Chichicastenango

Dear Followers,

Firstly, we can only apologise for the lack of fantastic fiesta photos. We have yet to upload said photos, thus this joy is still to come.

This past weekend, Libby, Genevieve, the infamous Jane, Stephanie and Aeriel made the two-hour journey to a little place they like to call Chichicastenango. This is a bustling market town situated in the neighbouring province to Sacatepequez - which we call home, and you know what they say - there is no place like home. Indeed, Chichi was quite a different vibe from the sweet streets of Antigua, though we loved its hustle-bustle all the same. But only for a day.

What you will find here is a photographic exhibition, of the finest quality might we add, of our day at the famous markets of Chichicastenango. We trust that you will enjoy it, and will pop back soon to see the photos of our fun-filled Friday fiesta up at ol' Santa Maria de Jesus... did we mention there were piñatas?

Stephanie, Libby, Jane & Aeriel... complete with candyfloss halo. Libby would like to point out that the strange protrusion from her tummy is not the result of muchos burritos, but is in fact an oh-so-discrete moneypurse.




Though the market is predominantly handicrafts, there was also a wide range of fresh produce. Look at the colour on those babies.

This photo does not adequately portray the gorgeous, glowing tan that Gen has genuinely generated in Guatemala... but does show some of the market-goers and their neat fashions. Check out the sweet hat and bandana combo on the dude to the right.


On the steps of the church we found a fresh flower market. We were mesmerised by the bright aqua blue of these jazzy numbers. Might we also mention that the heady aromas of the incense wafting from the Sunday church service combined with the fresh flowers in the warm sun made for a pleasantly exotic atmosphere.








This lady really enjoyed having her photo taken.










This vegetable, with a name we cannot pronounce nor spell, is a staple part of our Guatemalan diet. Such green must be good for you. It tastes, and has a similar texture to, zucchini.

Probably a tad bit less good for you - fried chicken from a roadside stall. Mum, can we've Chicken Tonight, tomorrow?



The market was a flurry of colour. Probably the nicest things were the textiles: the handwoven bolts of cloths and the heavily embroidered blankets and wallhangings.


Shortly after this photo was taken, the amigo in the background to the right pelted those black beans he was fondling with some force at Gen's head. A friendly chap, it seems.

And to end, a fine selection of unrefridgerated carcasses swinging in the warm, humid breeze. Mum, scrap the chicken - we want this instead.

To conclude, a fun day had by all. Except maybe Señor with the beans, it seems.

Muchos besos,

Gen and Lib xxx

Monterrico

After a bit of a hectic week, including a bout of food poisoning for Gen, we set off to Monterrico for the past weekend. Monterrico is a beach about 2.5hours from Antigua, on Guatemala's Pacific coast. We took a shuttle from Antigua early Saturday morning, arriving in Monterrico at 10 am. We spent Saturday swimming in the bath-water-warm sea and lazing about in hammocks. After dinner at a beachfront restaurant, we went down to the beach where we lay on the warm sand and looked at the clear starry sky. We saw the most amazing shooting star - very very large and bright. Incredible!

We went to bed very early (about 8.30) after a full day of sea and sun.

The next morning, we woke early at 5.15 am to take a tour on the canals of a nature reserve to see the sunrise. We were punted along the river by our guide, who pointed out various species of egret and heron - and the famous four eyed fish which jumps along the surface of the water.

The sunrise was very beautiful - the sun was huge and very red as we saw it creep up from behind the trees.


Gen befriended one particular white egret, who she named Bernard, and felt she had a special connection with as he followed us along the river for the entire tour.
Here he is in all his glory!
Her eis our hotel - right on the beach.
The black sand (ex-volcanic rock) was super super hot, and you had to be ver yquick running from the sea to the safety of the hammocks.
Speaking of hammocks, we made good use of them over the weekend, for reading, or, more accurately, snoozing in the shade - it was very hot!

Another successful trip, and we felt ready and refreshed for another big week at school. We are looking forward in particular to the school birthday celebrations on Friday - doughnuts, piñatas, dancing and presents - expect an update on that soon!

Love to you all,
Lib and Gen
xxx

Lake Atitlan

Last weekend we went on an adventure weekend trip to Lake Atitlan, about 2 hours from Antigua. We went with a few other volunteers from GVI: Anne - an Irish opera singer, Robyn - an Australian school teacher, Joelle - a British school-leaver, Andrew - a med student from New York and Jane, an alumni from the illustrious Cambridge University (she has promised to take us punting on the river there someday!).
It began with a three hour down-hill bike ride, from the top of a mountain range down to Lake Atitlan itself. The bike ride was both scary and exhilirating, and we both rather hooned down toward the end (daredevils that we are).
During the bike ride we were treated to some pretty neat views of the lake. This one was taken where we stopped for a delicious picnic lunch en route.

Here is the group: Lib, Gen, Robyn, Wilber - our guide, Anne, Joelle, Andrew and Jane.
Wilber was great fun - and very very small.
After the bike ride, we arrived in the town of Panajachel, which is home to many expat hippies and a great artesinal market. From Pana, we took a boat to our hotel in San Pedro. The ride was a little wild - we were in a smallish fibreglass boat driven by a bit of a maniac, and as our bottoms were already a little tender from the bike ride, it was a rather uncomfortable but nonetheless fun experience.
The hotel we stayed at was wonderful. Since we`d paid before we arrived in Guatemala, it was a lovely stress-free treat to stay somewhere with plush double beds, and beautiful showers - both hot and with pressure AT ONCE!!!! A real rarity in Guatemala, at least in our experience so far. The hotel was set in lovely lush gardens, with hummingbirds and squirrels - we even saw a scorpion! We enjoyed a wonderful meal cooked by the Danish owner of the establishment too.
The next day, we went for a kayak on the lake.
This is us, pre-kayak.

The kayaking was great; the lake was very still and tranquil - and very beautiful.
We shared a double kayak which was neat.
We stopped toward the end of the kayak, to scale a 5 metre rock face and jump off a small cliff. It is hard to make out in the above photo, but you can see Libby on the left and Gen slightly lower down on the right. (P.S. Gen's grandparents - Gen made sure the depth of the water was safe before jumping).
After the kayak, we hiked back to the hotel (about two hours in the middle of the day - a hard, hot endeavour). We had lunch at the hotel before re-embarking on the little boat and heading home.

All and all, it was a splendid though exhausting weekend at the lake.

More soon!
Besos,
Gen and Lib
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Day 15 - Quick School Update

We thought we would take a moment to post some photos we took today on our second day at the school in Santa Maria de Jesus.

We have at least fifty new friends! While we teach specific classes, in the break times we get to meet all the children in the school. This week it is only the little ones, the grades 4-6 don't come back until next week.

Gen with the only niña to cry today - as you can see even that didn't last long!

Three amigas de Libby's third grade afternoon class.

Chiquitas bonitas!

Our monos locos (Crazy monkeys!)

Gen's five and six year old first graders at work.

Sonia, wearing the traditional embroidered pattern of Santa Maria.

We hope you enjoy the pictures, and we will update you in more detail later in the week.

Abrazos,

Gen y Lib