If Sacatepequez boasts La Antigua Guatemala, Alta Verapaz offers Semuc Champey and within Peten’s jungles lie the impressive ruins of Tikal, El Mirador and other ancient cities, what exactly is there to see and do in the department of Jalapa?

Answer: extreme adventure combined with biodiversity!

Just over two hours outside of Guatemala City, hidden in the subtropical mountains of Jalapa, sits Cascadas de Tatasirire, a solar-fuelled retreat in an ecological park bursting with activity. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, the acres of beautifully preserved forest are filled with outdoor entertainment for all ages: swings, canopies, waterfalls and rappelling.

Declared a “protected area” in 2003 by Guatemala’s environmental body CONAP (Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas), the eco-park is a sanctuary of flora and fauna which uses its natural environment to fuse recreation with low-impact tourism. The innovative project champions rural development and gives a unique insight into the surrounding indigenous cultures of the Xinka people who co-exist alongside the Pocoman and Ladino communities.

The main attraction is the course of 12 swings spread throughout the forest, offering various levels of aerial exhilaration. Threading yourself through ropes and launching off each of the platforms, you feel like Tarzan swinging through the forest–just remember to hold on with both hands as some swings are 6-12 meters above the ground!

Next step is to brave the canopies: Strap on your harness and weave through the various types of trees on a zipline, which gives you a unique view of the nature, complete with six waterfalls and rivers that enhance the beauty of this park. There is even a mini-canopy specially designed for children. And if you still want more, try rappelling down Tatasirire’s waterfalls–be prepared to get wet!

More than just an adventure park, Cascadas de Tatasirire is a place to rest, recharge your batteries and try your hand at something new. Although you’ll need your own car or private shuttle to get there, since there’s no direct access by bus, the journey to Jalapa is serene: meandering through pueblos as you climb up through the mountains to the Natural Reserve in Cerro Miramundo.

With a five-story log cabin for lodging and plenty of ground for keen campers, it’s a haven for city dwellers or backpackers looking to escape the beaten track. Just don’t expect the Ritz–this is basic accommodation, utilizing waterfalls for showering, that puts you right at the heart of nature. While the tienda stocks basics like soup and biscuits, it’s best to bring your own food and ask for the camping stove to cook it on.

At 2,300 meters above sea level, temperatures plummet at night so bring a sleeping bag and a thick pair of socks. The communal space offers hammocks and an eating area where you can sit out late into the night and listen to the sounds of the forest. However, since the lodge runs on solar energy, it is advisable to pack some candles as it gets dark between 6 and 7 p.m.

Prices are very reasonable and vary on the type of package you choose. You can pay anywhere from Q60, which includes entrance fee and access to the swings, to Q300, which includes entrance fee, all the activities and a couple of nights’ accommodation (note payments in cash only).

Visit www.cascadasdetatasirire.com for more details.

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Hand crafting the not-so-simple palm frond broom

text and photos by Kathy Rousso

Palma real (royal palm) grows in Guatemala’s hot climatic regions, and many products can be made from the fronds of this tree. Custom dictates that the harvest takes place three days before the full moon, after which the fronds are dried and split into strips. The outer part of the strip is used for hats and the inner section turned into brooms. Palm can also be woven into baskets, around rum bottles or made into petates (mats).

Jocotán, Chiquimula is one municipality where palm brooms are commonly found. While sometimes sold in local shops, it is always best to buy from the maker, which requires an early Sunday morning visit, sometime before 9 a.m. This is the day of the weekly market, where brooms sell by the dozen. Besides Jocotán, I have seen the same broom style in San Francisco Gotera, Morazán (El Salvador), Purulha, Baja Verapaz and Colotenango, Huehuetenango markets.

One day I asked a woman selling brooms if she would be willing to teach me how they were made. She agreed, and on the scheduled day I took a microbus to a specified highway stop with detailed instructions of how to find her house. After an hour or so of wandering around the aldea I finally located her, with a broom in process.

Strips of palm had been bunched and tied together with a strand of palm. The loose strips were bent back to form a “head.” Mostly white strips are used, but buyers like a few green colored strips mixed in, so they are placed at intervals as well. A separate single palm strand was tied around the “broom” and individual strips of palm were inserted evenly spaced underneath it.

To hold everything together an interesting technique was used. A long, single strand of tul (rush or reed) was tied to the single palm strand, and as it wrapped around, toward the top, each added palm strand was looped around it in a half-hitch knot. Sometimes one or two brightly colored aniline-dyed strands are inserted, which creates a spiral pattern. The final step was to shove a stick into the center of the “head” and secure it with nails.

It always amazes me to learn intriguing techniques used for making relatively simple, utilitarian objects, and I often wonder where the idea came from and if there is more than meets the eye. Who knows, maybe once long ago, these beautiful brooms might have been a regal tradition, as is the case with petates, also made in Jocotán (although usually from tul).

Petates, an important utilitarian item, are also ritualistic and seen as a symbol of power. Ancient Mayan calendars were painted on mats, and Pop (mat) is the first month of the Mayan calendar. Once considered a royal tradition, each woven strip represented the reality of time and space, or the Mayan cosmo-vision, and only a ruler, known as “lord of the mat,” was allowed to sit on them.

So, it could be that besides sweeping the floor, brooms could also symbolize something else. After all, they are made from royal palm.

Kathy Rousso is an accomplished textile artist and writer. She is a frequent Revue contributor; her current book, Maguey Journey – Discovering Textiles in Guatemala, is available through the University of Arizona Press and online at Amazon.com

Wells of Hope has drilled several water wells in the mountains near Jalapa

Wells of Hope is a non-denominational group founded on Christian principles by Ted Vander Zalm and his wife Miriam in 2004. It is a team of numerous individuals with roots in the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada. Wells of Hope is a program or offshoot of The Warehouse of Hope. After working from tents for a couple of years, Wells of Hope has constructed a permanent camp just outside of Jalapa, Guatemala.

Mission
Wells of Hope is committed to responding to the cry of the poor and to help attain for them the basic necessities of clean water, education and basic healthcare.

Past Achievements
Wells of Hope has drilled several water wells in the mountains near Jalapa and constructed eight, three-classroom schools, one pre-primary classroom, several school kitchens and some school washrooms. Each year the group hosts Canadian doctors who provide medical clinics. Through the Warehouse of Hope medical equipment, medical supplies, computers and thousands of backpacks filled with school supplies have been sent to Guatemala. Several computer centers now operate in the mountains with these donated computers.

Current Projects
This year Wells of Hope started constructing woodstoves that reduce the amount of firewood needed and include a chimney to eliminate the smoke found in so many mountain homes. Small library collections are being purchased for schools along with instructional material for literacy and numerics. Twenty computers have been sent for a new computer center in Jalapa, and construction of another school could begin in November 2009.

Wish List
Sponsorships and financial support are always needed to help provide clean water, better education and good health. Volunteers with construction skills and medical professionals are among the volunteers most eagerly sought.

For additional information visit www.wellsofhope.com or email water@wellsofhope.com