Chichicastenengo, Guatemala

Yesterday we hit the craft market in Chichicastenengo. We took a minivan shuttle from San Pedro la Laguna, which are apparently much faster than the chicken buses, but construction on the inter-america highway is so bad it took a bit longer; about 2 hours or more per way. We had 3.5 hours to stroll around at the market, so we shopped around for gifts. The tapestries and textiles are very colorful and reasonably priced here. The clothing is great too, and the best thing is everything is made in Guatemala, not China!

We ran into two other couples that we had met back in Mexico, including a couple of Italians who stayed in the Shack next to us at Bonampak, Chiapas, and a Canadian couple who crossed the border with us into Guatemala. We gave the Canadians some Quetzals for Candian dollars because they didn't have any US dollars on them to exchange at the border, so when we saw them at the market they thanked us greatly because they had a lot of trouble getting money when they arrived at their first destination (it's amazing how far $15USD can go here!).

While in "Chichi" we ate a great lunch of chile rellenos at a sweet little artsy cafe, with good music.

Here are some photos of the crafts we saw at the market.

Candles for sale near the church, to be used in Mayan ceremonies

Typical Guatemalan textiles

Interesting quilt