Antigua Guatemala

12 a 15 de Marzo

Antigua Guatemala- a city filled with churches, beautiful architecture and wonderful people. Surrounded by mountains, volcanoes and tiny pueblos. It's so rich with culture that the four days I spent there were not nearly enough.

The ride into Antigua was absolutely stunning (See picture at right). Everything was decorated for Pascua [Easter] with purple banners and other violet decorations. 

La ciudad pequeña [the small city] really lives up to its name, which means "ancient" in Spanish. All of the houses looked old, and had a definite colonial vibe to them. They were absolutely stunning.

The best part architecture-wise was how these old buildings were crammed in together, and occasionally there'd be a completely run down building squashed between two that were still in use. There were abandoned churches a block from one that was in use. There were crumbling cement walls, tree roots re-covering floors, and walls heavy with ivy. It was absolutely beautiful.

Our host family was super kind. The airbnb is owned by a woman named Violeta and her husband, who run a little shop/restaurant out of their front room which looked like it might have been a garage at some point. Three of their four sons still live with them and help out, and the rest of the bedrooms are rented out to travelers. While we were there we made friends with a French couple, a few students on a leap year or spring break adventures, a woman from Barcelona (pronounced barth-eh-loh-nah) and a man from England. There was also another woman from First Hill. It was really fun getting to know other travelers and get advice for places to go in the town.

Antigua really gets into their Easter Celebrations. Our Airbnb host says that thousands of people come to see the festivities every year, and I believe it. It's one of, if not the, largest Easter celebration in the world (thanks google). When we went out to breakfast our first morning in Antigua, we walked past families and neighbors making beautiful artwork in the streets using wood chips, pollen, flower petals, and other brightly colored natural materials. The photo at left is one of these in progress. They marked the path of the procession that was performed twice in one day- more on that later.

Many men and boys were wearing purple hooded robes made out of what appeared to be a heavy polyester, thus also adding a lovely sheen of sweat since it was hot. I was burning up (literally, since I forgot sunscreen) so I couldn't even imagine what these men and children were going through. 

As we wove our way through the streets, trying to find the elusive Blue Sky Cafe, which TripAdvisor had recommended for its stunning views of the city, I could sense the somberness of the occasion. The procession and purple clothes are supposed to replicate, remember, and honor the journey of Jesus into Jerusalem and the process of carrying the cross so everyone was pretty somber and pensive, although there was still the vendors and the amount of people proper for a classic parade and festival. 

The view from Blue Sky cafe didn't disappoint. Unfortunately, we were in Guatemala during the middle of a foggy period, so the volcanoes and mountains weren't as prominent as they normally would be. But we could still see almost the entire city (photos at right)

The food wasn't the best as it was definitely geared towards international visitors (read as: menu consisted mostly of american food) and there weren't many gluten free options. The best part of breakfast was the coffee, which came with a cute little jar of fresh milk.

After breakfast, we explored the city and the markets. We got swarmed with people, my chest, face and feet started to burn (#beefsteaktomato). I found a blanket I feel in love with (surprise) and we decided that before we explored anymore we needed to get back to the house to rest and budget.

Little did we know- since our airbnb was right in front of a church, the procession passed right in front of our house. We made it to the end of the block when we were stopped by some sacerdotes [priests] in white robes and were told we needed to stay behind a line made by more men in purple. We slowly tried to wind our way through the crowd, but got trapped about 6 houses down from our own. 

It was pretty amazing. We watched as men carried a giant wooden platform with the figures of Jesus carrying the cross and what I assume are other significant scenes from the bible and his crucifixion. There had to have been over 50 men carrying the platform, and each and every one had this look of extreme pain on his face, but also a peaceful reverence. I have no doubt that this was a deeply important moment for them, mimicking Christ's suffering like they were.

After about 30 minutes of being stuck as this procession made its way down our street, I started to get lightheaded from a combination of heat, dehydration and incense, so as soon as the platform was past I had to start moving.

Sasha and I started making our way through the crowd. We finally made it outside the house, but had just about given up ever making it inside past the  group of people 5 rows deep standing in front of us when a man pushed past us and started pushing his way inside. We followed close behind and, after 40+ minutes stuck outside in the blaring sun, we finally collapsed onto our beds under the protective roof of our airbnb.

[Photo to the left is an aerial view of the parade that I took during dinner, where we'd ducked inside to avoid getting stuck in the throng for the second time in one day. You can see more of the flower art and some of the hooded men who were leading the procession, cleansing the path with incense.]

I was so sunburned by the time we got in, but only on my face and chest since I'd been smart enough to bring a light summer jacket with me that kept the sun off my shoulders and arms. I've got tan lines now, y'all. I still look pale af, but I definitely have tan lines.

El fin del infierno

10 a 12 de Marzo

Winter Quarter went out with a groan and a quick prayer that it was over. The last few weeks of the quarter were hellish, with a professor who wasn't the best communicator nor supportive when we asked for clarification. 

It was a series of busy work, unproductive class discussions, lack of communication and just an eternal bought of frustration.

But its finally over, and I'm pretty sure my sigh of relief when I practically ran out of the classroom after turning in my final exam could be heard across campus.

And so began Spring Break 2k16

Mis amigas y yo had a day of freedom before we left at the crack of dawn for the airport for the next adventure: Guatemala.

As usual, I over packed for the 2 weeks I was going to be gone, but I managed to save enough room for all of the regalos and recuerdos I ended up buying (I regret nothing).

We got off to a rocky start when- for the first time in my life- Uber failed us. There were no drivers available, and when one did appear and accepted the ride, he cancelled it a minute later. So we had to resort to calling a taxi service. I always struggle with this because my Mexican phone is really low quality, and I'm not skilled enough with Spanish yet to be able to fill in the blanks the phone creates in the conversations.

But we made it to the bus station and bought our tickets to the airport. We made it in one piece on a really nice bus but we got lost for a bit in the airport itself. I swear the signs led us in circles. The best part- the security in the airport was so simple. There was no line, we didn't have to take off our shoes, it was absolutely amazing. Such a breeze. I think the airports here are going to spoil me for when I go back to the states...

Getting through customs in Guatemala was relatively simple too. They have you fill out a customs sheet when you enter AND when you leave the country. This freaked us out a little bit when they took our immigration form. How would we verify that we're legally allowed to be there? But apparently its fine and they didn't even have randomly selected bag searches- a plus for me since I almost always get randomly selected.

The best part of immigration was being greeted by this lovely relief next to the bathroom before we actually had to go through customs (shout out to Immigration Offices providing a bathroom, its a rare blessing)

Its Mona Lisa but 3D and much bigger than the original. 

She's also nude.

It was an unexpected sight upon entering a new country, but I love it all the same.

la Ciudad de México round 2

3-6 de febrero

This post is going to be a pretty brief post because I didn't transfer any of the pictures from this trip to my laptop before my phone was stolen a couple days later. 

The rest of the LASP program and I went to Mexico City during the end of the first week of February to go to museums, see the major sites and get to know a bit more about the history of Mexico. 

My favorite parts were the palace of Maximilian and El Palacio de Bellas Artes, the latter featured an amazing mural by Diego Rivera named El hombre controlador del universo. I spent a good 15 minutes sitting in front of this mural, just taking it in, absorbed by its complexity.

Source: http://www.wikiart.org/en/diego-rivera/man-controller-of-the-universe-1934

All of the murals in this museum were absolutely stunning, and the 40 minutes we had there were not enough. 

Most of the nights were spent in the hotel, but there was a 7-11 across the street so we had access to junk foods for random hotel room parties. It was a really good bonding experience for everyone and I came out of it feeling more connected to the group as a whole. 

Some of my friends and I spent an extra night in la Ciudad, and we went out for the night to a bar/club thing where we ended up just sitting around, eating chips and guac, talking about life and playing Never Have I Ever. 

I want to go back to CDMX really badly because the city is massive- it takes about 2 hours of highway driving to cross the city from one side to the other- and absolutely stunning.

Oaxaca City

22-24 de enero

I know this post is really late, but I finally have down time where I can feel productive so here we go.

Oaxaca City, Oaxaca is a beautiful city in the mountains of central Mexico.  

My friends and I stayed in a beautiful Airbnb where we each got our own room. They voted me into the master suite because I’d orchestrated all the travel and housing plans (MomFriend^TM). It was absolutely wonderful.

 

This is a picture of the view from our airbnb. Syd was lucky and got the room with the view, so she got to wake up to this every morning and go to sleep to the full moon every night.

Biggest downside was the mosquitos, but they were tame in Oaxaca compared to what I'd have to live through in Puebla in a week and a half.

Oaxaca is famous for its cheese, which I have pretty much formed an addiction too. My go-to snack is a quesadilla with some salsa and some Oaxaca cheese, because it’s melty and stringy like mozzarella but it tastes better.

Our first day there we got breakfast in a cute little restaurant near the city center. I had a delicious omelet de champiñones y espinaca and cafe de olla (at right), which means coffee of the pot because it’s brewed with a whole bunch of sweet spices in a giant clay pot, giving it a very unique flavor. I generally hate black coffee, but cafe de olla is sweet enough that I didn’t want to add anything.

Overall, the food in Oaxaca was amazing. For dinner our last night there Syd and I split a sample platter of different cheeses and sausages that featured quesadillas, guacamole and totopos, i.e. tortilla chips.

All through dinner we made friends with pigeons, some adorable dogs, and at the very end a father son duo brought up a marimba (its like a giant wooden xylophone) and played some adorable music. 

We also tried mezcal, which is a super strong alcohol that's made from the same plant as Tequila (i.e. agave) but it's fermented differently.

The city center was absolutely adorable. It was still very colonial, which I have some moral issues with but man is the architecture stunning. 

These pictures are of my two favorite places I found in Oaxaca. One is of a small courtyard near an open-air market with beautiful trees and crooked streets (above). The other is a tiny hidden alley/courtyard we found where all the businesses were therapists, spiritual healers and a tiny cooking school. I fell instantly in love and didn't want to leave (left).

We also made a trip out to Monte Alban, the ruins about a 30 min drive from Oaxaca City.

It's an old Zapotec city that's only partially excavated, so some of the pyramids aren't fully exposed (see the main pyramid to the left). There was so much exploring to do that we Hailey and I didn't get a chance to see the whole thing because we spent too much time exploring the first half and taking a ton of pictures. Travel Tip: don't spend 1/2 your time at a site in the first 1/4, because you end up rushing through the last half and missing some cool things. Oh well, Oaxaca is definitely on my list of places I need to see again. 

look at my cute friends

The trip was absolutely amazing. Best purchases were an absurd amount of Oaxacan chocolate, which makes the greatest hot chocolate I have ever eaten in my entire life, and a blanket. I have a problem where I buy a blanket in every country I go to because I am obsessed with them. I don't really consider it a major problem, because they keep me warm and can also double as beautiful wll hangings once I actually get my own place. This one is brightly colored and has a simple striped/geometric pattern on it. I love it a lot.

Bonus Photos:

Giant spider we found at Monte Alban. It was a little over an inch long and about an inch wide, including legs. You could see it from about 10 feet away, putzing its way through the dead, yellow grass. It was so beautiful, but I probably would die of fright if it had suddenly appeared on my body. No one else wanted to get anywhere near it, but I was down on my knees trying to get pictures.

Beautiful Tree with the background of an old church and an amazing system of roots that was breathtaking. Also this lighting was amazing and everything about this tree and this moment made me exceedingly happy. 

In front of the church doors there was a painter who was working on capturing the beauty of this area, and just past him, up the street, was an open air market with a whole bunch of blouses, jewelry and generally tourist-y souvenirs. It was super cool to wander around and look at everything though and the light filtering through the leaves around us was absolutely stunning.

I was pretty sunburned by the end of the day though.

Fun Fact: I'm actually getting tan?!?!?!

Keep in mind that I have always been as white as a piece of paper, so when I say "tan" what I actually mean is that my skin doesn't reflect sun and blind the people near me anymore. 

I'm still the whitest person in the LASP program.