Our group had a much earlier start on the morning of Tuesday, March 31, 2009. Our bus was scheduled to depart at 7am, so Bob and I trudged our way down to a nice hearty traditional Guatemalan-tourist breakfast in the hotel restaurant – still with the omelet chef, lunchmeats, bacon, and…well, you get the picture. Bob and I opted to enjoy our eats in the outside dining area by the pool this time.
Kickstarting the day
So after the brutal stuffing, we boarded our bus with the group and our new friends Antonio the tour guide and Ricardo the bus driver. Our destination for the day was Lake Atitlán, which was located roughly 50 miles due west of Guatemala City. Amazingly though, because of crummy roadways, street construction, and a roundabout path, it took about three and a half hours to get there.
Along the way, we stopped at Restaurante Katok for the first of four visits for ‘biological stops’. This was a combination restaurant / gift shop, where we could stretch our legs and use the facilities. Bob bought a couple of Guatemalan musical CDs here.
The first of four ‘biological stops’
One other interesting thing about Guatemala that I discovered was how the country handled road construction. When a road was being worked on, they would periodically stop traffic completely for 15-30 minutes while they moved dirt around – and then open it back up for a while, then shut it down again. People attempting to sell their wares knew this and flocked to the locations that the car would stop, trying to peddle snacks, textiles, and trinkets to the cars that were stopped. I even saw them dive onto Chicken buses that attempted to fly around the construction.
The vendors descend upon our stopped bus
We arrived in the lakeside city of Panajachel at about 10:30am, made a brief pit stop at the Porta Hotel del Lago, where we would later have lunch, and then boarded a motorboat that would cross Lake Atitlán. The jaunt was about 20 minutes long and I was freezing from the wind. The clouds were rather gray that day, so we didn’t get the scenic view of what some consider the most beautiful of lakes.
With Ricardo, a man of few words – and the driver of our transportation
King of the Guatemalan world
The boat took us to Santiago Atitlán, a bustling Indian village (one of twelve surrounding the lake) noted for its huge marketplace of food, jewelry, textiles, and souvenirs. Upon our exit from the boat, we were almost immediately bombarded by locals trying to peddle their wares. One girl named Veronica politely told us that she would catch us after we had shopped.
Antonio introduces us to this Mayan woman who could wrap this cloth band around her head. She was one of the models consulted for a design used on some Guatemalan coin
There was a church at the top of the hill that Antonio wanted to take us to, so Bob and I hired some sort of tiny cab to take us up to the top, speeding us through the marketplace. The church was called La Iglesia de Santiago Apostol (Saint James the Apostle Church) and was completed in 1582.
Amidst the local vendors
Our three-wheeled transport up the hill of Santiago Atitlán
Summoning the higher powers outside La Iglesia de Santiago Apostol
One of the three volcanoes surrounding Lake Atitlán
Churches in this area had an interesting history as they were Catholic churches that had been forced onto the Mayan people (who had had their own religion for almost 2500 years). One example in this church of how the Mayan people attempted to keep their individuality was by actually making Judas Iscariot a Saint – albeit a Saint to the prostitutes! Images of him still survive in this church today.
Burned in the church
Ancient carving of the ‘St. Judas Iscariot’
After touring the church, we made our way back down the hill on foot, browsing the vendors all the way. Many ladies followed our group around, showing off their tapestries to anyone who would listen to them. They especially like to flock to Bob, who insisted that the word ‘no’ was the same in all languages.
Mayan woman wraps our fellow tourist Linda in her tapestry in an attempt to sell her wares – while her companion Michael does his best to ignore the situation
I bought a few bracelets from a little boy to give to kids back home (at the low price of 3/$1.00). Generally it was always the kids who won me over. When we reached the bottom of the hill, our old friend Veronica was there to remind us that we had promised to buy from her after we were done on the hill. She now had two friends with her as well. I told her that I would give her a dollar to pose for a picture with me, and naturally the other two jumped in as well, so it ended up costing me $3.00. I bought three more bracelets from one of the gals.
In the marketplace
With the thrifty, shifty saleswomen of Santiago Atitlán. Veronica is the gal in the middle.
Veronica and company then set their sights on Bob and he offered to pay $1.00 for a picture as well. Unfortunately for Veronica, she got greedy and upped her price to $5.00, for which Bob then laughed and decided to buy nothing. This didn’t prevent them from continuing to pester him though – all the way back to our boat.
Bob is pursued – but not persuaded – by the salesladies
I sat up front this time as we crossed back to the other side of the lake. It was actually much warmer up there. Twenty minutes later we were back in Panajachel and ready for our 2:00 lunch at the Porta Hotel del Lago, which consisted of chicken, rice, some unnecessary vegetables, and a tiramisu cake. It was close to 3:00 as we headed out on our three and a half hour trip back home, stopping for another construction pause and again at Restaurante Katok. I nodded off now and then.
One final sales push as our boat departs Santiago Atitlán
With Antonio and Ricardo outside the Porta Hotel del Lago in Panajachel
Bob and me with our chicken and interesting cucumber slices
That evening, against our better judgement, Bob and I indulged in dinner in the hotel at a sports bar called Strikers. The wretched Spanish Karaoke music was far too loud and the mini-burgers were mediocre. The buy-one-get-one Caronas went down just fine though.
I can hear the Spanish Karaoke now
After a brief Facebook stop in the Crew Lounge, I headed back to the room to turn in. We’d have another relatively early start the next morning.
Guatemala will continue…
The person behind you at La Iglesia de Santiago Apostol wouldn’t be mocking you, would he? I’m surprised that it doesn’t happen more often.
Chris
May 22nd, 2009