DOMINGO DE PALMAS

One of the biggest days of the year is Palm Sunday, and the entire Semana Santa (Holy Week) draws crowds from far and near.  The Sunday processions start several weeks prior, but Palm Sunday and Good Friday processions are the biggest.

I am sorry to admit that I was so tired and the crowds were so dense that I didn't view as many alfombras or the procession as I now wish I had. So, guess I'll have to go back!

This is Catedral de San Jose which had a huge alfombra on the floor; It is made from colored rice, sawdust, plant material and lined with colorful fruits and vegetables.

Semana Santa celebrations take place annually. The festival typically commences on Palm Sunday, one week before Easter, and goes through the week  until Good Friday, when devotees remember the Passion of Christ, the suffering Jesus endured on the cross and the solemn anniversary of his death. Most Holy Weeks end on Holy Saturday, a day of vigil in anticipation of the resurrection.

Semana Santa celebrations are predominantly Catholic and celebrated in Latin countries that almost exclusively identify with this religion. In Guatemala, there are many fusions between local beliefs, the Mayans and Catholicism, and the farther you travel into the mountains, the more you’ll see the mix. The three main activities of Antigua’s Semana Santa are the processions of floats and horses (procesiones ), carpet-making (alfombras ), and candlelight vigils (vigilias ).  The alfombras are made of sawdust, rice, flowers, vegetables, and are absolutely amazing to see.  Suggest you google "alfombras" to view good photos and explanation of the creations.

Saturday prior to this was a travel day from San Marcos, with a dinner at a very nice restaurant that evening.  Team members left at various times, with seven of us still in Antigua on Sunday.  My shuttle picked me up at 3 a.m. for the airport for a long trip back to Montana, filled with wonderful memories of another special international travel experience, but glad to be home once again.

LAST BUILD DAY

Jackie, family daughter, Connie, Gracie(the youngest team member), Ryan, Samantha, Mike Stevensons from Miles City, Ruben the mason, Cathi and her daughter Sara, Horalia the family mother, Jorge the son, and Willun, the mason's helper

We got very dirty today with concrete bucket brigade, more rebar tying, but first we visited our family's current  house,where Horalia gave each of us a little gift,  then she and her children came over to the work site for lots of photos.

Next was the ceremony with the local Habitat affiliate and both families at the other work site.  More thanks and prayers and short speeches, then a treat of tostados and hibiscus tea.  We bought a pinata as it was Ryan's birthday (the young tall guy in the back of the above photo) and a few days past the birthday of Daisy, from the other family.  This photo is of Jeff, the other team's Habitat rep and interpreter, guiding Daisy.

Dee Dee and Dina from Vancouver, BC: Maura, my roommate from San Fran, Karen Stevenson from Miles City, Rick from Seattle...all member of the other team.

Ambrosia and Trudy (74 yrs. old), granddaughter and grandmother from Seattle area.

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Interspersed with the work week are cultural activities.  The main one was on Wednesday morning, when we went to refuge/national park that is known for quetzal nests.  It is a very rare thing for anyone to see these gorgeous birds, and we were blessed to see three of them, including one in flight.  A truly spiritual experience, combined with the lovely cloud forest and waterfalls.  I couldn't capture them with my camera; one team member did but can't send at this time so I am posting a photo from the internet.  At the waterfall with me is Christian, who lives and works in New York but is from Puerto Rico and the only fluent Spanish speaker on our team.  Gracie is our youngest member, age 19, and it was her first time to fly by herself and first time out of country.

Both teams visited schools near our separate work sites, and that was a kick.  We had maps of North America, Mexico and Canada, along with one of the U. S. and sat with small groups of kids (ages 8-11 in one classroom) so they could get a perspective of where we live and tried to dialogue a bit with them with simple Q&A's, like their names, ages, etc.  The teacher spoke to us a bit about the curriculum and various aspects of the school.  They were very excited, as were we, to meet each other!

One day before dinner we participated in tamale making with the hotel cooks.  The tamales were just the dough with no filling, but a couple of us got our hands in it and mixed the ground maize, water, cream, and butter, then everyone wrapped a blob of it in a banana leaf.  All were put in a large pot to boil and we had them for supper.  They were very similar to dumplings.

ROCKIN' AND BLOCKIN'

We really work hard today, lots of block and rock moving as well as tying rebar.  No water was available at our worksite so we couldn't mix/carry/pour concrete.

My team is really super; everyone works hard and gets along with minimal complaining.  One one hand it seems like we've been here for weeks, but again, just like the other day.

Block brigade.  We also carried two (or one) at a time later

Sara from Albany, New York but in college at Stanford.  She and her mom were there together during her spring break.

Concrete and mortar mixer in foreground.  Not electrical, as you can see!

FIRST DAYS OF GUATEMALA HFH-GV BUILD

Our team all arrived at the hotel in Antigua last Saturday and we departed by a van/bus Sunday morning for San Marcos, which was nearly a six-hour trip.  We arrived just in time to meet the two families whose homes we will be working on, and members of the local affiliate of Habitat.  A nice little ceremony, then settled in our hotel rooms, had dinner,  and  a little orientation before ending the evening.  The hotel dining room is nice, and we are served meals family style.  Plenty of food and it's good.  Rooms are fairly spartan but that is what we expected.  Adequate blankets on the beds and not as cold as I feared.

I divided the group into two teams based on age, sex and roommate's preferences and it seemed to work out okay, with my roommate being the leader of the other work group.  However, she got sick in the middle of the night and couldn't come to the worksite, so I asked my friend Karen to lead that team. Then mid-morning, a young woman on my team got sick so the driver took her and her mom back to the hotel.




One of the first jobs introduced was to tie re-bar. Here are Samantha and Gracie hard at it.

Our family is a single mom with two kids; a girl Jackie age 15 and a boy, Jorge, age 12. He stopped by to see us after school in his soccer uniform.  A real cutie.  He had a harder time with my Spanish than our mason, so I helped him with some English words.

Here's a video of the concreto mixing and pouring.  I allude to it as mezcla in the video, but that is incorrect, as mezcla is the mortar, and has different proportions of cement, water, and gravel, plus lime is added.

WORK IN MOTION

Here's more videos of the work we did Wednesday.

TIKAL!

 We flew on a small plane (a 24 seater, I think) to Flores, where we were picked up by a drive for an hour drive to the Tikal National Forest.  Our tour included dinner at the very nice lodge where we spent the night, enjoying the meal and the night sounds following.  Up at 3:30 a.m., grabbed a cup of coffee then walk for about an hour to the ruins.  Our guide pointed out a number of fun things in the dark along the way:  a small fox, large tree frog, termite hills.  Would have been swell to see a jaguar, but they are seldom seen.    
We walked up a wooden staircase to one of the temples to see the sunrise.  Listening to the jungle wake up was amazing.   The howler monkeys sounded like huge monsters of some sort, but they are just a normal size monkey.  I tried to video to capture the sounds but it didn't turn out too well.  Some temples can be seen through the foggy cloudy scene.

This is one of the major temples, not allowed to be climbed, but we roamed around with the guide, returning to the lodge about 9:00 for breakfast.  We then walked back on our own and did more exploring for awhile.

Masks were carved into the base of \ the temples. They have built thatched covers over many to preserve them.  There has been a lot of restoration and is still ongoing.

A termite nest spotted along the walk

And a beautiful wild turkey.











Resting in front of our room after a day of lots of climbing and walking.  Wonderful little trip!  Lots more photos and will post more later.  Internet connection is slow and others have better pictures.

NEXT PART

Am finishing up my Spanish classes today.  Much too short...next time, three weeks.  I have barely scratched the surface.  As is always the case, the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. But it has been good.  Played Scrabble yesterday with one of my teachers (I have one for four hours in the a.m. then a different one for two hours in the afternoon) and that was a fun exercise.

I move my bags over to a hotel tomorrow where I will meet three other team members, then go to the airport for Tikal, where we'll meet Mike and Karen Stevenson, friends from Miles City who are also here for the build, then back Saturday when all the other team will meet at the Antigua hotel prior to leaving for San Marcos.  Photos of the Mayan ruins coming up next!

SUNDAY AT LAKE ATITLAN

One of the recommended places to visit is Lake Atitlan, so on Sunday I was picked up by a shuttle van about 5:45 a.m., and after a few stops on a primarily poor road, we arrived at the town of Panjachel about 8:15.  There were two brothers from England who I met so we had breakfast together there, and then boarded a boat an hour later a tour of some towns.


First was San Juan, where a guide took me to a women's association that made thread from cotton and dyed the thread with natural products, such as hibiscus, beets, wood bark, and an assortment of other things.  Plant leaves (not sure what plant) are used to change some colors, and the color is fixed using the stalk of a banana plant.  I made my first purchase in country of eight lovely placemats.

Weaving the thread from raw cotton that has been pounded
by hand to remove seeds

Vat with banana stalk liquid to make thread color-fast

Next we went to San Pedro, and when the guide asked me if I wanted to see the inside of a Catholic church or walk, I opted for the latter.  We encountered his daughter and her friend.  When I asked where he lived, he told me that it was close by, and did I want to see it.  Sure, I would!  So we went there and met his little boy and his wife, and noticed two machines in a room where we entered.  Discovered that his mother-in-law had a business of grinding coffee beans and maize (to make the dough for tortillas).  People bring in the plastic tubs of maize (or coffee) and pay to have it ground.

Last was Santiago, which was a larger town where we had lunch.  Again I ate with the two very interesting brothers, and had vegetarian pasta.

Returned home about 7 p.m.  A long but very enjoyable day!

END OF WEEK

Friday concluded my first week that included 24 hours of classes, several cultural activities, getting a bit acquainted with the downtown, and meeting lots of great people.  Our classes are held in sort of a courtyard.  There is a teacher and one student at each table.  Friday afternoon we took a little walk around to see the various plants there, and I was surprised to see these plants or trees: orange, avocado, basil, cotton, and pepper, plus many other plant and flowers.

Saturday morning four of us walked up the hill to a cross that has a good view of the city, and here is one of the sights...the volcano on the right that is smoking is Volcan Fuego, which is see right outside my room,  and is the one that shut the airport down for two days recently as the smoke/dust creates a danger for the planes.  The other is inactive and it is Volcan Agua.  Hope you are able to view this video

After the little hike, I went to a corner coffee shop and had a wonderful cup plus a couple of homemade chocolate meringue cookies.  Here's the view I had there.

Saturday afternoon three of us caught a shuttle up to San Cristobal, which boasts an organic garden.

Quesadilla with salad.  Very tasty and great price!

View from the restaurant, the yellow building near center of photo is La Merced by my house and the hill on the right is where we walked this morning.

Janet and Bill, also attending my school

My salad greens came from this organic garden

An area where they do weaving demonstrations.  Notice the bike part.

MI ESCUELA

As mentioned earlier, mine is just one of many Spanish language schools in Antigua (and Guatemala).  The schedules are very flexible...many students attend for four hours in the morning and two in the afternoon.  There are various cultural activities in the afternoon, so one can do language in whatever two-hour time frame works for their teacher.  Yesterday we took a little trip to a church's hilltop area where they hold events, and have a couple of small museums.  It was a good view, but quite hazy from volcanic smoke so photos didn't turn out so well.

The exterior of my school.  As with most, very obscure entry.

Making tortillas for a special lunch at the school (Most lunches are eaten with host family, or on our own.) There certainly is a technique that takes practise...guess it comes with the territory of learning Spanish! 

Cooking the tortillas over an open fire

My teacher Rosinda and me.  See what I mean about being tall again?
(Sure will be glad to get my braces off in a couple of months!)

SETTLING IN

My classes are going very well.  I have a great teacher, who was a trainer for the Peace Corps many years ago, and has a very pleasant and patient disposition. I work with her every morning from 8-12, then on some days I will be doing two more hours with Bety.  I can already see why people come for a month and longer.  It is a nice, relaxed time, and the one on one learning is great.  This city is like a language school factory...there are schools one right after another on the streets, and new people coming in every day.  I will post school photos soon, but here are a couple of street scenes.  Two good friends strolling by the park, and a peanut vendor who is straightening his load after unsuccessfully trying to make a sale.

I'M TALL AGAIN!

I went to church this morning with my hostess and host, as well as a young mother and her two sons (6 and 8) who are also attending a language school for six weeks.This is the historic La Merced.  Some random thoughts crossed my mind during the service (since I couldn't understand too much of the homile). First, I could tell immediately it was a Catholic church by it's interior.  Also, I was one of the taller people in the congregation!  And no disrespect intended, but I think I know why there is so much standing up...to relieve one from having to sit in the awfully uncomfortable pews for so long! This photo was taken prior to the service, which was totally filled with people.

The church is only a block from where I am staying.  The central park is about 2 blocks from the church, and is lined with lots of restaurants and shops.  Notice the jacaranda trees, which I loved seeing in Morocco and South Africa.  (Don't forget you can click on the photo to enlarge it)  Also note the cobblestone streets; the sidewalks are even worse...very narrow and uneven.   I already learned my lesson yesterday to not walk and gawk, or I might take a trip I didn't expect!

Here are tuk tuks which are found around the world in cities needing small, cheap transport around town.  I will use one next week when I move from my house to the hotel where Habitat team members will be staying, as I need transport for my heavy bag.


Note the volcano is the background of this photo.  It is Volcan Fuego.  When it erupted a couple of weeks ago, they had to close down the airport for a day, the smoke was so bad.

Ruins and new ones, within blocks of each other.