It is extremely beautiful here on Lago Atitlan...as I had expected.
I´ve let sarah sleep in, on this little upstairs area where we slept on cushions with no blankets...it can get pretty cold up here in the mountains.
Woke up to the most beautiful view of the lake and the mountains...I will take a photo.
Yesterday on the bus I decided to do some reading for my art history class as Sarah was sleeping...I re-read an article about traditional indigenous dress in guatemala that i ahd read in first year, and it was a completely different experience.
She was writing about a city called Chimanstenango...and I looked up from my reading to see that we were passing through Chimanstenago...
I really see the value in learning about other cultures while immersed in that culture.
Already Sarah has learned so much from being here in one day, its difficult not to.
Okay breakfast time!
viernes, 6 de abril de 2007
jueves, 5 de abril de 2007
hospedaje guatemalteco
well
guatemala, here we are, my sister and I!
so after a 13 hour journey from San Cristobal with lots of reading and a fun border crossing I arrived in Guatemala City at 8:30pm...and after hearing horror stories of the capital, was a little weary about getting a cab to my hotel.
It worked out in the end and I got a cheap cab ride with a nice taxista. My bed and breakfast near the airport was adorable, a nice older very catholic couple who gave me a ride to the airport at 5 am...
but her flight didnt get in till 6:30.
so i met this nice guatemalan couple who were waiting for the same flight
sarah´s luggage was stuck in atlanta...and the nice couple took us in their car to Pollo Campero to have breakfast cause we had to be back to the airport at 12 to find her bag.
had a great time with them and then went back to airport, got a taxi and went downtown...but no one was there due to the fact that they´re all at the beach for semana santa.
Long story short we hung out in deserted Guat city for a while and then met our same taxi man who brought us back to the airport, we found her bag and then he took us to Antigua and set us up with a bus to Panajachel, which was to leave at 4.
Hung out in antigua for 2 hours, its pretty much exactly like san cris and i felt at home, sarah loved it.
then we got the bus to pana and met a nice honeymooner couple, marissa and kyle, from San Francisco. Got to Pana at 6:45 or so to find out that we´ve missed the last boat to Santiago Atitlan, where the rest of my group is, where we have a reservation.
Knowing that its Semana Santa and theres no space anywhere, we think we´re screwed. We were offered private boats to Santiago for 300 quetzales, which is like $40 plus its dark and its aobut 30 mins accross the lake...and we didnt feel safe. Marissa and Kyle suggested that we go with them, saying that we could sleep in their room on the floor...what nice people, even though they´re on their luna de miel!
So we got in a boat to Santa Cruz with Kyle and Marissa...to see if there was space at their hotel - when we got off the boat 3 police officers accompanied us on the long walk on a slippery trail in the rain right beside Lago Atitlan. Got to this hotel and they´ve made space for us to sleep on the floor in the main room...and fed us dinner...and have been all around wonderful.
One of the guys who is working and staying here was living in victoria for a while - and sarah knows him from salt spring last summer where he was for the retreat...tiny tiny world it is.
All in all Sarah has had a very adventurous and eventful first day in latin america...and theres 7 more to come...
Tomorrow to the festivals in Santiago Atitlan!!!
guatemala, here we are, my sister and I!
so after a 13 hour journey from San Cristobal with lots of reading and a fun border crossing I arrived in Guatemala City at 8:30pm...and after hearing horror stories of the capital, was a little weary about getting a cab to my hotel.
It worked out in the end and I got a cheap cab ride with a nice taxista. My bed and breakfast near the airport was adorable, a nice older very catholic couple who gave me a ride to the airport at 5 am...
but her flight didnt get in till 6:30.
so i met this nice guatemalan couple who were waiting for the same flight
sarah´s luggage was stuck in atlanta...and the nice couple took us in their car to Pollo Campero to have breakfast cause we had to be back to the airport at 12 to find her bag.
had a great time with them and then went back to airport, got a taxi and went downtown...but no one was there due to the fact that they´re all at the beach for semana santa.
Long story short we hung out in deserted Guat city for a while and then met our same taxi man who brought us back to the airport, we found her bag and then he took us to Antigua and set us up with a bus to Panajachel, which was to leave at 4.
Hung out in antigua for 2 hours, its pretty much exactly like san cris and i felt at home, sarah loved it.
then we got the bus to pana and met a nice honeymooner couple, marissa and kyle, from San Francisco. Got to Pana at 6:45 or so to find out that we´ve missed the last boat to Santiago Atitlan, where the rest of my group is, where we have a reservation.
Knowing that its Semana Santa and theres no space anywhere, we think we´re screwed. We were offered private boats to Santiago for 300 quetzales, which is like $40 plus its dark and its aobut 30 mins accross the lake...and we didnt feel safe. Marissa and Kyle suggested that we go with them, saying that we could sleep in their room on the floor...what nice people, even though they´re on their luna de miel!
So we got in a boat to Santa Cruz with Kyle and Marissa...to see if there was space at their hotel - when we got off the boat 3 police officers accompanied us on the long walk on a slippery trail in the rain right beside Lago Atitlan. Got to this hotel and they´ve made space for us to sleep on the floor in the main room...and fed us dinner...and have been all around wonderful.
One of the guys who is working and staying here was living in victoria for a while - and sarah knows him from salt spring last summer where he was for the retreat...tiny tiny world it is.
All in all Sarah has had a very adventurous and eventful first day in latin america...and theres 7 more to come...
Tomorrow to the festivals in Santiago Atitlan!!!
domingo, 1 de abril de 2007
tostadas, beans and salsa
well, we got back from our 12 day excursion throughout the Yucatan peninsula.
Details of each day in Marv's blog at www.lasom2.blogspot.com.
So basically in a nut shell that trip consisted of lots of learning, pyramid climbing, taking photos on top of pyramids, sweating, sunshine, swimming, beach, hotels, tostadas and tortillas, cans of beans and salsa, vegetable juice in a can, beer, assignments, reading, bus travel, shopping, marella's and karyn's birthdays, tequila, equinox at chichen itza...and generally an amazing time in the warmth and sunshine of the yucatan peninsula with lots of bonding time.
here's select photos from the trip and some from San Cristobal.
The photo in this post is of the castillo at chichen itza, pretty much one of the most if not the most famous classic maya building.
Being back in San Cristobal after those 12 days in other, warmer, less touristy places has changed the way that we all see San Cris, as much as we love it here, we are all sorta missing the warmth and sun, since the rainy season is upon us here in the highlands and its often cloudy and rainy and cold, oh well i still love mexico.
Tomorrow morning i am leaving for guatemala city. I'm gonna stay a night there and pick Sarah (my sister) up at the airport at 5am Thursday.
Then we're going up to Santiago Atitlan to meet the rest of my group for the semana santa festivities there and coming back here Sunday. I'm so excited to see her, its been 3 months already!!!
martes, 13 de marzo de 2007
...
well, we leave tomorrow morning at 6 am, wow. and yet i want to go out for a bit tonight...i'm nuts!
tomorrow we will be at palenque, our 2nd maya site, so much learning to be had!
i probably wont wirte anything till we get back, not that ive written much lately
we ended up going to the beach two weeks ago, which was really great, except when i lost my new glasses in the dirty, sandy pacific ocean. that kinda ruined my day, but i forced myself to get over it in a few hours...lucky i had my contacts with me and another pair of glasses at home in San Cris. The beach was good otherwise, we went out saturday night to the "disco" which had a horrible sound system, but was a good random time. Then we ended up riding up and down the main street in the back of a pickup truck listening to 50 cent and blink 182, and we had a beach party, complete with fire and chelas (beers), but turns out that palm leaves arent very good firewood.
ok time to go finish packing!
ciao
heather
tomorrow we will be at palenque, our 2nd maya site, so much learning to be had!
i probably wont wirte anything till we get back, not that ive written much lately
we ended up going to the beach two weeks ago, which was really great, except when i lost my new glasses in the dirty, sandy pacific ocean. that kinda ruined my day, but i forced myself to get over it in a few hours...lucky i had my contacts with me and another pair of glasses at home in San Cris. The beach was good otherwise, we went out saturday night to the "disco" which had a horrible sound system, but was a good random time. Then we ended up riding up and down the main street in the back of a pickup truck listening to 50 cent and blink 182, and we had a beach party, complete with fire and chelas (beers), but turns out that palm leaves arent very good firewood.
ok time to go finish packing!
ciao
heather
domingo, 11 de marzo de 2007
too much time has passed
well, we leave for our big 2 week trip on wednesday
then when we gwet back sarah is coming to visit and we're going to Guatemala to see the semana santa festivities in Santiago Atitlan, which is gonna be really amazing and I cannot wait.
life here is pretty sweet, I love every minute of it.
I'd really like to succcessfully make a useful post on here before I leave on Wednesday.
then when we gwet back sarah is coming to visit and we're going to Guatemala to see the semana santa festivities in Santiago Atitlan, which is gonna be really amazing and I cannot wait.
life here is pretty sweet, I love every minute of it.
I'd really like to succcessfully make a useful post on here before I leave on Wednesday.
viernes, 2 de marzo de 2007
It's really weird to think of home in Canada right now.
It's been 2.5 months since I left Vancouver, and the year and a half that I spent living there is a blur in my memory because it all moved so quickly.
Toronto stands out in my mind more poignantly since that's where I was before here, and that's where my mom has been.
However, as of yesterday my mom has moved back to Vancouver Island, which is kinda surreal, not sure why.
Maria Luisa arrived here on Tuesday from Vancouver, and last Friday night she and my sister met up so that Maria could bring my camera cable. It was really weird for me to think of them seeing each other, so far away from here.
I find that I often get caught up in the everyday, and while I have been homesick once or twice, it really hasn't affected me all that much.
I love San Cristobal so much, that one night I spent in Comitan I was homesick for San Cristobal.
We might go to the beach today, or I might stay here and move into my new house, at this point I'm unsure. Obviously I still am no good at making decisions.
It's been 2.5 months since I left Vancouver, and the year and a half that I spent living there is a blur in my memory because it all moved so quickly.
Toronto stands out in my mind more poignantly since that's where I was before here, and that's where my mom has been.
However, as of yesterday my mom has moved back to Vancouver Island, which is kinda surreal, not sure why.
Maria Luisa arrived here on Tuesday from Vancouver, and last Friday night she and my sister met up so that Maria could bring my camera cable. It was really weird for me to think of them seeing each other, so far away from here.
I find that I often get caught up in the everyday, and while I have been homesick once or twice, it really hasn't affected me all that much.
I love San Cristobal so much, that one night I spent in Comitan I was homesick for San Cristobal.
We might go to the beach today, or I might stay here and move into my new house, at this point I'm unsure. Obviously I still am no good at making decisions.
domingo, 25 de febrero de 2007
si uno come, que coman todos
Ahorita estoy escribiendo mi esayo para la clase de politicas, pero encontre a esa historia en uno de mis libros. El libro se llama "Si uno come, que coman todos" y es sobre una ONG que se llama DESMI y que trabaja para la economia solidaria.
This story/poem is about a little boy who is discovering life around him. One day I might translate it but it's so much work.
"Hubo una vez un nino de ojos muy tiernos y profundos, con un cuerpo y manos agiles, pies veloces, oido atento, buen olfato, que se encontro ante las cosas:
Vio que las plantas crecian,
Que los arboles eran mecidos por el viento,
Que la auraora era el principio de los dias,
Que el agua corria,
Que la lluvia fertilizab a los campos,
Que era verde el color de las hojas y que habia frutos,
Vio que la dureza de las piedras tenia utilidad,
Que los animales cazaban para comer,
Que otros ninos reian y jugaban con las cosas,
Que las cosas tenian un nombre.
Vio que la vida crecia, que los hombres vivian,
Juntandose y construyendo, generando las nuevas cosas y los nuevos hombres.
Hubo una vez un nino, de ojos tiernos y profundos, que comenzo a pensar y buscar una razon a todo lo que veia y percibia a traves de todos sus sentidos e invento las razones, imagino las causas, creo las explicanciones, sugirio el sentido de las cosas, construyo un modelo, una categoria que explicara parte de los sucesos, parte de los hallazgos que hacia con sus manos.
This story/poem is about a little boy who is discovering life around him. One day I might translate it but it's so much work.
"Hubo una vez un nino de ojos muy tiernos y profundos, con un cuerpo y manos agiles, pies veloces, oido atento, buen olfato, que se encontro ante las cosas:
Vio que las plantas crecian,
Que los arboles eran mecidos por el viento,
Que la auraora era el principio de los dias,
Que el agua corria,
Que la lluvia fertilizab a los campos,
Que era verde el color de las hojas y que habia frutos,
Vio que la dureza de las piedras tenia utilidad,
Que los animales cazaban para comer,
Que otros ninos reian y jugaban con las cosas,
Que las cosas tenian un nombre.
Vio que la vida crecia, que los hombres vivian,
Juntandose y construyendo, generando las nuevas cosas y los nuevos hombres.
Hubo una vez un nino, de ojos tiernos y profundos, que comenzo a pensar y buscar una razon a todo lo que veia y percibia a traves de todos sus sentidos e invento las razones, imagino las causas, creo las explicanciones, sugirio el sentido de las cosas, construyo un modelo, una categoria que explicara parte de los sucesos, parte de los hallazgos que hacia con sus manos.
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