Discover the most interesting country in Latin America at its most colorful and ceremonial time of year . . . Holy Week!
Artists Nancy Crow and Nathaniel Stitzlein and tour leader Vivian Harvey have organized a 13-day tour of Guatemala that will focus on its unique arts, crafts, textiles, and spectacular religious ceremonies. This tour is open to anyone who wants to get away for a sunny exploration of wonderful artifacts in their natural setting.
We will concentrate our travels in villages in the highlands of the country, where the culture of many centuries earlier is alive and observable in dress, in language, in living style, and in religious practices. We’ll enjoy an orientation to the dress, the weavings, and the general life in the highlands by having a private tour of the Ixchel Museum in Guatemala City. In Antigua, we’ll join the people of Guatemala in their moving Palm Sunday processions, with enormous platforms for the statues of saints, where the participants (and we can be among them) walk through the magnificent “carpets” of flower petals and colored sawdust through the cobblestone streets of Antigua.
After Palm Sunday in Antigua, we’ll take off for the indigenous highlands of Guatemala. We will be in the colorful famous market of Chichicastenango for Holy Thursday Processions, and we’ll also visit Solola for the Tuesday market day to see all the Holy Week preparations. We’ll spend two nights in Quetzaltenango to observe their impressive Good Friday processions, which continue through the entire day.
Among the many highlights will be the Easter Saturday market in Almolonga, where the city square will be full of quiet voices in the impressive and colorful vegetable market.
Through all our travels, the village-identity aspect of the dress of the highland residents will be a distinctive characteristic of Guatemalan society. Because of this incredible diversity in color and pattern, the skill and imagination of Guatemala women, the textiles of Guatemala are famous the world over. One of the unique features of this trip is the opportunities to be with Guatemalan families who can best express their culture and their art. Each village and each family we visit will provide an exceptional wealth of Indian culture. Lectures and presentations by textile researchers of the Ixchel Museum, a local indigenous museum of textiles in Antigua, and the Guatemalan people themselves will help us understand the culture and history of this magnificent country.
On this educational travel seminar with Nancy Crow, Vivian Harvey and Nathaniel Stitzlein, you will have an unparalleled opportunity to learn about the people of Guatemala, and we’ll make a special study about the textiles and the art of the country in the company of the very men and women who produce them.
Trip is full! Please e-mail if you would like to be placed on a waiting list.
Itinerary (B = breakfast, L = lunch, D = dinner)
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Holy Week procession in Quetzaltenango |
Day 1 | Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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Arrival (fly in to Guatemala City), drive to Antigua
Dinner, La Fonda de la Calle Real (depending on time of arrival, if arrival is after 7pm, group dinner will be deferred till the next day)
Overnight, Hotel Aurora
Day 2 | Wednesday, March 12, 2008 (B, L, D)
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Breakfast in the hotel
Walking tour of Antigua, visits to churches and other places of historic interest
Lunch in the city
Visit local museum of indigenous textiles, with a discussion of the cargo system as the basis of Mayan village society and religious observances
Welcoming dinner in a local restaurant
Overnight, Hotel Aurora
Day 3 | Thursday, March 13, 2008 (B, L, D)
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Breakfast in the hotel
Drive to Guatemala City for guided tours of two museums, the Ixchel Museum of Textiles and the Popul Vuh museum of Mayan artifacts
Typical lunch in the Ixchel Museum dining room, prepared and served by local indigenous women
Driving tour of the capital city, including a visit to the topographical map of the country & main city square
Dinner with group in Antigua, with Sue Patterson, founder of WINGS
Overnight, Hotel Aurora
Day 4 | Friday, March 14, 2008 (B, L, D)
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Breakfast in the hotel
Drive to the lakeside village of Panajachel, nestled along the shore of Lake Atitlán, one of the most scenic lakes in the world
Picnic lunch along the way
Stop at the orphanage of Santa Apolonia, run by the Home Sisters of Saint Francis, a home for women and their children whose husbands were killed in the violence in the highlands of Guatemala in the 1980’s; meet with Sister Angelina, director of the orphanage
Visit to the women’s weaving cooperative, talk with organizer, Ron Spector
Drinks at our hotel, discussion of personal art/craft/personal projects
Dinner, local restaurant in Panajachel
Overnight, Hotel Regis, Panajachel
Day 5 | Saturday, March 15, 2008 (B, D)
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Lake Atitlán is surrounded by charming villages |
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Breakfast near the hotel
Morning visit to the village of Santa Catarina, on the shore of Lake Atitlan
Lunch on your own
Drive to Chichicastenango, pack enough for 1 night (We are NOT checking out of our hotel in Panajachel)
Afternoon arrival in Chichicastenango, observe setting up of market, visit the cemetery
Dinner in the Hotel Santo Tomas
Overnight in the Hotel Santo Tomas
Day 6 | Sunday, March 16, 2008 Palm Sunday (B, L)
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Early breakfast at the hotel
One of the highlights of the entire trip, Sunday Mass (8 AM) and market day in Chichicastenango
Buffet lunch in the Hotel Santo Tomas
Climb to the shrine of Pascual Abaj and a stop at the home of the mask maker of the village
Return to Panajachel
Dinner on your own
Overnight, Hotel Regis
Day 7 | Monday, March 17, 2008 (B, L)
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Breakfast near the hotel
Boat trip across Lake Atitlan, to visit the villages of San Pedro (where we will visit the home of the well-known indigenous artist, Mariano Gonzalez),
Santiago Atitlan (to visit the cofradia and the image of Maximon)
Picnic lunch on the boat
Late afternoon return to the hotel
Dinner in Panajachel on your own
Overnight, Hotel Regis
Colorful market display in Solola
Day 8 | Tuesday, March 18, 2008 (B, L, D)
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Breakfast near the hotel
Trip up the mountain to visit market day in Solola, a typical regional market
Lunch with several Mayan local families
Later afternoon, time for shopping in the many stalls and stores of Panajachel
Dinner in Panajachel
Overnight, Hotel Regis
Day 9 | Wednesday, March 19, 2008 (B, L, D)
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Breakfast near the hotel
Early departure for Huehuetenango with stops along the way, possibly in Nahuala
Picnic lunch en route
Dinner in Huehuetenango
Overnight, Hotel Los Chuchumatanes, Huehuetenango
Day 10 | Thursday, March 20, 2008 Holy Thursday (B, L, D)
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Breakfast at the hotel
Early morning departure for Todos Santos (We go up to 12,000 feet on the bus trip, and the village is at about 9,000 feet.)
Visit a few homes in the village, learn about their language (Mam) and customs
Lunch in a local restaurant
Afternoon visits to the church of the miraculous Virgin Mary
Drive back along the Panamerican Highway to Quetzaltenango
Dinner in the hotel
Overnight, Hotel Bonifax
Beautiful church of San Andres Xecul
Day 11 | Friday, March 21, 2008 Good Friday (B, L, D)
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Breakfast at the hotel
Processions and other Good Friday events in Quetzaltenango (8 processions during the day starting very early and going into the evening)
Visit the village of Salcaja for textiles weaving on floor looms
Visit church of San Andres Xecul
Lunch in Salcaja
Dinner at the hotel, videos from the Ixchel Museum
Overnight, Hotel Bonifax
Day 12 | Saturday, March 22, 2008 (B, L)
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Breakfast at the hotel
Depart for the Saturday market in an agriculture center of the country, Almolonga
Visit to the village of Zunil, to see the famous image of Maximon and an explanation of this figure, also go to the women’s cooperative in the Mam-speaking village.
Lunch in Salcaja
Drive to Antigua for Holy Saturday evening processions
Dinner in Antigua, on your own
Overnight in Antigua
Day 13 | Sunday, March 23, 2008 Easter Sunday (B, D)
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Breakfast at the hotel
Processions and other activities for Easter Sunday, various activities occurring all day
Lunch in Antigua (on your own)
Farewell dinner
Overnight, Posada del Hermano Pedro, Antigua
Day 14 | Monday, March 24, 2008 (no meals)
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Early Departure for the airport in Guatemala City; flight home
• Note: This itinerary has been prepared months ahead of the actual trip. There may some very slight changes to take advantage of new opportunities, especially due to the Holy Week observances.
Coordinators
Nancy Crow
Nancy is an artist. She first traveled to Guatemala in the 1980s, and has fallen in love with this most beautiful and fascinating country. Nancy has been creating contemporary quilts for 28 years and maintains a large studio on her farm east of Columbus, Ohio. Her work has appeared on the covers of two of Maya Angelou’s books and is in the collections of the Museum of Arts & Design, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and The Museum of American Folk Art. She teaches worldwide and offers in-depth workshops on her farm in a recently renovated 1884 timber frame barn. Nancy was named a Fellow of the American Craft Council.
Vivian Harvey
The tour leader, Vivian B. Harvey, lived in Mexico for twelve years, and has traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Central America, and South America with university students, faculty members, teachers, artists, and groups of adults. Prior to moving to Mexico, she was Assistant Dean in the College of Human Ecology at The Ohio State University for ten years. Vivian is the Educational Programs Coordinator at the Cemanahuac Educational Community in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She works with college faculty members across the United States and Canada to establish cooperative academic programs with Cemanahuac for both graduate and undergraduate credit. Vivian's web site: www.vivianharvey.com
Nathaniel Stitzlein
Nathaniel is an artist who works with Nancy Crow on coordinating art trips to France, Mexico, South Africa, and Guatemala. They also work together to produce art workshops at the Crow Timber Frame Barn. Prior to organizing tours and classes, he was an admissions counselor for The Ohio State University. In addition, he studied ceramics in South Africa for a year and is a free-lance graphic designer.
Nathaniel's web site: www.artgrange.com
Fees Trip is full! Please e-mail if you would like to be placed on a waiting list.
TRAVEL FEE: $2850 (twin) U.S. Funds Only
• Note: Add $400 for single supplement
• Sorry, credit cards are not accepted
This travel fee includes:
• All accommodations
• All breakfasts, selected lunches and dinners
• Land transportation
• Admission fees
• Tips and Guidance
This travel fee does NOT include:
• Roundtrip airfare from the USA/Canada/Europe to Guatemala
• Departure tax and travel insurance
• Meals not included on the itinerary
• Personal expenses
Deadlines
Deadline for reservation and deposit of $600: October 1, 2007
• Deposit must be made by check.
• $200 is non-refundable unless trip is cancelled.
• $400 is refundable up to October 1, 2007.
• None of the deposit is refundable after October 1, 2007, unless trip is cancelled.
Deadline for remaining payment of $2250: December 1, 2007 (add $50 if paid after due date)
(add $400 for single supplement)
• Final payment is non-refundable, unless trip is cancelled.
All payments must be in US FUNDS ONLY! No credit cards
Questions? Please click here to send an e-mail