Day of the Dead
Today was our last day in Guatemala. We have been here for over 5 weeks and we have seen more than we are able to comprehend. There are only 2 sites we still would like to see, but I think we can do that on our way home. One site is a famous textile market in Chichicastenango and the other are the ruins of Tikal, the most spectacular Mayan pyramids.
Even though I didn’t like Antigua (the most beautiful city in Guatemala) too much and I was counting days to be done with the language school and head on to warmer climate in El Salvador, I wouldn’t want to miss this week. We had an extremely nice ending to our stay in Guatemala. We went out with a couple from Switzerland and a couple from Austria who we met last Wednesday on the Day of the Dead.
We went to an Austrian restaurant and ate wiener schnitzel, had plenty of beers and just enjoyed each others company. We saw lot of things on our trip and had a lot of experiences, but one of the highlights is talking to other travelers and sharing stories. We have learned so much from other travelers and after 3 months on the road we can finally give back to others what we liked and what we learned. Unfortunately we ran out of diapers for Julian and had to leave the restaurant early, but one of the couples we will probably meet again in Costa Rica. On the way home we took on of the local taxis called Tuctuc. I don’t really know how to describe them. They are part motorcycle part car. They have a 2 stroke engine, three wheels, no steering wheel, but a motorcycle handle and a bench that seats 3 people. We have seen those things all over Guatemala, but never took one. The kids really liked it and I would have probably enjoyed it more if I would have known the address of our family, but instead I had to give the driver directions with my broken Spanish.
November 1st is the Day of the Dead, a day that is celebrated in all of central America, Mexico and probably many other nations around the world. I don’t know too much about the history and the traditions about this day, but we have always been curious about it. In Guatemala on of the traditions is to build kites, and write message on them for the friends and relative that passed away. Some people work on those kites for months and they were huge (like 3 story buildings). We were told to go to Santiago de Zacatepequez and watch the kites. We took 3 chicken busses an actually found the place. We had no idea where to go and decided to just follow the crowd. The crowd became bigger and bigger and the street was getting narrower. At times it was almost impossible to move. We saw some kites in the air, but it wasn’t too spectacular, but we kept following the crowd. At one point I looked around and only saw happy faces, people celebrating, enjoying the food and just having a good time. It took me a moment to realize that we were in the midst of a cemetery. People were sitting and standing on tombstones and walking over freshly dug raised piles of dirt where people were buried. To launch the kites you had to run over this uneven terrain, which was quite difficult at times. Cemeteries in Europe are sad, somber places, and this place was full of life. It was also full of colors as every grave was decorated in bright yellow and purple marigolds, and we were all surrounded by the colorful kites and clothing of the indigenous Mayans.
The chicken buses on the way home were packed. Our whole group got separated and Allison and I had to take separate chicken buses home. We all came home happy to have met such nice friends and also to have witnessed such a neat holiday.
Tags: Antigua, Guatemala, Kites, Santiago
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