Three days in the remote village of Chicacnab

This week I had one of the most unique experiences ever - I lived with an indigenous Q´eqchi´family for three days in the remote mountain village of Chicacnab. It was one part of the trip that I was most excited about, as I thoroughly enjoy learning about other cultures and ways of life. After three days with them, I can definitely say that it was one of the most enlightening and humbling experiences I've ever had.

To get to the village of Chicacnab, I started out in the city of Coban. From there, I took a 30 min bus ride to the smaller town of Carchá. I then hopped on a minivan that took me on a 90 min ride on a very rough road to the village of San Lucas. There I met Rosa, my guide and translator (since I didn´t speak any Q´eqchi´) and we hiked an hour and a half to the tiny mountain village of Chicacnab.







In terms of weather, this was not the ideal time of year to go to Chicacnab. Right now it is the time of what they call "chipi-chipi" which basically refers to the light drizzle/mist that occurs this time of year. It comes and goes throughout the day and night, so part of the time is beautiful and partly cloudy, and at other times it is cold and rainy. The dirt track leading from San Lucas to Chicacnab is normally pretty nice, I hear, but during this time of year it just turns to a nasty, muddy track. Wearing rubber boots that nearly went up to my knees, I trudged through rocky and muddy trail up to the house where I stayed.

The house was a rustic home made of wood, with a tin roof and a dirt floor. No electricity. No telephone. No internet. There was a tank of water outside the house which I presume was from rain water, or possibly a well. My room was small and simple, with two twin beds and a wooden bench. The walls separating the rooms did not reach to the cielings, so it was more of a partition, as you could hear everything going on in the other rooms.



In the kitchen there were a couple of tables along the wall for food prep, and a table in the middle as you would expect. In the corner, was a wood fire over which the meals were prepared. The meals were simple and modest, consisting of rice, beans, eggs, some pasta, and lots and lots of corn tortillas.

Irma, the host mother, makes these corn tortillas by hand. First she grows and harvests the corn. Then she cuts off the kernels and boils them in water until soft. Next, she puts them into a grinder and churns away. Out comes this "masa," which she uses to make the tortillas. During my stay, I got to practice making tortillas, though mine looked quite deformed compared to Irma´s perfect, round tortillas.





Irma peeling the beans out of their pod.







Irma has two children - Oswaldo, 7 years of age, and Ingrid, 2. During my hike up the mountain, Oswaldo would run up the trail about 30 feet, turn around and watch me struggling to wade through the mud. The expression on his face was one of curiosity and observement, watching how much effort I was exerting. Once I got within 10 feet, he would take off again and repeat the process. Later on the trail, however, I managed to pick up my speed and pass him. I was very proud of this. :)

Oswaldo, 7

Ingrid, 2

Ingrid and Oswaldo helping to peel the beans out of their pods.

Oswaldo helped me learn several words in Q´eqchi´. I learned how to say tortilla, bean, egg, tomato, and how to count from 1 to 5. I taught him how to count from 1 to 5 in english. One day Oswaldo fell down in the mud and quitely sobbed for several minutes. I consoled him and helped him get up again. He then took off running again. In three short days, I began to feel as though Oswaldo were my own brother, and it was not easy to say goodbye.



Q'eqchi' words (spelling might not be correct):
tortilla - wa
bean - kenk'
egg - mol
tomato - piche
what is your name? - anilak awa'?
how are you? - ma sa laach? good - saw
mud - suluth
rain - hap
cold - ke
a lot, very - mas (ex: a lot of mud - mas suluth)
photo - jalam uxch
one two three four five - jun keep o'sheep kayeep ho