Chichi & Xela
We were able to take a little trip this last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to see some of the country in Guatemala. We headed northwest to a little town called Chichicastenango, where they have a pretty good sized market on Thursdays and Sundays. A guide found us as we pulled into town so we hired him for a few hours to show us around. We spent some time in the market, had some lunch and then went to the Cemetery there. We had heard how colorful it was, and it was! So I have added two pictures of it for you to see.
You can also look up online to see the many colors there. They bury their dead four or five deep in the ground and then about that many on top of the ground. A family will buy a piece of ground and have a mausoleum built there. Our guide explained that the first person to die determines the color the mausoleum will be painted. If they die on Sunday it is painted yellow, Monday is blue, Saturday is white, Friday is Red. There are other colors also. I have read that in other cemeteries it might be a little different, they might paint them the favorite color instead of referring to the day they passed away.
Quetzaltenango or Xela, pronounced Shayla, was the next city we went to. It is the second largest city in Guatemala and also has a temple. We spent the night there then went to the temple the next morning.
That afternoon we saw some sites of this city. The other two cemetery pictures are from here.
They must grown cacao trees around here because there are several little chocolate factories. We stopped in one and bought a cinnamon chocolate brick that you make hot chocolate with. From there we went south toward the coast to the area of Retalhuleu. It is about 40 miles from the water and is hot and humid, about 95 degrees. The countryside was beautiful getting there. It is a very agricultural area taken care of with manual labor.
This picture of the patchwork of different produce being grown is on a hillside a ways away from the town.
The picture of the woman was very typical of what we see except the bundles on their heads are usually much larger.
The men and women pack firewood around on their backs. I wasn't sure about taking this man's picture because sometimes they don't want their picture taken, but as he saw us he waved and I took that as an OK, so I clicked the picture as we drove by.
The market was closing up as we were there in Chichi and the people were taking down their stalls and packing the goods in large bags and packing them off on their backs. To help with the balance and weight they attach a strap around their forehead. I was lucky enough to catch a picture.
Some of the area we drove through is what you would expect to see when you hear of the jungles of Guatemala, thick, green and lush hillsides that looked like tropical forests. That is probably what they were. Some of the roads were very good ones, others not so good with lots of potholes. It was a fun weekend, just us and one other couple. We have several other places on the list to see while we are here. Tikal is one of those and is an area up north with some really neat ruins. Watch for it in a future email from us here is Guate!
At the moment we are having a thunderstorm here with a LOT of rain, maybe this is the beginning of the rainy season I keep hearing about. We shall see.
Dad, me and the guide in Chichi.
Dad with one of our little patients at the Clinic. She is one of our little patitos or little ducklings. Such little dolls, everyone of them so cute!
Love, MOM...Grammy
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