Visiting Zunil

This afternoon I went on a short trip with the school to visit Zunil, a pueblo just outside of Xela. In reality, the whole excursion was a little disappointing. But I took some cool photos that I wanted to share with you. Here's one of me as with the pueblo in the background.
Zunil was very affected by tropical storm Agatha and even several weeks later, we could still see the aftermath. For example, the mud-filled photo below is supposed to be a plot of farmland.
We visited a women's cooperative that was started after the civil war by women whose husbands had died. At one time there were over 500 women in the cooperative and they made textiles (blankets, scarves, bracelets, clothing, etc). I was really looking forward to learning more about it. Unfortunately, the woman who was supposed to tell us about the history of the cooperative wasn't there. And I learned that they no longer make textiles; instead, now they sell cheap plastic things imported from Asia. I did take a some fun photos of the textiles they have left, though.
Then we visited the Catholic church in the pueblo. It's always a little weird for me when I'm with a group of tourists and we "tour" a church. Usually there are a few individuals who are in the church and are utilizing the space for religious purposes and it's awkward because I'm visiting the church as an attraction.
Then we went to visit Santo San Simon, a (disputed) Catholic saint and an almost-god for the indigenous Mayans. There are 6-8 San Simons throughout Guatemala and people make pilgrimages to visit them. They bring offerings, including cigarettes and alcohol. Dave and I visited a San Simon in San Andres Xecul last year. You can read about it here. You have to pay Q5 (less than US$1) to enter the house to see San Simon and another Q10 if you want to take a picture of him. Last year I chose not to take a photo, but I had so much trouble describing him that I decided to pay and take a photo this year! (Well, actually I paid for one photo but took two--don't tell!)
The best way I can describe San Simon is like a mix between a mannequin and scarecrow. When I arrived, he was "smoking" a cigarette. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a photo until the cigarette was "smoked." The teacher who served as our guide this year didn't give us much information at all about San Simon or the church we visited. I was hoping to learn a lot more than I did. But it was still cool to see the pueblo. And, of course, the mountains surrounding it.
In other news, I've had my first stomach-related issues and there may be another tropical storm headed to Guate. Yay. But don't worry, I'm still having plenty of fun. :)

And here's yet another photo of Santa Maria