A New View of Panajachel

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The last time I visited to Panajachel (2005), I only saw a tourist trap. Booth after booth with tourist kitsch for sale with jacked up prices line the streets. Many of the items are made in China.



This time I stayed with my friend Maria who has a house in Panajachel, but also lives in Texas. We flew down to Guatemala together and she invited me to visit her in Pana.



Maria is originally from Guatemala, and even in the States dresses in traditional Mayan clothing. This was a wonderful chance to see her on her own turf and I got to see Panajachel from Maria’s point of view and it totally changed my experience of the town. She has a nice house with a gorgeous garden and a breathtaking view from her roof. Just hanging out at her house would have been vacation enough!



Walking down the street with her, I realized she knows a lot of people in town. Their faces lit up when they saw her and she introduced me as she stopped to talk with them. These would have been people that I might have avoided for fear they would try to sell me something. Instead I got to have a warm exchange with them and see that this is a sweet little resort town with friendly people. In the evenings we walked down to the lake and ate at the little restaurants.



On my last night there, Maria ran into her neighbor while walking down the street who told her that this evening was the Fiesta de las Princessas Indigenas… and sort of a pageant for the Mayans. Each town elects princesses to represent their town. Each town has their own variation on the traditional dresses and the women (and girls) proudly danced one-by-one down the isle of the large incense filled hall and pine needles covered the floor. Some of the women had wooden crowns or traditional headdresses. Maria pointed out the outfits and was able to tell me where they were from. I got loads of pictures, but mostly of the women from Iztapa because that’s Maria’s hometown. I made a little movie of the event… [youtube=

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I considered moving to Pana, but for now I have other things to do. Sure is temping though! What a relaxing weekend!



Photos



There are a bunch of photos waaaaaay down at the bottom of the page. Scroll down to the bottom of this page or double-click on the pictures to see more photos connected with this blog.

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Photos

Maria in her garden
I have a bad habit of asking friends to let me take pictures of them in their traditional dress... Maria graciously accepted

View from Maria's Roof
Looking toward Lago de Atitlán

View from Maria's Roof
Looking towards the road to Sololá

Maria and I out to eat
I had so much fun!

Lago de Atitlán
Just beautiful there...

Marimba players at a local restauraunt
Maria has know some of these ladies since they were babies. The music was good so I bought a CD.

Beginning of the show
This lady carried baskets down the isle and threw them out to the audience as souvenirs.

Little Princess from Iztapa
Her family recognized Maria and made room for to sit next to them in the overcrowded event hall.

Little Princess from Iztapa
She had the most beautiful braids

Beautiful outfit
... can't remember where it's from