Senoras de Santiago Zamora

Last week on of our local trips was to a town near La Santiago Aguas Calientes (about a 20 minute drive in the back of a pick-up truck). We visited this 10-women collective where they weave beautiful cloths, bags, purses, etc. The women and their children were so warm and welcoming it made us feel at home. When we first got there they taught, or tried to teach us how to make tortillas. While the ones they made were perfectly round, mine was more like an amoeba. It didn't matter though, it still tasted the same.
After, our snack the women showed us how they weave the various items surrounding us. It takes 10 hours a day for one week to weave on cloth about the size of a runner. Rebecca tried her hand at it and became so frustrated, the rest of us were to scared to try.
The best surprise of this excursion was the huge meal they serves us. La comida tipica, Pepian. It is basically a soup that is filled with all kinds of spices and you add rice and chicken as you eat it. Also serve with tortillas and salsa so spicy my tongue was on fire for about 5 minutes. But by far, its the best meal I have had so far in Guatemala.

After stuffing ourselves as much as possible, the ladies and their children took us for a walk to see the fields where they grow beans, corn, radishes, and coffee. The walk was through the very poor town they live in and the fields were covered in trash. But the walk was charming anyway because the children were so cute and talked so clearly and slowly that even this gringo could communicate with them. My favorite one was Rosiella. She even wanted to give me a present at the end of our walk:
Yeah you guessed it a handful of flies. Yep kids are just adorable no matter what country you are in.