Around the World with Marsha & Joel

Halfway up the switchback road from our hotel’s crater lake setting is Sololá Market. It’s an authentic indigenous market, not looking for tourists…as we find as we’re elbowed and pushed by the 5′ tall Mayans hurrying to set up and sell their goods. You can almost hear them thinking, “what in the hell are these hulking, slow-moving strangers doing blocking my way”!

The vegetables and fruit are even better and more varied than what we get from our organic CSA share.

The chicken is yellower than Purdue (from natural corn feed), and so fresh you can almost see them still moving.

Potatoes, squash, beans…the Mayan holy trinity. They are a religion.

The faces of the people are the essence of purity. Unfortunately the cool weather forces most to cover their beautiful local garb. Many groups are represented at the market — from all around the area, and each wears the specific clothing of their tribes. The women’s skirts are especially beautiful.

Many varieties of bread are staples of Mayan cuisine.

You rarely see a young Mayan woman without a couple of children nearby and one strapped to her back. They help at the market and are present everywhere the mother goes. There is no birth control among the indigenous Mayans.

One of the elder men. Take a look at the beautiful trousers and woolen skirt typical of the men in most of these local groups. They sometimes even wear a sash, all to keep their navels warm — It’s the center of their life force.

Flowers! Gorgeous, gorgeous flowers for sale everywhere, costing almost nothing. Beautiful long-stem roses are less than a dollar a dozen. An orchid might cost a quarter. Too bad they won’t travel home.

The proud kids really think they are helping…and usually are.

Selling men’s wool skirts. A couple of us are tempted, but thinking of the looks we would get at home…we keep walking.

A break at the Sololá town square. Young men shine shoes for a few pennies.

Carlos greets a local important elder he knows and explains his clothing and belonging to us.

Typical dress and blouse shown off by this woman…with the permission of her husband. We don’t take his picture standing by his new jeep in totally western clothing, looking as though he just returned from the gym and his personal trainer. He’s constantly answering his mobile phone and pacing. His serious (almost threatening) demeanor says his telephone transaction may be a bit nefarious.

Carlos giving me a few bits of insider information. He is a true gem, making our trip even more interesting and exciting than it would have been. We were supposed to have the afternoon off, but Carlos asks if we’d like to take a boat to visit one of the local, indigenous tribes a half hour around the lake; San Antonio Palapo. As you’ll see next, it was a very special extra visit.

Chichicastenango (Chichi) has been dubbed Guatemala’s Mecca del Turismo. It’s a spectacular and vast open air market that happens twice a week in this central highlands town. Not a whole lot of tourists on our trip, but tons of traders and Mayan weavers from all over the region.

Beautiful fruits and vegetables at every turn. Mind you though that tomorrow we’ll be visiting the Solola market in the hills above lake Atitlan. That is a totally indigenous market for the locals and an entirely different ambiance. Check the next blog post.

The weavings and needlework are very beautiful and range from intricate hand-done pieces that can cost $600 plus to still beautiful, simpler pieces at much lower cost.

Everyone has something interesting.

Fresh and enticing.

Showing off skills passed from generation to generation.

Tiny dried fish. Our guide says the highlanders use them as flavoring and ingredients for cooking, but the lowlanders use them for fertilizer. Interesting.

Chichi is a center of culture and religion as well. We visited the two churches in the town. Unfortunately no photos allowed inside. Although catholic in appearance, the Mayans worshiping there make no bones about practicing their own take on religion there. Remember, the Spanish threatened to kill them if they did not accept the trinity and Catholicism. So the thinking Maya decided they would look as though they were worshiping the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but actually were praying to their own trinity; corn, beans and squash. The rituals and alters inside were quite amazing to us. For example, crawling back and forth on bare knees to the alter, sometimes until bleeding.

At lunch in a local hotel we were entertained by some local Mayan children; costumes and dances. It’s how some families make their living. We tip generously as they did a terrific job. It’s hard to make a living in these parts. The oldest performer here was 18 and already married. The 15 year old girl was about to be taken as a wife shortly.

Across the road we see an incredibly colorful sight we don’t recognize. It turns out to be a Mayan cemetery. A public burial area bursting with tradition.

Family crypts and mausoleums. We see several ceremonies to the dead (usually asking for their help), held by shamen, placing amulets, food and candles, and smoking things that looked like loose cigars.

It appears the dead “live” better than the living. A neighborhood just across from the cemetery that reminded us very much of the favellas in Rio.

The sense of color and design is a wonder.

The setting is beautiful (until the local government decides the body of a loved one can’t be there anymore and you have to pay to get it moved to another cemetery…or the body is just dumped in the ravine adjacent.

A refreshing water fall on our way back to the Porta Hotel del Lago in Pana Jachel by lake Atitlan. Tomorrow the Sololá market.

A whirlwind tour of Guatemala City is almost all from our mini-bus windows. The old/historic part of town is pretty seedy and not really conducive to walking. The modern town is not really remarkable so we jump off for a few photos of monuments and move on to a wonderful restaurant for some delicious local tastes.

Speaking of tastes…I had the most delicious indigenous treat; Pepian. You find something similar in southern Mexico (Oaxaca particularly in red or black molés). The sauce here becomes almost a soup of small tomatillo-like fruits thickened and flavored with toasted and ground squash seeds, almonds and guajillo chilies. Add fresh tomatoes, cinnamon and lots of other piquant spices. Then use it to simmer chunks of chicken or beef with potatoes, local squash, and more. I’m starting to plan a Guatemalan meal for Bordentown. Who’s up for it?

As I said, walking in Guatemala City can be an adventure….

We drive up over 10,000 feet on our way to Lake Atitlan which itself is at 5,000. Here’s our first view of the lake and it’s surrounding active volcanoes. The lake is actually formed by a crater, and is home to 12 Mayan villages surrounding it.

Looking down toward our hotel/resort right on the lake. Truly one of the most picturesque, beautiful vistas in the world.

And the date was January 23…so here’s a shot of the birthday girl from our balcony. It’s a magical place to celebrate a magical day of birth — for those of you who don’t know, Marsha was born on 01/23/45. Once in a century numerology fit for the Mayans for sure!

The morning view from our room just before we set off to the spectacularly colorful village of Chichicastenango. See you there!