Momostenango

I leave for the beach in about two hours...yay! I'm ready for some warm weather and a somewhat more relaxing weekend than I've had in a while. I'd be alot happier though if we knew we had a couple more people going. I've been organizing the trip, and for one reason or another the group has been hemorrhaging people who had either committed fully or told me they were all but sure they'd come. We're down to five now, which is making the cost/person of the minibus that we're renting alot higher than anticipated. The latest blow was that one of our group got robbed by someone staying in his hotel last night, and can't afford to go now. I guess I shouldn't stress out too much; it's only about $40 per person for the transport, but here you can do a whole lot with that much. Anyhow, more updates when I get back. In the meantime, I wanted to at least post a brief summary (and some pictures) of the trip I took last Sunday. We went to Momostenango, a city about an hour and a half from Xela. They were having a huge city-wide fiesta to celebrate the day of San Felipe, the city's patron saint. (The fiesta lasts for about 10 days.....these people know how to party) On the way we stopped to spend a little time with a family who weaves traditional Mayan carpets, blankets, clothing, etc. Spinning the raw wool into thread. Various colors of dyed wool waiting to be used on the looms. The largest loom, about 8-9 feet across. They made us tortillas over the fire that rival any I've ever had. They also made a tea out of cinnamon and a grain that they toast (something like wheat....) that was pretty amazing. A formation of eroded sandstone outside Momos. Streamers adorning a building on the town square. A float of San Felipe carried in the parade. Dances, using caricature-like masks.....unless I'm mistaken many of the dances were poking fun at gringos, specifically the Spanish. One of the dances featured overblown caricatures of white people in ridiculous European-style clothing...clown-sized ties, etc. My god they set off a lot of fireworks. The noise was deafenening much of the time. Here, the remnants litter the ground.