I love the market! I am a bit shy taking pictures though. I feel self-conscious whipping out a camera and taking photos of fruit! :D
There is always so much to see at the market, and even more so on Sundays when they close the street and set up even MORE booths. It's fun to just wander through and gawk at all the stuff.
This guy sits on the side of the market road and chops up this weird piece of wood. Each circle has neat patterns in the wood. No one I talked to seems to know if it's just for decoration or if it has a more significant purpose.
One of my favourite vendors. You can see the awesome strawberries right in front. Her sheet was blowing down over her head!
I love the beautiful clothes the women wear and the fancy headwraps. And so much talent and excellent posture to carry baskets full of food on your head!
If you don't feel like cutting your own fruit, you can get it pre-chopped.
Also check out the sapotes at the bottom right. :)
Many types of fresh fruits. This guys has different types of apples on the bottom row there, which is actually kinda rare around here, plus the first mangos of the season. They're the yellow things in the front of the basket at the bottom on the red crate. There aren't any big red & green mangos yet but soon!
Inside the market building are more vendors selling fruits and veggies and many other things.
One of the butchers. Stinky!
And near to the butchers... flowers to make things less stinky!
Mountains of veggies.
Seeds and nuts and spices and mysterious bags of things.
Back outside in the sunshine, baskets of yummies.
I didn't take any pictures of the fishmongers cuz I was too shy. They have a wide variety of fish from the ocean, plus octopus, crabs, LOADS of big shrimp, and the freshwater fish and crabs from the lake.
Inside the market building are also "regular" stores selling all sorts of things.
Shoes. Lots of shoes. Guatemalans love shoes!
They have tiendas that sell all the pantry items, plus hardware stores. You can find almost anything!
A gift store in the market.
And when you're exhausted from all that shopping, you can get chicken and fries!
One day when I'm more brave, I'll take a video of a walking through the market, inside and out. Then you can hear the noises as well. I wish I could record the smells too! Such an immersive experience.
Had such a great day today! Smiled for almost all of it. Here are some pics to show you what life is like in Panajachel, Guatemala... or at least what my life is like! Your experience may vary. It may be even MORE awesome! :D
Look who followed Bert home! It's Gimpy! If you don't remember him, check out my blog about him by clicking here.
He's such a loveable goofball.
Going for a walkies. Gimpy stayed with us for a few days, then got a ride up to the vet's to get his nuggets removed,
then he's going back to his family.
"I'm so handsome."
One of these flowers is not like the other.
At what point is it appropriate for me to go "nyah nyah nyah" to my friends back in Canada?
This is Derpy. I love him but he won't let me pet him. He's a stray that comes into our yard sometimes.
Kira, our landlord's cat!
So many animals in our yard!
This morning the Gadget-cat came to eat breakfast with The Kittens. He is very elusive but I got a picture.
A delicious breakfast at Mister Jon's Restaurant on Santander.
This is a sapote.
The inside of the sapote. It was very creamy, sweet, slightly stringy. I don't think I really liked it.
It kinda tasted like a sweet squash. The taste was hard to describe.
Real Canadian maple syrup at Chalo's!! That's 500ml for Q101.50 or about $18.10 Canadian. Tempting.
Went down to the Lake to watch the sunset. Lovely, as always.
Pachi loves to play in the water! She's such an adorable weirdo.
Video of her romping over at my YouTube channel.
Tropical trees and a lovely sunset at Lake Atitlan.
We've been going through a bit of a hard run lately but when I step outside into the sunshine and hear the birds singing, when I cuddle my kitty, Willow, when I watch goofy Pachi running on the beach, when Bert buys me a package of cookies to cheer me up... all of that makes my heart happy. :)
My original intention for this post was to show a video of a Mayan speaking Kaqchikel, which is the native language spoken on this side of Lake Atitlan. To me, it sounds very much like a Canadian First Nations language and it is fascinating to hear the local ladies at the market chattering away to each other.
While I was looking for a video spoken in Kaqchikel, I came across a bunch of videos from Mayan Families with interviews of the people they have helped... and are still helping!
I have many lovely friends who work or volunteer at Mayan Families, which is well-known non-profit organization here in Panajachel. Mayan Families offers a wide range of programs to help Guatemalan people of all ages, plus they have a large yard full of dogs that need adopting.
So now this post has three purposes: to let you hear what Kaqchikel sounds like, to help you understand the life of an elderly Mayan woman here in the Western Highlands, and to connect you to a great charity in Guatemala.
I apologize that this woman's story is quite sad. I'm not trying to make you cry or make you feel obligated to rush over to Mayan Families' website and give away all your money... although any donations to them would be greatly appreciated, of course!
There are people struggling all over the world, even in Canada. I remember feeling quite a bit of disdain for homeless beggars in Canada. I would think, "Get a job! There are lots of jobs!" To be quite honest, I don't think my mindset has changed much in that regard. In fact, it might be even more "politically incorrect" now. I see the way some Mayans live, the suffering, the poverty, the hunger, and it is hard to think of going back to Canada and giving a toonie to a young man begging by the Mac's who will probably buy cigarettes and a coffee. Two dollars would buy a lot of tortillas here in Pana!
Anyway, sorry if I appear disdainful or rude or ... hmm, what's the word I'm looking for? Those people who won't let you enjoy your ice cream because children are starving in Africa? Is there a word for that? :) All I'm saying is try to realize what you have, and even more so realize what others don't have and what they need and if you can help them at all, even if in the tiniest way.
Bert gives away quetzals all the time to people on the street. He has a soft heart! Sometimes I get cross with him because I know we need that money for our own food. But it's hard to tell someone to stop being generous. :)
Me, I try to help when I can, even if it just by buying lower quality avocados from the elderly lady with a cloth on the ground at the market rather than buying the big shiny avocados at the Despensa. I don't have a lot of money either but I know what I have is more than most, and I am grateful.
I hope this video opens your eyes to the Mayan lifestyle, opens your ears to the Kaqchikel language, and opens your heart to people everywhere.
