Roasting marshmallows on Volcan Pacaya

Here we are at Volcan Pacaya, not far from Antigua. There was no lava on the surface when we visited, but there were definitely spots hot enough to melt your sneakers.

This volcano erupted not long ago, coughing large fireball rocks onto the town below. Near the top, we stopped on a warm rock to eat lunch and listen to the wind blow. Just went we asked our guide if he couldn´t take us just a little closer to the stop, Pacaya began to rumble and growl. 

Annnd... nevermind. 

Just that sound  really drove home how powerful the volcano is ... and how much we were at its mercy.

Johnny takes a volcano sauna.
It was warm enough to steam  up his glasses!

That would be the gift shop.

Roasting marshmallows on Volcan Pacaya. Thank you, Girl Scouts.

Click here to see all our Pacaya pictures. 

How to get to Irla's house

Derek, Bruno and Johnny on a walk in San Antonio Aguas Calientes

These are the instructions that Johnny used today for his first solo trip, on a chicken bus, to another town, to a house he had never been to:

1. Go to the bus station and ask which bus goes to San Antonio Aguas Calientes

2. When you board the bus, tell the driver or his helper that you're going to San Antonio, and that you'd like to get off at the corner with the cross statue. He'll let you know when you're at your stop.

3. At the cross, turn right and go up that street. It's either 4th Street or 4th Avenue.

4. Irla's house is the white one on the left side, between a peach house and a green house.

5. It's either number 10 or number 11, A or maybe B -- the white one.

Mind you, earlier this week it was decided that for the benefit of Johnny's Spanish skills, we should be a full immersion couple -- no ingles. As such, Johnny received the above instructions en espanol.

As his Spanish teacher said, he is very adventurous.

Good news everyone! In spite of just a few kinks, Johnny did in fact make it to Irla's (where I was waiting for him) just in time to help wrap the tolluelos (tamales).

If you're wondering what the kinks were, well...

First, when Johnny got on the bus, not many other passengers had yet boarded (there's sort of a bus schedule, but they usually just wait to depart until they reach critical mass). Johnny sat a few rows back, and by the time the driver and his helper/money collector got on, the front was full. And when I say full, I mean someone is probably sitting halfway on your lap.

He instead asked a fellow passenger, but that person was getting off earlier and wasn't too familiar with "la esquina de la cruz" since his stop was at the town before.


Johnny (Juanny) kept his eye out for a cross statue which turned out to be a bit problematic, because as it turns out, there is more than one around here.

Luckily, another person was able to point him in the right direction after Johnny handed her his paper with the clear-as-mud directions, and he found San Antonio and his stop.

I had confused 4th St. for 4th Ave. (because who really needs an exact address these days?), which would have sent Johnny to the other side of town had he not asked for "the house with the abuela who is 99 years old." That made things much easier for his kind strangers, and they pointed him to Irla's.

"Good job, Johnny, you made it!"

Congratulations to Johnny for taking a leap today!

The cemetery in San Antonio

Vamos Antigua!

We cheered on the home team today at an Antigua futbol game. Antigua's colors and white and green. People from Antigua are nicknamed "los panzas verdes" (green bellies) supposedly because they eat so much aguacate.

Juan Goman sporting green and white for Antigua.

 General admission tickets cost 25Q (divide by 8), and preferencia tickets cost 50Q because they have a better view of the field and include access to bathrooms.

Now that's a panza verde.

You can bring Gallo beer and other drinks inside as long as you put it into a humiliating plastic baggie first and drink it with a straw. No booze inside the stadium, only bebidas. As such, the place just about empties at half-time. Everyone files out, just outside the gates, to chug a beer and buy some meat off the grill before the game resumes. The exodus was a little confusing for us. Was the game over? Where was everyone going? I had to ask and that was a little embarrassing, so I downed a 16-oz Gallo to compensate.

Inside the estadio, you can buy nuts, candy and other snacks (some stale, crunchy-looking fried things with hot sauce upon request) from a vendor under the age of 10, as well as ice cream.

Derek sports a Panza Verde jersey for Antigua.

The crowd wasn't huge but it was lively. The drums I came to know and love during Semana Santa were once again present for the futbol game. A few guys would pound out rhythms for us to chant along to. Most were "Go Antigua!" and others I will not repeat here.

The good guys won, 2 to 1. All in all, a good time.

Market day

With the guidance of our hosts, friendly Antiguenos and a handful of local publications, I'm learning to navigate Antigua. Of course much of this revolves around food: there's Dona Luisa Xicotencatl for the best homemade granola, all-natural peanut butter and warm bread fresh from the oven every day at 2 pm (we first found Dona Luisa's by following the delightful scent of banana bread from about two blocks away); Dona Gavi for vegan ice cream (my favorite flavor so far is coco); Epicure for all manner of gourmet spices, sauces and other Trader Joes provisions (which by the way, I can't even find in Denver); Cafe Condessa for a good cup of joe, the Whiskey Den (needs no explanation) and Sabe Rico for tasty, healthy lentil stews, quiche and fresh fruit smoothies in enormous, colorful glasses. There's even an organic grocery store, Organica, which has all the comforts of Whole Foods at home at about double the price (emergency-only).

But the best discovery so far is the local market, which bustles every Monday, Thursday and Saturday. This is where you go to buy your fruits and veggies for the week from your favorite vendedora. Miwa was nice enough to accompany me on my first trip, and I'm glad she did because it's kind of overwhelming, and certainly much different from a grocery trip at home.

Part of the market is outdoors and part of it winds into an indoor/outdoor labryinth of stalls overflowing with everything from produce and fresh flowers to used clothes and miscellaneous chicken parts. Here you can buy a bar of Dove soap, rice, beans, spices, a dried flower wreath, pirated DVDs, a few days' worth of tomate, aguacate, arroz and uizquil, a new pair of shades or used shoes for just 10Q, candles, meat, dog food and apparently that live turtle you've been wanting. Some sellers have shelves and tables (staked floor to ceiling) while others sit on the ground surrounded by the fruits and vegetables they hauled in.

As you pass these rows of produce altars, women call to you, "Zanahorias! Papas! Mangos a cinco! Que buscas, que buscas?" There are the sounds of music and telenovelas on static-filled screens, polite negotiation, laughter, fresh tortillas rhyhmically slapped together and sizzling.

We wound our way into the heart of the beast, squeezing past men with heavy bags of rice slung over their shoulders and bumping into women in trajes tipicos, colorful skirts and heavy woven shirts of bright colors. I forced myself to concentrate on following Miwa's quick, no-nonsense pace instead of looking around too much for fear of being lost forever.

Finally we arrived at Miwa's favorite vendedora, and began the process of pointing, collecting, counting. Of course there are no signs that say how much anything costs. It's all a business of ask and ask again until you agree.

That day, I bought 2 small eggplant, a bag of tomatoes, onions, broccoli, potatoes, two uizquil (a new veggie), and a bunch of carrots for 25 quetzales, or about $3. Then Miwa whisked me back through the windy halls, past warm marbled meet hanging from heavy hooks, silver fish with staring eyes, towers of brown eggs and children snoozing atop colorful fabrics to her preferred fruit stall where we bought banano (bunches of short bananas), mangoes and a special treat, mangoes para chupar. These are smaller, yellow mangoes that you puncture at one end, squeeze with all your might and suck the juice out of for a sweet, sticky treat.

I'm happy to say that I was able to find these two sellers again when I returned to the mercado with Johnny a couple days later. (Truly, the layout of this place is so confusing that I was quite proud of myself). There's something really fun about gathering your food on the same day as everyone else without shopping carts, price checks or fluorescent lights. Of course we learned our lesson: it is best to go earlier in the day than later, when the chicken I mentioned has been sitting out all afternoon.

Radio Preschool Program for Guatemala

Every Tuesday afternoon, Rainbow Cafe (a popular tourist/volunteer hang out in Antigua) hosts a nonprofit organization for an informal presentation on their work. We had the chance to hear from Radio Preschool Program for Guatemala, which has a good idea to help the little ones (ages 4-6), especially in more rural areas with limited access to education (that would be a lot of places here).

They were inspired by the UNESCO program, Radio Instruction to Strengthen Education (RISE) in Zanzibar and are piloting a similar program in Guatemala.

They load up a solar-powered radio with interactive lessons based on the national curriculum -- taking care to ensure the content is relevant to the kids' lives (for example, the characters might eat foods that the kiddos see often where they live -- no Gogurts here) -- and train facilitators within the community to use the radios for preschool lessons. I also really liked that the lessons incorporate both Spanish and the Mayan language that is spoken in a particular area. There are at least 22 distinct Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala, including Kachiquel, one that I've heard often in the areas we've been so far.

Among those presenting at Rainbow Cafe was the family who records the Aula Magica (Magic Classroom) programs. The parents and the kids each play characters in the story.

I've tried to embed a video below, but if it doesn't work on the ol' iPad, check out the links below to read more.

http://vimeo.com/62519185

www.letsbeready.org

Aula Magica (Magic Classroom) Preschool Education Program - Guatemala from Fotis Kanteres on Vimeo.

Reading up on politics

Yesterday afternoon, Johnny and I were hanging out in the Parque Central (drinking some nice strong Guatemalan Joe from Cafe Condesa Express, relaxing on a park bench, reading a local mag and watching an eight year-old shoe shine polishing up a scuffed loafer in record time...) when we noticed an increasing number of undercover security guards.

There was a fancy wedding in town, and the bride and groom were at the park taking photos in a horse-drawn carriage -- at first I thought perhaps they were the ones with back up. Then Johnny heard someone exclaim, "Mama, el presidente!"

Sure enough, here came the president of Guatemala, Otto Pérez Molina, for a Saturday stroll through Antigua's central park. He seemed to get a warm reception -- well, at least everyone wanted to give him a hug and take a picture with him.

Otto

We weren't too familiar with today's Guatemalan politics, so we returned home to Google to learn more about Otto.

Also in politics, an historic trial is currently underway: court proceedings against Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt, who led the country in the early 1980s, on charges of genocide.

Read more here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/opinion/on-the-brink-of-justice-in-guatemala.html

Also on the reading list is I, Rigoberta Menchu, the story of a Mayan woman in Guatemala who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1992/tum-bio.html.

Las ruinas de la catedral de noche

The churches of Antigua are especially lovely during Semana Santa, when they are specially adorned and decorated. One night while we were out with Irene and Sherman, the sound of some beautiful chanting stopped us in our tracks. We had come upon the "ruins" of La Catedral de la Antigua Guatemala, which was inaugurated in 1680 (I think...) and later badly damaged by an earthquake in 1773. Most of the ceilings had fallen in.

From inside, we could look up and see the dark night sky and bright pin points of stars through the cathedral's soaring arches. These angel statues were on display, along with a candlelit alfombra (carpet of flowers) created for the occasion, and the music that first drew us in reverberated against the ancient walls.

It was a truly beautiful moment.



History buffs, read more from UNESCO: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/65