During our stay in Santa Cruz, we saw that our hostel, La Iguana Perdida, offered backstrap weaving classes. You could sign up and spend an afternoon with one of the cook's sisters, learning this important tradition in the lives of Mayan women throughout Guatemala.
On streets all over the country, you can see women sitting in front of large looms, with one end attached to a wall and the other end wrapped behind their backs, using the weight of their own body to keep the strings taut, weaving beautiful fabrics. Backstrap weaving feels very Guatemala, so we knew we couldn't pass up the opportunity to try it out.
We spent an afternoon up in the town of Santa Cruz, picking our colors, prepping our thread, trying to remember which sticks need to be woven through which threads, and realizing that it's way more difficult than it looks. It was a very cool experience, and we came away with homemade souvenirs! We got some great photos too, so I'll just leave you with those now. Enjoy. :)
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