial flavor of the town. We stayed at Los Pasos Hotel, which originally was a very large home surrounding a beautiful courtyard. The rooms were very tiny, but historical, with no air conditioning. It was interesting wandering the neighborhood and visiting local bakeries.

August 18- Sailors and Shamans

 Today, we will be exploring small villages around Lake Atitlan. There are 10 villages around the lake, named by the Spaniards for the Apostles. The lake is 1200 feet deep and 13 miles across. Three volcanoes surround the lake-Toliman, San Pedro, and Atitlan. The lake has risen over 8 feet in the last 10 years. Many expensive homes up to half million dollars are being built by the foreigner expats.

We visited Santiago Atitlan, which is known for its fabrics and intricate embroidery. We saw women doing their laundry in the lake. We wandered, and looked at the market wares, with very low prices, at least after haggling. It was fun to see how low you could get the price (and still not take advantage of the seller/artist). We met an older woman with an unusual hat on her head. When asked, she unwound it into about 20 yards of a thin strip of material, and wound it back on to show us how.

We took a ride in the back of a pickup to visit a shrine to the diety, Maximon, which switches family hosts every few months. The family guards and honors the deity statues. The shamans stay at the house and help with healing sick parishioners. They combine Maya dieties with Catholic saints in the carvings and decorations at churches.

After the village visit, we went by boat to another village for lunch, then back to Panajachel, and wandered the shops. Tomorrow is another traveling day.

August 17- Big City, Little Towns

The day began with a drive around Guatemala City, a very urban environment. We visited the Peace Statue, a symbol of their modern period, post war. The Civil War was bloody, with some areas total populations killed by Death Squads. Farmers (guerillas) were trained and boys were conscripted to fight. The CIA also taught torture techniques. This caused animosity for foreign military and the people started saying "green-go" (green military uniforms), which led to the term 'gringo' meaning foreigners, particularly the U.S. The Civil War lasted for 36 years, and 300,000 people were killed. People secretly worked to keep some traditions alive. The peace process took 10 years. Guatemala has recovered much quicker than some of the surrounding countries.

Carlos, our guide, found out that there was a celebration happening in the town of Sumpango, which is known for its huge kite festival in the Spring. We watched the parade and walked the market, arriving at the home of a special kite maker, Don Frederico, who spoke with us and showed us some kites. Some of the kites are up to 20 meters across. At the festival, whole families were celebrating, and I noticed a number of individuals with disabilities like Dwarfism, Down Syndrome, and missing limbs.

After stopping at Solola Cemetery, and viewing the brightly painted tombs above ground, we finally arrived at our destination town of Panajachel, next to the beautiful Lake Atitlan, ringed by volcanoes. Panajachel is nicknamed 'Gringolandia', for all of the foreigners and tourists here. We stayed at a very fancy place, Hotel Porta del Lago, on the shore of the lake. The hotel balconies allow a grerat view for the sunset over the lake.

August 16- Return to Guatemala

This morning, we visited a small ruins-Las Sepulturas (Place of Scribes), where the lords of the area lived with their artisans. Some people say that the Maya disappeared, but they just moved from their large cities to smaller villages near Atitlan, or north to Chichen Itza, mostly from a drought in the area. They had a paved causeway to move large stone blocks used for carving. They also built aqueducts. There was a good display of their stone beds in tiny rooms.

Then, we headed for Guatemala, making a number of stops along the way. I liked this philosophy of OAT to stop along the way as interesting experiences appear. We stopped at a stone/bone carver's workshop along the highway and watched them work. I bought a carved bone showing a Mayan prisoner at Tikal who was to be beheaded. We also stopped at a place where they process cashew nuts. It was very smoky and smelly, and I felt for the workers who did this daily. A small Paleontology Museum was a good stop before lunch.

After lunch, we stopped at a marketplace in a small town along the way. We met an 82 year old woman with beautiful festival clothing, had fresh coconut milk, and freshly picked lychee fruit. We saw many pickup trucks which are used for public transportation, with people piled in the back. We finally made it to Guatemala City, which is very urban. It is the largest capital in Central America, now 4,000,000 people. There are many squatters, but it is a clean city. We arrived at the Best Western Hotel Stoffel, which was mediocre in location and quality.

Notes on Guatemala: Since the 1996 Civil War, it has grown quickly. Illiteracy has decreased from 48% to 16%, and unemployment is at 22%. School is mandatory for elementary student and the government pays 1/2 of fees. The teachers must learn a Maya dialect. Middle Schools and High Schools are optional and career oriented. Classes have 40-45 students. Only 50% finish High School and 20% go on to college.

August 15- Ancient ruins to modern rural life

 In the morning, I walked up the hill from the hotel to a small Mayan ruin, Rastrojon. It was interesting to see the restoration being done. We then, traveled to Copan Ruins, one of the first Mayan ruins excavated in 1895. Copan was at its height in the 8th century, and was typically Mayan with a church at the center, then a plaza/market, then city hall/government buildings, then individual dwellings outside area-this shows the importance levels. They had paved roads and tunnels under the pyramids. Older buildings have been found underneath newer ones. The ancient Maya used hieroglyphics to record happenings. Copan may have been primarily a king's cemetery, with many death references, and mostly temples, not dwellings. (Note: Egyptian pyramids were designed to be used inside, and Mayan pyramids designed to be used on exterior flat surfaces.)

The first kings were priests, and 'magicians'-using astronomy/science to wield knowledge or power. Altars were used for blood sacrifices. Current reconstructions are estimations and possibly up to 60% incorrect. The Mayas had books with fig tree paper and lime water painting, but all of these (except 4 in museums) were destroyed by Spaniards. They buried their dead in hope for rebirth like planting crops.Kings erected stelae to honor themselves, and each destroyed the monuments of the last one.

The ball court was important in each city but the exact use and play are not known, just hypothesized. The myth says that the Hero Twins bothered the Land of Death, so they had to go to the Underworld to play. The Twins are now the Sun and Moon who have to go 'below ground' each day to play ball. To play the game, players had to hit a hard ball off their bodies (no hands/feet), possibly into stone hoops. The losers were often beheaded.

In the afternoon, we had an optional horseback ride into the mountains to visit a small poor village, La Pintada, and take them treats. As at every stop, we were mobbed by craft sellers-here, corn husk dolls. We toured the very basic homes, with outside, covered kitchens. The dogs were very underfed, as the people themselves had little. The school was nicely kept and painted. I met Milton, a boy who was trying to get money to buy books for school, and I helped him a bit toward that goal.

Dinner was in town, and it was interesting, as they did not want large vehicles breaking the cobblestone streets, so they built a, arched gate that large vehicles could not pass through. Our bus barely made it.

August 14- Three Country Roadtrip

The day began with a city tour of El Salvador. Guadalupe Church (La Ceiba) is a famous landmark. It is a Catholic Church which includes a cave symbolizing an entrance to Xibalba (the Maya underworld) where people could speak with their ancestors., as the early churches were welcoming to the local people. Most early churches were painted with white lime, which helped to kill the diseases brought by the Spaniards.

San Salvador is on the Pan American Highway, and is about the size of Massachusetts, with the most dense population in Central America (pop. 1,000,000). The past dictator performed a Mayan genocide, and there is now very little Mayan influence. It is now safer and more stableTeachers earn about $500/month. They use US currency, with many $1 coins in circulation as they are not popular in the U.S.
(Side note: the guide pointed out that each major race of the world is dependent on a particular grain for subsistence. The American Indian groups (red race) have maize/corn, the Caucasians (white race) have wheat, the Asian people (yellow race) have rice, and the Africans (black race) have millet.

A very unusual church is the Church of Santo Domingo, designed by artist Ruben Martinez. The dark doors outside opening to a bright interior with rainbow colored windows reflecting on the floor symbolizes 'into the light'. The Metropolitan Cathedral houses the tomb of the archbishop assassinated during the country's genocide where 120,000 people 'disappeared.

We toured Joyas de Ceren, which is called the 'Pompeii of the Americas', as a volcanic eruption about 500AD covered the small Mayan village (along with most of El Salvador), preserving evidence of everyday life. It was found in 1976. Their shamans/herbalists used natural medicines and saunas. Obsidian knives were used for eye surgeries. Buried foods were found, like corn/chili peppers/black beans/and chocolate.

A long ride ensued to pass through a corner of Guatemala, and finally enter Honduras. The scenery was beautiful, and we stopped along beautiful Lake Coatapeche (an ancient volcano caldera) for lunch, passing sugar cane, banana, coffee, and cinnamon farms. At the border, all vehicles are checked for drugs, with special scanners for trucks. We finally arrived at Clarion Copan Ruinas, a very nice hotel.