"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
Martin Buber
So far in this beautiful country I have found myself restless and ready to go, see it all. In the past three weeks I have gotten the chance to do that, poco por poco. In the process I am learning and teaching myself a lot about who I am and who I want to be.
First, I should start off with a little background about what has been happening throughout Antigua in my past few weeks here. I seemed to have arrived in Antigua at just the right time to embrace and fully experience the festivities of Semana Santa. Some say this is a blessing, some advice you to get out... and fast. I say that a mix of both is quite appropriate. Semana Santa is more than just a tourist stop. It is an event that is so rich in culture, most of us gringos walking around taking pictures of the colorful alfombras can hardly fathom the history and religious relevance behind this event.
A quick 101 about Semana Santa: during the season of lent the town of Antigua decorates itself with a vibrant shade of purple. On the weekends and during passover they have processions throughout the town. This is more than your everyday parade. The people of various churches in Antigua get decked out in what I would call purple shawls, but I’m not sure how accurate that term is. They meander down the streets with massive floats perched on their shoulders, escorted by hundreds of backups to fill in when the weight of the float becomes overbearing. The floats are symbolic of the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. Over the 40 days the cross bore by Christ displayed on top of the floats changes to represent another aspect of Christ’s self-sacrifice. Before the floats make their way down the streets the people and churches of the city decorate the cobblestone streets with alfombras. These are beautiful flower and sawdust carpets that draw the eye by their vibrant colors and holy designs.
What we don’t see as regular travelers is the heart and soul about every part of this event. What seems like a miserable responsibility of carrying the float is something that is actually something people of the respective churches work and pay to be able to do. After seeing how miserable a woman looked at the head of a float, and knowing she wanted to be there showed me how significant this event really is. People come from far and wide to see these beautiful processions. To some it is a tourist event, to others it is something that strikes deep into their spirituality and that in itself is quite moving to see.
Along with the bearing of the float, the work and planning put into the alfombras is nearly unmatchable. Days before the processions the markets are full of flowers and people are busy cutting out designs for the detailed carpets. They work under the hot sun to make them perfectly pleasing to the eye. Only to be trampled over by those leading the procession minutes after finishing them. I was lucky enough to be invited to make a mini-gringo carpet, a task in and of itself more difficult than perceived. The ending result of six gringos covering a seven foot diameter was despicable in comparison to the massive alfombra carefully planned and executed by the three Guatemalans right behind us. Yet, it gave us a little light into their culture. These colorful decorations and tedious tasks are things that matter. These are things that show their dedication to Christ and his resurrection, but also show the compassion of their lives. The people of Guatemala love the party that goes along with it, but you can tell that their hearts are in it for an entirely different reason. This is what I find a blessing of my time here in Antigua.
Yet, the curse is that this spiritual event brings in a lot of people making Antigua a very overwhelming place to be. Normally a nice afternoon you can stroll down the street without a care in the world. During Semana Santa you constantly finding yourself excusing yourself as you feel like a fish swimming up stream. This can be fun for a while, but also provides a perfect excuse to get a nice taste of Holy Week and then breaking out to get a taste of what the rest of Guatemala has to offer. So this is what I did...
One of the big things upon getting to Antigua on the gringo trail is to hike one of the many surrounding volcanoes. The easiest and most accessible of these is the Vocan de Pacaya. It is just a short trip outside of town with a nice incline to get a feel of volcanic ash, we were lucky enough to get started in a fog and have it burn off by the time we reached the end of the hike. The stinky part about this particular hike is that in the past few years the trek itself has changed. Pacaya is still an active vocano and has erupted within the past ten years. Because of this the trek has changed a bit, rather than summiting the volcano you are taken up to the base of the volcano to see its creator from afar and roast some marshmallows on bits of the hot ash. Marshmallows for me was by far the best part of the adventure, I sure do love my marshmallows. It was still a very rewarding experience and just instilled the drive to get out and hike more of the volcanoes in my time here.
The following weekend I was lucky enough to have a day off of work after my classes finished their first month with some quiz days. I had just moved into the new apartment and I recruited my only roommate at the time to head to the beached in El Salvador with me. I have never made a better decision in my life. Since I was a kid I have always wanted to go surfing, in Montana and North Dakota this is kind of out of the question. But in El Salvador I not only got to enjoy delicious fruit smoothies and delicious Pupusas-so tasty- but I also got to test my skills on the waves.
The first morning there I met some amazing people from Portland, Maine who were on a surfing vacation. We ended up spending the day chatting, reading, playing cards, and going to a nearby town to watch a less-than-eventful surfing competition. The next day they took me out on the waves. Now mind you this is no easy feat. The day prior nobody was out on the waves because they were a bit too strong. This opportunity increased my learning curve a bit. Needless to say, I intantly fell in love with the sport of surfing. Even just riding the wave like a lazy man was loads of fun. After a bit of practice I was able to stand up and ride the wave to shore, which is quite a thrill and definatley tops snowboarding in my book. Now it seems I just need to move to Portland so I can do this everyday to perfect the art, and hopefully figure out how to paddle too. We shall see what cards I'm dealt next to see if that one works out.
It was extremely hard to return to Antigua after an overly satisfying weekend. Yet I did, and powered through three days of work knowing I was headed to the famous Lake Aticlan. This couldn't have been a better place to escape the crazy crowds of Semana Santa. We successfully did a-lot-o-bit-o-nothing, and I loved every minute of it. We stayed in a little town of Santa Cruz which really doesn't have much going on. The biggest event of our short stay was a hike up the hill leading into town to get a good calf burn and an even better view of the two volcanoes that sit on the opposite shore. Of course, I met some very intriguing people in my hostel and it turned out to be a very intellectual, refreshing, and enlightening weekend. I keep finding my Spanish randomly improving with little excursions like this, despite the fact most of the people in my immediate surroundings are speaking English. This is reasuring, but still shows me a I have a long way to go on my second language...
If anything, I have learned most from Guatemala is that I do have the ability to do nothing. I am getting better and better at living a tranquilo and less chaotic lifestyle and allowing myself to decompress. With that I am more comfortable and satisfied with me time, rather than always feeling the need to do something and see people. This has been something that I think I've needed for a while, so it is good to see that side of life, while getting out and learning about the world a little bit more.
Martin Buber
So far in this beautiful country I have found myself restless and ready to go, see it all. In the past three weeks I have gotten the chance to do that, poco por poco. In the process I am learning and teaching myself a lot about who I am and who I want to be.
First, I should start off with a little background about what has been happening throughout Antigua in my past few weeks here. I seemed to have arrived in Antigua at just the right time to embrace and fully experience the festivities of Semana Santa. Some say this is a blessing, some advice you to get out... and fast. I say that a mix of both is quite appropriate. Semana Santa is more than just a tourist stop. It is an event that is so rich in culture, most of us gringos walking around taking pictures of the colorful alfombras can hardly fathom the history and religious relevance behind this event.
A quick 101 about Semana Santa: during the season of lent the town of Antigua decorates itself with a vibrant shade of purple. On the weekends and during passover they have processions throughout the town. This is more than your everyday parade. The people of various churches in Antigua get decked out in what I would call purple shawls, but I’m not sure how accurate that term is. They meander down the streets with massive floats perched on their shoulders, escorted by hundreds of backups to fill in when the weight of the float becomes overbearing. The floats are symbolic of the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. Over the 40 days the cross bore by Christ displayed on top of the floats changes to represent another aspect of Christ’s self-sacrifice. Before the floats make their way down the streets the people and churches of the city decorate the cobblestone streets with alfombras. These are beautiful flower and sawdust carpets that draw the eye by their vibrant colors and holy designs.
What we don’t see as regular travelers is the heart and soul about every part of this event. What seems like a miserable responsibility of carrying the float is something that is actually something people of the respective churches work and pay to be able to do. After seeing how miserable a woman looked at the head of a float, and knowing she wanted to be there showed me how significant this event really is. People come from far and wide to see these beautiful processions. To some it is a tourist event, to others it is something that strikes deep into their spirituality and that in itself is quite moving to see.
Along with the bearing of the float, the work and planning put into the alfombras is nearly unmatchable. Days before the processions the markets are full of flowers and people are busy cutting out designs for the detailed carpets. They work under the hot sun to make them perfectly pleasing to the eye. Only to be trampled over by those leading the procession minutes after finishing them. I was lucky enough to be invited to make a mini-gringo carpet, a task in and of itself more difficult than perceived. The ending result of six gringos covering a seven foot diameter was despicable in comparison to the massive alfombra carefully planned and executed by the three Guatemalans right behind us. Yet, it gave us a little light into their culture. These colorful decorations and tedious tasks are things that matter. These are things that show their dedication to Christ and his resurrection, but also show the compassion of their lives. The people of Guatemala love the party that goes along with it, but you can tell that their hearts are in it for an entirely different reason. This is what I find a blessing of my time here in Antigua.
Yet, the curse is that this spiritual event brings in a lot of people making Antigua a very overwhelming place to be. Normally a nice afternoon you can stroll down the street without a care in the world. During Semana Santa you constantly finding yourself excusing yourself as you feel like a fish swimming up stream. This can be fun for a while, but also provides a perfect excuse to get a nice taste of Holy Week and then breaking out to get a taste of what the rest of Guatemala has to offer. So this is what I did...
One of the big things upon getting to Antigua on the gringo trail is to hike one of the many surrounding volcanoes. The easiest and most accessible of these is the Vocan de Pacaya. It is just a short trip outside of town with a nice incline to get a feel of volcanic ash, we were lucky enough to get started in a fog and have it burn off by the time we reached the end of the hike. The stinky part about this particular hike is that in the past few years the trek itself has changed. Pacaya is still an active vocano and has erupted within the past ten years. Because of this the trek has changed a bit, rather than summiting the volcano you are taken up to the base of the volcano to see its creator from afar and roast some marshmallows on bits of the hot ash. Marshmallows for me was by far the best part of the adventure, I sure do love my marshmallows. It was still a very rewarding experience and just instilled the drive to get out and hike more of the volcanoes in my time here.
The following weekend I was lucky enough to have a day off of work after my classes finished their first month with some quiz days. I had just moved into the new apartment and I recruited my only roommate at the time to head to the beached in El Salvador with me. I have never made a better decision in my life. Since I was a kid I have always wanted to go surfing, in Montana and North Dakota this is kind of out of the question. But in El Salvador I not only got to enjoy delicious fruit smoothies and delicious Pupusas-so tasty- but I also got to test my skills on the waves.
The first morning there I met some amazing people from Portland, Maine who were on a surfing vacation. We ended up spending the day chatting, reading, playing cards, and going to a nearby town to watch a less-than-eventful surfing competition. The next day they took me out on the waves. Now mind you this is no easy feat. The day prior nobody was out on the waves because they were a bit too strong. This opportunity increased my learning curve a bit. Needless to say, I intantly fell in love with the sport of surfing. Even just riding the wave like a lazy man was loads of fun. After a bit of practice I was able to stand up and ride the wave to shore, which is quite a thrill and definatley tops snowboarding in my book. Now it seems I just need to move to Portland so I can do this everyday to perfect the art, and hopefully figure out how to paddle too. We shall see what cards I'm dealt next to see if that one works out.
It was extremely hard to return to Antigua after an overly satisfying weekend. Yet I did, and powered through three days of work knowing I was headed to the famous Lake Aticlan. This couldn't have been a better place to escape the crazy crowds of Semana Santa. We successfully did a-lot-o-bit-o-nothing, and I loved every minute of it. We stayed in a little town of Santa Cruz which really doesn't have much going on. The biggest event of our short stay was a hike up the hill leading into town to get a good calf burn and an even better view of the two volcanoes that sit on the opposite shore. Of course, I met some very intriguing people in my hostel and it turned out to be a very intellectual, refreshing, and enlightening weekend. I keep finding my Spanish randomly improving with little excursions like this, despite the fact most of the people in my immediate surroundings are speaking English. This is reasuring, but still shows me a I have a long way to go on my second language...
If anything, I have learned most from Guatemala is that I do have the ability to do nothing. I am getting better and better at living a tranquilo and less chaotic lifestyle and allowing myself to decompress. With that I am more comfortable and satisfied with me time, rather than always feeling the need to do something and see people. This has been something that I think I've needed for a while, so it is good to see that side of life, while getting out and learning about the world a little bit more.
