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Feb - Mar 2002: My friend Priscilla and I took a trip to Guatemala (and briefly into Honduras).

Guatemala, week 1

Jennifer Radcliffe
2005-11-11 11:32:05

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the sense that life here, and in most of rural Guatemala, is very simple. Many people have ways of making a living that are very simple, very pragmatic. There are men who have little carts they roll around full of ice cream (helado) to sell to people. Women and men walk around with baskets of cut fruit such as mangoes, pineapple, or papaya, or fried plantains or papas fritas (french fries). When a chicken bus makes a stop in a busy place, a few vendors hop on board with their food and drinks and walk down the aisle to sell their goods. Snacks like these, and food in general, is very cheap here. A little bag of fried plantains or cut fruit costs 2 quetzals (about 30 cents) and an ice cream cone (the kind made by a company and hygenically wrapped in paper) costs 5q (65 cents). One of my favorite foods sold on the street can be found in Antigua. There are women who have cart-stoves, who set up shop near corners around town and make the most delicious quesadillas. They are small and thick with delicious melted cheese inside the tortilla, and when you request one, the lady slathers it with guacamole, picante sauce, and a cabbage salad mixture. (I've heard the cabbage isn't very clean though, so I request mine "sin repolla.") All this for 5q - 65 cents. Two of these are a meal! I'm particularly enjoying the food on this trip. Another unique delicacy is called "atol", a thick yellow warm drink made from plantains or corn, sugar and cinammon. It's delicious! Alot of people have it for breakfast, or an afternoon snack. I got the recipes from my Spanish teacher, and I'm going to try to recreate the drinks at home.

While in Chichi we bought a little bit of frankincense at the market and as is customary, made an offering of it in the fire in front of the church, and prayed as our offering was released upward to the heavens. We visited the church for a while, and enjoyed seeing the candles and designs made with flower petals in the center aisle. Afterwards we sat on the steps for a while and enjoyed the view of the town from above.

Later we walked to the cemetary on the edge of town and walked around, reading the tombstones as we went. We saw one dating back from the 1700's! There were a few without nameplates that looked even older. It didn't look like any cemetary I'd ever seen - the tombs were above ground and were brightly painted with different colors. The colors were very vibrant, and very beautiful. As we walked further into the cemetary, we saw a woman performing a Mayan ritual, and we were careful not to disturb her. The religion in Guate is very interesting. In many cases, people have simply overlaid Catholicism onto their pre-existing Mayan beliefs and practices, and a unique fusion of old and new, pagan and orthodox is the result. People generally are very devout here, and their faith serves as a strong social and cultural adhesive. As in Dubai and Muscat, religions serves to bring people together in communion with eachother. Processions and the church bells on Fridays and Sundays are reminders and serve to unite the town. I think religion also brings people together in the US, but it seems more optional. Attendance isn't compulsory. Also, most towns are built around a central church, which sound out daily or weekly reminders, such as church bells. It's something that I enjoy experiencing while traveling.

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