Guatemala Photos: Marimba player (Note the gourds underneath making the different sounds) in traditional dress at Mayan Inn, where we spent Christmas - Chichicastenango, Guatemala This is what our Christmas decorating looked like - complete with tree, tinsel and traditional clay nativity crèche - Chichicastenango, Guatemala While Dick and I were taking a break, the kids created a Christmas play called "The Christmas Puppy" - complete with costumes, sets, poems, songs and many cues! Chichicastenango, Guatemala Note Katie's costume for the play. An embroidered 'huipile' (blouse) and tinsel for her angel costume. Chichicastenango, Guatemala Of course, Ben is the puppy in the play. Chichicastenango, Guatemala As we were walking down the street on Christmas Eve, our 'friends' pose for a picture. Chichicastenango, Guatemala An amazing sight… two little girls in traditional dress carrying around their baby siblings happily as babysitters in a woven sling. They did it for hours. How many U.S. kids at that age would do that? Chichicastenango, Guatemala Christmas morning… Did Santa come? Yes… but with a big letter of explanation why he did not exactly get what was on the kids' lists! At midnight, tens of thousands of firecrackers went off… the noise was deafening and woke us up. Chichicastenango, Guatemala Brotherly love on Christmas morning. Chichicastenango, Guatemala Alex proudly showing off his first creation with his new Construx set that Santa gave him. Chichicastenango, Guatemala Another dinosaur Construx monster with prehensile tail. Chichicastenango, Guatemala We were eating lunch when a women came in and casually 'dressed' Katie and Patty up right at the table. We felt so Guatemalan and ended up becoming friends with the women through the bargaining process. Chichicastenango, Guatemala An example of colorful animal masks made for 'tourists'. We bought these and antique ones of Spanish men carved and beautifully painted with painted light bulb eyes that are spookily real looking. Chichicastenango, Guatemala Francesca, in her beautiful 'huipile', was the daughter of a mask vendor who brought his 3 daughters to visit the kids, draw pictures and write pen pal letters to our school back home. Chichicastenango, Guatemala Children who would follow our friend Doug ("The Pencil Man' - see Patty's story on the website). Chichicastenango, Guatemala Children having fun. Chichicastenango, Guatemala More friends on the street. Chichicastenango, Guatemala Alex playing marimba with Doug, "The Pencil Man". Chichicastenango, Guatemala One of the many traditional dances using sequined costumes and hand carved and painted masks. The Dance of the Conquistadors - a dance about the Spanish who took over Guatemala. Chichicastenango, Guatemala More of the dance. Chichicastenango, Guatemala Who are behind those masks… all young children! Chichicastenango, Guatemala A Close-up of the Dancer - Chichicastenango, Guatemala High-wire Ben in Tikal, the ancient Mayan city in Guatemala. Katie climbing the vine. Jungle, monkeys, coatis and wild turkeys as brilliant as peacocks surround Tikal. Guatemala Alex climbing, too. Tikal, Guatemala Tarzan Ben. Does Ben pass Gym, Mr. Carmichael? Tikal, Guatemala A majestic temple… very, very tall and steep. Tikal, Guatemala Mayan rulers would build high into the heavens to reach out to their gods. Tikal, Guatemala "Hey, we aren't ready to take the picture!" Tikal, Guatemala "That's better… do we look presentable to all our friends and family back home?" Tikal, Guatemala Trying to get another great pose in a great setting. Climbing these steps took a lot of courage. We did it very slowly and carefully and then watched the guides hopping down as if it was nothing. Tikal, Guatemala Had to get one picture to send to everyone back home of a jaguar… even if it was in a zoo! Near Tikal, Guatemala Taking a boat ride, the main form of transportation from village to village on Lake Atitlan… a crystal deep blue lake surrounded by steep volcanoes. Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala An amazing scene, hundreds of women washing their clothes on the rocks of the shore of Lake Atitlan. Also, the small wooden canoes used by the local men to fish. Many of the boats were not watertight so you saw a lot of bailing going on. Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala The pump for running water was broken. All day, we would see women and children carrying plastic jugs home on there heads from the lake.. The plastic jugs replaced clay ones that were the same shape but very heavy and prone to break … progress! Santiago, Atitlan Mom and Ben on horseback during a stop on a boat ride around Lake Atitlan. San Pedro is a very lovely little village. The elementary school was called 'Benjamin'. Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala A family pose trying to capture the background of Lake Atitlan and the volcanoes. Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala Concepcion teaching Katie how to do traditional weaving with a back-strap loom tied to a post and worn around your hips. It is harder than you think and most mothers teach their young daughters when they are 6 or 7. Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala Alex doing a great job weaving with Concepcion. Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala Patty 'trying' to weave. We bought a number of beautiful hand-woven and embroidered 'Huipiles' (blouses) from Concepcion. Since she is from Santiago Atitlan, she wears the motif of the region, birds of every shape and color. She became another friend through the day we spent with her. Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala Found a retail store that sold the hand woven striped fabric by the yard. Couldn't resist buying some . Panajachel, Guatemala A sampling of Guatemalan fabric. Panajachel, Guatemala We saw a lot of agriculture on the road. The corn is shucked and dried on the fence or on the corrugated tin roofs that have replaced thatched palm leaf roofs. It is safe because animals can't get up to the roofs to steal it. On the road to Antigua, Guatemala Great example of how the kids make anyplace their 'home'. Outside our hotel door at Casa Azul, Alex decides to mimic the markets he has seen and has set up his own 'mercado' with merchandise and signs telling how much everything is in 'quetzales' - Guatemalan currency. Antigua, Guatemala Ben took a packing box and made a launch pad for his toys. Antigua, Guatemala Katie took yards of Guatemalan fabric and fashioned her own house to live in. Antigua, Guatemala Getting a little shaggy! Alex gets a $2. haircut. Since I do not speak Spanish, I made sure Dick gave detailed instructions. Antigua, Guatemala Ben being brave and getting chopped for $2. The barbershop is a real social gathering place. Patty even got her haircut cut. She asked for a little ("pequeno!") but the next time she looked, he cut off an inch! All for $2. Antigua, Guatemala
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