Huipile crazy.

---

Heading off up to the lake

From Xela to Panajachel which sits on the shores of the beautiful Lago Atitlan surrounded by volcanoes over 3500 ft high (that's not the biggest) we found a friendly local familly run hotel named Villa Lupita in the old town, with a view over the lake from the roof terrace. Know to locals as Pana, the town has a toursity feel,with lots of indigenous handy crafts, which doen't sound too appealing, but we found it really friendly and enjoyed our stay. Marcel discovered the Guatemalan tipico breakfast and thus ate it everyday thereafter consiting of: sausage, scrambled egg (huevos revoltos), bleack beans, cream, plantain, torilla, coffee.
During our stay we had coffee with a local who was a decendant of a coffee finca owner, he began to talk about his familly history, it was very interesting; how they had been expelled during WWII, than bought their land back at rock-bottom prices a few years later. It seems now from our experience in Guatemala, talking to people, visiting finca that there's not so much money to be made in growing coffe and we learnt that some finca owners use their air strips for narco plane refuelling. Now there's a thing
We decided to take a lancha across the lake, which is truelly dreamy,to San Marcos, where we stayed one night in a nice Swiss owned cassita and swam in the lake the next day, fresh and lovely. San Marcos is a bit too new age for us, too much healing happening man!!!It's all good, but I've never seen so many adverts for reiki in my life and I live in London and I'm into reflexology (hi Annie), it was just to much people meditating under pyramids, la la la
Back in Pana we found a place that sold old huipiles and bought a few.(just a few) actually we went a bit mad.....they are so beautiful and all hand woven with the design representing the village where the women created them (men weave too and are very skilled). The next day at Solola market; a locals market full of fresh fresh produce and thousands of indigenous people plus me and marcel and couple of other westerners we were well and truelly accepted into the scrum and crushed along the isles that sold fresh white cheese, beans, and more beans of every shade of brown, black and red and fruit and baskets, threads for weaving and lot sof live chickens. Personal space has a very different meaning in Guatemala than England!! A small space can be filled with many more people than we could ever have previously imagined, imagine Notting Hill Carnival under the West way in the bad old days and up it a bit.... lets just say, rush hour tubes in London are nothing compared to a busy chicken bus or the crowds at Solola market.

---

Photos

more local mayan stuff from the past
a bit dusty too

ooh moody shot
Sitting on the dock watching the clouds float by - you can take a high altitude PADI course - the lake is 2100 metres above sea level

This monkey was a real show off
might post video when we figure out how to do it.

a rare sight an empty chicken bus
We had to take a photo and it didnt last long either.

Panajachel church
By our hotel

Christmas nativity - Guatemalan style
At our hotel

Comments

[lotta]

great to travel with you!!!
Hey honies what a fantastic thing that you are writing a blog - I was just thinking abou how I haven't heard from you and wondering where you were when I got your email and address to the blog!!! I miss you guys, it's good to read about your travels, I'm there traveling with you, it reminds me of our wedding in Guatemala and our big trip!!!!! All is well with us, Tomás is the cutest little boy in the world and already has two teeth and wants to walk!!!! He's happiest when we are on the road!!! Looking forward to your next entry, and seeing you here in Tremp!! Lots of love and Safe travels - Lotta, Mike and Tomás :0D