​Today we had a free day and arranged with Los Elementos Adventure Center, Lee Beal’s organization, to take a tour of the Solola area and the Sacred Caves of San Jorge.

On the way to Solola from Panajachel, we passed a beautiful waterfall and took the opportunity to get some great photos from the nearby lookout and to climb the rocks in front of the waterfall.  John stayed back and took some photos for us, but Scott and Sarah were eager to climb, so I did too.  What a refreshing mist!

Next, we continued around the bend and stopped at the top of the hill in San Jorge.  The van parked, and we all began the descent.  It was quite treacherous.  I’m very glad that I made the effort, however.  The caves were definitely something to see!  Inside the cave were two distinct locations, one with a row of candles and the other with a row of crosses.  Our guide explained to us that if people were dealing with issues in their current life, or with others still living, they would pray in front of the candles, and if they were mourning the loss of a loved one, they would pray in front of the crosses.

The cave is a place for the Maya people to pray.  It is always open, so they can make the trek whenever it is convenient for them.  During Spanish colonial times, it was a place for the Maya to retreat to when they were being prosecuted for their religion and religious practices.  The Spanish did not understand.

The lookout from outside the cave was beautiful.  Scott and JT and Barret saw some iguanas in the near distance.  So much natural beauty in Guatemala!

When we had finished admiring the caves and its glory, we began the ascent back to the road.  With as many times the path was uneven or the stepping ledges were rocky, my feet and calves were burning at the end.  You should see the condition of my shoes.  These were relatively new before the trip.  If I ever visit the sacred caves again, I will have hiking boots, not only for traction, but for durability!

Then we walked around the bend and approached another place called Dragon’s Head.  Our guide, a man named Alex originally from Western Guatemala, conducted a cleansing ceremony for us in Mam, his original language, and in English, so that we would understand.
He first unfolded some wrapped candles and spread them out in front of us.  He told us what each color represented and invited us to take a few of each color that would be focus of our prayers.  I chose yellow for health (for myself and for other loved ones) pink for business (in honor of Guatemala Service Projects) and blue for the appreciation of one’s current lot in life.  I am especially thankful for all that I have and all that I am.

Alex then took some charcoal chips and started a smoking fire in a small clay pot.  Next, he started forming the design on the ground per traditions that he first experienced as a young boy.

With a corner cut on a bag of sugar, he first created a circle of sugar and then drew a plus sign in the middle, breaking the circle into four equal sections.  In the middle of the circle he stood on end a bunch of bundled candles in white, red and yellow.  He explained that there were certain days of the week that were better than others to pray for certain things.  Given it was Friday, he said it was a day for personal cleansing  So, he picked the three colors associated with love, purity and health.  Several of each of those three colors were bound together with string and stood on end.  Then, one by one, each of the remaining colors of each color of candle was laid around the circle, making sure that the “bad” things (like purple = addiction) were at the bottom.

Then, around and on top of the circle of candles were laid medicine balls.  It was explained to us that the balls were (made from) a mixture of herbal medicines and tree sap.  These balls were placed around the fire and then broken down as the fire grew.

Alex walked in front of us, behind us and in between us, swinging the smoking put and uttering quiet prayers in his native indigenous language, Mam.  Each time the smoking pot stopped blowing smoke, he would reignite it with a breath of fresh wind blown into it or with a smaller stick.

 As the candles started to burn, he rolled down the edges of all the wick on top.  As the bottom row of candles finally caught fire, he was able to facilitate the further breaking down of the balls of compacted herbs and sap.

Prayers continued while the fire raged on.  Alex then told us to think of a specific prayer, kiss the candle, and then throw it in the fire.  He explained that if it was a prayer where you were asking for something or expressing guilt or shame that it was important to first admit your sin or transgression, then ask for forgiveness.  The importance of smoke in a Mayan ceremony is as a messenger to God.  The smoke carries your prayers up to heaven!

When all of the candles had been kissed and tossed, Alex began the process of calming down the fire, overturning the dirt around it to squelch it a bit.  When all prayers had been told, the fire was doused with water.

Something very cool happened right after that… Scott felt something near his ankle and reached down and picked up a type of walking stick.  He gave other kids the opportunity to hold it or have it crawl on them and he later shared with John that he had chosen green candles because he wanted to get back in touch with nature!  If that wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what is!

After the fire cleansing ceremony had wrapped up, we climbed the hill back up to the spot where our van was parked, piled in, and headed for Solola.  I’d like to share a few fun facts about Solola…Solola is not far from San Jorge la Laguna.  In fact, San Jorge is in the “department” (like a state in the US) of Solola.  Solola is also the name of the city that is the municipal center (kind of like a state capitol) for the department.

This photo shows a car tire attached to an electric pole.  I asked what the significance was and was told that the tire on the pole told motorists that located there was a safe spot to pull over to fix a tire or perform other tire repairs.  NOTE:  There are *very* few safe shoulders or spaces for cars to be tended to, and there are *lots* of motorist accidents in Guatemala.

Solola is so high in elevation that parts of the area are “cloud forest”, as people sometimes exist HIGHER than the clouds.  As our van drove through the cloud forest, the driver moved along at a pace where it was hard to capture photographs from inside the van, but I tried my best.  This one is particularly insightful because it also depicts a stray dog.  Stray dogs and cats are a HUGE problem in Guatemala.  They are everywhere.

In Solola is an ancient Catholic church, La Iglesia de la Concepcion, built in 1612.  We visited it!  When we stepped inside, my breath was nearly taken away!  The front doors are insanely tall and must be a foot thick.  All the original woodwork is still present, as are most of the other features.  It has never fallen do to earthquake or landslide.  It was built to stay, and it is beautiful and majestic at the same time!
A treat for you… this section is by guest blogger, Sarah Demar, my 9 year old daughter:

After the ceremony in San Jorge, we were on ) church, we saw something amazing! There was a HUGE and I mean HUGE plot of land filled with various crops such as onions, radishes, carrots, potatoes, green beans and black beans, etc., etc., etc.

Our tour guide was telling everybody about how the massive plot of land was almost ALWAYS owned by one family and the family would let other people rent the land to grow crops. Many people might be kinda surprised at this fact, but  there aren’t too many people who aren’t minors, but young men who work in the fields.

The last part of our day tour took us to the Solola market.

My favorite photo from the Solola market was this one.  This vendor is full of smiles, and she had a strong knowledge of her selection.  Fish are usually purchased dried because many Guatemalans, especially in this part of the country, do not have a refrigerator.  Here are a few other photos I love:

At the end of the day trip we returned to Panajachel and enjoyed an off-the-beaten-path family-run restaurant and we had an AWESOME  meal that only cost Q200 (less than $30) for 10 people!  It was called guisada and it was somewhat like beef stew with potatoes and carrots.