the Almolonga Saturday morning market!

The market in Almolonga and the Church in the background.
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My wake-up call on Saturday morning came from the nibbling sound of what turned out to be 2 little mice in my bungalow.  I´m glad they were cute and little. And the rat problem from a couple of years ago in my house definitely desensitized me a bit to the whole issue of "ratones" (this was the rat problem that had all of the food stored in a bathroom for several weeks and which ended in little Rowan furiously killing the rat by shaking it to death - a sight to see, definitely, but not one I ever want to repeat) - so, yes, a bit desensitized to the rodent issue.

A nice little view in Almolonga.
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After a wonderful breakfast of "hotcake" and cafe, which, as you can imagine, came much too slowly for my "I walk to the coffee pot and pour a cup that was made by my automatic coffee maker straight from my bed routine" (those of you who have attempted ever to have a conversation with me pre-coffee understand the situation).

a good lesson - remember where you got OFF the bus so you can remember how to get back ON!

I headed to Almolonga for their Saturday morning market.  This required a little walk to Zunil, past many many little plots of land, mostly on very steep moutainsides, where people grow all kinds of things - but I think mainly carrots, herbs, lettuce, and tomatoes.  In Zunil I learned a good lesson - remember where you got OFF the bus so that you can remember how to get back ON.  After a couple of "conversations" with people which consisted of "donde esta la camioneta a almolonga" I was on my way.

Some beauty and some trash in Almolonga.
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I was definitely the only "gringa" in Almolonga.  The market mainly consisted of lots and lots of vegetables and flowers and was absolutely gorgeous.  It was right in the plaza in front of the iglesia.  At several points my pausing to look around a bit got me gently nudged out of the way - usually by the HUGE bundles of carrots the men carried on their backs, held fast by a band around the front of their heads or by the baskets the women carried on their heads.  The church doors were open, so I went inside and got a little respite from the busy-ness of just outside.

A picture of some of the flower bundles the women carry on their heads to take to the Almolonga market.
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After the market in Almolonga I headed back to Zunil where I got a cold coca cola and sat in the plaza there in front of the iglesia for a while.  Then I had read about the women´s textile cooperative and set out to find it.  Bought a couple of little wallets and realized then that I didn´t have a whole lot of quetzales (Guatemalan money) and that I needed to conserve to make sure I could eat for the day and the next and find my way back to Xela.  But I decided I would return to the cooperative this week and try to do some of the shopping that Fay asked me to do for Greenbough.  And it turns out, I will be able to return there with a group from the school on one of the trips the school has planned on Wednesday - perfecto!!

La iglesia in Zunil.
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From Zunil I headed back toward the hotel and sat out on the patio with one of the TOO MANY books I brought with me.  I think I will be leaving some at this school for their library.

Saturday night was just relaxing, with a quick jump in and out of the sauna - I´m a wimp, some yoga, and just sitting looking at the surrounding moutains with all their plots of small farms growing vegetables in perfect rows.