Today we woke very late after last night's partying. A now very familiar feeling while on tour.
We have a boat ride which will take us across the lake to the village of San Juan.
We have a boat ride which will take us across the lake to the village of San Juan.
We are meant to arrive at 3pm, but before arriving at San Juan we have a 2 hour stop off at a hotel/resort spot, Which puts us half way between Panajachel & San Juan. The hotel is sitting on the mountain side suspended over the lake & ascends up the mountain in terraces. The gardens here are amazing & feature such a diverse & eclectic mix of plants. Everything from cactus to annual flowers in small pots, ferns, orchids & even air plants. It's plant porn at it's finest & a garden that anyone could admire. In between the plants & statues is little balconies with tables & chairs, benches & hammocks galore!
All of this offers lake side views & were sitting opposite 2 volcanoes that are frosted with clouds.
Tom & I order lunch here & eat one of the best meals we've had yet in Guatemala & it was so cheap!
G adventures & a company called Planeterra work with this community to provide an income that will support their authentic & traditional way of life. This support provides opportunities so that the people don't feel like they need to leave & move to the city to survive.
We are all staying with an individual family who will feed us & look after us overnight. Tom & I are both thrilled to experience this & support a local community.
Suzie, our tour guide, being the legend that she is has put Tom & I with a family that have 2 little girls!
We met Lourdes first who is the lady of the house. She has a kind face & is wearing beautiful traditional clothing for Guatemalan women, which is a lacy top, a long woven skirt of bright colours & patterns that is clinched at the waist by a thick woven belt.
She has brought her youngest daughter Catarina to collect us & Catarina wastes no time before grabbing my hand as we walk home. Lourdes lives in a small house at the back of the town which allows us a tour past the school, church, many shops & coffee plantations.
Once we arrive at their house, we are shown our room which is comfortable, secure, clean & more than I was expecting. We also meet Catarina's older sister who is called Marisol.
We haven't been there long before we leave again & head back into town to meet back up with the group & begin our township tour.
Our first stop is to a shop where 40 women work in a cooperation to traditionally weave products & sell them. We are given a demonstration & education before being set free in the shop.
The cotton starts off all natural & raw in colours of brown or white.
The first step is to clean the cotton & remove seeds. White cotton has a lot of seeds, which they replant the seeds. The next step is to gently separate it in small amounts & lay it on a pillow.
Then they hit the spread out cotton with sticks for 25 minutes to soften it.
Once soft, they use a bobbin to twist the fibres of the cotton to generate a thread.
The next step is to dye the thread using natural ingredients such as bark, insects, leaves, fruit & flowers. They boil the ingredient with the cotton to transfer the colour.
Amazingly the colours are very vivid & the precision of colour is amazing. There is 2 different plants that we were shown which leaves produce an indigo & a violet colour. However harvesting the leaves from these plants on the full moon will give a totally different & much darker colour. How amazing!!
There was colours of blue, black, yellow, brown, orange & pink. It is truly an art & so much knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation.
When dying the cotton they use sap from banana leaves because it is sticky & helps the colour bind with the cotton. The sap is applied before & after colouring.
The colouring is instant & the cotton only needs to be dipped into the pre boiled dye water. It's totally natural & amazingly, once the dyed cotton has been sealed with the banana leaf sap, it won't stain or run. After being dyed they dry it on a rack.
It is then sorted into a pattern, depending on what they intend to weave will dictate what pattern & how many loops & crosses will be needed. Once this step is complete the pattern can be carefully lifted & be attached to the loom.
This technique is passed down through generations. Everybody is truly impressed by everything we have learned & the amazing products the women have made. Everyone leaves with a purchased item in hand & I can tell Suzie is very emotional about our eagerness to support the women.
Our next stop is to learn about an association for women who work as midwives & healers, using medicinal plants. Traditional Mayan healers.
There is 15 women who work using plants to make products such as soaps, while 5 work as full time healers giving free assistance to the community. They actually have a medical accreditation & will refer patients to doctors if they can't help them.
We saw a very small selection of the plants they use & we were given an explanation on how they work & why.
A few examples are:
Sage, which is used to help soothe a sore throat, prevent snoring & improve a man's sexual performance.
Calo de cabalo is used for Vaginal infections or pylonephritis & is an anti inflammatory.
Purple basil is used to normalize blood pressure.
Ishbot is used to help lactation.
Yarrow is used to prevent mosquitos & to soothe mosquito bites. It can also be used to heal superficial wounds or pimples.
Ruda is used by shamans to cleanse & bless people. It's also a shampoo that is made here.
Mint is used to prevent parasites here or for mojitos!
Altamimiza, is similar to chamomile & helps soothe migraines or relax someone.
Orozuz is similar to liquorice but has a sweeter flavour & helps to heal bronchitis. I don't like liquorice, but this was yum!
Aloe Vera is used for healing burns & preventing scars.
It was all very fascinating. Tom & I left a donation in the box for the healers.
Stop number 3 was a cooperative of 25 artists from the local village representing their culture in art form. There are 2 very distinct styles that can be seen. One style is that of a birds eye view looking down. The other style is looking up from the ground.
Tom & I were right in our element here standing amongst the vibrant & colourful art. We left with 2 new paintings to add to our ever growing art collection.
The next place was the towns church which was founded in 1618 AD & was originally made of mud & grass bricks. Natural disaster has destroyed a lot of the original church & a very small amount is now left. The church has been rebuilt & made significantly bigger as the local population grew & 85% are Catholic & the other 15% are Angelical. Most recent re-build was completed in 2015.
Finally, our last stop on the township tour which was the chocolate factory. Factory is a pretty dramatic word though, for such a modest, local endeavour. Guatemala has 4 different types of cacao.
The cacao is dried out in banana leaves for 1 month with minimal movement.
Following this they are roasted for 15 minutes & then they separate the beans from the husk by hand.
The husks are then used to make cacao tea, which is very rich in Vitamins, fibre & minerals. It's been known to elevate energy & even help to relieve diarrhoea.
The beans are then hand ground into a paste & then molasses is added to the paste. 20 grams of molasses is added to 100 grams of cacao. Orange juice is then added to help with fermentation which takes 1 month.
After fermentation, milk is added along with flavours such as nuts or spice. The milk percentage affects how bitter the chocolate will taste. Of course Tom & I supported this local business as well & brought some chocolate. We ate it as we were leaving the shop & it was not like any other chocolate we had ever tried. You could taste the raw & natural flavours.
After the chocolate tour, we walked back along the main street to the main square, where we are given back to our host families.
Lourdes isn't waiting for us, but her husband Pedro is. We walk back to his house, exchanging a few bits of information. He knows a small amount of English & we know a small amount of Spanish, a surprising amount, now that we have to use it.
Once back at the house, we shower & then attempt to help Lourdes make tortillas by clapping the dough between our hands into a round circle. We have a lottttttt of practise to do! Tom's is an awkward shape & is thick in some areas & super thin in other areas. After 4 claps, I accidentally throw my dough ball onto the ground... yikes!
Pedro & Lourdes thought it was very funny watching us & because of me, the dog gets an extra tortilla for dinner. Dinner is a simple, yet delicious meal of tortillas, rice, beans, corn & fresh vegetables. Afterwards I help Lourdes with the dishes & then we all sit at the table & chat.
Amazingly we talk about a lot. Pedro's parents live close by & have 2 dogs, 1 of which has had puppies. Pedro works 5 days a week in a distribution centre & on Saturdays he works on the mountains farming. They also own their own land & grow coffee & corn.
Lourdes does some weaving & sells clothes. On Sundays they go to church & are Catholic.
The girls both attend the local school & because of the extra income from hosting tourists as part of the Planterra project, they can afford a good education for them.
Sadly, a lot of the time in countries like this, unless you are wealthy, there's no need to allow your daughter to continue her secondary education. She's only going to grow up & have kids. It's really nice to know where the money goes & see the difference.
Pedro & Lourdes are extremely gracious, thanking us multiple times for staying.
It's eventually time for bed & we say goodnight. It's another early start tomorrow, only without a crippling hangover.
- Alli
It was a sad moment when we boarded the boat & left this little lake side luxury behind.
We arrived at San Juan shortly after this. It's a tiny community town on the lakeside that has kept a lot of it's original charm & lifestyle. 
G adventures & a company called Planeterra work with this community to provide an income that will support their authentic & traditional way of life. This support provides opportunities so that the people don't feel like they need to leave & move to the city to survive.
We are all staying with an individual family who will feed us & look after us overnight. Tom & I are both thrilled to experience this & support a local community.
Suzie, our tour guide, being the legend that she is has put Tom & I with a family that have 2 little girls!
We met Lourdes first who is the lady of the house. She has a kind face & is wearing beautiful traditional clothing for Guatemalan women, which is a lacy top, a long woven skirt of bright colours & patterns that is clinched at the waist by a thick woven belt.
She has brought her youngest daughter Catarina to collect us & Catarina wastes no time before grabbing my hand as we walk home. Lourdes lives in a small house at the back of the town which allows us a tour past the school, church, many shops & coffee plantations.
Once we arrive at their house, we are shown our room which is comfortable, secure, clean & more than I was expecting. We also meet Catarina's older sister who is called Marisol.
We haven't been there long before we leave again & head back into town to meet back up with the group & begin our township tour.
The cotton starts off all natural & raw in colours of brown or white.
The first step is to clean the cotton & remove seeds. White cotton has a lot of seeds, which they replant the seeds. The next step is to gently separate it in small amounts & lay it on a pillow.
Then they hit the spread out cotton with sticks for 25 minutes to soften it.
Once soft, they use a bobbin to twist the fibres of the cotton to generate a thread.
The next step is to dye the thread using natural ingredients such as bark, insects, leaves, fruit & flowers. They boil the ingredient with the cotton to transfer the colour.
Amazingly the colours are very vivid & the precision of colour is amazing. There is 2 different plants that we were shown which leaves produce an indigo & a violet colour. However harvesting the leaves from these plants on the full moon will give a totally different & much darker colour. How amazing!!
There was colours of blue, black, yellow, brown, orange & pink. It is truly an art & so much knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation.
When dying the cotton they use sap from banana leaves because it is sticky & helps the colour bind with the cotton. The sap is applied before & after colouring.
The colouring is instant & the cotton only needs to be dipped into the pre boiled dye water. It's totally natural & amazingly, once the dyed cotton has been sealed with the banana leaf sap, it won't stain or run. After being dyed they dry it on a rack.
It is then sorted into a pattern, depending on what they intend to weave will dictate what pattern & how many loops & crosses will be needed. Once this step is complete the pattern can be carefully lifted & be attached to the loom.
This technique is passed down through generations. Everybody is truly impressed by everything we have learned & the amazing products the women have made. Everyone leaves with a purchased item in hand & I can tell Suzie is very emotional about our eagerness to support the women.
Our next stop is to learn about an association for women who work as midwives & healers, using medicinal plants. Traditional Mayan healers.
There is 15 women who work using plants to make products such as soaps, while 5 work as full time healers giving free assistance to the community. They actually have a medical accreditation & will refer patients to doctors if they can't help them.
We saw a very small selection of the plants they use & we were given an explanation on how they work & why.
Sage, which is used to help soothe a sore throat, prevent snoring & improve a man's sexual performance.
Calo de cabalo is used for Vaginal infections or pylonephritis & is an anti inflammatory.
Purple basil is used to normalize blood pressure.
Ishbot is used to help lactation.
Yarrow is used to prevent mosquitos & to soothe mosquito bites. It can also be used to heal superficial wounds or pimples.
Ruda is used by shamans to cleanse & bless people. It's also a shampoo that is made here.
Mint is used to prevent parasites here or for mojitos!
Altamimiza, is similar to chamomile & helps soothe migraines or relax someone.
Orozuz is similar to liquorice but has a sweeter flavour & helps to heal bronchitis. I don't like liquorice, but this was yum!
Aloe Vera is used for healing burns & preventing scars.
It was all very fascinating. Tom & I left a donation in the box for the healers.
Stop number 3 was a cooperative of 25 artists from the local village representing their culture in art form. There are 2 very distinct styles that can be seen. One style is that of a birds eye view looking down. The other style is looking up from the ground.
Tom & I were right in our element here standing amongst the vibrant & colourful art. We left with 2 new paintings to add to our ever growing art collection.
The next place was the towns church which was founded in 1618 AD & was originally made of mud & grass bricks. Natural disaster has destroyed a lot of the original church & a very small amount is now left. The church has been rebuilt & made significantly bigger as the local population grew & 85% are Catholic & the other 15% are Angelical. Most recent re-build was completed in 2015.
Finally, our last stop on the township tour which was the chocolate factory. Factory is a pretty dramatic word though, for such a modest, local endeavour. Guatemala has 4 different types of cacao.
The cacao is dried out in banana leaves for 1 month with minimal movement.
Following this they are roasted for 15 minutes & then they separate the beans from the husk by hand.
The husks are then used to make cacao tea, which is very rich in Vitamins, fibre & minerals. It's been known to elevate energy & even help to relieve diarrhoea.
The beans are then hand ground into a paste & then molasses is added to the paste. 20 grams of molasses is added to 100 grams of cacao. Orange juice is then added to help with fermentation which takes 1 month.
After fermentation, milk is added along with flavours such as nuts or spice. The milk percentage affects how bitter the chocolate will taste. Of course Tom & I supported this local business as well & brought some chocolate. We ate it as we were leaving the shop & it was not like any other chocolate we had ever tried. You could taste the raw & natural flavours.
After the chocolate tour, we walked back along the main street to the main square, where we are given back to our host families.
Lourdes isn't waiting for us, but her husband Pedro is. We walk back to his house, exchanging a few bits of information. He knows a small amount of English & we know a small amount of Spanish, a surprising amount, now that we have to use it.
Once back at the house, we shower & then attempt to help Lourdes make tortillas by clapping the dough between our hands into a round circle. We have a lottttttt of practise to do! Tom's is an awkward shape & is thick in some areas & super thin in other areas. After 4 claps, I accidentally throw my dough ball onto the ground... yikes!
Pedro & Lourdes thought it was very funny watching us & because of me, the dog gets an extra tortilla for dinner. Dinner is a simple, yet delicious meal of tortillas, rice, beans, corn & fresh vegetables. Afterwards I help Lourdes with the dishes & then we all sit at the table & chat.
Amazingly we talk about a lot. Pedro's parents live close by & have 2 dogs, 1 of which has had puppies. Pedro works 5 days a week in a distribution centre & on Saturdays he works on the mountains farming. They also own their own land & grow coffee & corn.
Lourdes does some weaving & sells clothes. On Sundays they go to church & are Catholic.
The girls both attend the local school & because of the extra income from hosting tourists as part of the Planterra project, they can afford a good education for them.
Sadly, a lot of the time in countries like this, unless you are wealthy, there's no need to allow your daughter to continue her secondary education. She's only going to grow up & have kids. It's really nice to know where the money goes & see the difference.
Pedro & Lourdes are extremely gracious, thanking us multiple times for staying.
It's eventually time for bed & we say goodnight. It's another early start tomorrow, only without a crippling hangover.
- Alli
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