A couple of days ago I bought a microbus ticket for a round trip to the Town of Chichicastenango. There is a Sunday market there that is supposedly a really neat event to attend [link].
The bus leaves from the office of the travel agency at 8am. I have to get dressed and walk over there before the bus departs. So, I'll tell you all about the trip and Chichicastenango when I get back!
4PM - Returned from Chichi trip
I've just returned from Chichicastenango trip. Takes 1.5 hours for bus to go one way. So, I am a bit tired now. Got to shower then rest a bit before publishing the pics that New Mavicita took into a story. See you soon!
5PM - I am back!
The microbus holds 15 people including the driver. He dropped us off in Chichicastenango at 9:30am, a 1.5 hour ride from Panajachel. Instructions to us tourists are, be back here by 1:45pm. The Hotel Santo Thomas is your landmark, two blocks away.
Hotel Santo Tomás really is not curved like thisThe first thing that I wanted to find was food! A few locals directed me toward table service/sit down restaurants. These did not look good to me.
Then I came upon a little outdoor street kitchen that a local family setup outside their home. A local customer was eating a chili relleno lunch. "I will have what he is having!", I declared.
Chili relleno is the brownish itemAlso: rice soup, rice and veggies and tortillas
Note about the food pic above: All of this food, including the rice soup and tortillas cost 20 quetzales [$2.60US]. The chili relleno contained a meat and vegetable filling that was sooooo good! The rice soup was great, tasted like chicken soup. The tortillas were hand made!
The chicken sellers
After my lunch, I continued walking thru the very crowded Chichicastenango Sunday market and came upon four women sitting on a raised sidewalk. Three of these women were holding a live chicken for sale in her lap. I asked them how much these birds cost? 200 quetzales was the answer. That's $26US/each!! I think that they were just messing with me.
Do you see the live turkey head poking out from the sack? One woman told me that the turkey would sell for 350 quetzales [$45US]. Wow! Sort of hard to believe!
Four high priced chicken sellersFaces in the crowd:
On the back of this kids shirt:I wanted it!
I cried for it!
I threw a fit!
I liked her face
This woman asked for money for her pic.I gave her 2 quetzals.
She asked for 10!
Everybody around her laughed!
This boy's name is Julian.He shines shoes.
He donates what he earns to school.
I gave him a donation.
This man sells calciumto women who use it in tortillas.
What a wonderful face!
74°FPartly cloudy
