This weekend was the Indepence Day celebration for Guatemala. We had a much appreciated day off from school on Friday, and there were activities around town all weekend. Friday, I went to the fair just outside of town. It´s nice to know that there are some constants all over the world, and apparently fairs are one of them. We rode rickety rides, ate greasy food, played silly games, and walked by tons of vendors pushing their wares. On the way home from the fair, we stopped to watch one of the zillion parades they had this weekend. I enjoyed watching some concerts, speeches, and Mayan dance routines in the central park as well. It was a very festive Independence Day.
Last night several students met up to celebrate a student´s birthday. We had good food and conversation and were treated to some world class music. As we were chilling out listening to the Cuban band, one of the students commented that the keyboard player looked like one of the guys from Buena Vista Social Club. Everyone that had seen the movie totally agreed, and later another patron confirmed for us that it was in fact him! I guess he plays in Xela a couple times a year. What a treat.
Today, we hiked up La Muela which is a rocky point near the Volcano Santa Maria outside of town. It was a great hike with beautiful scenery and a little culture too. The way up wound through some agricultural areas. There was corn that stood at least twice as tall as me and lots of flowers. One kind of flower is common in the US as a garnish for salads (according to an avid gardner student), so I tried it - pretty yummy. We also saw tons of little lizards, some of which were bright green and had blue necks and bellies. Once we got closer to the rocky area, there were lots of locals hiking along headed to a church service partway up to the rocks. There were women in traditional skirts and tiny little shoes with heels walking along gracefully while I stumbled along in my hiking boots huffing and puffing. Once we passed the church service site (outside near the trees around a soccer field), we came upon a Mayan sauna and ceremony site. It wasn´t being used at the time, so we got to check it out. The sauna part was still quite hot. After the spa stop, the terrain got really rocky and fun. We had to do some scrambling to get to the top, but it was totally worth it. Great views and relaxing on the volcanic rocks in the sun was so warm and cozy. The way down was a bit tricky with all the loose rocks, but it was a fantastic hike to end a really great weekend.
P.S. The trip leader for the hike told me that the Big White House of Mystery is supposedly haunted. The story goes that at one point the house was used as student housing, and in the 80s two Guatemalan and one foreign student were killed there and now haunt the place. I guess we could count old abandoned house ghost stories as another universal constant. I´ll let you know if I see anything scary!
