On Wednesday, another traveler named Allison from Vancouver invited us to check out La Mercado de Artisanes on the main road in town. We had some good conversation comparing different ways of life in Australia, Canada, and the States. We then sauntered through the market, looking at the various colorful garmets and accessories. Guatemalans are very proud people, I have noticed. In most of the markets, vendors have 4-6 feet of space in front of their stand, but boy do they care about them! Almost all of the vendors at some point were sweeping their 23 cobblestones and then mopping them for the best possible presentation possible. I can tell you for a fact their key demographic (tourists with a fascination for momentos and more money than they know what to do with) will rarely if at all take note of the cleanliness of the stones in front of a tienda full of colorful goods...but they care and I love that!
Hannah and I are realizing our diet is pretty much as healthy as you can get! The hostel- provided breakfast (usually one egg, a piece of bread, and either beans or pineapple) starts the day out well...meal 2, if we remember it, is usually a chocolate-dipped, single scoop cappuccino waffle cone from Sarita (because it's scrumptious and only $1) ...meal 3 we usually remember right before going to bed, so that is something on hand (lately 4 Ritz crackers). Based on the "you are what you eat" mantra, we are soooo happy!
On Thursday, Allison, Hannah, and I headed on a hike up to Santiago del Cruz. Our mamita gave us perfect directions that we of course were confused by...fast forward 30 minutes and 5 other direction-giving individuals later and we reached the bottom of a insanely steep cobblestone street leading up to more rural-like housing. By steep I mean easily 40-45 degrees. We continued on that for a good 20 minutes, passing a basketball court that gets my vote for "Most Colors Used in a Sporting Field/Venue." At the top, there was a small statue and open field...but no cross. Many jumping pictures were taken regardless because, well, why not? A group of military cadets had just finished running up the near-vertical road and managed to muster up enough energy to applaud us in our self-timed jumping endeavors. With the help of local law enforcement (conveniently located almost anywhere a silly foreigner could wander), we were pointed in the right direction...just down from where we were. La Cruz is simply the best physical representation/symbol of the general spiritual and religious beliefs the people of Guatemala possess. I have yet to walk into any establishment that does not have at least one sign saying "Dios bendiga esta casa/negocio y quien la habita." After helping another couple take jumping photos, we headed back down.
In going with the "Why Not" theme of activities, Hannah and I decided to take a beginners salsa class. We learned the bare basics before a fellow gringa walked in, asked how it was going to the instruction, and before we knew it was performing the male steps to the dance opposite one of us. Just saying, pretty awkward. Jersey (I'm sure that wasn't her name) and our instructor then gave us a one song-long example of what salsa looks like when done with more than 5 basic steps. They killed it! We didn't know what happened, but it was quality, near-competition grade entertainment for sure. We were almost there ;)
To negate any calories we may have burned from basic-stepping our salsa behinds off, Allison joined us for another choco cone from Sarita's...it only seemed appropriate since she was part of our huge face-stuffing fest at Ronny's Tacos earlier that day. We went grocery stopping in hopes to not spend so much money at restaurants. Turns out, in Guatemala, you can get a liter of rum that comes with a bag of chips and 1.5L of Pepsi for a few Quetzals cheaper than a box of cereal....just sayin'. The pairings of free stuff had to be my favorite - I mean, who wouldn't want a bag of pasta sauce when they buy their orange juice?
On Friday, Hannah and I embarked on our Volcan Pacaya hiking adventure with 12 other people from various hostels in Antigua. 2 Londoners got in the van after being picked up from a different UmmaGumma and immediately continued talking about these "weird bites" they had - we felt it our duty to drop the knowledge with great pride, confidence, and embarrassment. Once at the base of the Volcan, our van was surrounded by 5 horsemen...had we not been in a van, I would have sworn we were extras on the Pony Express. It turns out they were there to prey on the weak, the lazy, and the out of shape. As you slowly ascend the trail at a 35-45-degree angle, these caballeros say things like "this is Candy - she is very sweet, come ride her and actually enjoy this for only Q100." They followed us halfway, just beyond a very steep shortcut- I assume they figure if you didn't have a coronary on that bit, you'll make it. Momentarily, I thought I may be wheezing and have been an undiagnosed asthmatic this whole time... but I then realized that was the sound of one who is out of shape and plans her day around choco cones. Once at the top, I felt like we were in Mordor...there was molten rock everywhere around us and steam emerging from the cracks and crevasses on the volcanic floor. Two other Londoners came prepared with marshmallows - let me tell you, if you want to really throw an amazing Smores party, just pop on over and set up on the nearest active volcano near you. THE most perfectly roasted marshmallow I've ever had. Lava...who knew? The perfect roaster and personal sauna. Also, note to all other marshmallow manufacturers... if you make them one color on the inside and a different on the outside, people will choose yours! We weren't able to go all the way to the top and into the crater since it last erupted one year prior....they gave some lame excuse like "blah blah blah your safety....blah blah you could die." Once all of the ominous fog/steam cleared some, our location rendered some amazing views of the other two major volcanoes in the area - Fuego y Acetenango. We actually saw Fuego erupt three times while we were in sight of it - little Mario Brothers-esque mushroom-shaped clouds of smoke would form at its peak. Once we all thought all the climbing had taken place, our guide took us up a 45-50 degree (sometimes I embellish, I admit that, but I got a confirmation from Hannah on this one) path that led to even greater views and brought us to an almost even level with the crater. Great weather, sights, jumping pictures, and downhill hiking towards the end of the morning rounded out the experience perfectly. **Side note: "Un Techo Para Mi Pais" (A Roof for My Country) is a really great company that sells beautifully hand-crafted jewelry and other products that use actual molten lava from Pacay in their designs - check it out.
After walking 10 blocks, asking 5 different individuals, and spending 30 minutes trying to find a cafe called La Luna del Miel, we ate some amazing savory and sweet crepes upon a fellow hiker's recommendation. Who do you know is that dedicated to finding crepes....that's right, these kids! With food in our bellies, we headed with Hotlanta (aka Kira) and Karen (Toronto) to Oscelot, a really quaint, dark, and charismatic jazz bar to hear some live music. I really enjoy the K2 team....their personalities are very open and make you feel like you've known them for years. Plus, it doesn't hurt that they have great stories and make you laugh. The musician, a curly-haired gentlemen in his late mid-to-late 30s was tearing it up...there was not one still person in the place. You could literally watch a few people try to fight it but then cave, especially when he would play a few notes slightly behind the beat. Great head bobbage. He was later joined by a trumpeter with a mute who made the moment quite euphoric. Great music, great company, great conversation, and not getting sick from our drinks that had ice in them = bliss.
On Saturday, we tagged along with K2 on a trip out to San Miguel to watch the non-profit "As Green As It Gets" at work in their coffee fields. After yet another steep hike and meeting Franklin (go-to coordinator for most AGAIG projects in the Antigua area of Guatemala) and Freddie (the local coffee farmer whose life has improved since becoming an partner/member of AGAIG), we got an education about the various steps and processes that go into the cup of what you may be drinking at this very moment. It is so complicated and gave me such a greater appreciation for the hard work behind things you take for granted. Rudy, Freddie's 12-year-old son, then guided us through the city taking us to different AGAIG vendors. Sylvia is a woman who has crafted a very universal base for creams (hand, face, foot) using various oils of local crops - this lecture was all in Spanish and we understood!! Very proud. We then met Maria, the 16-year-old phenom who made a lip balm from local oils and products, who is quite the success story - sold locally in San Miguel, then with AGAIG, and appealed to a Best Buy owner, who now orders her product by the thousands. She has been doing this since she was 13!! Makes me feel somewhat lazy but extremely proud of her and the success she has created for herself. We learned SO much that morning about local farming and the new products emerging from the community of San Miguel...very thankful K2 let us tag along!
We spent the remainder of the day eating, chilling, repacking, and getting ready for the long bus ride to Flores (12 hours in total). The music in the van to Guatemala City was initially hysterical and slowly became more like Chinese water torture the longer we sat in traffic - three versions of "Sound of Silence" (hotel lobby, chimes, and mariachi remixes), piano versions of "When a Man Loves a Woman" and "My Heart Will Go On," amongst others. This all became the soundtrack for the couple in the back of the van that, when heard over the ridiculous musical stylings of our driver, were having the most dramatic conversation on the planet. Initially, while the girl was tearing up, it sounded as though she was seeing him off to war....only to later find out they were discussing who should have the window seat. After a somewhat terrifyingly fast ride (for a charter bus), we arrived safely in Flores. The best part about the ride was to see how happy Hannah got when they handed us our cheese sandwiches and juice box...love it. Flores is like a smaller, 3x4 block version of Antigua that is surrounded by water. Kinda perfect. Tomorrow we begin our classes! Miss and love you all very much. Hope all is well on the home front!
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