Semana Santa

Slowly moving from side to side, their sombre sway moves the massive, ornate float down the road.
Semana Santa has been an incredible experience. The colour, atmosphere, the number of people have all been something so different for anything that I have been a part of here in Antigua. Semana Santa here in Antigua is said to be the second largest Easter week celebration in the world, next only to the Vatican City. Thousands of people, Central Americans and tourists alike all decend on the city for the week long celebration consisting of many different processions though the cobble stone streets of the colonial city. The city has been famous for this for many years and this one was not going to be any different in that regard. The idea behind the processions is that the people pay handsomely (500Q or about $65) for a chance to carry one of the floats for one city block, in the hopes of cutting some time off their stay in Purgatory.
The floats they carry are incredible, both in size and beauty. Many of them require over a hundred people to slowly carry the solid oak float through the streets. Once they have finished their turn the next group stands in beside them and they systematically change out and continue on down the road.
The processions started on the previous Sunday and continue all through out the week, until they come to the climax on Friday. It is incredible to see how many people have fit into this relativly small city as people dressed in purple tunics occupy the streets. Friday, which is arguably the biggest day of the week, start the celebration on Thrusday night. At this point hundreds of people take to the streets to create these ¨alfombras¨ or carpets of sawdust, pine needles, produce, flowers, or a combination of them all. The ones of sawdust are arguably the most beautiful and the most intricate. The streets are packed all night with people walking around and taking in the celebration. The carpets are to signify how people placed palms before Christ as he entered the city and do the same for the representations carried on the floats. People will start them in the early evening and work through the night for the procession that starts a 5 the following morning, on carpets 10m or more in length. Working 8 to 10 hours, making some of the most beautiful and detailed pieces I have ever seen, you can see that it is an incredible source of pride for the artists as thousands of people file past their work and take pictures all enamoured by the work . The incredible thing is that folling the hours of work, they are all trambled and distroyed in a matter of minutes as the procession makes its way over them. After the procession passes there is nothing left that resembles the previous beauty, rather all that remains is a pile of colourful dust that is then hurridly swept up and taken of to the trash by the cleanup crews that follow.
There is a weird feels to it all though. Quite dark feeling and at times it lacks the spirituality that one may assume surronding an event like this. Many people seem to be doing this as their one good deed for the year, and hope to keep themselves in the good books. They chat on cell phones, and listen to music during this time that is to signify the great suffering and life of Christ.
Each of the different floats signify something different, with one carried by men and then followed by another carried by the women. There is even one for the children to carry as not to be left out of the event. They make their way on a marked path through the city streets and then eventually make their way back to whatever chruch they began at.
Also during this week I did a bit more Spanish school in order to get myself a place to stay and finish off the course that I had started before. I lived with the family that I did back in January and it was nice to see them and catch up on what has happened in between. This week I have had some pretty good people to live with, a girl from the States, a guy from England and then a fellow Canadian from Quebec. It has been good to get to know them over the week and take in the processions and celebrations that have happened.
It is strange though that during the week there are so many procession and a really festive attitude about the place, and then on Sunday there is nothing much to be said. It is different because many places around the work this is the day of greatest celebration and here it is almost a non-event.
The week here has been incredible to see all that goes on and the magnitude of the celebration and ceremony that the people take part in. Im sorry if there are some things that are a bit unclear, but there was so much to take in and getting that altogether to post here is a bit of a chore. However, if you have any questions about the celebration or about anything surrounding my trip please let me know.
As well as a side note...I have now changed my ticket and will be returning home on the 6th of May instead of the 13th of April. I felt as though I needed more time for me to complete what I wanted to here and not be rushed in the process. I suppose to you could also say that I have been bit by the travel bug and don´t want it to end. Take your pick.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have enjoyed it.

Bye for now

Mike

In the Land of Q'eqchi' - Lanquin and Semuc Champey

The road back to Guatemala was again uneventful, with the only real highlight being the overnight stop in San Salvador, El Salvador. I left the bus station for a bit to head out and grab dinner which consisted of papusas (sort of like a pizza pocket) with homemade hot chocolate, and then washed down with some Kolaschanpan (national pop of El Salvador). It was sweet sitting on the street corner with the locals as we all ate from the same stand, and sharing some minimal conversation.
Arriving in Guatemala, I had planned on going to Antigua for the day, in order to set up a shuttle to Coban in the Guatemalan highlands, but a last minute decision let me directly to Coban, saving some time and hassle. A beautiful little town away in the hills was to be my stop for the night until I continued onto Lanquin, about 2 hours away.
The next day I made my way to the bus to Lanquin and settled in for what was to be another tightly packed bus ride, through the highlands. However, this ride was a little more eventful than most. While waiting for the bus to depart, some Guatemalan youth came of the bus. Turns out they were medical students from the city heading to Lanquin for a bit of a vacation. They were great. Full of energy and wanting to have some fun. They really wanted to help me out with my Spanish, and one of them spoke incredible English. Another Guatemalan that I have met that has learned the language from TV and music. Incredible. So we played games and just joked around for the rest of the trip.
When we arrived in Lanquin, I was just planning on heading to the hostel and relaxing for the day, but they invited me to go to the Semuc Champey pools with them. Though hesitant about going because I was rather tired and wanted to rest in this picturesque Mayan town, I decided against it and headed off with them. A great decision and one I don't regret. Semuc Champey is a series of limestone pools with the most incredible water, and landscape. It is located in a river valley with hills towering overhead. We spent the afternoon, relaxing, and going from pool to pool, enjoying the refreshingly cool water. There was also a lookout located up the side of one of the hills, which offered an breath taking view of the area. Though arriving there hot and sweaty we were blow away by the beauty of the area. The day turned out to be so much fun and I am glad I didn't let myself sit it out. They were a lot of fun, friendly, and full of energy. It makes travel a lot more fun when you get to experience it with locals, who are discovering part of their country for the first time.
The next day I made my way back to Semuc Champey which is located 10 kms outside of Lanquin. A girl named Becca, who I had met on the bus to Guatemala, and I headed out to go caving near the pools. So we piled into a pickup truck and made for the hills. We did however make one quick stop. With that stop we picked up 20+ local Mayan men, women and children who were on their way in that direction as well. I don't know if Ive seen or even knew that many people could fit in a truck. We made out way out doing the Guatemalan bump and grind, picking up and dropping off along the way.
The cave tour we did was mind blowing. We were given candles and followed our guide Carlos deeper and deeper into the cave, with the tiny wax candle as our only source of light. Wading our way through the pools inside the cave, I like many other times n the trip did so with a stupid grin on my face, and the occasional burst of laughter as I thought about what I was doing. Climbing a series of ladders, holding our little candles, and then eventually swimming through some of the deeper pools we took a break. Carlos told us to put out our lights. At first a little hesitant and not sure if he was joking I followed along. It became a totally new feeling. Absolutely no light what so ever. It was the same with your eyes open and shut. As simple as it sounds this fascinated me. Eventually we relighted the candles and continued on until we reached the end with a small spot to jump off the wall into the pool about 3m's below. Making our way back to the entrance we had to narrowly fit through a crack in the rock and drop into a pool below. This trip was incredible, and well worth it.
After making my way back to Lanquin I had to leave for Coban again, because with the town being so small they don't have an ATM to withdraw money, and not knowing this before I only had enough to make it back to Coban. So with that I bid farewell to this dreamy little Mayan town, and the Q'eqchi' language and left for the slightly bigger Coban in hopes of catching a shuttle to Antigua in the morning.
The next day I caught a shuttle to Antigua for the Semana Santa festival which I will write more about in the next post. The place is crazy right now, with tonnes of people all over the place and a real festive atmosphere. I will be sure to let you know all about it in the next post.

Thanks for reading

Bye for now

Mike