Friday, after posting my leisurely update, I made some quick plans to go visit the Joe and Nat in Santa Anna.
Saturday morning we met up in the Sonsonate terminal to head up to Apaneca. Why there? There are these ‘men’ carved in to stone. Let me describe them better – there are three bolders who have distinct faces and arms carved into them from the Mayan period. Apparently the site was a religious area for the Mayans. One of the men, the largest, is in two pieces. Theories about this include the Spanish blowing it in two in search of treasure (thinking the Mayans would store it in a giant rock). The site is small and is located on a hacienda. Only two of the men are in their original positions – the third one is located within the owner’s house….for conservation purposes? Anyway, the stone men were cool.
From there we backtracked to Juayua for the food festival. That place makes good food. I also took the opportunity to do some shopping up there – they have a really cute market. It was here that we also met up with two volunteers who were also enjoying the food. Just some small chitchatting before we all separated again.
Now, at this point in time I’ll tell you that Joe and Nat asked me to pick up two pottery lamps for them. I said I would bring them over the weekend – the only problem was that they are heavy as hell. I did feel bad making Joe carry them everywhere. So, while we were in Juayua I offered to watch the stuff while they checked out the Black Christ in the church there. You know the moment they left, a bolo (drunkard) came over and just sat down next to me. Thankfully, they returned quickly and we were off.
From there it was a race to get back in time for the last pick-up to their site….otherwise we’d have to walk over an hour up hill. Thankfully, we made it – Joe even went food shopping. One of the reasons I love to visit them is cause of how good the food is. Joe is a fantastic chef. We enjoyed chicken fried steak one night and a soup buffet the next night. I highly recommend hiking out there, if for nothing else, for the food.
I can’t say we did two much while I was there – besides cook/eat a lot/ see if we’re smarter then 5th graders, but it was nice. Nat and I also headed up the volcano in a bus to see how far it went…it didn’t go that far.
Monday we went on a pottery hunt. There is a guy that makes Mayan painted pottery who was not at his shop when we went on Monday. That was about 2.5 travel hours wasted. From there, I hoped on a bus for Sonso and my community. I had just enough time to go grab food and buy a soccer ball (I’m the madrina for a soccer team…more on that in the next installment).
Tuesday came around and I hired the muchacha to come and wash. I was just being lazy – I really didn’t want to wash a blanket. And thankfully, there was sunshine the following morning. This is how the rainy season normally works – hot and sunshine in the morning with clouds and rain in the afternoon. You just have to remember to bring your clothes in or the entire process gets messed up.
The rest of the week was tranquil – for the best since starting tomorrow, things are going to be very busy for a week.
Saturday morning we met up in the Sonsonate terminal to head up to Apaneca. Why there? There are these ‘men’ carved in to stone. Let me describe them better – there are three bolders who have distinct faces and arms carved into them from the Mayan period. Apparently the site was a religious area for the Mayans. One of the men, the largest, is in two pieces. Theories about this include the Spanish blowing it in two in search of treasure (thinking the Mayans would store it in a giant rock). The site is small and is located on a hacienda. Only two of the men are in their original positions – the third one is located within the owner’s house….for conservation purposes? Anyway, the stone men were cool.
From there we backtracked to Juayua for the food festival. That place makes good food. I also took the opportunity to do some shopping up there – they have a really cute market. It was here that we also met up with two volunteers who were also enjoying the food. Just some small chitchatting before we all separated again.
Now, at this point in time I’ll tell you that Joe and Nat asked me to pick up two pottery lamps for them. I said I would bring them over the weekend – the only problem was that they are heavy as hell. I did feel bad making Joe carry them everywhere. So, while we were in Juayua I offered to watch the stuff while they checked out the Black Christ in the church there. You know the moment they left, a bolo (drunkard) came over and just sat down next to me. Thankfully, they returned quickly and we were off.
From there it was a race to get back in time for the last pick-up to their site….otherwise we’d have to walk over an hour up hill. Thankfully, we made it – Joe even went food shopping. One of the reasons I love to visit them is cause of how good the food is. Joe is a fantastic chef. We enjoyed chicken fried steak one night and a soup buffet the next night. I highly recommend hiking out there, if for nothing else, for the food.
I can’t say we did two much while I was there – besides cook/eat a lot/ see if we’re smarter then 5th graders, but it was nice. Nat and I also headed up the volcano in a bus to see how far it went…it didn’t go that far.
Monday we went on a pottery hunt. There is a guy that makes Mayan painted pottery who was not at his shop when we went on Monday. That was about 2.5 travel hours wasted. From there, I hoped on a bus for Sonso and my community. I had just enough time to go grab food and buy a soccer ball (I’m the madrina for a soccer team…more on that in the next installment).
Tuesday came around and I hired the muchacha to come and wash. I was just being lazy – I really didn’t want to wash a blanket. And thankfully, there was sunshine the following morning. This is how the rainy season normally works – hot and sunshine in the morning with clouds and rain in the afternoon. You just have to remember to bring your clothes in or the entire process gets messed up.
The rest of the week was tranquil – for the best since starting tomorrow, things are going to be very busy for a week.
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