Xela

Tropical Storm Agatha wreaked havoc with the roads in Xela and the surrounding area. Roads wind through the hills through steep cuttings cut into the clay and mud, resulting in terrible mudslides in heavy rain. Lack of contour ditches and drainage compound the problem, leaving home on the sides of hills perched precariously on mud precipices, and deep gulleys where the soil has been eroded away catastrophically..

Sitting in a classroom has never been my forte, so I persuaded my teacher Jorge to accompany me to the Mam-Ximon or San Simon shrine in Zunil.

I had wound up staying on in Xela as roads were obtructed by mudslides and it would have been impossible to get anywhere for at least another week, so seeing as Jorge was both intelligent and engaging, I thought why not continue to improve my Spanish? An interesting week was spent reading out aloud various texts and poems from Khalil Ghibran, a Mayan poet whose name I forget, (must ask Jorge)and anecdotes from Jesuit priest's journey to India and his meditations on his insights there ("El tambor de la vida" por Carlos Gonzales Vallés).. So we left the others at their tables and went to the plethora of old US school buses on the northern side if the Parque Central and jumped on. I spent quite a lot of time travelling on these chicken buses, so called because very often they carry the peasants home from and to market with their livestock and huge bundles of merchandise. However, the route was truncated this time as the roads were still impassable after Tropical Storm Agatha.

The road through Almolonga as people were digging their homes and businesses out of the mud that had engulfed the main street.

It was still possible to see the level the mud flow had reached; almost as high as the window in this case. In Zona 2 in Xela the flood waters were around 2mt in depth, and people had to get around in boats, in Zona 1, some people had nailed boards in front of their front doors to prevent the waters coming in.

A so-called "chicken bus". On my ride to Xela from Chichicastenango, I was reminded of my Exec Air days when I used to fly day old chicks, as the interior was filled with cheep cheeps from chicks in the luggage racks above our heads.

The walk to Zunil from Almolonga. Buses were not yet running on this road so we elected to walk. At least the fields on the side of this hill were terraced. The majority are not, causing the terrible mudslides and soil erosion.

The town of Zunil in the river valley

The Mayan altars next to the shrine of San Simon, on which burnt offerings are made, mainly of copal incense and candles in front of an image of San Simon and an image of the grim reaper (San Pedro?) The Mayan cross is woven out of leaves.

The shrine with an effigy of San Simon, who is adored as if he is a real being, to his left is a crucifix on a table as a Mayan nod to Catholicism, but the Catholics have never canonised him as a saint and refuse to recognise him. He was said to have been a shaman who lived before the conquest and apparently he was a great healer. After his death the people continued to venerate him, but gave him a christian veneer to avoid the wrath of the inquisition and to be allowed to continue to worship him.

Jorge lights a cigarette before offering it to San Simon. These cigarettes were on sale for that purpose. You could also buy him a drink. People who had had their prayers granted returned bearing gifts for their icon, his suit, his fake gold watch, his cowboy boots as well as numerous chickens and goats outside. All of this done with great sincerity. As Guatemala is more than 60% indigenous Mayan, thse beliefs are strong and permeate the highest echelons of society.

At the other end of town, the Catholic church

The muslin drapes typical of Mayan catholic churches. At Chichicastnago, they had burnt offering altars inside and out.

The facade of the Zunil church

Dinner at Utatlan Spanish school, on my last Friday night there. I played guitar for them both the Friday nights I was there. The tall blonde girl on the left, Helen, was a great salsa partner, she was the girlfriend of the coordinator there and a medical student from Swededn.

A view from the other end of the table showing Jocelyn with the red hair and black jacket at the back, 2nd from the left. She and her partner own and manage the school. She also teaches linguistics at the local university. I had a great time at the school, which was very friendly and welcoming.