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La Antigua, Guatemala

January 1 -- March 8, 2010

THANK YOU

Thank you for following our adventures in Antigua, Guatemala. I hope you were able to sense some of the beauty and tradition that is Antigua.  For us it was an unforgettable experience, and we left part of our hearts there with the people of Antigua. We also left a lot of shoe leather, and we are grateful to our boots for standing up to the challenges of cobblestone streets, ancient monuments, and active volcanoes.

In the Jungle at Tikal (Part 2)

posted by Buzz

Tikal is in the jungle. While it is a spectacular archaeo-logical site because of its many splendid structures from the Mayan civilization, it is also stunning because it is in the middle of a huge jungle. It’s  a National Park, and it is filled with critters: toucans, cockatoos, crocodiles, turkeys, monkeys.While in the jungle, I made a new friend. Check out the following links to see the fauna of Tikal and sounds of the jungle. Enjoy!

http://www.tikalpark.com/fauna.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZV9xtzjbe8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7ze9rArZyk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmGujekhpRU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQX6J4udt9I

Climbing Pacaya

On Thursday afternoon we rode horses as far as we could up the side of the active volcano. Then we hiked on foot on crusty old lava as far as we were allowed. Walking was VERY difficult, footing was unsure, and cooled lava is sharp as broken glass. So there we were near the top of this volcano with rocks, fire, and ash exploding into the air (note the smoke ring), and a river of hot lava flowing just a few feet from us. The heat was intense. ¡Mucho calor! Some people were roasting marshmallows over the hot lava, while Buzz tried to roast a chicken. I took a moment and sent out a thought to my grandson. Then as dusk started to fall, we began a long hike down. We used leg muscles that hadn't been called into action for some time. I'm happy to say that we climbed a volcano, but once is enough.    

Never Just One!

There was another church procession last Sunday. You already know what those look like. So I will show you some of the cute kids that came to el parque central for the celebration. This was a real family day. 

One thing you should know about the children in Antigua--there is no such thing as ONE child. They are all connected. One afternoon Buzz and I were eating ice cream cones at the Marco Polo helados store, and a cute little Mayan girl stood by our table and watched us eat. Well, how can you eat ice cream in front of a child? So I asked her if she wanted ice cream. Si, limon por favor. As soon as she got her cone, she ran out the door and told her friends that we were buying ice cream, and suddenly we had several children around our table and a number of parents too. It was a little overwhelming. The store owner and several customers started laughing. Apparently they already knew that there is no such thing as one child.

Shoeshine?

Shoe shining is big business in Antigua. On average, we are asked if we want a shoeshine about 4 times an hour. Shoeshiners are always male, but they range in age from about 6 to 60. This lucky shoeshiner owns his own bench for customer comfort. Sometimes his dog, Inkie, relaxes there between customers. Most shiners stroll through the park with 

mobile shoeshine kits and offer shines to people sitting on park benches. Buzz accepted a shine late one Saturday afternoon from a 6-year-old professional who had polish up to his elbows and even some on his cheeks. The kid squirted brown oily liquid on Buzz's boot and deftly began some beautifully choreographed polishing moves before Buzz could even ask how much it would cost--BIG mistake. With one boot committed, the kid had all the power. Note: a shoeshine should only cost 3 to 5 quetzales. Buzz paid considerably more and left an oily trail as we walked out of the park. EVERYONE has polished shoes here, from people selling TV antennas in the mercado to police officers. My boots are suede.   

My peeps

These are some of the real people I talk to in el parque central every day. From left to right, they are Mildred with her two niños, and Saida and Lilian. Not pictured are Ligla, Juliana, Carla, Lola, Lilia and Dorothy. The women are in traditional Mayan dress topped off with baby slings. Inside the baby slings are bead necklaces, tablecloths, table runners, potholders, and huipiles (traditional Mayan tops). But mostly necklaces. Usually one arm is loaded with necklaces, and when a potential customer walks by, they pull out the loaded arm to display their wares. Apparently they can spot a sucker a mile away, because they come running when they see me in the park. "Patty, you buy necklace?" And we proceed to look at the necklaces while we talk about our families, about the weather, about food--in Spanish! I'll admit I've purchased several necklaces, only the ones that I like, and only for about TWICE as many quetzales as they are worth. But you will not find Spanish tutors more willing or more patient than these dear ladies.   

First Sunday of Lent

We've seen a few church processions during our time here, but nothing like the one we saw yesterday. There were street decorations, floats, costumes, and a long somber march into town. Just enjoy the pictures.

Buzz at Tikal

Posted by Buzz

Once we decided to come to Guatemala for our winter getaway, I knew that one of the places I wanted to visit on our trip was Tikal. It’s a famous archaeological site for the Mayan civilization. If you know me, you also know that one doesn’t have to talk too long or hard to convince me to visit an archaeological site. Tikal is rated as one of the great archaeological sites in the world to visit. It’s a huge site with scores of monumentally large temples and buildings. A total of over 2,000 buildings, altars, and smaller installations such as storage pits have been found. 

Beyond that, I have a rather unusual connection to Tikal. Back in 1977, as a new Ph.D. student, I took a class in archaeological methods from a young professor named Dennis Puleston. He was a new world archaeologist who was working at Tikal, and after I took that course, I asked him to be on my Ph.D. oral committee because I really liked him. In the spring of 1978 he invited me to work on a project with his research by photographing the wear patterns on stone tools from Tikal using a scanning electron microscope. However, in the summer of 1978, while he was vacationing with his family, he was killed when he was struck by lightning while standing on the top of Chichen Itza, a large Mayan temple in Mexico. (See this link for a bio: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/pqrst/puleston_dennis.html)

So, as it happened, when I met my guide, Antonio, at Tikal, I asked him how long he had been at Tikal. He told me he grew up at Tikal and that his father had helped with the excavations that the University of Pennsylvania was doing back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He told me that, as a kid, he played around Tikal all the time while his dad helped on the excavation. On a whim, I asked him if he happened to know Denny Puleston. “Oh yes,” he replied. “I remember him very well. He was one of the rising stars among the archaeologists working at Tikal.”  I smiled and said to Antonio, “I had Denny Puleston as a professor at the University of Minnesota.” He smiled, shook my hand, and we hit it off from that point.

Coming Soon: Part II (In the jungle at Tikal)

The power of a volcano

Antigua sits in a valley and is completely surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The mountains are not snow-capped rockies but are green and furry like the ones where Juan Valdez lives.  I introduced you to the inactive volcano named Agua in the January 5 blog entry. When I sit on the roof of the language school, I can see both Agua and the active volcano Fuego (photographed here). Something happens to you when you gaze at these giants. You feel, at once, insignificant and essential. You become aware that much of the world is underground and that we are at the mercy of geological activity and laws of science that were set in motion when God started time. Then it hits you that you are a part of this creation, and you ask, "How am I so fortunate to be in this amazing place?" Then, of course, there comes a day when you start to take the volcanoes for granted. That is, until Fuego sends a billow of smoke into the air, or the ground shakes, or an old woman with a basket of chickens on her head smiles at me, and then I'm in wonderment again. 

Coconut Lemonade

It's a good thing!

This drink can be yours too if you go to La Peña de Sol Latino on 5a Calle, just two blocks from el parque central. We're going back for more.

Talking to real people

Esta mañana yo fui al parque central porque queria hablar español con la gentes. Yo compré algunas cosas al mercado: dos bolsas, dos manteles, y una mochila pequeña por mi nieto. Después yo fui al supermercado, compré pan y jugo de manzana. Yo caminaba en el parque y vi un hombre pobre. Yo le pregenté, "necesita el pan?" "Si," él dijo. Yo le di el pan y jugo de manzana. Él me pidío cinco quetzales. Yo dije que el pan es mejor. Después, yo hablé con una mujer se llama Soraida. Ella vendía las cosas de Antigua, pero yo no tenía mas dinero. Nosotros hablamos durante treinta minutos. (with apologies to seasoned Spanish speakers)

Translation: This morning I went to central park because I wanted to speak Spanish with the people. I bought several things at the market: two bags, two tablecloths, and a small backpack for my grandson. Then I went to the supermarket and bought bread and apple juice.  I was walking in the park and saw a poor man. I asked him, "Do you need bread?" "Yes," he said. I gave him the bread and juice. He asked me for 5 quetzales (money). I told him that bread is better. Later I talked with a woman named Soraida. She was selling souvenirs from Antigua, but I didn't have any more money. We talked for thirty minutes. 

Las flores

Every weekday, around 3:30 a nice young man with a machete walks into the backyard of our casa, shimmies up the trees and prunes branches.

Then he cuts and stacks the wood in neat piles next to the house. He finishes by manicuring and watering the yard and all the plants in it. His name is Condido, and he lives nearby with his wife and kids. I've never seen anyone work as hard or as fast as he does. Keep in mind that his day starts early and he is responsible for ground maintenance in this complex of casas.  Here are some of the results of his labor. The orchids that spiral up the tree trunks are starting to bloom. The gold ones, only about an inch across, are called orquidia amarilla. The larger purple ones are called candelaria morada. We are sending these flowers to you for Valentine's Day.

español

Hola mis amigas. Today was my last day of Spanish class at Centro Linguistico Maya. ¡Mi cabeza es lleno! After 5 weeks of classes: 4 hours in the mornings, plus 2-3 hours of study in the afternoons, I know 100 verbs in four tenses. That is not to say that I can conjure up the verb I need instantly. No, that will take time and practice. But I know 100% more Spanish than I did when I started. Starting tomorrow, I'll spend mornings in town practicing the language with regular folks. The Spanish school has been a great way to make connections with people from other countries and even from Minnesota. A group from Bethel University is here now. In the photos, my first teacher, Harvey, is standing on the roof of the school in front of a volcano. My second teacher, Noemi, has taught for many years in this school, and in fact, this building was once her family home.

Food

People ask us what the food is like in Guatemala. There are two answers. 1) There are a lot of fast food restaurants: Burger King, McDonald's, Subway, Pollo Campero (KFC), Domino's, and another pizza place that has to be a Pizza Hut in disguise.  2) There are some restaurants that serve authentic traditional Guatemalan food. We ate lunch today at Fonda de la Calle Real, and we shared a Plato Típico (pictured above). The meal includes a chile rellano, guacamole, frijoles volteados (refried beans), platanitos fritos (fried plantains), queso fresco (cheese), arroz (rice) and fresh tortillas.  Chicken is an important part of Guatemalan food too. With any luck we'll get a picture of a traditional chicken dish soon.       

The ugly fruit

I won't make you look at it again, but we finally have the name of that ugly fruit. (January 31 post) It is called noñi. Three out of four people we asked did not know its name. Even a lady who was selling them in the market didn't know.  I asked the lady if she liked them. She picked one up and sniffed it and then held it out for me to sniff. Yep, they stink to high heaven. El noñi huele mal. My Spanish teacher says it is used medicinally as a treatment for diabetes which, she says, is very prevalent here. So I will not be buying one. And now that I've smelled one, I won't be tasting one. I'm waiting for guava season later this month. In the meantime, treat your eyes to some beautiful dried peppers.

A day of rest

This was a truly restful day. We didn't go into town, we ate simply, and we spent most of the day on the patio, watching the sun go in and out of the clouds. Now, though, we can see big grey clouds descending on the mountains all around us, and we think it might rain. If so, it will be our first precipitation 

since we arrived. Today I want to share with you some of the rock creatures that adorn the courtyard in our casa. A pair of frogs look toward the fountain. ¡Estas ranas no pueden saltar! The other little guy is our dog. We call him Pablo.  Él nunca viene cuando se llamamos. The rock creatures are very quiet, but the living ones are not. We heard a new bird call that sounds like water dripping into a puddle. If avacados count as living creatures, we hear them fall to the ground from high up in the trees. And at night we hear crickets--LOUD ones. That's my favorite.

Beautiful children

Guatemalan children are especially good looking. Their brown skin and big smiles look so healthy. An organiza-tion called Agua Viva ensures that kids in poverty (especially those in the far off villages and on the mountains) get proper nutrition. The group gives flouride pills to preserve the healthy smiles, and they have visiting doctors who help with general health care. We joined the group for lunch yesterday and were able to see their operation firsthand. On the right, you can see two tables full of blue and green plates that are loaded with rice and beans. Usually there is meat too, but we happened to be there on beans-and-rice day. On the left, you can see a table full of muchachos. Agua Viva serves between 300 and 500 children in this location twice a week. The organization travels to other, more remote, locations where hunger can be a REAL problem. I must say, these were the best behaved children I've seen for a long time. First, they waited patiently in line for their food, then they waited for their table to fill with kids, then they waited for a teacher to pray before they ate. I will try to find a link to the organization. 

I've changed my mind

Posted by Buzz.

Being in Guatemala these past four weeks has prompted me to change my mind on something important.  I've changed my mind about my favorite color. Now, my favorite color is green. Green is everywhere in our backyard. It's lush with tropical, exotic-looking things.  In January and February one doesn't expect much green in one's life. At least that's been my world view living in Minnesota. Now, however, I'm surrounded by green, and I'm loving it. The wonderful thing is that there is a wide array of green with subtle shades of influence that go with each different plant.

Within the panoramic view of our patio there's Dartmouth green, fern green, emerald green, pigment green, jungle green, harlequin, forest green, shamrock green, asparagus green, celadon, moss green, hunter green, MSU green, myrtle, sap green, kelly green, and a whole bunch more.

About now you might be green with envy; don't be. Rather, just be happy for me that I've got a new favorite color.

--Buzz