Somos Diferentes...

Guajiquiro, La Paz

The landscape of Guajiquirito - there are all of about 7 houses in this small community,
supposedly an hour hike from the main town center.

Saturdays are the big market day in Guajiquiro...I am assuming this is the municipal parking lot!

I had wanted to visit the community of Guajiquiro, La Paz (pronounced Wa-He-Key-Ro) for some time when an opportunity recently presented itself. This town is one of the last few remaining intact communities of the indigenous Lenca people living in Honduras. Much like the Maya or Inca, they had their own language, unique style of housing, a typical dress, and their own crafts (a black and white pottery that I am quite fond of) which are functional but have become a tourist favorite across Honduras. The history of the Lencas stretches across the Department of La Paz and through my town, though few Lencan people still exist today in La Paz since many of them mixed with Spaniards during colonization, and are now considered Mestizo, or mixed race. The communities that once existed in the valley where my town stands were destroyed by natural disasters, but the evidence still exists. An archaeologist from UC Berkeley was visiting recently to oversee an excavation and I had the opportunity to see some of the artifacts they found and hear her speak of the Lencan people to whom she has devoted much research. She said that from her research there is evidence that unlike the Mayan, the Lencan did not have a history of warring in their community, that they had a higher level of education, a less class-organized community, and more equality between men and women. It is unfortunate that the community has not survived, but these values are still evident and can be seen in the people when you visit the town of Guajiquiro. The people have a slightly small stature likely from more difficult access to meat and proteins, darker colored skin from working the fields high up in the mountains, and a more Indian look and coloring in their eyes and facial features. They are soft spoken and humble people, who work hard and live in small communities that can often only be reached by foot.

This past weekend I visited one of these “caserios” or very small communities, called Guajiquirito, which only has about 7 houses. Nine years ago, my friend Maira taught elementary school in this community and she used to walk 1 hour each way every morning and afternoon to reach the school and then return to Guajiquiro where she lived with a family. Although you can now reach the community by truck on some very bumpy roads, we decided to make the hike that she did every day for 6 years. There were 10 of us (4 adults and 6 kids from ages 2-10) on the hike and let me say it was quite an adventure. We started out a little late in the day and ended up getting lost up in the mountain. What should have been an hour hike ended up lasting about 2.5 hours. We finally arrived in the small community and met some of the people that Maira used to work with. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon when we reached the house of a woman named Licha where we sat and talked for awhile. She lives here with her brother and his wife, Reina Doris, who arrived a few minutes later carrying a stack of firewood on her head. They have a small one room house with no electricity or running water, but seem healthy, happy, and strong despite their limited resources. (See the photos of the kitchen in their house) These women are wearing typical Lenca dress, which although it is simple in style and pattern, is very colorful and contrasts beautifully with the surrounding landscape.

We began the hike back to town around 4:30 which was a little later than I felt comfortable with since we had gotten ourselves lost on the way, but Maira promised that now she remembered her way and it would be just an hour back to town. We set out but moved slowly up the mountain since the kids were getting tired. We managed most of the way but got lost when crossing a cornfield, and once again it was a 2.5 hour hike back to Guajiquiro. The last hour of the hike we were crossing fields on a downhill slope since we had lost the path, and it had gotten dark. The power had gone out in town as well, so there was not a light in the distance to offer us direction. We were all pretty exhausted when we finally arrived to Bartolo and Tila Garcia’s house at 7 pm. A cup of coffee, some beans, cheese, and tortillas, and we all fell into bed around 8:30 that night.

The next morning we went to the market and ran into Licha and Reina Doris, the woman we had met the day before. They come into town once a week to sell at the market and buy things they need for the week. I decided that next time I make this hike I will ask one of them to be my guide!

Dona Licha and Reina Doris in Guajiquirito

Dona Licha and Reina Doris welcomed us into their little one room house in Guajiquirito...Without running water or electricity, and just two small cotsm this is their kitchen...a small wood burning stove. Off to the side, they had a stone where they grind corn to make tortillas and some other tools for preparing food.

Somewhere along the hike the other day, I noticed that the rain was about to set in...the sky grew dark and the clouds covered over us...and then all of a sudden the clouds opened up and through an opening in the sky, we could see across to the next mountain range where the sun was still shining...this is one of the photos I captured in that moment.

a new chapter...

Exactly three weeks from today, to the hour, I will be boarding a plane headed home with my dog Mia. Our first stop will be in Miami, and then on to DC Reagan where my best friend Jen will be waiting to receive us, even though at that time she will be busy with her 3 week old baby Luke Alexander, who she just welcomed into the world (Congratulations Jen and Dave!!!) The other night as I was going to sleep I was reflecting on what changes have occurred in these last two years, and I was remembering back to a time when Honduras really was a foreign place to me. At that time Jen had just given birth to her first child and I was leaving for a place called Honduras. Neither of us knew quite how to prepare ourselves for what we were getting into, and all we were going to learn. I remember Jen was reading a book entitled something like “Raising a child is Similar to living in a Foreign Country”. I remember the conversations we shared as each of us was entering a world of unfamiliar territory, new language and a slightly modified way of life. Now after two years our worlds are not so unfamiliar or scary, but come quite naturally. As Jen begins mothering two children, I am on my way out of the place that has become “home” and back to a world that now seems a little unfamiliar all over again. It’s a bit overwhelming at times, and I am terrified of having to learn English all over again!!! These last three weeks will be full of goodbyes, or rather “Hasta Luegos,” and I am in the process of preparing my final documents with Peace Corps, finishing up work in town, and moving out of my house. The other night I sold my bed and TV, so life just became slightly more boring and a lot less comfortable. Mia is getting used to her travel crate and already has a shiny new dog tag with her home phone number in the USA (thanks mom and dad!). I am packing my backpack and preparing for my travel adventures through Central and South America with my friend Jerome that will begin once Mia gets settled in Virginia. The reality sets in and another chapter in life begins…