Back in the USA

We're in the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fl.  We'll be home soon.  Vacation is over.

Pacaya

Today we woke up at 5:15 am to be ready for a 6 am shuttle to the volcano Pacaya. As on typical Guatemalan time, the shuttle arrived around 6:15 and it was 6:30 am before we had everyone (the shuttle goes around the city to hotels picking up people). Before leaving Antigua the shuttle driver then stopped at a coffee shop. "Coffee? Sandwich?"   By the time we left Antigua it was 7:00 am.

Our hour long ride to the volcano was the typical Guatemalan ride, leaving us rattled, frazzled and laughing.  However, we were pleased that today's shuttle had seat belts. 

Our group was comprised of the others in our shuttle since you seem to not be able to hike the Pacaya Volcano without a guide - a girl from Maryland with her aunt, cousin, and cousin's fiancé (from Honduras), three 20-somethings from Ireland, and a Mexican man (seemingly in his 40's) and his father. Diverse group.

We never would have found this National Park had we been on our own!!  The road was dirt and single lane, winding through the countryside.  At the trailhead, we paid a fee and were assigned our mandatory guide.  (Are you taking notes Ranger Speers...new funding source?)  The trailhead area seemed to be the residence of the guides, trail hands, and those caring for the horses.  They were joined by their children, dogs, and chickens.   As you exited the shuttle, you were swarmed by boys asking you to buy a walking stick, telling you, "You need.  Necessary."

We were soon on our way.  Men with horses followed us up the trail, in case anyone wanted to ride.  Within five minutes the mother from Honduras was on a horse.  Ten minutes later the 20-something year old daughter did likewise.  The hike was uneventful and we were at the lava flow within an hour or two.  The girls roasted marshmallows over hot lava rocks and we walked to the base of the lava flow.  The hike down went quickly and we made our way back to Antigua.

Picaya Volcano (with our adopted dog we named Daisy - she seemed like a Daisy)

Roasting marshmallows over hot lava rocks.

Our crew rested a bit, showered, and then headed back out to the streets of Antigua to spend our remaining quetzals.  We had a wonderful dinner at Frida's, named after the famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.  Jeff and Brooke got t-shirts in the mercado, where Jeff haggled over the price. T-shirts were being sold in a big store next to Frida's for 85 quetzals a piece.  Jeff thought we could do better at the main market so we headed there.  The minute we walked up to the t-shirt stand and asked how much a t-shirt cost, the man said, "Cincuenta y cinco (55)."  He then immediately followed with, "Cincuenta for you."  Then, "How much you pay?" Jeff got both t-shirts for 90 quetzals.  He's convinced he could have done much better if we had time to walk away.

We ended our night (for the second night in a row) with crepes from Luna de Miel (Honeymoon in Spanish.)  Delicious!  

Crepes!

We're settled into our hotel for the night.  Packing to go home.  Our shuttle leaves the hotel tomorrow at 8:30 am and our flight leaves Guatemala City around noon.  We won't get back to Queensbury though until about 3:30 am on Tuesday.  We're looking forward to seeing family and friends, and to sleeping in our own beds!

Antigua

Yesterday we finished our last day of language school, said our goodbyes, and jumped on a shuttle bus to Antigua.  The road was rough, windy and slow.  During the four hours of travel, our only entertainment was watching the back of a chicken bus.  Guatemalans once again demonstrated their refusal to admit something could be full.  This particular bus was so full, that they opened up the emergency door in the back of the bus to allow more passengers.  If the guy hanging out the back door had fallen, at least six more people would have spilled out after him.  He was the lynch pin.

We checked into the Yellow House; our first stay in a hostel.  This hostel is pretty swank, and is our most upscale digs so far.  The bathrooms are shared, but they seem to be cleaned after each use.  They sparkle and smell of bleach.  In case we forgot how to use a toilet, they even included instructions.

The showers are equally clean, had ample hot water, and are not of the suicide variety.  For those of you who have never heard of a suicide shower, I've added the picture below.  These are 'on demand' hot water, and the most common configuration in Guatemala.  As you might imagine, we haven't had such a relaxing shower since we left the states.

Most Guatemalan showers, but not at the Yellow House!  :-)

The breakfast spread at the Yellow House was amazing; omelets, potatoes, roasted tomatoes, pancakes, frijoles and Guatemalan coffee.  We enjoyed it on the rooftop of the hostel while watching Volcán de Fuego erupt.  That's right...this volcano was spewing ash while we sipped coffee and ate pancakes.  How's that for danger Miss Katie?!  Actually, this volcano has been having minor and frequent eruptions for a long time and poses no danger.  However, it has to be the best backdrop for breakfast we've ever experienced.


Ruh roh!  That's no cloud Shaggy!!

Having nothing to do, we stopped at the front desk for ideas.  We ended up signing up for a cooking class.  More learning!  Over the course of the 3.5 hours, we made pepian (a classic Guatemalan dish), beet salad, rice, tortillas and rellenitos (a plantain, bean and chocolate dessert).  In addition, we had unlimited wine and lime-aide while we cooked.  We finished our course with a feast, and were on our way.

The Tortilla Ninja

Following cooking class, we went shopping.  We found the same textiles, leather work, woodwork and trinkets that we have found throughout Guatemala.  "What d'ya need?"  "Good price for you...almost free!"  After a quick dinner, we settled in for a relaxing evening.  Tomorrow, we rise early to hike a different volcano; Pacaya.

Power Outage and Shopping

Yesterday, like most days we’ve been here, the morning was sunny and clear.  By the time we began our afternoon language class, it clouded up and rained.  By nightfall it was thundering and lightning.  As a result we were without power from dinner until 7:30 am this morning.

Our morning run has come to be known as a steeplechase rather than a regular run.  This is due to…

1.        We need to watch where we place every step due to the cobblestones and the dog feces that speckle the road from the previous night. 

2.       Tuk-tuks, motorcycles, delivery trucks and the occasional car simply beep as they come up the road, expecting you to be out of their way by the time they get there.  The roads are not wide and tuk-tuks don’t like to slow down.  We were passengers in a tuk-tuk on Sunday, and witnessed a little girl plaster herself against the side of a building after hearing our horn.  That’s exactly what they expect you to do. 

3.       We have to dodge the individual or packs of dogs.  Yesterday when running a dog snarled and went for Jeff as we went by.  Although most of the dogs are friendly, you need to give them wide birth just in case. 

4.       The narrow, cobblestone streets are full of people beginning their days.  Traditional roles still exist here in Guatemala, and the morning rituals demonstrate this.  Men and boys are loaded up in the back of pick-up trucks, carrying hoes, shovels, and machetes; making their way out to the nearby fields to work for the day.  Girls and very small boys are dressed in school clothes – either traditional clothing or uniforms depending on their schools – and are heading to school with backpacks on and oftentimes lunches in their hands.  We noticed that some boys, who seemed school-age, were heading to the fields to work.  We asked Marta about this at breakfast and she said it is common for school-age boys to work in the fields during the morning and go to school during the afternoon.  Jeff can’t wait to tell his students when they complain about how hard things are for them.  Women are in traditional Guatemalan ornate clothing, carrying baskets in arms or on their heads, heading to the market for the food for the day.  Like women around the world, they are stopping along the way to catch up with friends about village happenings.  Jeff commented that this was the Facebook of San Pedro La Laguna. 

We did not teach English yesterday so that we could souvenir shop and run miscellaneous errands.  We didn’t want to wait for our last full day and need to pack up on Thursday night.  We all had things in mind we’d been wanting to buy.  We’ll have class Friday morning, eat lunch with Marta, and then be on the shuttle for Antigua at 2 pm. No time to shop then!

Brooke - At the beginning of our shopping trip we passed an open art and jewelry shop. I had been wanting to get a painting the whole trip, but never did. We all went into the shop where I found a beautiful painting of the lake and with a woman carrying material on her head and a man hauling stones on his back, just like they still do in Guatemala. I asked the woman in the shop how much it cost and she told me 260 quetles, while Lynn and my mom talked to a guy from Seattle who was up here visiting his son. Lynn and my mother told me I should think about the purchase some more and that we would have to ask dad how we could even get it home. We went around town and my mother purchased a scarf and a hand crafted bowl. My sister got a pillow case and a hand crafted bowl as well. We went back to see our Spanish mom and my mom purchased 2 towels to hold bread in (or tortillas), and Marta gave another one to my mom as a gift. She told her that she saw it at the market and thought of her. When my dad came down I asked him what he thought about the painting and what my options were. He told me he thought it was a great idea…and listed my options.

1.       Show up at the gate with it and pay $100.

2.       Pre-purchase the allowance of my painting for $40.

3.       We could check a bag and put my painting inside.

4.       Roll up the painting.

5.       Ship it home.

My father and I looked up the process of rolling up my painting, and decided that that was the best way to get my painting home, without paying a bunch of money. While my dad and I were discussing this, my mother was telling Marta the lowdown about my painting.  Marta told her that if I wanted to get the painting, she should go with us because then they would know that we were living with her so she might be able to get a deal. She also said that that was a very high price and she could probably get it lower than that.

Marta, my dad, and I headed off the purchase my painting about 10 minutes after that. Marta got the price from 260 quetzales down to 200 quetzales. How? I didn’t get all of it but I took a couple of hints from the angry glares.

“260.”

“No, no, no, look at this girl. That is a ridiculous price.”

“Who is she?”

“She’s going to language school here.”

“240.”

“*Shaking her head* I think you can go lower than that.”

“I’m not allowed to.”

“Yes you can.”

“I’ll give it to her for 215 and I will roll it for her.”

“No, no, no. I can wrap it myself. So what’s that, 200 quetzales?”

“What?! No.”

*Stare down from Marta*

“Fine, but that’s the lowest I’m going.”

Now, I have my beautiful painting for about $25, all thanks to Marta. My painting is laying in her room waiting to be rolled. When I left that store with a huge smile on my face, all I had in my head was the song “We Are The Champions.” I am probably never allowed back in that store again, but that’s ok, we leave tomorrow.



Brooke's Painting!!

At class today I (Kathy) learned a lot about Guatemala during class today.  At the end of the 2^nd instruction book, there are 3 passages in Spanish for you to read (so they can hear your pronunciation) and to show your comprehension.  The first passage was about the Mayan cultures and languages.  There are 24 different Mayan languages still spoken in Guatemala.  Tzu’tujil is the language spoken in San Pedro, and it is spoken in 5 other villages around Lake Atitlan.  According to Juan Carlos, my instructor, the clothing varies from village to village too.  The second passage was about the 3 volcanoes surrounding Lake Atitlan, and the third was about a “spirit” of the lake that washes away the sins of the people (ie: washing clothes, cars, motorcycles in the lake) every afternoon.  Interesting.

 Here’s an excerpt I found on the internet that explains Xocomil:

 A special phenomenon of the Atitlan Lake is a strong wind known as “Xocomil”, a word that etymolocally comes from the Xocom kaqchile voices that means sins, in other words the wind picks up the sins of the population living around the lake.

That wind occurs at noon time, when the warm winds coming from the south encounters the cold winds coming from the highlands. When they mix they result in a water movement which generates strong waves.

Here is a picture of the 4 of us with our instructors:




Top: Juan Carlos (my teacher), Manuel (Jeff's teacher), Jeff
Bottom: Me, Vicenta (Brooke's teacher), Brooke, Celeste (Lynn's teacher), Lynn

 Marta asked us at lunch to go with her to the store down by the lake between our Spanish classes and dinner.  This store has American, Asian, Italian, etc. types of foods. Marta does not know what a lot of it is, as the labels are in English. She was interested in knowing what the foods are so that she can make them for other students from the school who stay here.  So, after class Lynn and I went to the store with her. We explained tarter sauce, instant soups (the concept of instant was amazing to her- ready in 10 minutes?!), etc. to her in the store.  Some foods are difficult to explain without the Spanish knowledge.  Sesame oil?

When walking down the road, I was walking in front of Marta and Lynn so that we could give way to the tuk-tuks and cars.  When I turned around to talk to them, I saw the sweetest scene.  Marta and Lynn were walking arm-in-arm and Marta was reviewing her English with Lynn.  The conversation went something like this…

“Donde – where?”

“Yes.”

“Que – what?”

“Yes.”

“Como – how?”

“Yes.”

“Quien – who?”

“Yes.”

“Galleta – cookie?” (big smile on face)

“Yes.”

Marta is so excited to be learning English.  By the end of dinner tonight she successfully said, “Where is the cookie?” in English.  So sweet!

Last night was the worst night’s sleep.  Two dogs argued all night long!  Neither changed their location and one was located near us.  They barked back and forth to each other all night.  Just when they would stop and you would begin to go to sleep, a firework would go off.  Really? 3 am, 4 am and you’re still doing fireworks? We're told it's Catholics celebrating a wedding or some obscure saint.  Do you not sleep? Hopefully tonight will be better. 

Kayaking

Today was a pretty normal day overall.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Marta. Teaching English in the am and learning Spanish in the pm.  Today we squeezed in a little fun in the sun though!


Between English and Spanish classes, we went kayaking.  Brooke has been dying to do this the entire time we've been here.  Today we finally did it since it was a gorgeous day.  We figured we'd take advantage of the nice weather since overall the weather has been unpredictable (from sunny and high 80's to cloudy/rainy and 60's).

Kayaking was very enjoyable.  Jeff and Brooke swam in the lake.  Both also got sun-burned.  We especially enjoyed the Israeli party boat that took off with a packed boat of dancing people on two decks along with jamming beat!  We saw/heard them returning to the dock 4 hours later too. 














At breakfast this morning Marta did make us feel very good when she told Jeff and I (after the girls left) that our girls were beautiful both on the outside and on the inside.

Gringo Night

Yesterday morning we went to church at the only Catholic church in San Pedro.  It was packed.  According to one of the teachers at Orbita, there is only one Catholic church in San Pedro but there are seven Evangelic Christian churches. Mass, however, was packed because the majority of the people in San Pedro are Catholic.  Marta is Evangelic so she did not go to church with us.

The Catholic Church in San Pedro
(photo taken our first day in San Pedro - no, we didn't go to church dressed like that)

Last night, we also took a walk to the town cemetery.  Jeff and I had happened upon it on a run one day and wanted to take the girls back to it.  It is very different from a cemetery in the US.  It was an experience to walk around and see how they honor those who have passed.

Cemetery

Outside part of the cemetery.  One row is covered (photo above) and the rest of the cemetery is like this.

This morning's breakfast was once again a learning experience for all of us.  Due to our telling her about our visit to the Catholic church in Santiago, and the priest who was killed during the civil war, Marta got talking to us about how the war affected San Pedro.  She told us about how her brother was shot and killed by the military (Although she didn't say this, this same military was funded by the US under Ronald Reagan in the name of fighting communism), and how his five sons came to be raised by her parents as a result of it.  The boys' mother left after their father was killed, so the boys went to their grandparents.  She explained to us how the men separated themselves from the women and children to keep them safe.  She recalled sitting in the corner of their house, crouched down in fear, listening to the soldiers in the street.  Her parents sheltered their daughters and grandchildren, while the men slept elsewhere.  She said that in the middle of the night men would be taken from the houses and either killed or brought into the army.  She told about mass graves being dug and men being lined up beside them in a mass execution style.  The wives of these men were often raped.  Pretty much every family was affected by the civil war in some way.  She and her brothers and sisters gave their parents part of their paychecks for many years to help her parents raise her nephews.  Although the children of San Pedro stopped going to school, Marta's father continued to educate Marta and her brothers and sisters.  Because of this, five of them became teachers.  Now, the next generation of her family includes many attending universities.  Both of Marta's sons are in medical school, Irving is studying to become an engineer, and Jonna is studying to become a teacher.  We think that Marta's family is an exception to most in San Pedro and Guatemala in general.  It was a very disturbing but interesting breakfast.  It is sad what the Guatemalans have endured.

Lynn and Brooke helped Marta and Irving with their English while Jeff and I went to the school to teach the English lessons.  When Jeff and I returned, the girls and I made chocolate chip cookies and pizza dough with Marta.  She wrote the recipes in a notebook as we cooked, and marveled at the amount of chocolate chips in the cookies.  She told us how her sister makes chocolate chip pancakes by pouring the batter on the griddle and then sprinkling 3-4 chocolate chips on a pancake.  She had a cookie when they came out of the oven, and to our pleasure, she enjoyed every bite.  She said that one cookie would cost eight quezales in a restaurant.  That's about $1 a cookie, which is a lot to Guatemalans.  We thoroughly enjoyed cooking with her.  We took four cookies to class to give to our teachers.

Lynn and Marta with the cookies

 
We made four pizzas tonight - pepperoni, Hawaiian, pesto, and mushroom.  Irving, and a different niece of Marta's joined us for pizza.  The dough actually came out great, which we were very glad about.  We usually buy the pizza dough at Hannaford so the fact that I didn't kill the yeast and the dough actually rose was amazing!  The pizza crust was very thin so it was a traditional NY Style pizza.  The propane tank for Marta's oven ran out while cooking the first pizza (we could only cook one at a time because there is only 1 rack in the oven)! But, Marta urgently called Pedro, the propane man, and he brought us a new tank.  The first pizza cooked completely so we each ate a slice and gave a smiling Pedro the 8th slice!  The amount was perfect, as we only had four slices left over. I was really glad because I was worried we wouldn't have enough.  The chocolate chip cookies were served for dessert.  Marta told us at the end of the meal that her stomach was full and her heart was content.  Jeff told her - "Nosotros tambien!"

Pizza making

Enjoying the finished product!

Overall today was a great day.  We are back into the groove of school and the sun was shining, which always makes one happy!

Right Winger, Left Winger

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth report that the Amondowa people of the Amazon jungle have no concept of time except day/night and wet season/dry season.  The day isn’t broken up into hours and they seemingly have no way to mark dates on a calendar.  A person from this tribe could not tell you their age.  Seems like the perfect place for our friend John Evans, who is permanently on island time.

Through our observations, we believe that Guatemalans also lack a concept familiar to us.  The concept I refer to is, “Too full.”  Strangely, they have a very strong sense of, “Not full enough.”  What evidence leads us to our conclusion?   On the way to Lake Atitlan, we took a chicken bus, and no matter how many people were riding, the bus was not full.  It was impossible to fill the bus.  Today, we had the same experience on a water taxi to Santiago Atitlan.  The water taxi was a bit over capacity by our standards, but still more people could fit.  At a point, we felt that we were dangerously full and in danger of capsizing, but still more could fit.  Thoughts of ferries in third world countries capsizing and drowning all came to mind.  Then we remembered that we were on a ferry in a third world country…  Finally, we disembarked; riding so low that water was splashing into the boat.  Luckily, they didn’t take up space with life jackets or we may have actually been full.

After getting about 100 yards out on the lake, the motor on the boat stalled.  Kathy had comforting flashbacks from her teenage years.  “The boat’s fine Kathy Lynn.”  That’s what her father used to tell her about the car she could drive.  She was just about to crawl back the where the boat motor was located to stick a screwdriver in the carburetor when the boat motor roared back to life.  We went another half mile, and the motor stalled again.  As we drifted, we contemplated what our losses would be if we had to swim to shore.  We’d definitely loose the camera and video camera.  The girls would be able to swim to shore easily.  Kathy and I probably would make it... 

The motor fired up again and off we went.  I guess the motor just needed to warm up.  On a serious note, all of you Republicans and Libertarians who want to minimize the role of government should move to Guatemala.  They have very little of that, so they can fit as many people on a boat as they want, and not waste money on life jackets.  Also, they are free to dump raw sewage into one of the world’s most beautiful lakes.  Doesn’t that sound like utopia?  As for me, I’m more thankful for OSHA and the EPA than ever.

We pulled into the dock at Santiago Atitlan and were once again accosted by tour operators.  We hired a tuk-tuk driver who took us to the main sites.  Our first stop of note was to see Maximom, the Mayan deity that I spoke of in an earlier post.  Without our driver, we never would have found Maximom; who changes homes each year.  We were surprised, and a bit suspicious, when the driver stopped because the location was only marked with spray paint on the side of the building.  I guess Maximom really does go from house to house!  We went inside the room where Maximom was seated.  It was surrounded by a dozen Mayans who were drinking and standing vigil.  Maximom, true to form, had a cigarette in his mouth.  Each of us made an offering and prayed for safe return to home and left.  The story of Maximom is very interesting, and is best told here.

 

The approach to Maximom's temporary home.

Maximom

Next, our driver took us to the Peace Park.  During the Guatemalan civil war, Santiago was caught in the middle of the conflict between guerilla fighters and the Guatemalan army.  Thousands of people from Santiago were killed and most of the families of this small, remote town lost someone.  This park marks the spot of the army’s ‘temporary’ base.  For ten years, the army was stationed here and fought the guerillas, who were located in the surrounding mountains.  On December 2, 1990 thousands of residents gathered at the base to demand justice for a crime committed by the base commander.  The army responded with gunfire, killing a dozen men, women and children.  As a result of this, the entire town banded together, and with one voice made it known that they did not want either the army or the guerillas in their town.  Their efforts were successful, and the president removed the soldiers.  To this day, the Guatemalan army is not allowed in Santiago Atitlan.

The Peace Park with our driver Pedro.

Mural at the Peace Park

Our last stop was the Catholic church and town market.  The church was built in 1571.  Inside was a memorial to Father Stanley Francis Rother, who was murdered by a right-wing death squad in 1981 for trying to help the people of Santiago.  His body was buried in his native Oklahoma, but at the request of the local Tz'utujil people, his heart was interred at this church.  He is considered a martyr of the Catholic Church and has been declared a Servant of God; one step on the path to sainthood.

Catholic church, est. 1571.



Memorial to Father Rother

By this time, we were tuckered out, so we wound our way through the crowded marketplace, boarded the mostly seaworthy San Juan, and headed back to San Pedro.