Sneak Peak: Guatemala, land of the Maya

I am now in Guatemala for three weeks. This is the fourth country I visit in Central America during this trip. I first arrived in Antigua, one of the most colonial towns.  There are lots of churches and buildings dating from the time of the conquest.

It has been only one week, and now am realizing how much I have seen. Each city and town has something special and unique. After Antigua, I visited Lago Atitlan and then came to Quetzaltenango, or as the locals prefer to call it, Xela (shell-ah). My next stop will be Todos los Santos, a small village up in the mountains and north of Huehuetenango, where the rural and Mayan life are dominant.

All around, there's a mix of urban and rural areas, with lots of contrast in the way of life and the scenary. Every where I go I see mountains, lakes, farmland, colonial towns, small villages, busy and crowded streets in urban areas, colorful markets and indigenous wearing traditional clothings in rural towns. Yes, there is much to do and see in this country.

This time of the year is Holy Week, when Catholic celebrations take place all over Guate. Antigua has the biggest and most colorful processions, and tens of thousands of people come from all over the country and the world to see them. I saw the procession of San Bartolome last Sunday, and the streets were packed and beautifully decorated with carpets made of flowers, grass and seeds. The biggest one will be on the last weekend, when even bigger crowds are expected to clog the streets. This week I was lucky to see the Procession of La Virgen del Dolor in San Andres Xecul, where Indigenous women carried the wooden image on their shoulders in front of a really colorful church.

I have another two weeks in Guatemala, and the more I try to make a large scale plan, the more confused I get. I just have to remind myself that it works best for me to plan one to two days at a time for better results. There are many things to see here, and it is a matter of chosing the right routes and staying open to the unexpected. This is not like working at Citibank. Thank Buddah for that!!!