Tuesday afternoon

In the afternoon we visited a nearby town called San Antonio Aguas Calientes where we learned about Mayan traditions such as weaving, marriage and tortilla-making. We were shown how to string up a backstrap loom. Sammy volunteered to help measure out the string on the urdidor and Gabe and Rachel both took turns using the loom. Then we were walked through traditional wedding preparations and ceremony for this area of Guatemala. Gabe and Lauri got married while Erica served as the mother of the groom! Gifts were exchanged, the newlyweds were blessed with flower petals and the air was purified with incense. The we all danced to marimba music. After the fiesta Lauri was shown what her responsibilities were such as bringing cafe and tortillas to Gabe working out in the fields (with her newborn strapped to her back!). Later the group learned how to make tortillas and cook them on the comal. Then we went back to spend the evenings with our host families in Ciudad Vieja.