June 22

An adventure with my bestest friend!

Walking near Central Park the other day, Cheryl and I got the idea to take a day trip to Chichicastenango. It's something we talked about doing seven months ago, but somehow never found the time to do. So, we popped in to a travel agency, asked a couple questions, and booked our trip. It was only fourteen dollars roundtrip. I'm pretty sure that's because no one would pay more than that to have their life flash before their eyes as often as ours did! However, it was an absolutely gorgeous trip, up into the mountains and overlooking Lake Atitlan. Once we got to Chichi, we scoped out a restaurant that had a great balcony over the market. The food was delicious, especially the fried plantains! After lunch, we headed into the aisles of the market and saw some of the most beautiful textiles I've seen here! I was really impressed with the selection and the quality! And it went on forever! We were there for about four hours and didn't see everything. We did make a couple great purchases though- ALWAYS fun!

The Catholic Church in Chichi was amazing to see. There was a huge Mayan pagan alter at the foot of the stairs to the entrance of the church that was smoking with an active burning offering. Then, inside, there was more evidence of the mixing of religions and cultures with Mayan offerings on platforms all the way down the center aisle of the church leading to the alter! There were traditional Catholic candles lit alongside the smaller, simpler Mayan candles. It was fascinating (and definitely unexpected) to see both cultures so accepting of the other!

For those thinking about making a trip outside Guatemala City or Antigua, Chichicastenango was a blast! Highly recommend it!