Monthly Archives: February 2025

Well, what’s to say but nothing less than spectacular, a treasure trove of textiles, art, vintage jewelry, and a cultural immersion experience. THIS is the famed Chichicastenango market, a warren of stalls almost as complex as the souk in Marrakech.

It took about three hours to get there from Antigua, not much compared to the five hours more to Coban, where we are now and on our way to visit famed pikbil weaver Amalia Gue.

If you would like to come with us in 2026, please send an email to get on the interested list.

For now, photos:

We are doing a walking tour with Olga and I’m straggling because of the treacherous ancient cobblestones on the streets, using my two hiking poles for balance. An indigenous woman and her sister come up from behind. She greets me in English: Hello, and welcome to Guatemala. I ask her how she learned such perfect English. She says she is a professor of linguistics at Tulane University. She hosts students in her village of Santa Maria Jesus near the volcano for six weeks each summer. They come to learn Maya. They are carrying two bundles. Eric asks if she has textiles in the bundles. No, she says, but she is part of a cooperative. I ask her is she would like to come to our hotel at five o’clock for an expoventa. Yes! She says. This is what we found when she arrived. A treasure trove of huipiles from various communities. Plus she explained the meaning of the cloth designs, and talked about the difficulties for women and girls in the culture.

Here are photos for you to enjoy. And if you want to come with us to Guatemala in 2026, send me an email.

Zona 1 is about a twenty minute taxi ride from the more upscale Zona 10 where we are staying at the Hyatt Centric, which has been very accommodating. (I’m still trying to figure out the conversion rate for USD.) I’m traveling with Carol Estes and Mike Schroeder who are on our tour that starts tonight in Antigua. We came three days early to explore this city, which is magnificent.

The Guatemala Cathedral and the Central Market, two blocks away, were our destinations. Not as impressive as Templo Santo Domingo in Oaxaca, the Cathedral nevertheless demonstrates the power of the Conquest, massive and containing images of European saints.

The market is a vast, packed, dense warren of aisles packed with food stalls, comedors, and artisan craft and textiles from around the country.

We may return to Guatemala in 2026 IF there are enough people interesting in traveling with us here. Please send an email to express your interest.

After our meander, we had lunch at El Adobe, a delicious and traditional restaurant three blocks from the Cathedral. The day before, we ate at their sister restaurant in Zona 10. We had no trouble going back since the food was so delicious and reasonably priced.