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Despite intentions to leave earlier, we got on an express bus leaving Mazatenango at 9am. We arrived in Guatemala City around noon, and weren’t exactly sure what to do. We had the name and phone number of a bus company, but they weren’t at the main terminal yet. In a moment of zeal, anxiety and/or adrenaline, I made the call and climbed onto a chicken bus. Uncharted territory, to be sure, and I was far from confident as I fidgeted in my comfortable seat, but it was headed to Panajachel and I needed to get there before it got dark. For 25 quetzales (and there are Q8 to $1) I reached Pana by 5pm, little worse for wear.
I confidently headed down the sloping main street, Calle Santander, to the dock. We hopped on a boat to one of the many little towns surrounding Lake Atitlán, San Pedro la Laguna. The sun was setting as we rode across, and by the time we had navigated our way through the town’s maze of alleys and forks I was hungry and exhausted, but even with my too-low blood sugar level I was able to appreciate the view from my room.
We hurried off to get dinner at a fantastic little hostel/restaurant, Jarachick, where I happily ordered mango curry—NOT beans or tortillas! —and snuggled into the plentiful pillows of the bench-style seating as the nightly rain against the tin roof lulled me into a food coma.
I woke up Sunday morning at 5:30am without an alarm, grabbed the wooly blanket off my bed, and sat out on the large, communal terrace with a few other travelers to watch the sunrise.
After a few hours of lake-appreciation and bird watching, we headed out for breakfast, which was a plato típico plus “panqueques,” or Guatemalan pancakes, which I love. Almost every establishment on Lake Atitlán offers a breathtaking and unique view, and this place was no exception.
Next, we hopped on a boat for another town, Santiago de Atitlán. Although the lake views you get on these boat rides are reason enough to go, each of the towns has something different to offer. Santiago happens to have a particularly great market. We checked it out for a couple hours, and I picked up a gorgeous pair of hand-painted cups and saucers. The market was interesting, with all the indios buying and selling food, clothing and wares. We spent a while talking with a local painter, who was selling his artwork. I received a lot of compliments on my Spanish and a lot of surprised looks when I said that I was American. That was refreshing, compared to La Maquina, where I was getting a lot of “ella no entiende.” Confidence = restored.
We had to be back in San Pedro in time to check out of the hostel and find a place to watch the World Cup Final. Fortunately we wanted to see the game; leaving town wasn’t an option for those uninterested, as all the boat people were watching the game without any intentions of leaving until it was over. I was disappointed in how dirty the game was, but we were all pleased to see the better team win.
After experiencing a little Stanley Cup nostalgia while watching España bask in its win, we caught a boat to Panajachel. We found a place to stay there and spent the rest of the day wandering around and enjoying the town.
Silver's room featured a lovely piece of artwork...that he put outside so that he could actually sleep.
Monday, we had panqueques again for breakfast—served with honey instead of syrup—along with some to-die-for coffee, and had a few hours to continue wandering around Pana before catching the bus to leave. Monday was much warmer compared to the other two days here—the mountainous regions are considerably cooler than the sweltering coast, but the warmth was welcome, as I hadn’t brought a sweater. We checked out Pana’s markets, and I picked up a pretty jade and pearl necklace for the equivalent of $5. Later, we walked by a guy selling paintings, and one caught my eye. I’d been looking at other places, but one finally grabbed me. It’s a street in Antigua done in oil on canvas, with fantastically rich color. The scene in particular is THE street in Antigua, the one with the huge arch going across it. I wielded my mad haggling skills, and brought it down from almost $200 to $40. I’m beyond excited to see it hanging in my future apartment. This was my one vacation souvenir splurge.
Our bus picked us up and brought us to the second largest city in Guatemala. Officially Quetzaltenango, this city is still much more commonly known as Xela (sheh-la), which is its name in the Mayan Ki’che language. Xela is a very cool city; home to a large university and ton of language schools besides, it is an all-around much nicer place than, say, Guatemala City. Our bus arrived too late for us to transfer to the next bus that would bring us home, so we stayed the night in a hostel just a block away from the main plaza/park. So, we got to see some of this city before hopping on a chicken bus—yes, again! —and heading back to La Maquina. This bus did break down along the way, but the drive was still hours shorter than the route through Guatemala City, and scenic to boot.
This trip was a huge success, and I’m excited to continue my travels around Guate—especially after returning to this miserable coastal heat. Returning on a Tuesday has certainly cut short the school week, but we’ve learned some valuable lessons about planning transportation, at least.
We did get a little surprise upon our return though. Abuelita added three new baby chickens and two turkeys to the mix over here, all to compensate somehow for the fact that she killed the big turkey. We ate him for lunch today. In memory of the “chompipote,” here is a video featuring him.
“Silver v. Chompipe”
Enjoy.
