Day 13 – 15 October 2026 – Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
Puerto Quetzal is another industrial
port filled with shipping containers and the cranes to load those containers
onto the freighters lined up along the wharves.
Stacks of containers, beeping cranes and trolleys, just a hive of
activity.
We cruise ship passengers
walked across a moveable bridge to the shore, though it’s all buttressed with
rocks and boulders, no beach on the inside of the harbor. We had a quick walk up to another large
thatched hut which housed various excursion desks, a small stage for a band,
and, much to my delight, a wooden jaguar!
Beyond the welcome center hut
I found winding paths full of multiple smaller buildings and kiosks overflowing
with all the gorgeous textiles, decorative items, and jewelry made in
Guatemala: weavings, 
embroideries, ceramics, silver and jade, intricate beaded
figurines – on and on! SO many beautiful
items, and so many things I’d love to have.
But given our travelling lives, we really don’t need much of anything.
I did buy a few items. I fell in love with a purse that is 
woven
fabric in bright pinks and purples with touches of orange, yellow, green – it kind
of looks like a sunset. The front is the
woven part, from a used huipil, the traditional blouse Guatemalan women
wear. The back and wrist strap are
leather.
The vendor included a lovely
ikat woven bag to hold the purse, rather than 
a paper bag. (Ikat weaving is so confusing to me – the
threads are dyed in patterns and then woven, and voila, there is the design. I have NO idea how anyone can dye thread in
patterns that weave up into anything recognizable!)
Onward with my walking, and
chatting with people 
selling all these gorgeous things. I did end up buying a tortilla warmer (which
will work as a hot pad in any kitchen, given I’ve never warmed a tortilla in my
life!) – I managed to cajole the woman, Maria-Rosario, to let me take her photo
along with her colorful corner booth. (She
had her son take a 
photo of both of us on her phone – too funny!)
I also asked the man who sold
me a batch of beaded stars of David for Chanukah for his photo – not only does
it help me remember the people I chatted with, it shows all the Guatemalan arts
and crafts in the shops. The beading is
unique – tiny 
colorful beads for the body of the object, and somehow there are
always dangling and hanging pieces that integrate into the whole piece. My stars all look like comets or
constellations, with short strings of beads ending in tiny beaded secondary
stars!
I found a chocolate shop as
well – I tried 70% cacao, 80%, and 95%.
Plus chocolate tea, a wonderful tea made from the dried skins of the
cocoa beans. SO delicious. Of course, I ended up with two bags of
chocolate tea, which I will enjoy all winter.
And then there was the
retired dentist who now has a shop featuring textile 
items made by women across
the country! I’ve been looking for a
collapsible fabric bowl or basket for travel, something easy to pack that will
hold all those random things we need on a nightstand, or to hold art supplies
for a project, or whatever art items I might need. She had a lovely rainbow striped basket that
can turn inside out for another look, or even enlarge! My new travel basket!
It kind of went on like that – wander, shop, have conversations with vendors in Spanish or English, taste, buy or not buy but chat anyway.
I also had a cold drink, mora juice. Mora is a wonderful Central and South American berry, something between a raspberry and blackberry.
Yes, I was sort of shopped out by that point. I don’t usually go on a shopping spree, but Guatemala has such unique textiles, I do tend to go overboard. But then again, I’m contributing to the local economy, right? I asked one woman if she came to this place every day, and she said yes, she does. I asked how far away does she live, she said it takes her two hours to get there. And then another two hours to get home. Every single day! In light of that, my contribution to these artists and artisans seems minimal. But it does give people money to support themselves and their families. Human dignity, self-sufficiency, and all that.
We sat on our balcony for our sail-away, something Richard and I both enjoy. We watched the tug and pilot boats accompanying us, and I always wonder how the local pilot disembarks from our ship and manages to hop into the pilot boat. I haven’t seen an exterior ladder, and the Deck A exit we use seems a bit high for someone to jump from our moving ship into a moving pilot boat. So many questions!
At dusk, the clouds cleared and we could see volcanoes in the distance! At least, I think they were volcanoes – they had that Mount Fuji shape!
And somehow, the whole port of loading machinery looked so much more interesting in the dark!
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