This weekend, Marissa and I joined our Guatemalan family on their annual family reunion. It was a fun and interesting experience, spending time with the family and learning how true Guatemalans travel (not a pack of 15 gringos).
The entire trip ran on Guatemalan time, which meant that instead of leaving the house at 7pm Friday night, as planned, we left at 7:20, and instead of departing Xela on the bus at 7:30pm, as planned, we rolled out around 8:30pm.
Just like most family vacations I’ve been a part of, leaving the house was a process, with people grabbing last minute items, rechecking to make sure certain doors are locked, other items are turned off, etc. In reality, it wasn’t all that crazy, especially since Jaqui, Patti and David’s youngest daughter (who couldn’t go because she had to work) was staying in the house all weekend.
We loaded up a pickup and headed to a park where our bus was waiting for us. It was basically a private chicken bus. The family has used this same driver for 14 years, so it is part of the tradition. Along with us we carried a TON of food, items for cooking food, serving food, etc. After it was all loaded on the bus, and after about 10 rounds of goodbyes to family members that couldn’t join us, we left Xela.
The ride lasted the whole night. It wasn’t too bad, although for some reason I was unable to sleep. I listened to music and attempted to sleep. We took many bathroom breaks and a long 45 minute snack break at a gas station at1:30 am.
At 4:30am, we arrived in Esquipulas. For about 20 minutes, as we entered the city, the same song was played over and over again… a sort of special song that welcomed us into the city. It might still be in my head. We were dropped off at our hotel, and loaded off the bus with all our baggage. After situating ourselves at the hotel, we had a breakfast of sandwiches and coffee. Everyone had pre-made sandwiches of ham and cheese, and Patti made me special sandwiches with strawberry jelly, since she knew I wouldn’t eat meat. It was so nice of her!
After eating, we all headed to the church. I wasn’t aware that this trip was so religious, but I learned quickly. The location is a very popular vacation spot for all of Central America. The church is full of people daily, especially Sundays. David explained to me that January is the most popular month, and people will camp out in the park in front of the church because no hotels are left.
When we arrived at the park in front of the church, the boys set off fireworks (the annoying kind that sound like gunshots that Guatemalans love, and set off for any occasion… birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc.). We then waited in line to view a Jesus statue. We waited in line for about 1:30. Although long, waiting in line wasn’t all that bad. We talked and the time passed relatively quickly. Walking past the statue was a little uncomfortable. Everyone who passed by knelt down, placed their hands at the base, and prayed. Marissa and I chose to just walk past. After passing the statue, we had to walk backwards down a winding, sloping pathway, until we were out of sight of the statue. This is because it is rude to turn your back on the statue and what it represents.
After walking past the statue, we went into an outside, covered area where everyone was lighting candles that represented sentences from the bible. Marissa and I observed from the corner of the patio. It was actually a really beautiful scene with all the candles lit.
After this, we entered the church and listed to what was left of the morning mass. We then visited a scene (I’m not exactly sure what is represented), and everyone stood in line to have blessed water dripped over their heads and other items they wanted blessed, such as photos, special candles, mini religious figurines, etc. After all the family was out of the church, we took pictures of every combination of relatives possible, just like it would be at a Ziegler family reunion.
That afternoon, we walked to a park with a river, a zoo, soccer fields, basketball courts, a crazy Mayan cave, and a ton of picnic tables and grills. Once we arrived, we played an intense game of basketball. I didn’t know it was possible, but I’m actually worse at basketball than I am at soccer... but at least I gave Patti something to laugh at (she usually plays but because of her surgery she had back in September she still isn’t allowed to run around).
After working up an appetite, we headed back to the picnic tables. All the kids played in the river, plus some of the dads and tio. I thought about it, but the water was way too cold for me. Instead, I helped prepare lunch.
A Guatemalan picnic is a lot like any American bbq or picnic. Each member of the family brought a different item. We had black beans, potatoes cooked on the grill, carne asada (which is essentially a thin steak), tortillas, and a pickled salad. Patti even made me my own portion of tuna salad with cucumbers and tomatoes (and without mayonnaise) which was super nice of her!
My job was to heat up and serve the beans. Grandpa watched over me to make sure I was doing it correctly. Every few minutes I would get a new suggestion about how I should be stirring the beans so they wouldn’t burn, which was humorous. When Patti served me my tuna salad, grandpa was very concerned as to why I wasn’t eating meat. He kept asking me to try some, and trying to give me a little piece (and throughout the rest of the vacation, when I didn’t eat chicken for breakfast on Sunday and didn’t order a hamburger at Burger King on our trip back, he continued to ask me why I wasn’t eating meat, and why I didn’t want just a little piece. I don’t think he understood why someone wouldn’t eat it, but the whole situation was very funny).
After stuffing ourselves with tons of food, we enjoyed the park a little more. Marissa and I walked around and looked at all the animals. Around 3, we walked back to the hotel to rest for a bit. I was so exhausted, but I really didn’t want to sleep so I tried to sit up on my bed and read. It didn’t work. Within 5 minutes I was fast asleep.
Patti woke us up a little later to see if we wanted to walk around the market with them. I was super confused because I had been in a deep sleep, but after figuring out where I was, which was pretty funny, we left the hotel and walked around.
The market had all kinds of sweets and candles and other very religious things. It was cool walking around with my Guatemala family and seeing how they interact in a market and talk down a price, etc.
Around 6pm, we went back to the church and waited in line another 2 hours to repeat the same process we had done that morning. By the time we finished, I was so exhausted. I had a piece of bread for dinner (I was still pretty full from lunch) and was asleep by 9. The rest of the family stayed up and walked to the large Christmas tree to see the lights.
The next morning, we woke up at 5:45 to go back to the church and wait in the line for another 2 hours, to repeat the same thing we had done Saturday morning and evening. The wait wasn’t really that bad. The entire family was there joking around, taking pictures and talking.
After the church process, we ate breakfast on the street. Everyone had some chicken and chowmein. I stuck with atole de leche y arroz, kind of like milky rice pudding, but less sweet. With that description, it sounds gross, but it is actually pretty good.
Sticking to Guatemalan time, we were eating breakfast at 9am, the time that the bus was supposed to leave Esquipulas. Nobody had packed, yet nobody was concerned. At 10:15, the bus actually arrived to pick us up, and we left at 10:30. It was funny that nobody really expected to leave at 9am. It was as if 9am actually meant 10:30am.
We arrived in Guatemala city around 2, and stopped at a shopping center where there was a Pollo Campero, Burker King and ice cream shop. We ate at Burger King (I got a salad which actually was not that bad) and then everyone headed over to get ice cream. We were told to back on the bus at 3. Everyone was back on the bus by 3:30, and by 4 we were leaving the city.
We actually made very good time on the last leg of the trip. We arrived in Xela around 7:30pm. The bus dropped us off in front of the house, so we didn’t have to lug our stuff too far.
After a long day of traveling, everyone was tired. We all ate a simple dinner of eggs, beans and tortillas, and went to bed.
I’m so happy I had this experience. It was great to be included and see how a Guatemalan family travels for vacation. I now feel even closer to my family, and sad that I have to leave them in 12 days. But at the same time, being surrounded by so much family made me even more excited for the family reunion that I’ll be having so soon, with my own family!
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