Crazy-cartoon-tenango

Trip Start Sep 10, 2006

Trip End ??? ??, 2007

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Where I stayed

Posada Belen Museo Inn Guatemala City

(Guatemala City hotels)

Flag of Guatemala Chichicastenango, Guatemala
Monday, October 23, 2006

Starting our journey at 7am, we made a long haul from Monterrico (boat, chicken bus, chicken bus, wrong local bus, correct local bus, chicken bus) to Chichicastenango that afternoon. We went via the capital Guatemala City, and changing buses was enough time spent there for us. Expecting Chichi to be crowded in preparation for the famous Sunday market the next morning, we made reservations at Hotel Belen, but were the first and nearly the only people to check in, getting a top floor room with great views from a flower filled balcony. Inside the room however, we were provided with the hardest bed we have ever slept on. Matt pointed out several times, �It isn�t really a bed, it�s an oversized ottoman!� perhaps because of the couch like upholstery that substituted for a mattress. We were also treated to decor of Winnie the Pooh and Snoopy posters tacked to the wall the had phrases like �friendship means the world to me� in Spanish. After settling in, we left in search of food, but got distracted by loud music blaring from a closed off street filled with people

01 Traditional shirts at the market.

. We pushed our way through the crowd as far as we could, but despite the general population being �short� in this country, I couldn�t see what was going on, so I asked Matt, who towers over everyone, what was happening. He said, �Bart Simpson and the Hulk are dancing.� �With each other?� I asked, deciding I definitely had to see this for myself and jumping up and down to get glimpses of the action. Sure enough, there were about twenty full-body costumes bopping around very monotonously to kind of cumbya-style-traditional tunes and the locals were captivated. Saddame Hussein and his dance partner Terrorist had to be identified as such by wearing placards around their necks. A giant mouse had to be led away through the crowd, perhaps due to heat exhaustion. This was truly one of the most bizarre events we have come across on our travels thus far, and made the rest of our day feel rather uneventful. We just explored the city, caught up in our journals and this blog, ate dinner, and watched fireworks that evening from the balcony. The next morning, after breakfast at a cafe near the market, we thoroughly explored it and took in all the bright colors and smells. We were pleased to see that it wasn�t absolutely over run with tour group like we had braced ourselves for. From reading our guidebook and hearing about the market from others, we expected it to be a unique experience, but in reality we found it pretty similar to others we had visited. Nonetheless, I lamented over not being able to buy any fabrics or handicrafts for lack of space in my backpack and budget restrictions. At the same time, going to a market with out intent to purchase is much less stressful for me. It seems that when I do buy something, I always find a better or cheaper one at a different stall after I�ve made my purchase. If I try to shop around first, I usually can�t find the stall with the product I decided on when I want to go back to buy it. Here, I was free to look around without having to make direct comparisons. We left by midday for our next destination: Lago Atitlan.