Fútbol and the Market at Chichicastenango

On Saturday evening, at 6:00 PM, everything in Guatemala stopped! Why? The soccer game between Guatemala and Mexico, of course! Some of us watched it at a bar. The word is that Baltazar Reyes of our group was the only one in the place rooting for Mexico, and his companions were afraid for his life! Others of us watched it at our guest house. They set up a table for us in front of the television, so we could have dinner and watch at the same time. Every time someone made a goal, Jean-Pierre Bitchoka shouted loudly enough to be heard in the central plaza, five blocks away! In the top photo, you see Eric Cuadra, two women who run the guest house, Kelly Hernandez, and Jean-Pierre Bitchoka, as well as our dinner of tamales. By the way, Mexico won, 2-1.

On every tourist's list of places to go in Guatemala is the market at Chichicastenango, which happens on Sunday mornings. It is a massive market - streets and streets of wares, mostly aimed at tourists, but the regular market of provisions and supplies for people who live here is here and there amidst the tourist stuff. It's a real experience to see the market, and the three of us who went had a great time, and did some gift shopping. The rest of the group stayed in Antigua, shot B-roll, and otherwise had a less demanding day.