Now, I am NOT a woman who loves to shop. The thought of having to buy an outfit for some occasion sends me into a panic. So why did I say I would go on a 3 day shopping trip? My cruising friend, Terry (and knitting guru) invited me to go to Chichicastanango for their market day. We were in search of "back-strap looms", fiber/yarn, and indigenous art work of the area.
Our trip began with a 6 hour bus ride from Rio Dulce to Guatemala City. We got a quick 15 minute stop at a large road side restaurant...Guatemalan fast food...halfway through the trip. Guatemala City is a huge city, that sprawls over 736 sq. miles. It is divided up into many zones, some of which you do not want to be in, while others are very upscale. And, yes, there is Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Taco Bell, you name it and it is most likely there. But, upon arriving at the bus station we were quickly put into our van for Antigua, the first stop on our shopping trip. The van holds 10 people plus a driver comfortably, but of course there were 14 of us and I got myself settled on half of the bench seat and half on the jump seat for the next 1 ½ hours. The drive from Guat. City to Antigua is a beautiful drive through a huge agricultural district then up into the mountains on switch back roads, where the vegetation changes but it is still GREEN everywhere you look.
We arrived in Antigua in time to do some walking around and then ended at Frida's...Mexican food restaurant. A great stop under the "arch" and in a great part of town for people watching. After a leisurely meal we found our hotel, Sin Ventana. It didn't dawn on us until a day later that the name means, "No Windows", and that is actually what we had. A nice clean room with a window that opened into the hotel hallway and that was it. And, to boot, a huge bar, Mono Loco (The Crazy Monkey), next door that rocked until 2:00 am, so for me, no sleep basically for 3 days. During, the little shopping we did in Antigua, we came upon a vender, sweet young girl, who told us she could get us a back-strap loom, so we gave her half down and she promised to have them for us the day after our trip to Chichicastango. Terry and tried to knit every chance we got and the next day we went to the local, get ready, McDonald's. Yes, I can't believe that I went to a McDonald's, but it was the most fantastic place I had ever seen. Why they don't have these in the states is a mystery to me. The left side was a typical McDonald's but then you walked to the right and there is the McCafe, with couches and low lighting where they make all the coffee drinks and desserts. Then you walk out to the huge patio, with a fountain in the middle and outdoor seating or seating under a veranda, take your pick. Then as you leisurely drink you latte, there is the volcano and mountains to look at. Unbelievable!
We left early the next morning (7:00) in a van for Chichicastango (referred to as Chichi). The van was still packed but Terry and I at least had our butts firmly planted on the seat. The drive went up into the mountains and the temperature dropped considerably. Arriving at Chichi, we had 4 hours to shop, so there was no time to waste. Terry was a bull about the market and I just hung on to her coattails. The first part was in the food market where there were a zillion vegetables, different colored corn and beans of all kinds. Then next to that was the flower market. The colors were unbelievable and the market is huge. We wound around and through stalls with meat, fish, plastic ware, clothes/shoes. It is the Guatemalan Wal-Mart. Finally, we found the part that was textiles of all kinds. But, along the way we found our thread for our back-strap looms. This one guy had so many colors it made our heads swim. We had all of our purchases lined up, but kept adding contrasting colors and more....it was overwhelming. We also found one woman who was selling back-strap looms and of course we had to have another one, just in case our girl in Antigua didn't come through. I also purchased a huipile, which is the shirt that all Mayan women wear, with their corta (skirt) and faja (belt). These outfits are particular to each region of the country, each having subtle changes in design and color. It was getting very close to the time that Terry and I had to head back to the van. So, off we go, trying to remember the visual map in our mind (or Terry's mind as I was so lost). On the way out, we passed our guy with all the thread, and yes we bought about 10 more colors. Making our way out of the market was a real ordeal; I cannot express how big this place is. And, of course, it started raining. So here Terry and I are with bags and bags of goodies and we are lost. Luckily, I had taken a picture of the intersection where our van was on my phone, so we hailed a Tuk-Tuk (the local taxi, which is a motorcycle with a large back bench seat) showed the guy the picture and said, "Aqui". He nodded OK and off we went, we were the last to the van but we made it on, barley being able to cram all our bags in.
It was an exhausting day, but we walked to the local square where a Peruvian band was playing, the people were all grooving to this band, looking around, I saw families enjoying the cool night sitting on park benches, children running to and fro, it was just a great night to be in Antigua. We found a local travel agent on our way back to the hotel and booked our tickets back to Guatemala City and then on to Rio Dulce. We arrived after dark and waited for a local launcha to take us back to our marina. It was a very dark night, but we were so glad to be getting "home". We arrived just in time for Monday night "potluck" and our husbands had contributed to the nights' fare, so we sat down to eat and tell all of our shopping stories as well as showing all our goodies. So glad I had the opportunity to see those two wonderful cities' culture and colors and people.