Chichicastenango Market Trip

The town of Chichicastenango (or simply "Chichi") is famous for its market on Thursdays and Sundays, and I had been wanting to check it out for awhile now just for kicks. It was another little item on my bucket list. Then, a couple of my best volunteer friends and I wanted to do something fun before working as tías in Semana Santa. Thus, we decided to do a little day trip to Chichi on the Sunday before Semana Santa. Lucky for us, Chichi is just a few hours away on the bus and before we knew it we were piling out into the sunshine and crowded market stalls of Chichi!

One of the fist things we saw was the Iglesia de Santo Tomás. Chichi is known for its intersection of indigenous and Catholic beliefs, and this church is kind of the face that. While obviously a Catholic building, many Mayan rituals occur on the famous front steps of this church. There are also a lot of Mayan offerings within the church. Standing on the steps, you can see the market spreading out in front of the church and filling the town square.

Iglesia de Santo Tomás

el mercado famoso de Chichi!

On the other end of the market is another little Catholic chapel church called the Capilla del Calvario. It's basically the same as the other church in form and function, just on a smaller scale.

Capillo del Calvario

Chichi continued to surprise us with one hidden gem after another. After the churches, we turned a corner and caught a glimpse of one incredibly colorful cemetery. I don't know much about this cultural tradition in Latin America, but from my uneducated perspective it sure seems like a wonderful way to view death- more of a focus on celebrating life instead of the loss.

wow, what a cemetery!

now that's a rocking (and really beautiful) tomb.

We wandered around the cemetery for a few minutes and then moved on. While strolling through the streets, we stumbled upon the brightly painted Arco Gucumatz. I was seeing all the things on my Chichi "wish list" faster than I could check them off!

After all the sight seeing in the sun, we took a lunch break to recharge and gear up for a few hours of SHOPPINGGGG. When I left NPH that morning, I wasn't particularly looking for anything in the market. I just wanted to go to experience it, to say I had been there, you know? BUT, by the end of the day, I found myself walking away with my arms full of an incredible quilt. Here's the back story. One thing that I absolutely love about Guatemala and will always remember are the amazing, vibrant fabrics with their cool patterns bursting with color. I think the fabric here is so incredibly BEAUTIFUL and different than anything we have in America. Awhile ago I had decided that I wanted to buy a blanket made out of a bunch of these fabric pieces as my "big" souvenir for the year. I knew it would be something really special to me. Okay, end of back story, back to Chichi. While I hadn't been looking to buy this said blanket/quilt in Chichi, I couldn't say no when I found a handmade one I liked for the (in my opinion) amazing steal of Q400, or about $50 USD. The sentimental value and memories this quilt will bring me for years to come made the purchase absolutely worth it! I was a little shocked by how many Q's I had just dropped when I had intended on spending ZERO. Ultimately though, I was really happy with my purchase. Now, every time I look at it, I love it more! I had to laugh when all the other girls made similar impulse and splurge purchases. We all ended up spending a lot more money than we had intended to that day, but it was for beautiful souvenirs and gifts that are going to be really special for the recipients. By the end of the day, we were all basically sprinting away from the market so we would stop spending money. It was a classic "girls' afternoon" with some of my favorite ladies and I loved it! :)

my quilt. yep, definitely worth it.

I am so glad we did the Chichi day trip! It was a wonderful, successful day in so many ways. Lots of laughs, lots of memories, even a beautiful souvenir... I was back at NPH by 5 PM. What more can you ask for form a day, seriously? I'm grateful for these little adventures with incredible people and hope more are in store for me during my last few months in Guat <3 :)