Trip to Totonicapan

Our adventurous friends, the Meadows, took us on a trip up to a little town in the mountains named Totonicapan on October 31, which for the people here it is the day before 'Dia de los Muertos'.  We saw flower sellers everywhere as their custom for this holiday is to decorate the graves of their ancestors.

There was one whole alley devoted to all kinds of flowers.  We couldn't resist and bought huge bunches of chrysanthemums, pulled up by the roots for only $1.50.

This cute little lady was selling this whole bunch of leaves right outside her door and wouldn't cut the bunch to give us just one leaf so she went inside the house and got one more to give us.  She matches her colorful leaves, don't you think?

More colorful flowers.  We learned that this holiday is more of a family day where the extended family gets together and enjoys traditional foods, sharing memories and decorating the graves.  Our temple attendance was not so high on Saturday which was the first day of this celebration.

The women are so practical to find a way to carry huge loads on their heads making their hands free to hold more things.  Usually they have a child tied on their backs too.

This is the local laundry mat in Totonipacan where the women stand in the water and rub their clothes on the washboard type blocks on the sides of the pool.  Notice the clean laundry spread out on the grass to dry.  No wonder their hands are so calloused working in that cold water!

Every day is an adventure and we have just had a taste of the 'Quetzaltenango Quick-step' which sent us to our bed and kept us close to the bathroom.  We hope our systems are adjusted now and we won't have a repeat of this.  Not fun!!!  But we do love it here.  

Well, I can't seem to get this program to upload any more photos so I guess I have reached my limit.  Hasta Luego!