Guatemala Trip Report #3

the group left antigua in the morning heading to the solola traditional market. this was our very first chance to do some market research- finding out what was being sold, at what price, and how they were marketed. this was an amazing time- really got a good sense of the mayans and their culture. i was wow-ed by the vibrancy of it all.

things sold: lots of food, poultry, distinct textiles/fabric, produce, etc. everything under the sun. when we went, the market was extremely packed- lots of hustle and bustle- my goal was to look for local honey being sold- or other food related products that required honey as an ingredient. it was also interesting to see how things were marketed, and how it was run

lots of fresh fruits and vegetables sold in large baskets

food/snacks were sold everywhere- we tried some fresh black corn tortillas, and also a very colorful set of candy that i think was dairy/sugar based.

chickens sold for approx one us dollar

ladies making fresh tortillas- note their outfit and patterns- i think luzmi mentioned that each village had their own distinct design. all the textiles sold were hand loomed and immensely gorgeous

honey find #1: i couldn't find any honey in the outdoor stalls, but i was lucky enough to stumble across someone who owned a small stall inside the indoor market- which was a conglomerate of small groceries, meat stands, and shoe sales. the local honey he had was packaged in a red label johnny walker bottle- which seems to be what small bee-keepers use to package their honey. they sold for around 40Q, however, the store owner mentioned that the honey bear bottles were sold more frequently due to its small size and also, its cheaper price. Also, during the summer time, the beekeepers from pasajquim come the the market themselves to sell their honey- without need for a middle man. He also mentioned that the honey was used for medicinal and cooking purposes.

this was the nice store owner and his son who let us take some pictures, and also helped us a bit with our research.

this meat stall is part of the indoor meat market- which is a long line of various stalls which sells different kinds of meat.

this is the second market we attended after solola- which was a bit smaller- however, just as diverse and interesting. We went to various stalls and stands to look for this elusive local honey

what we found was a consistent stock of "honey bear" which sold for 10-15Q. the "honey bear" is such a nostalgic icon- people usually tend to stick to what they know- therefore it sells more.

A storeowner mentioned to us that they saw local honey being sold in front of the village church. Stefano, mallika, diana and i ventured into that direction in hopes to make a find...

after the second market research- we arrived to pana, a beautiful beautiful city where we had lunch. this is where we would evenutually take the boat to luzmi's house.

the centrifuge has been everywhere and seen so many things

beautiful and amazing boatride- we had some trouble with lack of gas and weight issues from all the baggage, but i didn't mind. in fact, i was quite oblivious. the view was amazing

arrival! docked! and centrifuge set into several pieces.

we had a long day. luzmi's place was incredible. the weather was perfect, the volcanoes were beautiful, and the view was unbelievable. we set camp and headed out to dinner- where i found some local honey being sold in a small store....