Lilli Cloud

I’m pretty sure my travel companion and I were the only guests at the Spanish colonial-style Hotel Santo Tomas in Chichicastenango who rode the chicken bus to get there. I think everyone else came in the sanitized giant tour buses parked outside. My excuses for spending a whopping $79 for one night include the following:

1. I’m writing it off as business expense
2. It was the only place I could get a confirmed reservation because
   a. they answered the phone when I called and
   b. they speak English
3. I split the cost with a friend from school
4. I wanted to sleep in a really nice place.

Just to give you some perspective on why this seems like so much money – I found out on Friday that my college-educated teacher with a very good job makes in one month what I make in two hours. This means that my hotel cost more than one-third of his monthly salary.

So I didn’t spend a lot of time haggling in the market yesterday and today. Usually after one exchange, I just gave them the money. I bought a hat from one little boy, maybe 7 years-old, who I believe was very excited to find himself such a good businessman. Once again, I shopped a lot in this town that is the candy store of textiles, but not as much as my friend. She says it was my fault she spent so much, because I was the one who told her about Chichi. But she is the one who said “oooh” as we passed the fancy hotel on the bus while were still thinking of staying in a hostel. So I guess we’re even.

Although Chichi is a small town, the first guide who approached me was the same guide I had two years ago. This time I asked for a tour of the churches. Among other interesting things, I learned why there are two Catholic churches facing each other across the town square. One is currently for both Catholic and Maya ceremonies, and was the former site of a Maya temple. The smaller church is now supposedly only Catholic, although there were Maya worship aids there also, but he said it was the site of a Maya temple. One is the church of the sun and the other of the moon.

Interesting how religion is all still mixed up here. We went to mass on Saturday evening and after communion the priest read off more than five minutes of intentions for everything ranging from good business to thanks for a good family. I believe these intentions may have matched the candles on the square Maya mesas (tables) in the middle of the church. Conveniently, there are 12, one for each of the 12 apostles, but the same 12 also break down to four for the sun, four for corn and four for the moon.

My teacher tells me that many Catholic Mayas tend to have a foot in both religions, but that those who convert to evangelical Christianity give up their other religion completely. About 45 percent of the population is evangelical, although I’m trying to figure out exactly what that means. I’m pretty sure it’s just anyone who observes a Christian faith other than Catholicism.
Tonight I’m back to a foam bed in Xela and hot water in the shower the circumference of a quarter. Hotel Santo Tomas had a fabulous bed and full-on shower. Last night was the best sleep I had since I’ve been here. Unfortunately, all the tours got going in the hallways in the 6 a.m. hour, but it was a good sleep while it lasted.

Other people do not have the problem sleeping that I do. For example, the grandma and young girl I shared the seat with on the way home slept most of the way. That meant I had to try to hold three people in the seat of what is essentially an aged school bus while we took the mountain switchbacks at breathtaking speed. It’s not the speed that gets me. It’s the passing several cars and buses at a time in the blind curves. Most of the five people in the seat across from me slept also. Okay, one was a baby and two were small children, but it’s still very impressive. Both that they slept and that they did so crammed with five to a seat. Actually, at one point there were seven in that seat. Anyway, it’s probably best to take the chicken bus with your eyes closed anyway.

This morning, as we set off on our shopping adventures, we decided the pizza from the previous night’s dinner was not fit for breakfast. It really wasn’t good the first time, which is unusual for Guatemala. Pizza is usually the only satisfying food, but one does not go to Chichi for the food. We had ice cream for lunch so by the time we got back from the three-hour chicken bus ride, I was ready for a good meal.

Really, when it comes to food here, I think I am as hopeful as my dog when she’s begging, but not as lucky. I tried the Middle Eastern place, which the guidebook said is quite good. I wondered if the proprietor was like Shakira – half Middle Eastern and half Latina. That may be the case, but Shakira’s belly dancing is more authentic than this food was. They served me tiny bowls of pretty good baba ganosh and hummos, and then a huge portion of beef shawarma. I only order beef about once a year at home, except hamburgers, so I don’t know why I thought it would be any better here. I’m pretty sure that cow was long past its prime and it was seasoned like shawarma anyway. The result is that the two dogs in our house are going to be lucky – they are going to eat that leftover meat. I ended up feeding myself on the pasta with red sauce and tiny fried onions that came piled on top of the rice and lentils.

As is frequently the case here, nothing is like you think it is going to be. But now I’m just stalling from doing my homework, as you can probably tell by the length of this blog. I have to write a composition in Spanish about my trip and some other stuff too, so I better get at it.

¡Hasta luego!