I had set my alarm for 7, but I woke up at 6:45 after a refreshing 10 hours of sleep. I was surprised by how cold it was. I quickly got ready and ate a delicious Dark Chocolate and Almond granola bar from the Lakes and some dried fruit. I packed up and left Casa Elena at 7:15 to walk to the dock where the boats leave for Santiago. There were not very many people out and about. I was kind of surprised because lots of the tours leave at 8. I made it there quickly and arrived a little after 7:30. I bargained with a man on the dock to pay 15 quetzales instead of 20. I went and waited on the boat. It was a bigger boat than I had taken to San Pedro. In typical Latin American fashion, the people started arriving at 8 to get on the boat. We ended up leaving about 8:20. I was the only gringa on the boat. The ride took 35 minutes and we got to Santiago at 8:55. From Santiago, we could see two volcanoes: San Pedro and Toliman. If there weren’t clouds, I could have seen Volcán Atitlán also.
I got off the boat and started walking toward the town. I was approached by a little boy offering to take me to see Maximón. I will tell you more about him in a bit. I told the boy that I might go later and headed off to explore the town. I had to walk up a steep hill. The road was made of square stones and it was kind of uneven. I had to watch out for tuk tuks on the road which as little three-wheeled motorcycle-ish vehicles, similar to ones I saw in India. I will see if I have any good pictures to post. I went up to the market area and wandered around. In the central park, there was a pool-ish area. When you looked down into it, there was a model of Lake Atitlán and all the villages. It was neat to look at. I walked around some more and bought a crunchy bagel-shaped bread product (roscalita) that was a bit sweet. I wandered around some more and then headed down to the stalls selling more touristy things. These were places near the lake.
While I was declining yet another shopkeeper’s offer of “a really good price,” the little boy that had offered to take me to see Maximón appeared again. He remembered me and asked if I wanted to go now. I asked how much he would charge me to guide me to him, and he said whatever I wanted. I agreed to go with 9 year old Juan. I could understand almost everything he said. He gave me more information about Maximón as we walked to the house where he was. According to Frommer’s Guatemala, “Maximón (pronounced “Mashimon”) was a pre-Colombian Maya god of the underworld known as Maam, or Grandfather. He’s known as the saint of gamblers and drunkards, and is thought to bring wealth and worldly success to his followers. Despite the Catholic church’s attempt to demonize the dark-skinned Maximón by equating him with Judas, he is still found in churches, shops, and homes across Guatemala.” Juan told me how Maximón moves from house to house each year. He told me that you have to give Maximón two quetzales because that is what they use to pay for his fiestas which happen four times a year.
Juan brought me to a house that had a room at the back that was filled with smoke from incense. Maximón was a three foot high statue of a man with a cigar in his mouth. He had two hats on his head because, as Juan told me, one is for Maximón and the other is for ceremonies. Each of the hats had a scarf (either white or black) with red roses on it. He had so many ties around his neck that I could not even see what he was wearing underneath. There was a row of candles in front of him on the ground. People had stuck money in the ties and in a bowl in front of him. While we were there, someone gave him a pack of cigarettes and vodka. There was a metal bucket on a string that had coals in it. Someone added some white rocks and they smoked a lot and smelled like incense. The man picked up the string and was swinging the bucket all around the room. It was very smoky. Juan said they were getting ready for a ceremony. I also looked at Santa Cruz, the figure of a saint that was lying on a mattress in a coffin. A man came in and starting lining up another row of candles for the ceremony. Then a man and a woman started guiding a man into the room. He could hardly walk and was moaning without words. I thought at first they might be bringing him to ask for healing because I thought he was sick. However, Juan told me that he was drunk for the ceremony. Apparently that helps catch the attention of Maximón! They sat the man in a chair and draped him in some clothes and put special shoes on him. Then he got to wear one of hats from the head of Maximón. Juan said that he owns a shoe shop and he was asking for success in his business. It was sad that all this work and expense was being put into something that cannot make a difference in his life. A tour group was coming, so I left with Juan. When we got back near the lake, I gave him a few quetzales.
I wandered around down by the dock for a while. There were just a few people walking around trying to sell bracelets and things, but they were very persistent. I sat down at a table and tried to work on my homework, but it got annoying after a while. I decided to go ahead and board the boat, even though it was a little early (and by a little, I mean 35 minutes until the scheduled departure). I was happy to see that it was another bigger boat. There was a sign near the shore that said it was an area for swimming and baptisms. I took a few people from the boat. The aisle between the seats was really narrow and I ran into a seat. I now have a bruise on my leg. I sat on the boat with one other woman and conjugated verbs until it was time to go. As usual, the people started arriving at 11, and we ended up leaving about 11:15. The boat ride was uneventful.
I arrived in Panajachel close to noon. I walked around a bit and decided to get a licuado. I stopped in a few places to check what flavors they had, but I finally decided to stop at a place that advertised their licuados as one of their specialties. They had a special menu just for licuados with probably 15 different choices. I chose one with pineapple, blackberries, and strawberries. It was called Fresa Cachetona. Sandy told me tonight that cachetona means someone who is blushing. It was the most delicious licuado I have ever had in my life! I wish this place was in Xela! I sat there and did the rest of my homework. I had to read an article from the national newspaper and then write 1-2 pages about what I had read. It was hard to write that much about an article that was just about that long without copying what was written. I would have had nearly as hard of a time doing it in English. I filled almost a whole page. I hope that is enough!
While I was working, Brenda and Laura walked by and saw me. I talked to them for a few minutes and showed them my purchases. They invited me to have lunch with them, but I wanted to finish my homework and I had to leave in less than an hour. I finished up, used the bathroom at the restaurant, and went to find the bus to Xela. As I was walking up the street, every restaurant with a TV had it turned to the World Cup final. I saw that the score was still 0-0. Crowds of people were standing outside each restaurant watching the game. I saw Brenda and Laura having lunch at one restaurant. I stopped and said goodbye one more time. I walked back to the road where I needed to look for the bus. Before I was even to the bus stop area, a man approached me and asked if I were going to Xela. I said yes, and he told me that there was a direct bus. It cost Q25 which is one less than I paid to get there, plus I wouldn´t have to wait by the side of the road for each new bus. I got on. There was a group of gringos in the back and several Guatemaltecos, too. I had to wait about 20 minutes until we left. The World Cup game was on the radio, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying.
I had a seat to myself for the first part of the trip, but when the bus got crowded, a young woman dressed in traditional clothes and carrying a bundle sat next to me. Once we got out of Pana, it was cold again. Everyone shut the bus windows, but the assistant left the door open and it was really cold. I put on my long-sleeved shirt over my t-shirt and wore my jacket and I was still cold! The woman next to me fell asleep and as we went around the curves in the road, she fell up against me and was soon sleeping on my shoulder. I worried when we went around curves the other way that she would end up on the floor. It was warmer when she was lying on me. She finally woke up and scooted away from me. Then I got cold again. I enjoyed looking out the window for the two hour trip. When we got back to Terminal Minerva in Xela, I asked where I could find a bus to zona 5. A man told me I had to walk through the market. That made sense because I was doing the opposite of what I had done on the way there. When I got to the road, I didn´t know where I could find a bus. I started wandering down the road, and then I asked two woman selling vegetables. They told me which corner I needed to go to, and when I got there, I saw a microbus with a sign in its windshield that said Parque Bolivar, which is where I needed to go. A microbus is a van that has four rows of seats behind the driver. It is the same as the buses/vans we used in Uganda. It was quite crowded, but I squeezed in. I needn´t have felt bad for squishing in because four or five more people came in after me. We could not even shut the door. I counted and there were 24 people riding in it! I had to stand and duck so I wouldn’t hit my head. Soon more people got off and I got to sit down on the box thing behind the passenger seat. I eventually got to sit on a seat when enough people left. I made it to Parque Bolivar and found my way home as it started raining. It was a little before 5. I went to my room and unpacked and started typing my blog entry for today. Around 6, I decided I should go in the house, so Sandy would know that I was home. I was really hungry. I could not get my key to work in the door, so I knocked and Andre let me in. He tried my key and it worked for him. I don’t know what I was doing wrong. I sat on the couch and conjugated some more verbs for extra practice. I had only seen Andre and I was starting to get worried that we didn’t get meals on Sunday like some of the other programs. This was one of the reasons why I picked my school, but I could have gotten food if I had known. Finally, just a few minutes before seven, Sandy appeared. I went in the kitchen and set the talk while I talked to Sandy. She is so nice! We had rice and a chicken leg and a tamale-ish thing called a chuchurrito (I think). It is a funny name because stray dogs in the streets are called chuchus, and it is like saying you are eating street dogs. I laughed when Sandy told me. It has corn on the outside and is filled with chicken, tomatoes, and garlic that has been pureed. It sounds good, but I didn’t like it. I also had a roll that was kind of sweet. We have a new person living with us. I think he is in Brenda’s room which means I will stay in my current room. His name is Bulot Hussein (?) and he is from Turkey. His Spanish is very basic, but he knows at least a little English and maybe a lot. We only speak Spanish at the table, so I am not sure. We had a good dinner conversation. Roberto came and joined us. He is really funny. I told him about the microbus and he asked me what you call a baby chicken in English. I told him chick and he said I was riding in a chick bus instead of a chicken bus because it is smaller. Oscar from the school called for me. He said that two of the teachers were sick and asked if I could come in the afternoon for class just for this week. I can still go to the daycare, but I am a little disappointed about how it is working out. I doubt if the daycare would want my help until 7, but my class will be 2-7. I may not get much of a chance to get on the internet. This probably also means I won’t be able to go anywhere on Friday because it will be too late when I finish. Oh, well, it is just one week and maybe if the teachers get better, I could switch back. After I washed my dishes and refilled my water bottle, I headed to my room. It is too cold to shower at night. I worked more on my blog. I am behind, so I will probably work on it in the morning before class. It is cold and I just want to stay under the covers, but I have to get up to turn off the light. Bed around 10.
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