Yes, those are still black beans and a corn tortilla, BUT we got a delicious tamal to go with it!
Yes, the Christmas holiday was indeed festive, and I had an opportunity to break from the day to day routine I have fallen in. However as festive as Christmas itself was, the week after Christmas was far more exciting for me. After the extra workload of more masses, more blessings, and just more people around the basilica in general during the build up to Christmas (which, surprisingly, took a sharp decline on Christmas day when everyone stayed home to be with their families), many of the monks and postulates got a rest day the week after Christmas. Some of them used this day to go home and visit their families, and some even invited me. I was lucky enough to attend a lunch-feast in Zapotal with Father Serafin, and spend a night in Carboneras with Elias and his family. While, as always, it was nice to get out and spend some time away from the monastery, the real joy in the week was getting a chance to see some new parts of Guatemala. While I've said before that Guatemala is a beautiful country, this week really solidified that in my mind.
My first trip was to Zapotal for a family reunion with Father Seraphin. Zapotal is an aldea centered around coffee cultivation high in the Guatemalan mountains. I had a really good time, the view was amazing, the food was delicious, and the people were really nice. With the exception of one girl with a special affinity for gringos who dubbed herself "Eva" when she met me.... she was REALLY nice. The weather was a little to hazy for good pictures of the gorgeous surroundings, but I did what I could.
After the Zapotal feast I was expecting a couple of nice days to recuperate: Meeting a lot of new people in a foreign language and traveling hours over roads that have never seen asphalt takes it out of you. However, as soon as I got back to the monastery, Elias, one of the postulates at the monastery, invited me to spend the night at his family's house in Carboneras. I've never been one to turn down an invitation, so right away the next morning, we were on the road again. Carboneras is quite a bit different than Zapotal. Zapotal is a sprawling community in the mountains that focuses on coffee production and is (especially by Guatemalan standards) very well off monetarily. Carboneras is more of a farming community in the lowlands of the country. There are 70 houses, and everybody knows everybody else. Hence, it was even more obvious that I am a foreigner than in Esquipulas. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon moseying around Carboneras meeting all of Elias' friends and I had the chance to get a feel for the town. For a tiny town in the foothills, it is really a beautiful place, and the people are really really nice; even if there's not much to talk about in a town of 70 houses (most "conversations" I witnessed were passed 80% in silence).
One thing I really liked is the amount of space each family had. Unlike Esquipulas, where people are crammed in as tight as possible, or Zapotal, where extra space needs to be cleared out of the mountain to be usable, the families in Carboneras each had their own plot with ample room to grow some crops and let the children (and 5-6 dogs each family had) play.
After meeting so many people over the past couple of days, I found myself almost completely without energy after lunch so we took about an hour to just relax. After awhile Elias woke me up and asked if I wanted to go to the beach. Confused, not only because I was awakened from a nap, but because we were in the desert, miles from the nearest lake or ocean, I responded with a tentative "sí." It turns out that the "beach" is actually a dried up river bed about 150 meters across with a tiny stream flowing through it that is hardly deep enough to get your ankles wet.
I remember reading a book for one of my spanish classes in which one of the characters scolds an aspiring knight for almost riding a Yegua (mare) because a true knight would never ride a Yegua. The wannabe knight, much like me, didn't know there was a difference between caballo and yegua. En route to another village to visit some more of Elias' family Elias told me that I could ride a horse. Unbeknownst to me it wasn't a horse I was riding, but a measly mare! (I would never have known except I kept saying caballo and Elias kept correcting me). However, soon after we arrived at the beach, I realized why no self-respecting knight would ride a Yegua... It wouldn't gallop!
He is also completely responsible for the town of Hobo. There are 5 houses nestled into the mountains, each occupied by one of his children. It was definitely cool to see that places like this exist in Guatemala. Quite a stark contrast to the daily life I have here in the monastery. They produce just about everything they need to survive, and live their lives quietly in the hills. Very cool people.
The Christmas season was definitely one to remember. Through all the traveling, I widened my knowledge and appreciation of Guatemala, saw some awesome things, and met some really cool people.
And, because I've been so lazy about getting this blog out, I have two bonuses for you. First is a quote from Elias' father. After we finished dinner, I stood up to help clear the table. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to the table, looked me straight in the eyes and said: "Here at my house, the women take care of the table." Then he poured me another shot of whiskey.
The second bonus is this picture. It is of the inside of the microbus I rode in from Carboneras to Esquipulas. There were 28 people fit into this conversion van. There are only 13 seatbelts. The butt in my face was not someone passing through. He spent the entire 40 minute ride like that. And yes, there are three people hanging out of the open door.
God Bless Guatemala.
My first trip was to Zapotal for a family reunion with Father Seraphin. Zapotal is an aldea centered around coffee cultivation high in the Guatemalan mountains. I had a really good time, the view was amazing, the food was delicious, and the people were really nice. With the exception of one girl with a special affinity for gringos who dubbed herself "Eva" when she met me.... she was REALLY nice. The weather was a little to hazy for good pictures of the gorgeous surroundings, but I did what I could.
After the Zapotal feast I was expecting a couple of nice days to recuperate: Meeting a lot of new people in a foreign language and traveling hours over roads that have never seen asphalt takes it out of you. However, as soon as I got back to the monastery, Elias, one of the postulates at the monastery, invited me to spend the night at his family's house in Carboneras. I've never been one to turn down an invitation, so right away the next morning, we were on the road again. Carboneras is quite a bit different than Zapotal. Zapotal is a sprawling community in the mountains that focuses on coffee production and is (especially by Guatemalan standards) very well off monetarily. Carboneras is more of a farming community in the lowlands of the country. There are 70 houses, and everybody knows everybody else. Hence, it was even more obvious that I am a foreigner than in Esquipulas. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon moseying around Carboneras meeting all of Elias' friends and I had the chance to get a feel for the town. For a tiny town in the foothills, it is really a beautiful place, and the people are really really nice; even if there's not much to talk about in a town of 70 houses (most "conversations" I witnessed were passed 80% in silence).
After meeting so many people over the past couple of days, I found myself almost completely without energy after lunch so we took about an hour to just relax. After awhile Elias woke me up and asked if I wanted to go to the beach. Confused, not only because I was awakened from a nap, but because we were in the desert, miles from the nearest lake or ocean, I responded with a tentative "sí." It turns out that the "beach" is actually a dried up river bed about 150 meters across with a tiny stream flowing through it that is hardly deep enough to get your ankles wet.
Foiled again by Latin American humor.
I remember reading a book for one of my spanish classes in which one of the characters scolds an aspiring knight for almost riding a Yegua (mare) because a true knight would never ride a Yegua. The wannabe knight, much like me, didn't know there was a difference between caballo and yegua. En route to another village to visit some more of Elias' family Elias told me that I could ride a horse. Unbeknownst to me it wasn't a horse I was riding, but a measly mare! (I would never have known except I kept saying caballo and Elias kept correcting me). However, soon after we arrived at the beach, I realized why no self-respecting knight would ride a Yegua... It wouldn't gallop!
Imagine how cool this picture would be if I was on a horse!
After a jaunt along the "beach," we arrived in the aldea of "Hobo" and I realized that Elias' father, the old man shown below, is not only one of the toughest old men on this earth, (he is 80 some years old, drinks whiskey likes it's water, and is just as active as I am) he was also one of the most fecund, in his heyday (which apparently ended a short 12 years ago as his youngest daughter has that many years). 9 children between the ages of 40 something to 12! A true Guatemalan hero (Although, granted his wife is also a Guatemalan hero).
He is also completely responsible for the town of Hobo. There are 5 houses nestled into the mountains, each occupied by one of his children. It was definitely cool to see that places like this exist in Guatemala. Quite a stark contrast to the daily life I have here in the monastery. They produce just about everything they need to survive, and live their lives quietly in the hills. Very cool people.
The Christmas season was definitely one to remember. Through all the traveling, I widened my knowledge and appreciation of Guatemala, saw some awesome things, and met some really cool people.
And, because I've been so lazy about getting this blog out, I have two bonuses for you. First is a quote from Elias' father. After we finished dinner, I stood up to help clear the table. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to the table, looked me straight in the eyes and said: "Here at my house, the women take care of the table." Then he poured me another shot of whiskey.
God Bless Guatemala.
No comments:
Post a Comment