Lucille's Adventures in Peru Av. Fatima 820, #703, Trujillo, Peru --- www.perumission.org --- "Not all those who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings

Today, Tuesday I went to two small towns outside of Xela with my teacher, my friend Courtney, and her teacher. The four of us took a city bus to catch a chicken bus. We then took 2 chicken buses to San Andres Xecul. Why, you may ask, would you take 3 buses to get to a town outside of Xela? For the magnificent yellow and colorful church! It is the 2nd oldest in Guatemala. It was built in 1827. It is an amazing sight to see this kaleidoscope of colors admits a gray and dismal group of buildings. The Catholic Church in Guatemala has sometimes included Mayan traditions in the church. This is an effort to get the Mayans to church. In San Andres, the outside of the church has the normal crosses, kings, disciples and other Christian symbols, but then it also has tigers. This is part of the Myna culture. The main church is in the center of town, but up on a hill overlooking the town is also a small version of the church. And right beside the small church is a Mayan altar where they still perform Mayan ceremonies. My teacher even told me stories of people worshiping at the Mayan altar and then going into the Catholic Church and worshiping there. It would be possible that we’d see some Mayan ceremonies while in San Andres. We arrived and marveled at the yellow church in San Andres. It is really just one of those things you have to see. And then we walked up to the smaller one. Along the way, we saw the public laundry. Many people don’t have water in their homes and so they go to the public pillas (sp?), which is the cement washboard/sink like we have here at my house in Guatemala, but there are approximately 20 of them lined up 10 by 10 for anyone to use. It was an interesting sight to see these ladies all washing at the public pillas. And then the small yellow church which is also a sight to see because of the church and when you put your back to the church you then can see over all of San Andres and the yellow church standing out among the other buildings. And above the small church in the mountains is another Mayan ceremonial site. We saw the Mayan altar and it is odd. . . 3 crosses and then a lot of burnt ground in front of them. There was no one there at first, and then a few people came up. It was intriguing to watch as they went about worshiping at this Mayan altar and heartbreaking. They are worshiping so many different idols and it was an eye opening experience to be in the presence of such pagan worship. There are pictures on here. The man in the blue shirt is a Mayan priest. My teacher was telling me about most of it. She and the other teacher are both Catholic, but my teacher did know a good deal about this Mayan culture. We watched for at least 20 minutes, I’d say before we finally left. On our way home, we stopped at Salcaja (sal-ca-ha), another small town on the way back to Xela. It is known for its church also, but not because it is a bright yellow and red and blue, but because it was the first Christian church in Central America (and obviously, the oldest in Guatemala being built 3 years before the one in San Andres). It was an understated, but beautiful church. We tried to go inside, but we couldn’t find the person with the key. I never did quite understand that, but one of our teachers kept talking to someone across the street. I was disappointed we didn’t get to go in. It is supposed to have some original paintings and a pretty ornate altar. Salcaja also is known for two other things – weaving and alcohol. The town makes a lot of fabric on the weaving machines and sells it all around town. We went to a home where on the 3d floor we got to see the weaving machine and the man of the house worked it for us. Then we went downstairs and tasted the homemade alcohol – caldo de fruitas. They marinate different fruits and we tasted the fruit and then the drink. It was very strong! After seeing the church, the weaving and tasting the caldo de fruitas, we headed to the market. Salcaja has its market on Tuesdays. I have been to a lot of markets all over Central and South America, but this was one of the largest I’d ever seen. I loved walking all around it and wished we had been able to spend more time there. Anything and everything you might have wanted was there. At one point, I saw shoes and then beef hanging next door. Lots of fish, vegetables, clothing, fruits, etc. And then normally stuff like underwear, shoes, electronics, kitchenware, etc. I heard a pig squealing as we were walking through and couldn’t figure out where the pig was until I spied a woman walking by with a sack thrown over her shoulder and the noise was coming from within—she was carrying the pig she had just bought! And then there was the lady with the ducks in her basket (which she carried on her head as they do here). And the fabric . . . such gorgeous and colorful fabrics—and blouses. The blouses are very different and each one represents a different town or area of Guatemala. They are very beautiful. It was truly a sensation overload! This entire trip took from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm so we had to head back to school. I would love to return to Salcaja one Tuesday and just wander that market for longer. My teacher said that the one in San Francisco (another town outside of Xela) is on Fridays and is even larger. That is also a sight I’d like to see. This weekend we are supposed to go to Chichicastenango to the market there, which I hear, is the largest and craziest of all! I can hardly wait!