Monthly Archives: April 2005

In Antigua

By Tien Chiu | Published: April 30, 2005
After a happily uneventful bus trip, I´ve arrived in Antigua. Antigua, about an hour out of Guatemala City, is the Guatemalan equivalent of Bangkok´s Khao San Road–which is to say, it’s paved in tourists, loud dance music, and people selling completely random stuff at overinflated prices. I think the gringos must outnumber the local people. And what, [...]
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Off to Antigua

By Tien Chiu | Published: April 30, 2005
Just a quick note to say that my fever has FINALLY broken, and I’m no longer waking up in the middle of the night with chills, groping for the extra blanket and acetominephen. It is SO nice not to have to pop pills every few hours to stay coherent. And I have more energy, which [...]
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San Francisco El Alto, Cantel, and the Holy Grail

By Tien Chiu | Published: April 29, 2005
Today I got up early and went off to the San Francisco El Alto market with Carlos the English speaking guide. The San Francisco El Alto market is the biggest Sunday market in Guatemala, and is particularly known for its stock sales–it’s the biggest animal market in Central America. (Hallelujah!! I have finally found the apostrophe [...]
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Totonicapan

By Tien Chiu | Published: April 28, 2005
Totonicapan: the capital of Totonicapan province. Not a particularly impressive town, but then very few towns in Guatemala are–the biggest city is Guatemala City at 300,000, and the next down is Xela (Quetzaltenango), where I´m staying. Xela has 150,000 people, and doesn´t really “feel” like a city to me. The winding alleys are nubbly with [...]
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quick note

By Tien Chiu | Published: April 28, 2005
Found my English-speaking guide today! and got half of the textiles tour I wanted. Going to San Francisco el Alto market tomorrow, it´s the biggest market in Guatemala. Sunday I go back out into the village to talk to more artisans (with a trilingual guide!). Thrilled with everything, but I´m fighting off flu, and the Internet [...]
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