TEXTILES, NATURE & ARCHAEOLOGY
WOVEN POETRY OF THE MAYA
"Jen is very passionate about art and artisans of Mexico, and she has an incredible background in Indigenous art in British Columbia, having owned an art gallery for many years.I am glad I am so glad I signed up for the Meseta Art Collection Tour, we visited 12 towns in the Tarascan area of Michoacan, with her ace tour guide, Jaime, of Animecha Tours." - Sharon (Art Collection Tour 2022)
WOVEN POETRY OF THE MAYA
EXPLORING MAYA TEXTILES OF THE MAYA CIVILIZATION
STARTS: San Pedro Sula, Honduras
ENDS: Guatemala City, Guatemala
DATES: April 20-May 9, 2026
DURATION: 18 Nights / 19 Days
PRICES INCLUDE TAXES AND ARE BASED ON COST SHARING. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A PRIVATE ROOM FOR 1, THE EXTRA COST IS $14,000 MXN. PLEASE REQUEST A ROOMMATE, AND WE WILL TRY TO MATCH YOU WITH SOMEONE TO AVOID THIS EXTRA EXPENSE.
PRICES ARE BASED ON COST SHARING AND INCLUDED TAXES
8-10 GUESTS: $105,000 MXN (Approximately $5600 US or $7800 CAD)
INCLUSIONS: All taxes, hotels (double occupancy), breakfasts, entrance fees (unless optional), workshops, private transportation, bilingual guided services, tips for luggage handlers and hotel staff. Tips for your team leaders are discretionary and appreciated.
Hotels are based on double occupancy, but we will try our best to match you with a roommate if you are travelling solo. In some cases, this may not be possible, depending on the room configurations. We will confirm the price for everyone before accepting deposits.
Would you like a detailed itinerary? Please email Jennifer at coppermoontravels@protonmail.com. We have stopped posting our itineraries in detail due to an issue we had involving someone from abroad who promoted one of our tours as their own. In order to keep our guests safe from online scams, we ask that you please contact us directly.
CURRENCY CONVERTER
TRIP OVERVIEW
Ix-Chel is the Maya Goddess of weaving, among other things...
Weaving among the Maya is an ancient art form that predates the arrival of the Spanish. Though the weaving has evolved since contact, many of the designs woven into Maya huipils today were ornamenting ceremonial clothing well over one thousand years ago. The Maya goddess Ix-Chel is said to have taught Maya women to weave more than two thousand years ago. Though often depicted with a youthful figure and perky breasts, in the Maya Codices, Ix-Chel is shown as a mature woman with sagging breasts...
and the back-strap loom an object of femininity representing the womb...
Scholars of today credit Ixchel as the goddess who gifted the back-strap loom to women, based on the codices. Back strap looms are anchored around a woman's waist, with the garment laid out before her, in much the same way the womb is positioned. The weaving process is correlated with the nurturing of a baby, with the woman responsible for creation. The thread that serves as the weft symbolizes the umbilical cord, with the loom itself representing and behaving as a womb, for it holds the garment that will eventually will be released. While men do weave in some cultures, the back strap loom is solely synonymous with women...
The woven textiles of the Maya are part of community identity...
In ancient times, Maya women who married outside of their villages adopted the clothing of their husbands. In modern times, some Maya women in Guatemala stopped wearing their huipils for fear of retribution during the civil war. The concept that clothing identifies one with their village is specific to the Maya, as there are no pan-Maya styles that blur the lines on group affiliation. We will be exploring various styles and learning to identify them throughout our journey...
and have offered economic stability for Maya women for decades...
During the civil war in Guatemala, textiles played a major role for women who desperately needed income. Gender roles changed alongside necessity, for many Maya men were murdered or disappeared during the war, forcing women to take on the tasks traditionally doled out to men. This role-change is documented in the textiles of Nebaj, where depictions of women in sombreros appear on garments that are absent of any male characters. Nebaj was known as "The Village of Widows" due to the horrors of the war, and this story quietly emerges in their weaving. For many men who did return, untreated PTSD resulted in domestic violence and alcohol abuse, leaving many women without any other choice besides separating and establishing themselves independently from their male counterparts. There are many narratives around Maya textiles and trauma that will arise during our travels, including a morning spent with an important organization called Trauma Textiles, where the local Maya women will teach us how to weave a small project...
Natural dyes can be affected by the tides pull of a full moon..
When Maya women want the deep blue dyes Due to the schedule change for this tour, we will not be at Lake Atitlan during the full moon. That said, we are going to still go ahead with the dye workshop, as there are many other colours we can derive - and also, the anil plant will offer a pale blue colour, which we can compare to samples of pieces that were coloured with dyes derived on the full moon...
and we will have the chance to learn how raw cotton is processed...
While we are in San Juan la Laguna, we will also have a chance to learn how raw cotton is processed. The collective we are visiting has reclaimed the ancient back-strap loom from the harvesting of cotton to natural dyes and the weaving of traditional garments. Also important is the fact that their textiles today are syncretic, as they represent symbols from the ancient Maya and the calendar dates of June, leading up to the celebration of their patron St. John the Baptist on June 24th. The textiles of the Maya civilization continue to evolve with the culture of the people, for they remain an integral expression of everyday life...
Most of our days will be full, with several hotel changes along our path..
Forging a path from Antique to Chiapas means quality experiences are stretched across a significant distance. We will stay in 8 different hotels over 15 nights, with all activities planned for the day time so guests can rest after dinner each evening. Most of our days will begin with breakfast at 8 AM, though we have one day that will start at 7 AM, for our border crossing. We will have private transportation for the duration of the tour, but guests will need to walk across the border (about 5 mins walk). We will hire a mule to take our luggage across the border while we are getting our paperwork processed, so guests do not need to worry about shlepping luggage up or down any hills. We will make this a fluid and seamless experience, crowned with a turquoise waterfall at the end...
and the reward is exploring a plethora of villages celebrating unique styles...
We are going to visit 15 unique textiles villages and 2 major textile markets where one can see huipils from dozens of towns. By the time this tour concludes, we would like for you to be able to identify various weaving techniques that are employed for different applications, such as brocade vs discontinuous weave, etc. We will also dissect the parts of the back strap loom to understand how it works, and you will have a small loom of your own, to experiment with along the way. We hope you anticipate an educational journey that will put you in close contact with the heirs of this timeless skill, and will consider this one of the most culturally extensive and exploratory experiences of a lifetime.
We are excited to bring our guests to the ancient city of Copan...
Many of those who were interested in this tour had opted for the city of Copan, so we changed our itinerary to land in San Pedro Sula for this journey. Copan is an amazing archaeological site, famed for the elaborate hieroglyphic staircase and heavily ornamented sculptures. This is one of our favourite cities given the artistry and surrounding jungle...
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS TOUR
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Macaw Mountain Bird Sanctuary
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Hot Springs near Zunil
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Copan Archaeological Site
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Dye Workshops in Lake Atitlan
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Weaving Workshop in Quetzaltenango
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Weaving Lessons in San Juan Cotzal
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Embroidery Workshop in Chichicastenango
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Painting Workshop in Chichicastenango
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Sunday Market in Chichicastenango
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Collective in San Antonio Aguas Calientes
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Collective in San Juan Laguna
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Collective in Quetzaltenango
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Collective in Santa Maria Nebaj
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Collective in San Juan Cotzal
This trip is accessible from anywhere in the world...
Please arrive in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on February 22, 2026. We will be visiting the ancient Maya city of Copan prior to visiting Guatemala City, and as both have airports, you can choose to skip the archaeological site if you prefer. Please contact us for the price adjustment. We will depart from the Guatemala City Airport on March 13, 2026.
We also recommend leaving later if it's your first time in this region....
The colonial city of Antigua is incredibly special, and well worth spending time for more exploration. If you are interested in learning Spanish, Antigua is well organized for Spanish lessons, with many language schools in the Centro. There are also lots of communities nearby that are worth visiting if you have time. Please contact us for more information!
QUESTIONS?
Please do not hesitate to contact Jennifer if you have any questions or would like to schedule this tour at a different time for a private group.
Email: coppermoontravels@protonmail.com
WhatsApp: +52 443 639 2782 (Please text first)
