Chichicastenango

With an early start at 7am, it was off to the artisan market in a small town called Chichicastenango set high up in the mountains.

Loudly singing Chi-chi-caste-nango to the tune of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang... well, not really, that would have been ridiculous but it does work.

The Guatemalan countryside is quite spectacular; volcanoes wearing fringed hats of cloud, steep mountains and tree-filled valleys surrounded us. At times I thought we might have to push the minibus but after two and a half hours we made it. It was a great way to see a little more of Guatemala's fantastic scenery.

Arriving at Chichi, the local market was in full swing. This market occurs every Thursday and Sunday and is the largest market in the area drawing vendors, locals, tourists and all sorts in between. Woven and embroidered textiles, beaded bags and belts, carved wooden animals, fruit, vegetables and of course, a man with a giant toad.

I'm not sure what the man was selling but it seemed to be some sort of magic cleaning fluid. I can only assume it came from the toad. A little magic toad juice squirted onto a dirty 10 Quetzales note and it was as clean as new. A little magic toad juice squirted into a glass of dirty brown liquid (hate to think what that was) and all of a sudden it was crystal clear. It was fascinating. The toad's performance was minimal.

The people in Chichi were tiny. Surrounded by women who couldn't have been more than 4 feet tall, for the first time in my life I felt like a giant. The women all had beautiful straight, long black hair and not a grey hair in sight! I was dying to know the secret but as my Spanish had gone into hiding, it shall remain a tantalizing mystery.