Well, I am really starting to feel comfortable here now. The language and culture are getting easier every day and I am communicating with less effort all the time. Starting Monday I hope to commence some volunteer work, which really is the main reason I am here. I am now living on Guatemala time (jet lag is gone) and I am comfortable communicating with the people. But to let you know what has been going on recently, read on...
On Friday I went to El Calvario again (this is the same place where I got covered in flour) but this is 'la Cuaresma', in English it is the first day of Lent so things are more serious. The church at the feria (fair) was full of people and there was queue for about 200 metres waiting to get in. I took a few photos here because it was a big day for the locals. The market went on forever and it was chockablock.
Today, Saturday, I went exploring further afield and spent nearly the whole day out. Ended up walking about 40 kilometres I reckon, truly. This city is big and I saw nearly none of it. The morning started out with a walk (or dare I say hike) up to a church on a hill that overlooks the city. Fantastic view but the gradient is insane. After that is was off to find the bus depot where I will need to go tomorrow to get to Chichicastenango. That was about 5 or so kilometres from where I am staying and I had just hiked about the same distance in the opposite direction. So, walked to the station OK and then walked further to a shopping centre where I bought a power board, some powered speakers for my iPad and some coat hangers. The whole lot cost about Q135 or $15. After grabbing something to eat I walked back, went into town and bought a mobile phone to use while I am here (in case of emergencies more than anything). The phone with the equivalent of $30 worth of calls cost Q160 or $20. Money can go a long way here.
Tomorrow I am going to take an adventurous trip to Chichicastenango for their HUGE Sunday market. I need to take a chicken bus from here to Los Encuentros and then swap buses. I am told it can be very 'interesting'. I will let you know. If you really want to know about chicken buses, just google them. ¡Podría ser de miedo!
A woman leaving the church. At least half of the women here dress like this. Kids included.
Street food at the market.
Taco shop in the market. Yes, that is a whole pig.
Lollie shop in the market.
World's smallest dried fish. They look like gravel.
More dried fish but a better size.
And if you like chilli!
Or need fabric for clothes. All this is hand woven on a blackstrap loom.
But this is the clincher. This is a kids ride. It had a car alarm attached to the side and while it was in motion it continuously made a bloody loud noise. However, that is the sane part. It is run by an electric motor that gets it's power from the metal rails on which it runs and the rails run at mains voltage -120 volts. Yes folks, those metal tracks are 'live'!
So, that's it for today. I am kicking back, it is about 10:30pm and I am having a couple of locally made beers. The brand is Gallo, which means rooster, or, if you prefer, cock. Which is a bit of a surprise really because the cans hold 472 mls each and are 5%. I don't think the old cock will be up to much after a couple of these 👎.
Well, for today, that's all folks. Oh, except for one more thing, we sold our house at last. Woohoo!
Location:Xela
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