Chichi #2

So some people stayed in the markets, most of us went to climb the uh, "mountain". It was really more of a hill, on the top of which was another random Mayan ritual, which basically involved a continuous fire, mostly stoked by stacks of charcoal discs wrapped in cornhusks. They also apparently enjoyed casting their garbage down the side of a hill. We weren't really supposed to take pictures of the little ritual or the people up there- Mayans are bit more skittish about cameras than usual Guatemalans (Guatemaltecos). We could see the town from up there, and the very colorful cemetery. But it was basically a hill.

The cemetery from up on the hill:

A random table selling knives:

The metal and tarp roofs of the market:

A picture of the barking dog across the street that I just murdered while I was typing this:

(there's no picture- it was too gruesome...)

The steps of the church from where I took the pictures.

Pretty self-explanatory.

Seriously I'm gonna kill that barking dog.

On the way down we checked out another San Simon random hut where you can give more money and see walls covered with masks. Yyyyyyyyyeah. We also saw this little hillside that was being farmed, and saw piles of cow dung and wondered how they got up the hill. We found out, when we saw what I like to call the brick factory- it was the complete circle of life basically. There was a cow, tied to a tree, with its little calf over on the side. All around the cow the ground was covered in poop, which a dude was picking up, with bare hands, in giant mounds and stuffing in a huge canvas sack, and carrying up the hill to fertilize the little field. And he probably fed the cow what he grew, so the cow could make more poop. It was a brick factory because they also mixed the poop with dried grass and packed it into bricks, and they had both pre-brick clumps but also bricks and next to them a building made with the bricks. I bet your house kinda smells when it rains.

The masks on the walls, and hanging from the ceiling!

Oh San Simon. You are so comical. Why are you smoking?

Guy packing cow crap in his bag. Sick.

Brick-shaped clumps hanging out on the ground...

Poop-bricks!

And the finished product, a poop-brick building!

On the way down I saw the largest plant I've ever seen. The leaves were wider than my body and taller than me. After we headed down we gathered together after wandering the markets a bit, to go have some din-din (thats not a Guatemalan thing I just mean dinner...but come to think of it it was more like late lunch). Then we scooted out of town back from whence we came.

Us in the marketplace.

Probably my dad's favorite picture the whole trip: