We were up at out usual 6 am and Don made us a cup of hot tea thanks to Susan and her heating element! It works like a charm Susan. The water really boils and quickly. We have a cup of tea in the evening and it is a bit of heaven. I just wish we could heat the shower water as quickly and as hot! Oh well, If wishes were horses beggars would ride.
This Sunday the family slept in really late so we took ourselves off to McDonalds for the big breakfast of square eggs, sausage, hash browns, and English muffin and water. Knowing the family would be up we headed back for the house and had second breakfast at the house of left over rice with a small piece of chicken. Everyone began to prepare for the Sunday morning Mayan event we were invited to attend in honor of daughter, Sandra.
When everyone was ready to leave we all piled into the car to be driven up part way to the ceremonial site on top of a mini-mountain. As people gathered we walked around just a bit and took in the antique building. When they were ready we started up the mountain. It is an honor to be invited.
The trip up was not as hard as the climb up to the volcano but it was no picnic either. I took it slow and made it up to the site still able to speak. Don inquired about taking pictures of the Mayan ceremony and was told it was not allowed so we can only give a verbal accounting of the ceremony. We did not understand the Spanish that was being spoken but the Mayan people are a very caring people and they made sure by signs and words that we understood what was expected of us. We participated the best we could and tried not to be intrusive or to stand out more than we already did by being Americans.
We had to sign in at the top and were given our Nahuales, which is like a horoscope, or sign and describes who you are by your birth date. The first 2 hours was an attempt to educate the young people on Mayan beliefs and customs. The Mayan people are trying hard to maintain their identity. The Mayans were forced to convert to Catholicism many years ago and like many cultures preserving itself many are Catholic in name only. Such is the case with our family. They have a Mayan altar in the house.
Today´s ceremony was to honor Sandra and three other girls the same age. It was a ceremony to remind everyone of their connection to the heavens, the winds, and the earth. All of us were seated under a couple of tents. Hortensia had said to bring our umbrellas and they did indeed come in handy as the sun was very strong out in the open. After the first two hours we concluded under the tent with everyone standing up and being grouped by their Nahuales. We had attended a lecture on Nahuales (with a translator) so we had some idea of the things that were being said.
We then moved to ceremony around a fire circle. Inside the circle a Mayan ´priest´had been saying prayers and had set the fire circle up with large candles on the outer edges. The candles and their colors have significance to the Mayan. We were given several in different colors to put into the fire as the ceremony continued. We were also given earth, incense, and something sweet to put into the fire. We could not ask questions about the significance of the ceremony and we were the only non0Mayans in attendance so we decided it was best not to ask questions.
When the ceremony was complete all of the people there were fed a marvelous beef vegetable soup. It had a most clear broth with carrots, potatoes, quisquilla, and cabbage and was really delicious. We were also offered more of their corn tortilla/tamales but I declined because my blood sugar was a bit high. Most of the foods we eat are starch so it is a good thing Hortensia limits my portions but that means I am often hungry way before Don is.
We walked back down the mountain with little Michelle and her parents. It was much easier going down the mountain let me tell you. It was extremely steep in places and worked the knees and ankles. My ankle is getting a lot of exercise so my personal PT will be happy about that. Hortensia stayed behind to help with the cleaning up. We actually took a nap when we got back to the house. It was some hike for a Sunday.
After our rest we headed out to hunt and gather more food for our dinner. We needed a place we could study till the 7 pm Mass at the Cathedral. We thought Hortensia need to be free of the duty of providing an evening meal for us so we found ´a hamburger of a different color´at a little place Don and Juan haunt for chocolate con leche. They were tasty and no funky stomach developed from eating there. We left the restaurant and discovered Parque Central absolutely alive with people and 3 marching bands. There were food stalls and other vendor stalls all over the place. It was an amazing sight to see so many people out at that time of day. We went to Mass and discovered that not knowing the language was not really a problem---we could´t hear a word over the fireworks!!!! There is a challenge to following the Mass because there are some subtle bits that we miss and therefore we loose track of where we are during the Mass. The sound system echos so badly that deciphering the language is nearly impossible.
