The Big City: Sept 1st and Sept 29th

The bus roared around the curve of the mountainside and immediately slowed down into the back of a line of traffic creeping up the 2 lane highway. Our faces peered through the smudgy windows to see what had brought all the trucks, cars, and buses to a crawl. Was it a mudslide, falling rocks, an accident? Around the next curve was the answer: in a last desperate leap for freedom, a cow had managed to get out of a cattle carrier destined for the slaughterhouse. The cow, and the cowboy trying to lasso it, were intermittently blocking the only road for vehicles making their way to and from Guatemala City. Our bus made it by, while the cow was still playing hide-and-seek around a truck, so we don't know what happened, but I believe the odds were not in the cows favor.



So far we have been into Guatemala City twice. Both times to see the GYN, but we like to add on a few extra days and make time to explore. We are like kids in a candy shop. We had not been in a big city, or really any small city, or even a real town ever since we had left Cancun, Mexico 4 months earlier. The abundance of things! Typically we are never interested in Malls, they are tedious, crowded and we both are not big shoppers, but live on a boat out in the boonies for 5 months and you have never seen such marvels!! We wondered through the malls window shopping, viewing the amazing items, from kitchen ware to toilet seats, from clothes stores to Ace hardware, and best of all, lots and lots of coffee shops filled with pastries!



On many occasions we would rest our weary feet, get out of the rain and sit at a sidewalk cafe. While watching the people rush by we would sip delicious cappuccinos and delve into a warm pastry. It was pure heaven, other than the fact that one cappuccino would leave me bouncing off the walls as I have quit caffeine while prego. I would have to often opt for a milkshake instead, which was just as decadent and delicious!



The other things that large cities offer that the small fishing villages do not, is museums and marvelous churches. We spent one day at the textile museum. It detailed the history of weaving and the various textile designs used by the Mayan peoples from the pre-conquest to present day. There are actually numerous (about 70 or more) different Mayan communities throughout Guatemala and they all have different textile design and clothing. We spent hours upon hours in the Museum and when we were ragged and worn, we went and found a little lunch spot and enjoyed huge 'liquados'. These are sort of like milkshakes but made with fresh fruit and milk or fruit and water. The cantelopes are in season now, and are the sweetest cantelopes I have ever tasted. So wonderful in a 'liquado'.



We spent a day in the small historic district of Guatemala city. Not and area to go at night, but wonderful in the day. We went to the main plaza to see the huge Catholic Cathedral that is breathtaking and beautiful. Catholic or not, the space is magical and we spent a quiet moment taking in the glory of such beauty. After this we hit the market place. No mall this time, much better. The local city market. We have never seen a local market so huge. It is similar to a farmers market, all the food you could imagine brought in by the farmers from the countryside. There were flower vendors, fishmongers, butchers, tortilla stands, tons of food stalls, bags and bags of spices, rows of vegetables and fruit, fruit and more fruit. The smells, the noise, the clutter was colorful and marvelous.



In the basement of the market we found local arts and crafts and watched many of the artists at work, potters, weavers, pinnata makers, seamstresses and a man sewing leather goods where Keith got a lovely wallet for a super cheap price. On the third floor was more crafts, mainly textiles, clothing and rugs. We spent a good part of the day wandering the market, we only saw 2 other Gringos so we knew we had found a true locals market.


Although we love the energy of the big city, other than when we got robbed, we are always happy to get back to the Rio Dulce and our boat. Life is quiet here. No cappuccinos, only waterey bitter coffee; no pastries, only hardened dough or coconut bread; no museums or malls. However, we are surrounded by the jungle, it is gentle and wild, and we love the peaceful nights when only the rain and the frogs can be heard, nothing else.