Guatemala (we speak no americano)

First thing is first:  open THIS in a new browser to listen to as background music.  Then proceed.  

Its been practically a month since we got back from Guatemala and we have not whispered a word about it!  This may just be part one (aka Caryn’s account), which may or may not be followed by part two (aka Alison’s account).

So yes- we were in Guatemala for around 9 days over Christmas time, spending time with Wendy, Louis, their 1 1/2 year old Edwardo  and other family members.  Wendy is a friend of Alison’s family- she lived with them for 3 months during a Canada world youth exchange. 

We spent 3 days in Xela (where Wendy and Louis live), then 3 days at the coast, then a couple of days in Antigua.  Each place was very different from the last.  A very diverse trip.  Lots of fun.

Instead of boring you with many words, here are some pictures :)

Christmas decorations- This frosty looked a little out of place to say the least.  In Xela, where we first stayed, it was around 5 or 10 degrees in the morning/night, but got up to about 25 during the days.

In Xela we visited the Cementerio General, which is a large and sprawling cemetery, full of colorful headstones and family crypts.  According to legend, Vanushca Cárdenas Barajas was a gypsy girl who fell in love with a wealthy young Spaniard. However his parents forbade the union, and Vanushca died of a broken heart when this boy was sent to Spain (and she was told that he had died). People visit Vanushca’s grave and offer flowers or will paint her grave, with hopes that she will help them with love favors or other things.  Her grave is covered in graffiti recording these requests.

 Ralph, Katherine, Alison and I in the cemetery.  The cemetery's outer wall is a continuous row of tombs stacked four high, and painted a variety of colors.  There were many local people around in the graveyard, cleaning, decorating and 'flowering' their family members graves and tombs.  This is very common for people in Guatemala to do before Christmas.

 This was a church in Antigua, at night.  I know nothing else about it- but i thought it was beautiful.  There is a lot of spanish architecture in Antigua... it is a very cool place!

 A picture of Wendy, Her mother in law, and Eduardo (who is adorable!).  Eduardo has one speed: RUN.  He is a very very sweet kid.

Alison, Kath, and I on Christmas Eve with our Scarves (which we wore quite a bit in Xela!)  It was cold at night- and their houses are made of cement- which keeps them quite cool during the day!

So back to the song:  I heard it frequently in Guatemala... and it definitely got stuck in my head for the entire flight(s) back to Canada. 

Is it stuck in your head yet?