Earthquake!!!

Nothing much really but we just experienced our first earth-quake. We are having lunch at a cafe and the room started shaking. Silvie who is with us barely blinked an eye as she lived in Burundi in Africa for a while and they had lots. Nothing to worry about apparently!

Online News report.

Last Sunday I woke up with a sore throat but didn’t think much of it. (4 am start, didn’t get much sleep, climbing a volcano all day...) Feeling poorly on Sunday night and on Monday morning it was apparent that I had a nasty cold. Monday afternoon we stopped off at the “Farmaci” on the way home to get some cold and flue tablets or throat lozenges. The woman behind the counter/cage (most of the small shops have the staff and all products locked behind bars. The bigger ones just have security guards with shotguns) offered a range of strange unidentifiable liquids when I requested something for a sore throat. We asked if they had any tablets and I was offered something with the brand name of “Speedy” (Amphetamines anyone?). We just took some Vitamin C tablets and tried a larger chemist instead. They had some throat lozenges available which came in a box of 100 but they sold them by the strip! Must have needed a prescription of some kind or maybe a controlled substance because they asked for a name to put down on the hand written receipt.

Climbing the Volcano

Sunday morning we woke up at 4am (Very difficult!) and walked to the nearby Parque Bolivar just before 5am to meet our lift for a trip to the Volcano Santa Maria. On Friday during our break from class, Sarah and I had gone for a walk around the block and stopped in at one of the travel agents to look at tours. Back at school we talked about it with another student, Silvie and she was keen to come as well so we headed back after class and booked in with a group. There are many Volcanos around this part of Guatemala, I was hoping to climb Volcan Tajumolco which is a two day trip and is the highest mountain in Central America (4211m). The guy we spoke to said there hadn’t been any trips there for a couple of months as there were problems with access through a village and it was too dangerous!! But he said maybe next week it would be ok….. Right! Might pick another one.

Santa Maria is close to Xela and has a great view of the area. It is dormant, last erupting in 1902 but has an active vent forming a new volcano next to it which can be viewed from the top. The walk up takes 4 hours and is a difficult climb but we were game.

So we got to the meeting point and there was a taxi waiting with our guide. A 20 minute drive took us out of the dark city which looked very different under the cover of darkness, piles of garbage on the street corners awaiting collection and the street dogs scavenging through them.

Arriving at the end of the road we alighted and met with the others who were coming on the walk. There were 10 of us in the group from all over the world, UK, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Israel, USA and of course Australia. It was 5.30am as we started off and we could see the Volcano silloetted against the sky with some cloud sitting around the top. Hopefully when we get up there it will be clear. It didn’t look too difficult from there. (Naïve fools!) Starting altitude, 2500m.

The road ended and we followed a cow path up the hillside for a while between fields of Corn until the fields gave way to woodland. It wasn’t difficult going and as the sun came up, we felt some achievement as the valley behind us was getting more distant. After an hour or so we stopped for a break just short of the slopes of the volcano, having conquered merely the foothills. The group was split into two so the slow folks wouldn’t hold back the speedy ones. Guess which group we were in!
While we were having a break we were greeted by a couple of mutts which we named scab-dog #1 and scab-dog #2. They were quite good natured and obviously saw us as a source of food. They were from the village below and were very fit considering they followed the first group to the top of the volcano and then joined us for the trip back to the village. Probably their daily routine!

The speedy group quickly disappeared into the distance and after another half an hour climbing apparently Sarah and I were holding back the slow group so they ditched us as well. The path was quite steep and was stepped. We were up well over 3000m at this stage and with the thin air and steep path it was quite hard going. My pulse was at 140bpm and Sarah thought hers was higher so we were taking it fairly slow with frequent breaks. After what seemed like an eternity climbing higher and higher the trees thinned out and we could finally see the top of the mountain. By this stage we were completely surrounded by cloud so no view of the valley but the mist blowing through the trees was pretty cool and spooky.

Finally at almost 10am, we dragged ourselves on to the top of the mountain to join the others who were taking a well earned break. Surprisingly the slow group had only beaten us by 15 minutes! It had taken us 4 hours and 20 minutes to walk almost 8km climbing to a height of 3770m AND THERE WAS NO VIEW! We had a bit of a rest and took some pictures of the clouds. The fast group and most of the slow group took off back down the mountain with us following shortly thereafter.










The trip down was easier but still took 3.5 hours to get back. After a while everyone’s knees were screaming so although we weren’t taking frequent breaks it was still slow going. As we neared the village we passed people working the fields. I was impressed with the progress of a couple of men we had passed at 6.15am who were ploughing a field by hand and were still at it!
The trip back through the fields took forever as we were all exhausted. Sarah got cranky with me at one stage when I pointed out that we were being outpaced by an old man using an axe as a walking stick and carrying a heavy load of wood on his back.
Finally we arrived back at where we started at 1.20pm. Almost 8 hours, walking 16 km from 2500m to 3770m and back and we were absolutely spent. The taxi trip back into the city was a quiet one and we walked from the park painfully back to the apartment, did very little the rest of the afternoon and went to bed at 7pm.

Woke the next day very sore but with quite a feeling of achievement.

Second week in Xela

Saturday 11th October.
During this week apart from school we had a trip on Tuesday to the nearby town of Salcaja, renowned for having the church of San Jacinto which is the oldest Catholic Church in Central America, built in 1496. It was relatively drab on the outside but had some interesting decorations on the front like bunches of Bananas! The Spanish giving thanks for the bounty of the New World I suppose. Inside was quite nice with lots of wooden beams and a beautiful altar.












On Thursday we went to another nearby town called Zunil (founded in 1529) which is an agricultural town in a valley. It was raining and the river running through looked quite high and muddy. On the flats by the river were fields of crops. We crossed the river and walked up the hill into the town. First stop was a co-op which sold traditional clothing and fabric made by the local women. One thing we noticed about Zunil was the women and girls were predominantly wearing the colourful traditional clothing. Very different to Xela.




Up the hill a little way was the large church which dominated the town. We had a look inside and noted more mannequins including another glass Jesus-in-coffin display. This one had piles of money inside to accompany Jesus to the afterlife.




Walking further up the hill we were taken to see “San Simon” which we had read as being referred to as a cult. The Lonely Planet describes him as a “local Mayan hero venerated as a saint by the local people“. Every year they have a festival of San Simon and he moves to a new house. The house we visited was up a muddy little path and we were taken into a dark room lit only by candles at the feet of another mannequin sitting in a chair dressed in colourful clothing wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses! We were charged 5 Quetzal each (90cents) to enter and another 10 to take photos. It was dark and kind of creepy inside so we didn’t stay long. Outside I noticed a woman setting up a new fire to make offerings. There were the coals of the previous one beside her and I could see the remains of a chicken. The new fire had some eggs arranged among the kindling and she had a number of cigars ready to go on as well!



Saturday morning we headed back to Zunil and took a van another 8 km into the hills to go to “Fuentes Georginas“, which is the “prettiest, most popular natural spa in Guatemala” according to Lonely Planet.
www.lasfuentesgeorginas.com






It was a beautiful place. A little waterfall running down into a steaming pool surrounded with tropical vegetation. There were three pools, the first one with the little hot waterfall running into it. This pool was the first one Sarah and I got in and it was VERY hot. Like a bath that you dip your foot in and have to take it out. Oddly enough in the couple of hours we were there we were the only ones to go swimming in there! Everyone else just stuck their feet in and then went to the cooler pools. From the hot pool the water ran into two other small pools which were cooler. Very relaxing to wander between the pools with a cold shower in between with water from the creek.










More pictures from the trip so far on Facebook.

Saturday morning we had a nice sleep-in, relieved to have a break from school.
Mid morning we headed in to town seeking a book-shop and an Internet Café to check our email. (And get a good Coffee!) Found the Black Cat café just a block from the town square and had some brunch. I had an Omelet and Sarah had a breakfast burrito. Very nice food and Coffee but the service was non existent. The café was part of a hostel and an American girl was behind the counter. I had to go find her and drag her off the Internet to pay the bill when we were ready to leave. They did have wireless internet though so we got to update the blog.

We found a good bookshop a couple of blocks away and had a browse for a while and bought some postcards.

The town square had masses of market stalls being set up around it and the surrounding streets. They have a big market on the first Sunday of the month and this one is going to be even bigger due to the festival celebrating the Virgin Mary’s Birthday tomorrow. We had a walk around but not many stalls were open yet so we came back in the evening. It was very busy and exciting. Much like a large show with many food stalls and some dangerous looking rides.





We had some Pizza for dinner and then walked to the nearby Los Chocoyos Centro Cultural for a live music show we had seen advertised. The Centro Cultural turned out to be a bar but was quite a nice atmosphere, very open area with a decent stage. The act was a local band called Naik-Madera and they were quite good.
We were planning on taking a taxi back to the apartment as it’s not so safe to be walking the streets late at night but there were plenty of people around during the walk back.

Friday instead of classes we had a “field trip” to the Markets at San Francisco El Alto which was an hour bus trip into the mountains from Xela. We took the “Chicken Bus” with the other student and our teachers. My teacher Alma sat on the seat in front of Sarah and I with Sarah’s teacher Fernando to start with but as the bus filled up she moved to the other side of the aisle!? I’m starting to suspect that rather than being anti-social it might just be unacceptable for her, a respectful married woman, to be socialising with single men. Guatemala (and I suspect much of Central and South America) is a funny mix of very conservative Catholic values combined with extreme poverty and the associated violence.

Back to the market…. Got to San Francisco El Alto and had a walk through the markets. The town is on top of a mountain (2610m) and had quite steep streets lined with shops and stalls. Lots of colourful clothing and blankets. Not many Gringos to be seen, all local people.
At the very top of the hill we came to the animal market and amongst the mud they were selling pigs and ducks, chickens, dogs, cats, geese, turkeys, and sheep. Probably other animals too but it was an incredible sight. Other stalls were selling the standard fare as well. Quite strange to see a stall selling mobile phones and DVD players amongst the mud and animals. (Mobile phones are very popular here.)



We headed back down the hill and had a look at the church. Some nice murals on the ceiling and more Jesus mannequins on the walls.







Back on the bus and we headed back to Xela with some great views down the valley. Took a few photos from the bus and realised that almost every one had corn growing in it. The Mayans had a Maize based diet and it’s a large part of the cuisine.





Back at school around noon we only did an hour of study and headed home.

One week since leaving Australia

Well we have finished our fourth day of Spanish lessons and know a lot more than before. Still can’t carry a conversation but know a lot more words and can read simple sentences. The school is quite small with only one other student when we started. Another one started today. It’s one-on-one study with the teachers. Sarah’s teacher is easy going and fun but mine is a bit anti-social and serious. Sarah is in the sunny* courtyard and I am sitting in a dark classroom with my grumpy teacher hearing the laughing from outside.

(*when it’s not raining which is every afternoon and second morning!)

www.inepas.org

On Monday afternoon after class we watched a video called Daughter of the Puma which was a story of a young woman in Guatemala during the civil war. Her village was massacred by the army in 1982 and after a year in a refugee camp in Mexico she travelled to Guatemala city to search for her missing brother. It was a pretty horrific movie really but good to get an idea of the terrible things that happened here during the civil war which ran for 36 years until 1994.

Tuesday afternoon was supposed to be a visit to a village north of Xela called Salcaja which has the oldest Catholic church in Central America, built in 1486. Because it was raining though we stayed in Xela and went to the old train station which had a museum.
The train station was a massive building which was the terminal for an electric train system which went from Xela to Retalhuleu and was completed in 1930. The display was mainly photos but it was in impressive scheme with a purpose built hydro-electric dam to supply power and some amazing bridges through the mountains. All the information was in Spanish and the teacher Fernando who was guiding us was no help at all with questions. Apart from our limited grasp of each others primary language, he didn’t seem to know anything about the Train system. I commented about how amazing it was that Guatemala had an electric train system in 1930 and he insisted that it wasn’t electric! I pointed out the hydro-electric dam photos at the start of the display, the electric lines running above the trains in every photo and the contacts on top of the trains connecting to the wires….. “only for the lights” was the response. From what I could figure out, the system was damaged by an earthquake in 1934 and dismantled!

http://www.tramz.com/gt/q.html

Wednesday afternoon we had free and when class finished at 1pm Sarah came into the class as I took a minute to pack my bag. I then went to the bathroom while she waited in the courtyard of the school and when we went to leave a couple of minutes later we found we were LOCKED IN! The teachers and facilitator had locked up shop and left us there! The front door was deadlocked so no way we were getting out there. Sarah was a bit worried we would be spending the night but there was a back entrance out of a storeroom we were able to escape through. Not happy Jan!


It’s been really mentally exhausting doing 5 hours of lessons each day starting at 8am. Monday and Tuesday we went to bed really early because we were so tired but then woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. Last night it seemed like sleep patterns were getting back to normal.




The walk to school is 1.55km from the apartment and we have been coming home for lunch before going back for the afternoon activities so we have been getting lots of exercise walking over 6 km a day.
The altitude doesn’t seem to be bothering me anymore either which is good. Xela is at 2340m which is higher than the tallest mountain in Australia, Mount Kosciusko.



We have been shopping at the local supermarket which has reasonable range of food but not much in the way of fruit and veg. Sarah was excited that you can buy mayonnaise by the bag though. Thanks for the Rain Jacket Steph! It’s been very useful.
The nearby markets have a big range and we have bought a few things from there. Quite different to the shiny, blemish-free stuff we demand in the Supermarkets in Australia though.


We did get a pumpkin to make soup for dinner and when I opened it the inside was a disgusting rotting grey colour! It still smelled like pumpkin and we decided it must just be a different type which normally looks like it’s rotten. Still couldn’t bring ourselves to eat it though…..