Busy here on the weekend

Today Jono and Forest climbed Pacaya Volcano today. They left at 6 a.m. and returned at 1:30 with shoes filled with black volcanic dust. Apparently they could not go all the way to the top due to recent eruptions but got to toast some marshmallows over a hot air vent.

This morning and for the rest of the weekend, there are no meals served by the family for us. I had a nice sleep-in and enjoyed a breakfast of fresh papaya and avocado and lime. Perfect! After washing some of our filthy travel clothes and hanging them on the upstairs patio with a backdrop of Vulcan Agua, I headed out to town to find a few things we need and few things we don't! I went in search of tamales that are sold especially for Saturday meals. I went out too late and missed them at the close by stores. We will look again later by the large outdoor market. I was able, though, to find some homemade tortillas for our lunch of tortillas, avocado and lime. The tortillas alone are wonderful.

I scoped out some of the small hotels and hostels for our possible return trip the day before our flight out at the end of the month. Most places are nice, but some seem to be geared towards the party crowd. We will try and find a quiet place on the edge of town I think. It has been perfect staying with a family for our first week here. It has lend a feeling of comfort and stability as well as a secure "safe" zone when overwhelmed by the culture adjustment and busy town experience. We have not though been in touch with many other travelers. On our last trip down here we enjoyed meeting people from all over the world and gathering and sharing tips of where to go and what to avoid. While we have connected with a few people including a very nice middle aged single woman traveler from Quebec, we look forward to striking out next week and meeting more travelers.

I am glad to have washed our clothes as we are very aware of how shabby the american and other travelers look compared to the residents. Even though it is a poor country, everyone here dresses very neatly and cleanly. All ages come out in their best. White shirts, pressed pants and buffed shoes on even the small boys is common. The tourists are easy to ID even without seeing their faces. I feel embarrassed for America when I see how some of them dress. 15 years ago the indigenous people wore their traditional dress. Today all of the men have put away their traditional wear in exchange for european style collar shirts and pants. Jeans are not common. The indigenous women wear their pueblo woven skirts and sometimes the matching wiupels (shirts) but more often we see a t-shirt or other dress shirt with it. I imagine this may reflect the women who come to town for the day vs. those who live here now. Some of the residents have adopted more european/american clothing and we see many more women wearing shorts and jeans.
The traditional wear of the indigenous people came from a time when the Spaniards enforced a code that each village have a different weaving pattern so they could tell where people were from. This was one method of keeping the people from organizing and rising up against the invaders. After that the patterns were taken up as local custom and pride. There is a long and sad history of how the indigenous peoples have been treated.

Antigua has changed much in 15 years. There are more people, more shops and a wider variety of amenities. Apparently the standard of living has increased quite. Many people have moved out of town as it has become too expensive. Including Jono's spanish teacher.

We plan to eat out at a nice restaurant tonight but I doubt it will be better than what we have been enjoying at our home-stay. It will be fun, though, to be out and about in the evening. The town is extra busy as many people come to Antigua for the day or the weekend. Not sure what we will do tomorrow....