Sunday, July 27, 2008

End of School Travels

After 4 weeks of travel, I'm back home and feeling a bit disoriented, maybe slightly out of place. It's strange to squeeze my life back into my small bedroom. It's only temporary, but I'll be at home through the end of summer.

I had mixed feelings leaving Siguatepeque after some really nice sendoffs and goodbyes. On the bus out, I felt sentimental about everything that had happened, but ready (and relieved!) to move on to new places. My trip went from Honduras to Mexico D.F., a series of bus rides connecting the dots between Mayan ruins, colonial cities, and volcanoes. I could give a full summary of my month's trip like a swollen journal, but instead I'll prune it down to some of the highlights.












1.) Mayan ruins: I saw ruins in Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. They were fantastic, but after seeing my second and third sites, they lost their initial charm. I saw Copan Ruinas in Honduras, which have retained the original engravings. Guided tours give more insight into the history and symbolism, because at first glance, they're just stacked rocks.
Tikal in northern Guatemala has the really tall pyramids, and from the top you can look over the thick jungle and watch howler monkeys.




2.) Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala: a lake ringed by seven small villages, and scattered volcanoes, it was the most stunning spot that I visited. I rented a little kayak and paddled around with another traveler named Peter.





















3) Antigua, Guatemala: tourists everywhere, from everywhere. There were lots of Europeans, Asians, Australians, South Americans, etc. It was vaguely reminiscent of smaller towns in Spain, with arches, heavy wooden doors, and terrace cafes. It's hard to tell from the picture, but there is a giant volcano behind the arch. Antigua is a dramatic place: there are active volcanoes, and earthquakes have left the city in heaps several times. Here, there are ruins of a different sort. Colonial churches and convents from the 1600's and 1700's were destroyed by earthquakes except for the main walls, and I loved exploring the mazes of split arches and crumbling waves of brick and mortar. The statues of saints are missing heads and hands.

I stayed in Antigua for a whole week, more than any other city. I took classes for a week to polish my Spanish a bit, but I needed that much time to see the city and surrounding area.




4)Taller LeƱateros, San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico:




I found a Mayan papermaking/ bookbinding/ artist cooperative in San Cristobal, called The Woodlander's Workshop. They publish local Mayan poets and make some incredible prints of local artists. It's quality stuff. They make an annual magazine called La Jicara, and they're hard to find, but the ones on the shelves go for $60-80. Take that, McSweeneys. Even better, they make most of their own paper using local fibers and flowers (along with recycled white paper). In the picture, my friend Senan is holding some of the more colorful varieties. In the big photo, we are on a tour with Victoria, left. On the wall are some of their projects. If you're interested, click Taller LeƱateros above to see their website.


I loved this place because of its emphasis on local arts. Through their books, they are keeping the Mayan language and narrative alive, which is a rare trend. It is literally a grassroots movement, because, well, they use grass to make the books.
















5) Oaxaca, Mexico:

This was one of my final stops in Mexico, along with the capital and a few others. Notably, Oaxaca is considered the gastronomic capital of Mexico, and though there's good food throughout the country, Oaxaca wins with its eccentricities. First of all, there's the chocolate. Chocolate is a large bean, and they grind it into a sludge with cinnamon, almonds, and sugar. I had my first 100% cacao and it is an acquired taste. Chocolate comes in all forms, in bars, nuggets, hot cocoa, chocolate milk, mole sauce (chocolate sauce + 30 some spices... also an acquired taste). In the market, big chunks of chocolate pile up like unrefined coal.

Then there are the grasshoppers. Hardly ten minutes goes by without someone trying to sell grasshoppers cooked in chile and lime. Worth a try!