I have it! I have it! A COMPLETE backstrap loom!!
And all I had to do to get it was ask every single vendor in the market if she had one…! The first fifteen or so all said no, but the last one had the prize…I figured SOMEONE had to have brought their weaving along to the shop. 🙂
Unlike the one I got a few days ago, this one has absolutely everything…the attachment rods, the pick, the heddles, the changing-bar, the shuttle, the beater, the belt, etc. I could pick it up right now and weave with it. (I told her I was a weaver, so she made sure I had all the pieces.) It was 350 quetzales, which is probably highway robbery, but I considered it cheap at the price. All the pieces are handmade, and quite well-used–it’s a nice collector’s piece. I’ll have to post a photo once I have one.
Forget San Antonio…anything after this would be an anticlimax. I’m going straight to the airport hotel in Guatemala, to spend the rest of the day slavering over my new prize. Must play with toy. Must play with toy. Must play with toy.
Tien
P.S. I ran into another backpacker who said she had lots of pets in her room last night as well…except she had cockroaches lined up on the wall right next to her pillow! So I don’t feel so bad about my room anymore…my roaches were well-bred, high-class roaches–they stayed in the sink and the shower!
