Holy Semana Santa

:: Day 98 in Guatemala ::


So I had promised an update after spending Holy Week in Antigua. It is a bit late [insert excuses about how I'm really busy here] - but here it is.

After Chris spent a few days with her family in Guatemala we met up and on Thursday morning we took an early bus to Monterrico via Antigua. Yes, I've already been to Monterrico - but it was beautiful! And it's the beach! Who passes up a day at the beach! However, I will admit that we didn't come fully prepared for a beach-day. Chris had a little hand-towel and I had.... a box of fruit bars. I'm not kidding. I took out the bars and unfolded the box. Somewhere on Chris's camera there is a picture of me sitting in the sand on my little piece of cardboard.

Anyway... at the end of the day we headed back to Antigua - sunburned and sweaty. After a shower and a nap the holy week festivities began!

:: Non-Stop Alfombras, Cucuruchos & Processions ::

The Alfombras were gorgeous! And some were extremely creative - my favorite featured Barbie with a watermelon dress and traditional Mayan outfits.

The Processions of course were huge! I think that all of the Andas needed to be carried by over a hundred people. And, they lasted for hours! We were able to see one of the processions twice with a 4 hour "nap" and "breakfast" in between viewings. Probably the most beautiful procession happened on Saturday night -- it was a candle-lit vigil.

On Good Friday we even got up and waited outside of a church at 3am until they opened the doors. This procession featured Roman soldiers on horseback who are announcing the condemnation of Christ by Pontious Pilot. Even though it was 3am there were tons of people out! And food vendors! So much food! You would think it was only 9pm. They were opening the doors at 4am and there was a mad rush into the church (La Merced). People were trying to push their way through, they were getting mad at the Roman soldiers who were blocking some parts out - letting only people in the middle into the church. We actually got really lucky because they drew their line right in between us and then Chris moved over to my side - which was the side that got into the church.

On Easter Sunday we actually went to mass inside the Cathedral. Afterwards there was a small procession - which was actually much "happier" than the ones from previous days. Which of course makes sense since they were celebrating the resurrection. What made it very cute was that the Anda was carried by children! Eventually the adults had to relieve them of their carrying duties, but nonetheless it was adorable. In general, the kids were adorable:

 

So, I wanted to make a compilation video of all the processions I managed to record. I have to admit - it is not nearly as exciting on video. There is a lot of waiting around and just watching people walk by. Plus, apparently it is impossible to upload :(   The one from last time gives you a pretty good idea.

:: Who Said Climbing a Volcano is Supposed to be Fun? ::

So when Chris said she wanted to go to Antigua for Semana Santa - I immediately said that I really wanted to get in one of those volcano hikes before I leave Guatemala. Everyone had told me how beautiful it is and that is is one of those Guatemala experiences that you just can't miss! So we decided that Saturday we'd take the 6am bus to Pacaya for a hiking tour.

We packed sunscreen, water, and the three fruit bars I still had left over from Thursday. Our group was pretty big - maybe about 25 people. Most of them were European and seemed to be in hiking boots - whereas Chris and I were in our running shoes. When you get to the starting point there are a bunch of little kids trying to sell you walking sticks. No one really bought into it except for two of the older women in our group. The kids kept insisting Es necesario! Es necesario! Yeah right, how necessary can a walking stick be? Right? Then come the "taxis". We had the option of hiking the whole way - or paying for a horse taxi which would get you most of the way up. Only two people opted for a horse.

30 minutes in... and THAT is where we're going.

So we start walking up the mountain volcano. At first it is a pretty steep climb but not terrible. About 10 minutes in I really started rethinking my decision to hike rather than go horseback. The guys with the horses were riding alongside us - hoping someone would give up and pay for the ride. But how embarrassing is that!?!? So we kept on hiking. Another 10 minutes and I'm panting, dripping with sweat, and my thighs and calves are burning. By this point Chris hates me. She did a pretty good job of not turning around and cussing me out for making her go on this volcano hike - but she was clearly not happy. Turns out it is about 1.5 miles of hiking on a ridiculous incline. Then you get to an area where there is no more dirt, no more trees, just volcano rocks.  Here is where it gets really interesting because every time you step the dirt under your shoes slips - which wouldn't be bad if it weren't so steep that you could reach your arm straight out and touch the ground in front of you.

Oh how I wish it wasn't cloudy. 

At one point it almost started to rain. That would have been miserable! When we got to the end of our tour everyone sat down and pulled out their lunches. I guess we missed the memo - you are supposed to bring a lunch when you go on a 4-hour hike. Oops. Well anyways. We didn't actually get to the opening in the volcano. I looked up at the top - which might have been like 200 meters up - straight up - and decided that I didn't care enough to climb up there. Pacaya has been an active volcano for the past few years. So I was excited to see lava - however, I didn't do my homework. The guide told us that since Pacaya erupted in 2010 the lava flow has been dormant. So I pretty much decided that I wasn't going to kill myself climbing the last 200 meters (on my own because the guide stopped there) if I wasn't even going to see lava. (That's crazy right? I would have climbed to the rim of an active volcano but not a dormant one!)

That is our group.... and that is the peak.

Anyway, it was a good experience. [Note: Chris did end up enjoying it once we got to the top and as we slid/skied/ran our way down the volcano.] And a great workout! Even the way down was exhausting. I mean, that says something about how steep of a climb this was - my thighs and calves burned on the way down and my knees were starting to hurt. I think I lost 5 lbs during that hike. Of course, I gained it all back with everything we ate in Antigua.

Mole con Platanos

Dulces Tipicos

Churrasco

Anyway, so thats the gist of the experience. Now I'm in Zacualpa finishing my last week of work! I don't think I've ever been so excited to go home. Just FOUR more days!

Vacations in Guatemala are Great Workouts!

:: Day 87 in Guatemala ::


So for the past month or so I have been looking forward to Chris (my sorority sister / line sister / captain) coming to Guatemala. Travelling by yourself in Guatemala is just not really an option - so this week we are taking advantage of having each other as travelling buddies!


:: Cobán ::


Friday morning we caught a 6am bus from Guatemala City to Cobán. No we didn't go on a chicken bus - that would have been awful and dangerous! We paid the extra Q100 to upgrade to Monja Blanca which is more like a Greyhound bus. We both managed to sleep through the first hour or so of the ride, so before we knew it we were stopping for breakfast. It took about 5 hours to get to Cobán. Then it took us about another half hour to figure out where our hotel was. 


We stayed at Casa D´Acuña (a.k.a. Hostal de Acuña). The restaurant at the Hotel was great, and the central courtyard was very pretty (Spanish style of course)! The accommodations were exactly what you can expect at $13 a night for a double room: a bunk bed and small table in a room with one overhead light, a window facing the kitchen sink and washroom, two big creepy spiders, and a shared bathroom in the hallway with motion-sensor lights that turn off if you don't make a big move every 15 seconds. Sounds like I'm complaining - but I'm just telling you what it was.


The trip to Cobán was really just a way to avoid wasting ALL DAY riding a bus to Tikal. So we got there around mid-day. We didn't really anticipate how difficult it would be to get around. We thought we might be able to take a few hours to do some touristy stuff around Cobán. But apparently it takes 45 minutes to get to a place that is five miles away because the roads are small and unpaved. 


So we opted for the closest option: el Balneario Cecilinda y las Grutas de Rey Marcos. The Balneario is like a park with a bunch of little ponds, rivers, waterfalls, and hiking trails. They have picnic tables and hammocks set up all over the place. It looks like a great place to come on a hot summer day - either with the family, or with a group of friends and an ice chest full of beer. 


From there they  have guided tours of las Grutas de Rey Marcos - a set of caves with some beautiful stalagmite and stalactite formations. The caves were just discovered in 1998 after Hurricane Mitch. The opening is a small hole that seems to have a constant wind of cool air coming out. From that small entrance we climbed through a tunnel that sometimes was big enough to stand in, but most of the time required us to crouch down and/or slip through side-ways. At first I was trying to not use my hands because the rocks were kind of slimy - like watery clay. I quickly gave up on that idea when the climb became steeper. As usual I pulled out my camera and took pictures of everyone as they climbed up behind me. I also liked the fact that the flash of my camera would give me a quick glimpse of the cave we were in. There was running water along the bottom of the cave and a constant mist. 


When we got to a big opening at the top of the cave the guide stopped us there. The cave continued onward but the guide said that the climb was more dangerous and there was a place where we'd have to swim for awhile (I want to say 600 meters - but that sounds exaggeratedly long). People have come here to spend a few minutes praying or meditating and some have reported having visions in that cave. So when we stopped he asked us to turn off our lights and take a few minutes to enjoy the silence of the cave. It was really nice and peaceful. Lately when I pray I don't know what to pray for so I just reflect upon the blessings I've had - in this case it includes the incredible experiences I've had in Guatemala. Suddenly I realized how DARK it was in the cave. It was absolutely pitch black. I had thought that I could still see the walls of the cave but when I thought about it I realized that was an optical illusion. I started to look around and freak out a little bit. You couldn't see anything! Not even your hand in front of your face. I tried not to think about it because I immediately started to think about how this has been the setting for plenty of horror movies. Soon enough he asked us to turn our lights back on.


You would think that the trek back would be easier - but you'd be wrong. Now we were climbing down wet and slippery rocks, instead of up. There was a point when I thought maybe it'd be easier to slide down on my butt, but all that did was make things more difficult and get my butt full of clay and water.


We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing - had dinner, a couple beers, and went to bed relatively early because at 5am we were off to Flores, Petén so we could see Tikal. 


:: Flores, Santa Elena, Petén::


The bus ride to Petén was awful. We thought that we'd be better off taking the earliest bus (microbus) possible to get to Flores so that we could at least spend the afternoon in Tikal and hopefully get 2 days of Tikal out of the trip. So we were up at 4:30 waiting for our cab, which was inevitably late. Then waited for the bus which they told us came at 5am and then left as soon as it was full. It came at like 5:30 and was full by 6am. At the first stop there were three girls - two tall blonde Swedish(?) girls and their translator who looked Latina and spoke English with a British accent. The bus driver said that we were full but that they were welcome to get in if they wanted to stand. They of course opted to get in - but rather than standing they insisted on squeezing in with everyone making us go 5 to a seat. I blame them for this horrible ride. I don't think they realized it was a 5-6 hr bus ride. I'll be honest - I did scoot over a little bit - just enough for one of them to squeeze their skinny butts into our seat - not enough for them to get comfortable. We were all uncomfortable now that they were in - so when she asked if I had more room to scoot over - I told her the truth: "No, we are already hip-to-hip." I didn't need to make the last 3 hours of the ride worse than the first 3. We were squished, hungry, sleepy, and hot! 

Our Bus - and you can't even see the back two rows here.

There was a point where we were stuck in traffic in a Saturday morning market. That was probably the worst part of the ride because now there was no air flowing in the van. Also... our van had to cross a river where there was no bridge. Quite interesting watching your van and a big-rig drive onto a little platform/boat and float across to the other side of the river.

I suppose we should be grateful it wasn't 6 hrs in one of these!

When we finally arrived in Santa Elena we immediately took a Tuk Tuk to Flores. We checked in to Hotel Santana. I had looked up all sorts of bus schedules before our whole trip even started. So we thought that there would be shuttles going to Tikal intermittently throughout the day. I was wrong. The only shuttle left at 3:30... arriving in Tikal at about the same time as the LAST shuttle leaving Tikal for the day. Since we weren't able to get a room at one of the three hotels in Tikal - that was not an option. So we had lunch and walked around the small island of Flores. 

As we were walking we were offered a boat tour of Lago Petén Itzá. Our guide was a young guy who said he was from San Jose - which is just across the lake. He was really nice and extremely knowledgeable about the history of the lake and the Mayan Itzá people. He told us that the lake used to be a valley in which the Itzá lived. When the meteorite struck quebro la vena de agua que corre debajo de la tierra y se llenó el lago - it broke the vein of water that runs below the earth (underground river) and the lake filled up. This underground river still provides a natural spring that fills the lake. In some areas you can see where the clear spring water comes up. The natural springs combined with the preservation efforts make this lake very clean - or so he says. He took us to the top of a hill on the Peninsula de Tayazal where we could see 75% of the lake. It was gorgeous! But it was really quite a hike! Both Chris and I were out of breath by the time we got to the Mirador Rey Canek. 

Lago Petén Itzá

That night we took a walk to the central park for dinner, had a few drinks at the local bar and called it a night because (again) we had an early morning the next day. 


:: Tikal ::


Tikal is probably the most famous of the ancient Mayan ruins - although not the largest. The name Tikal means "place of voices". One explanation might be that there is a certain area of the ruins where there is an echo. If you clap - you hear it bounce back off one of the temples. I imagine that if it was quiet out there (you know - without all us noisy tourists) then you'd hear voices echo as well. However, the hieroglyphics indicate that Tikal was originally called Mutal.


Of course, Chris and I agreed that this is not the kind of place where you just take a self-guided walking tour. So we paid for a guide to show us the highlights of Tikal national park. We had the option of taking the English guided tour - or the Spanish guided tour. Considering that (1) the English group consisted of about 30 people, where as the Spanish group had just over 10, and (2) those Swedish girls that I'm still annoyed with were in that English group, I think we made the right choice by opting for the Spanish tour. 


It was a 4-hr walking tour. There is no way to describe it accurately... so this is where I turn to picture blogging:


Not the first stop, but definitely the first big climb on the tour: Templo IV:  Templo de la Serpiente Bicéfala [Temple of the Two-Headed Serpent]. Built in 470 A.D., this temple stands at 65 meters [over 213 feet] making it the tallest in Tikal.

Me & Chris at the Top of el Templo de la Serpiente Bicéfala 

Here our guide is telling us about this tree that grows along another tree wrapping its branches around its trunk and branches until eventually it strangles the tree and kills it. It is known by two names:  (1) El Arbol de Muerte, (2) El Arbol de Amor.   [The Tree of Death, or the Tree of Love]

This is in El Mundo Perdido [The Lost World]. Here we see el Complejo de Conmemoración Astronómica [Complex for Astronomical Commemoration] - which is different from the other temples in Tikal which were built for religious purposes and to commemorate past leaders. And of course, we all know that the Mayan's were incredible astrologers. When you clap, even really lightly, this temple behind us sends an echo back - they think that's why they call this place Tikal "place of voices". El Mundo Perdido is the oldest section of Tikal - dating prior to 500 B.C.

The interesting thing about the typical Mayan temples is that they are solid - not hollow like Egyptian pyramids. The are built in layers. Archaeologists have found that as you go deeper and deeper into the temple you find smaller versions of the temple inside. Here at the corner of el Complejo de Conmemoración Astronómica you can see the inside layers of temples.

The temple behind me is one of the temples of the Gran Plaza or maybe El Templo de la Serpiente Bicéfala. Of course I was too busy running around taking pictures and didn't listen when he told us which one it was.

Below is Templo V, the second tallest at Tikal measuring 59 meters [over 193 feet]. Unlike the other temples that were built in layers - this one solid all the way through - built in one piece. Our guide says that this indicates that there were other influences in the building of this temple. It was probably built at a time when the leaders of Tikal had been overthrown by other  Mayan groups.

So, you see that very tall steep ladder on the left side? The guide told us that we were free to climb to the top - if we thought we'd be able to get back down. You probably can't see me in the picture - but here I'm standing at the top of the temple on the left side of the opening. Everyone I had watched coming down was really freaked out and moving really slowly. I put them all to shame when I climbed back down without any problems.

Behind me is a view of the Acropolis Central.

Here is a panoramic of la Gran Plaza. I'm standing on one of the buildings of the Acropolis Central. To the Right you see the Temple of the Great Jaguar - the most famous of the temples at Tikal. In the Center is the Acropolis del Norte, to the left there is el Templo de las Mascaras [Temple of the Masks].

Templo I: Templo del Gran Jaguar; 700 A.D., 45 meters [over 147 feet] tall.

Huge Mayan head carving at the Acropolis del Norte. It is probably as tall as I am. 

Well.. this by no means does justice to the incredible experience we had at Tikal. If you ever make it to Guatemala - either pay for a flight or just put up with an overnight bus ride to Tikal. It is absolutely worth it. We also saw birds, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, anteaters, a crocodile, some small snakes and some wild turkeys running around Tikal. I have tons more pictures, but they can't all go in the blog. Next time, because I hope there is a next time, I want to camp out in Tikal - yes I do mean pitch a tent and sleep outdoors. 


So, that's all folks. Sunday night we took the overnight bus. We were exhausted enough to sleep the whole way. Next up: Antigua for Semana Santa. 


-----------------------------------------------  

Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Days in Guatemala: 87

Date of Return to Los Angeles: May 4, 2011 [15 Days!!]

Date of Return to Boston: May 18, 2011

Barbri Bar Prep Start Date: May 19, 2011

Graduation Date: May 27, 2011

California Bar Exam: July 26-28, 2011

El Lago y La Mujer

:: Day 49 in Guatemala ::

Keeping up with a blog can be hard work. Kudos to those of you that do this every day. I’m not sure how you constantly come up with new things to write about. Meanwhile, I am out trying to do new and exciting things to write about… and that of course gets in the way of actually writing. So much happens so quickly… now its Saturday and its time to play catch-up.

:: Lago de Atitlan ::

As I mentioned previously, this was Rachel’s last week in Guatemala. So we had scheduled some travelling last weekend. We didn’t get to go to Rio Dulce like we had wanted, but instead opted for Lago de Atitlan which is much closer. Saturday morning I took a tourist shuttle (more expensive but more comfortable and less risky than chicken buses) from Guatemala City to Antigua to Panajachel. Sounds boring to take a bus by yourself for 2-3 hrs, but of course I ended up sitting next to and talking to a guy who lives in Solola, which is the town right before Panajachel, the whole way there. Turns out that he runs repatriation programs for Guatemalan refugees who are just now returning to Guatemala after the armed conflict, and he used to sell toys so he as travelled to the US and China quite a bit (same line of work Hannover is in now).


So, like last time, we left the hotel booking until the last minute. So much so, that I went door to door to some of the hotels until finding one with an available room. The first two were BOOKED SOLID. The third one, El Chaparral, was also full. As I inisisted, “are you sure you don’t have any rooms left?” the manager kind of hesitated and said, “well, we are setting up one room on the third floor as we speak”. After determining that the room would fit five people, I asked if I could see it. It was a meeting room – like the type they use for conferences because the 3^rd floor of this little hotel is their “conference center”. There were two queen sized beds and two guys who were starting to put blankets on those beds. No other furniture whatsoever. The manager assured me they could put one more bed in since there were 5 of us. Q&A: Is there a bathroom? Yes. Hot water? Yes. Can I see it? Sure, wait, we don’t know where the key is. But we’ll find it. Good enough. I called to double check that everyone would be okay with this set up although I suspected that at Q375 a night ($49) split by five, there would be no complaints... I'm not sure why all the hotels were booked this weekend. There were no special events. Even the hotel staff said that they were surprised that everywhere was booked. But apparently, we came on the weekend that all the tourists decided to visit Panajachel. 

Giulia, Rachel, Juan, Me, Irene

Saturday night was predictable: dinner, drinks, live music. Fun, but nothing crazy. Sunday morning we all just kind of rolled out of bed at whatever time we naturally woke up, or in Juan's case - whatever time everyone else naturally woke up. Just as we were leaving the hotel a guy approached us offering a tour of the lake. After a little back and forth on our part, we went for it. We started with a trip across the lake and breakfast in the little pueblo of Santa Catarina Palopó. It was very cute. There was a basketball court and a soccer field right on the edge of the lake. There were women weaving scarves and table runners, and of course selling other typical art and clothes on the side of the road. Of course the fact that they were weaving right there immediately convinced me to buy something. At least I feel like my money is going to the person who actually did the work, rather than a middle man. 


After breakfast we continued on our boat tour. Lago de Atitlan has some hot springs in the lake. So our tour guide basically took us out to another part of the lake and asked us if we'd like to swim. Although we all came prepared with bathing suits, only Rachel and Juan actually jumped in. I'm still glad I didn't go in the water because judging by Rachel's scream - that water was not warm. They later told us that it shifted between hot and cold water, which I guess doesn't seem that bad. I imagine it was like sitting in a hot bath tub and running the cold water - you get those sudden waves of hot and cold. 

Lago de Atitlan - San Antonio

The lake itself is gorgeous! It is huge and it is surrounded by three volcanoes. All around the edges of the lake there are either little pueblos like the ones we visited, Santa Catarina, San Antonio, and San Pedro, or gorgeous houses that are mostly owned by foreigners - apparently many of them are writers. I can see how living on this lake can be a source of inspiration. Our tour came to an end around 2pm. By this time the lake was pretty choppy and there were a lot of waves. As I stepped off the boat and nearly lost my balance I said, "Whoa, estoy mareada" and suddenly the meaning and origin of the word "mareada" made sense to me. Mar = sea, marear = to get dizzy, or in this case - seasick. Its funny how you don't really think about those things sometimes.

Lago de Atitlan - Panajachel

By 2pm last night's shenanigans were catching up with me. I was ready for a nap! But.... naps aren't really an option when you are traveling in a group, right? So after changing our clothes and having ice cream for lunch - this is typically what Irene and Giulia want to have for lunch, we headed for Panajachel's Nature Reserve. For $25 we could take a tour of the nature reserve, which requires climbing quite a bit, and then ride down on the Zip-Lines. We were all kind of split on this one - because you could also take the tour without the Zip-Line for about $7. Now, if you know me - its obvious that I was pushing for the Zip-Line tour. After a bit of convincing Rachel, Juan and I did the Zip-Line, and Irene and Giulia did the walking tour. We actually all started together on the tour. The only wildlife we really saw were birds and spider monkeys. But it was a great hike - complete with scary rope bridges and a waterfall!

At the end of the hiking tour the zipline began. There are eight ziplines ranging from 90 meters (295 ft.)  to 320 meters (1050 ft.) along waterfalls, canyons, the valley and the coffee grove forest. And of course with a beautiful view of Lago de Atitlan. I would have taken pictures - but they recommended that we hold on with both hands. 

In the end our trip to Lago de Atitlan was well worth it. The lake is beautiful, the Nature Reserve was so much fun! The only thing missing was a hike up one of the volcanoes - but that will have to wait for next time.


:: Dia de La Mujer ::

Tuesday, March 8th, was International Women's Day. So Rachel and I joined MTM at the demonstration for el Dia de la Mujer in Guatemala City. It started at the Municipal building and ended at the Palacio Nacional. It was hard to tell how many people participated - but my guess would be that it was in the hundreds. It was really awesome to see so many groups on the streets for this event. Women, men, and children. In some ways it was more like a parade than a march. In front of us there was a big truck with music blasting. Behind us there were some kids on stilts dressed like clowns and a guy who was fire swinging. The march lasted about 3  hours or so. Perhaps the thing I enjoyed the most, was the fact that we were stopping traffic in the middle of downtown. I probably would have been pissed if I was driving anywhere at that time.

      

:: El Aquario ::

Since this was Rachel's last day in Guatemala, Tuesday afternoon we followed up the march with some shopping at the Mercado Central. Then we joined Juan, his dad, his sister Deisy, and his adorable four year old niece, Yulisa, for dinner at Pizza Hut. I know, I know, sounds lame, right? This was the best Pizza Hut I've ever been to. The pizza was really good. It was a two-story sit-down restaurant with a huge playplace (like in McDonalds). And for drinks they served pitchers of Horchata! I had been avoiding the American restaurants whenever possible - but I might just have to order from Pizza Hut more often while I'm in Guatemala.

As we were eating our pizza, somehow we started talking about Aquariums. Rachel immediately became excited to find out there was an Aquarium in Guatemala City. Since Juan and his family didn't seem to be in a rush - we all took a trip to the Aquarium.

Just so we are clear, this is not your typical aquarium. This aquarium is located inside the Oakland Mall in Zone 10 of the City. It is not only inside the mall, it is inside of some restaurants! On one side there is a family-friendly restaurant, on another side there is a bar (adult-friendly restaurant), and on the other side there is a couple-friendly restaurant. We just wanted coffee - so we opted for Nais Aquarium - the romantic couple-friendly restaurant. Every table has a view of the aquarium. Inside there are blacktip sharks, eels, mantarays, and all sorts of fish. Perhaps the best part is... the little tube in the middle where you are literally surrounded by fish. I think that if anyone is looking for a cool restaurant idea... this is one to steal!

So that just about wraps up my week. Wednesday and Thursday I attended a workshop hosted by MTM and three other women's rights organization. The topic: feminism and discrimination. Very interesting to hear the Guatemalan perspective on these issues. But that may just have to wait for another blog post.