What can I say about this trip but being so thankful that Lourdes was with me and endured ALL the rain, mudslides, road closings and change of plans. We laughed a lot and dealt with the weather conditions. A tropical wave came off the Pacific and then a low hung over us for almost 1.5 weeks. One of the first questions Lourdes had for me prior to the trip is if we were going to ride “chicken buses” and was it safe to travel. A “chicken bus” is usually the old USA Bluebird diesel orange school buses that get exported to Central America when they are not considered safe any longer. Well all over South/Central America you will see them some in better shape than others. The diesel engines continue to tick so that’s why they get exported. They are usually painted very artistically and colorfully then named after some girlfriend or macho being. The insides don’t always get a facelift and seats are still the uncomfortable bench seats you may remember as a kid. Growing up in the country I REMEMBER! I assured her that we wouldn’t need to ride them and that the touristic buses were safe. Well the only buses that were traveling during this timeframe were the “chicken buses” as their income depends on it, usually know the back roads and are less concerned about their safety. I hadn’t realized that Lourdes had never been on a “chicken bus”!! But we not only used buses but also many other modes of transport like – tuk tuks (small 3 wheeled covered cars imported from Thailand), pickupardos (trucks where you rode in the back with a plastic sheet on the top), shuttle vans and tourist transport buses.
So here’s our general route over the 2 weeks we traveled with lots of small village stops in between. We went from Guatemala City to Solala, to Panajachel Lake Atitlan region, to Chichicastenango and then Antigua. We had thought that we were going to travel further but weather limited us. We chose this area for the mayan culture and traditional craft/weaving. There is too much to really write about and possibly pretty boring for you so I will try to touch on the highlights.
We were very impressed with how hard and long the mayan men, women and children work ALL day. They live in basic structures, grow or raise whatever they need to eat and may walk miles to be able to sell their craft. Each mayan group has their own traditional dress, color, weave pattern and style. I guess they were forced into this so the spanish could identify them. The weight of the weave and how its worn differs in the highlands vs the tropical areas. Even the men in certain regions where the traditional weaved pants, shirt and skirt (especially in the highlands). But that is falling off as the women don’t have time to weave the items that they can sell to the tourists. There is lots of history and battles the mayan endured during the spanish take over of land and life. Their beliefs are deep and ceremonies varied with LOTS of candles (red, yellow, white or black depending on the need), flower pedals and copal (a natural incense from the bark of tropical trees). They use idols like Maximon, mayan figures and saints mixed in with christian beliefs so its abit confusing when you look at their altars or praying/healing rooms. The churches are shared and have different times for their services. The mayan use shamans and go to mountain spirit centers for removal of bad habits, health, crops and marriage, etc.
We were able to see mayan shaman cleansing after hiking to the hillside ceremony site with a local guide. They used white eggs rolling them around his body, then more prayer, then yellow candles, then both smoking a large cigar, then incense. The daughter waited patiently to the side for this to finish. The guide asked if we wanted one so I guess even gringos can partake. They traditionally don’t bath how we do but in a special shallow sauna hut you lay inside.
It was difficult to understand who and how does one become a shaman. Usually they are men but we did meet a women that had secret separate structure/rooms by her home where she performs. Her girl brought us in these rooms in hopes to obtain a monetary offering. We got into this home mearly by being curious when I saw 2 young girls lap weaving in the door opening while we were walking around the back streets. We do believe that there are special shaman’s that are part of the mayan service and during special mayan holidays have wear special customs and masks. Usually they were owned or passed down to the new shaman’s but now they rent them from a special mayan man that has that skill.
We traveled, ate and slept very reasonably. The market comedor’s was usually where we ate for less than $4 each, slept in hostels or hotels for less than $10-15/night and traveled via “chicken bus” for less than $5. I have always said that if you REALLY want to travel you don’t have to have a lot of money. The young European/Canadian backpackers even spend less…. But if you wanted to stay in 5 star accomodations it is a lot less than most countries – especially USA.
We saw LOTS of craft, markets, weavers, cooperatives and even got dressed by mayan in traditional wear. We both came back to Guatemala City with lots more than we expected. I think we fed off each other in our interest for traditional craft but in all the countries we have visited I have never acted this way. The craft weavings are wonderful and usually pretty reasonably priced. They expected you to bargain with them and at times forgot how poor they are and what did $1-5 US really mean in the bigger picture of my life. Most of the time we would sit and observe what was happening and how they operated their lives – totally facinating. They are like work horses in how much weight they balance on their heads or how the men use a strap wrapped around the front of their heads to carry bags of corn, furniture, wood for cooking, etc.
The rain….. we got stuck in Panajachel for a few days as bolders fell on 2 of the main roads, roads washed away, rivers flooded and homes on the edge fell in. It was cold and we felt especially sad for the mayan in how many lives and homes were lost. It was a national alert to warn of travel and road repairs. Considering their budget I felt the government did a great job in communicating and providing resources for both local and tourists. We finally decided that maybe we could find a way to leave Panajachel after talking to police, locals drivers, military, tourist travel boards as you never got exactly the same story so you hedged with what appeared to be most similar and IT WORKED. We got out to the main street around 7:30am and started looking for transport. We looked around the corner and saw a “chicken bus” where did that come from as there hadn’t been buses here for the last 4 days…. The driver said he drove the back roads all night from Quetzaltanango and was headed back in 15 minutes. Of course, we still look around for other options to make sure as 15 minutes could really mean as long as it takes to get a bus load… We also wonder about our safety, what the other roads look like and how can this same driver keep driving. So we hang in the area and within 15 minutes or so the driver starts the engine. Off we go to the nearest town (Los Encuentros) on the main highway of which we can find other buses to get to Chichicastenango. It was rainy, foggy and traveled on many windy, hilly roads with mudslides. I’m certain the views would have been spectacular if only it was clear. The driver kept receiving or making calls to what appeared to be getting updates on the road conditions ahead. We finally got to the main interstate with a HUGE traffic jam due to road closing/narrowing to 1 lane for both directions. The driver motioned for us to get off and get over to another “chicken bus” that had just cut in front of us. Lourdes got off/on alternative bus faster than me so had to force the driver to wait for me to get there. I was delayed due to normal VERY crowded bus and taking photos of how odd this was happening…. So life is not always as you plan and one learns to make the most of it – usually! I have to admit I was struggling with my emotions and felt awful for Lourdes.
Lifes adventures continue as long as you have courage and health! My Love
Rose