Copan Ruinas, Honduras

 On Sunday morning, John and I visited the Copan Ruinas, an ancient center of Mayan civilization. We got there early and had the place almost to ourselves. An amazing experience.

Great Small Engine Motorcycles You Will Never See in the United States

In Antigua we saw small engine motorcycles everywhere, 125-200 cc. Efficient and capable on the cobblestone streets, families driving around on one motorcycle. Americans would never be seen on such bikes. I did see one groups of American riders in Antigua- bmw r1100s, fully loaded with expedition bags and complaining about the bumps. The size of the motorcycles seemed excessive. 

Our original plan in Antigua was to rent motorcycles and ride them to the libraries. But the  motorcycle rental agency, CATour, said they had no bikes for those dates.... I honestly think there was more to it than that, but they weren't saying. Anyway, I would love to ride through Central America and down through South America one day.

Chichicastenango, Quiche, and Consequences of Street Food

(Photo, Public Square, Quiche)

After a series of five different local buses, John and I traveled from Lake Atitlan to the Department of Quiche, an indigenous area of Guatemala, altitude of 6,500 feet.

(Following photos, Chichicastenango)

John and I visited a library in local Chiche on Wednesday afternoon and spent the evening in Chichicastenango (Chichi), the largest town in the area. Chichi is known for its large market, held twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays. Wednesday night we walked through town accompanied by loud music and fireworks in celebration of the Christmas season. We sat at a local food booth, as we had before in other areas, and ate fresh pineapple, pupusas, lemon pie, and a delicious hot chocolate oatmeal drink.

I suspect it was the "salada" on top of the pupusas that did it. I brushed mine off, John ate his. Poor John. Anyhoo- that night was a rather strange experience. Did you know that the sound of many roosters at night can sound like souls crying out, burning in hell? And that fireworks at 3 a.m. are more annoying than celebratory? Tie together with a heavy string of nausea and tummy troubles. A good ("good") travel memory.


Next day started with white bread and black coffee. We didn't have much heart for shopping but managed to buy two things, a set of place mats/napkins for John and a shawl for myself. Now I wish I had bought more, but I didn't have the appetite at the time.

If you ever have the chance, Chichicastenango is an incredible place. Go in early December and you will encounter few tourists and can catch some of the Christmas celebration.

Lake Atitlan, the communities of Panajachel and San Juan

We arrived at Lake Atitlan by a series of local buses on December 5. Found our rather smelly and dreary hotel in Panajachel (which will remain unnamed- a warning to fellow travelers, never travel with a seven year old travel guide-- obviously this place had seen better days). The next day we were to visit the library in San Juan La Laguna, across the lake, and to celebrate John's birthday. (photo: Church both old and new, in San Pedro).



Panajachel is a tourist town along the lake, a base for exploring the many surrounding communities. Lake Atitlan is gorgeous and easily traveled by the many public boat taxis.






Photo: Lakeside in Panajachel.

We had a great time exploring the area, enjoying the wet and wonderful ride across the lake at top speed, and found a great taqueria by our hotel to celebrate John's birthday. While other tourists were eating Indian or Mexican fare on the main street, we were eating tacos, three for $1.25.

Feliz Navidad Rudolph!

Totonicapan, Guatemala

Four hours and three buses to travel from Antigua to Totonicapan, a small city in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, population about 94,000. While riding the local buses, we had to hold on tight, for fear of sliding off the seats, into our neighbors' laps. Evidently, the furthest seat in the back of the bus (our seat), means you bounce the highest over the speed bumps. We had no problem finding connecting buses with the help of others.


















In Totonicapan, we checked into a dreary hotel with no windows, the Hotel Totonicapan. We enjoyed getting OUT of the hotel and into the streets. We spent the evening walking around the market, drinking coffee and eating donuts, and hanging out at the main square, listening to music piped through town.

Las Tierras Altas, Mountain Biking Near Antigua

Headed out early in the morning, ate breakfast at a great place called Fernando's Cafe. Walked to Old Town Outfitters, a local tour operator, for a mountain bike ride with our guide, Arnoldo. Upon seeing us, I think Arnoldo was a bit worried, John in his jeans and me in my maryjane shoes. I think he was reassured him when we were able to make it up the first big hill.

The ride was a mix of paved road and dirt. Riding on the dirt proved a challenge for us roadies. The cliff next to the single dirt track was like a Siren's call to my front tire. I fell twice, landing quite close to the edge the second time. That was when I realized we didn't sign a liability waiver...   ; )

I made it safely to the small town of San Andres Itzapa to visit with San Simon (known as Maximon in other regions), A wax figure behind glass, people offer gifts of cigarettes, alcohol, and cigars in exchange for various benefits. San Simon is not so much a Christian saint but a Mayan folk saint with roots that go back before Columbus.

The ride lasted four hours, a good workout resulting in a great appetite. We ate at a chicken chain restaurant, Pollo Campero, breaking with my vegetarian ways with chicken and fries. That evening we enjoyed several free Christmas activities along the streets of Antigua including a children's Christmas concert and a live nativity. Antigua may be the Disneyland of Guatemala but it is still a lovely and welcoming place.

Antigua, Guatemala

John and I are spending the next three days in the lovely colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Anyone that has visited Antigua knows it is a beautiful place, a bit unreal-- Disney like. To paraphrase Lonley Planet, Antigua is what Guatemala would look like if the Scandinavians came in and took over.

In Antigua, John and I do what we always do when travelling. We walked... and walked... and walked. And took a lot of pictures.The above pictures are one of the most photographed scenes in the world... 5 Calle, or, the street with the arch.

More pictures and stories of Antigua soon...

Feria International del Libro de Guadalajara

November 27-30 at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico. I was able to attend due to the financial aid of ALA and donating publishers/vendors that give travel grants to members of the American Library Association. I received $200 towards my airfare, three nights hotel, and free registration to the Book Fair.For more information about the Free Pass Program , see the web site for ALA International Relations Office. Plus the vendors supply a fabulous gala dinner for all ALA participating librarians

In size, FIL can be compared to the Vendor Hall at an ALA Annual Conference.  In content, it is all about books. All kinds of books: children's, scholarly, photography, artisan, how-to, popular culture, graphic novels... Many librarians come to FIL with a credit card, collecting book as they travel through the Fair and mailing them back home. Others walk through escorted by a vendor representative that takes notes of desired titles in order to gather and send out later.  Many books published in Latin America are limited in number, making it difficult to acquire through a vendor after retruning home.

Many of the ALA Free Pass librarians balance out the book fair with day trips to the nearby artisan towns of Tlaquepaque or Tonala. I have visited these places on previous trips to FIL and they are adorable with good shopping. Lake Chapala is also nearby, full of ex-pats in their retiremment communiities. This trip I spent my extra time working on a revision of my dissertation summary... getting VERY close to being finished..