Chichicastenago Market
Trip Start
Aug 01, 2007
1
20
39
Trip End
Sep 16, 2007
Chichicastenago,
Guatemala
Monday, August 20, 2007
After a very windy road of endless switchback and 2.5 hours later, we arrived at the market in Chichicastenago, Chi Chi. The market at Chi Chi has been occurring twice a week for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Locals, and tourists, flock to the market on Sundays and Thursday to buy anything and everything. I saw everything from finely woven clothes to pottery and belts and machetes. I had my haggling hat on and think I did good with my bargaining skills. The only problem is where to put the things I bought! I think my pack is filled to the max and wont hold any more goodies
Chi Chi Market 1
. What was really interesting about Chi Chi was how the locals really adhere to the ways of tradition. The women wear shirts with flower motifs and the men wear trousers and jackets of black wool embroidered with silk flowers.
Chi Chi is high in the mountains and I though that it would be cold, like in Xela. It was bloody hot as any thing! Esh. I did not put sunscreen and felt like i was frying in the sun.
The market was pure mayham with thousands of people everywhere. I spent about 4 hours at the market and half of the time was fighting the crowd in the narrow walkways. Towards the end of my time there I was getting pretty tired of always feeling like I was go upstream in the throngs of peple and sat down and ate some goodies.
Around 2 PM, I left the market via shuttle and headed to the town of San Pedro in Lake Atitlan. I got on the shuttle and there were about 6 other people heading to San Pedro with me. Those people had only taken a day trip to the market and were heading home.
Lake Atitlan is surrounded by all side with towering volcanoes and steep hills. The lake is very deep, and reaches 320m at places. The town of San Pedro has a bohemian feel with plenty of bongs to go around. However, the views are amazing. The San Pedro volcano rises to the east and a ridge of very steep hills rise behind the village. This is one of the few villages around the lake where tradition is not as strong as in other places and only a handful of people wear traditional clothing.
We got to San Pedro and one of the couples on the shuttle showed me where they were staying because it was pretty nice and close to the center of town. I got a room and then went on a quest for food! I had not eaten to much today so I was famish and gobbled down a chicken sandwich and some Chiky cookies.
