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Published: June 22nd 2006
Hey everyone, it feels like ages since I last used a computer but I guess it hasn´t been that long. Hmmm, what has been happening lately, the days seem to all blur together. We had some interesting nights out in Coban, you can´t really call it going out though because we were pretty much the only people around. One bar we went to, offered a selection of possibly stolen electronics and appliances to browse while you drank your beer. The gun-weilding bar tender/host/cook/DJ/waiter was nice enough though. We had a few beers there amongst the dead palm tree in the corner, the broken disco ball, and the egg-carton covered walls, and a table of locals. Good times. The next night we went to another little 'bar' down the street from out hotel, it was more or less a cement box with dirty pink walls and beer posters, it was just us and a table of local men. I´m pretty sure I am the only women ever to go in there, not to mention I´m blonde and white! So those were some pretty exciting nights out on the town in Coban.
After that we took a bus down to Guatemala City, a fun little five hour bus ride. Dean and I went our separate ways from there, and I took a cab to find a bus to Panajachel on Lago de Atilan. Guatemala City didn´t seem so bad and I was kind of sad as I left on the bus that I didn´t get to check it out. I don´t know why I like the cities, the craziness, the hectic markets, traffic, and somewhat organized chaos. When we were leaving the city on the chicken bus to Pana, the bus driver told us we all had to lie down on our seats so no one could see us. There were only about 6 people on the bus, me, two old women, and some old men. I don´t really understand what that was all about, something about paying some sort of fee, but the first twenty minutes of my bus ride was spent lying down. Hmmm?
The bus ride up to Pana was a beautiful, crowded one. The locals traditional dress changed completely from the Peten area, and everyone wears a completely different outfit now. The colours are so amazing and clashing, and bright. It´s great. The men wear vibrantly coloured half-pants with a sort of skirt wrapped over, and insanely bright shirts, usually a cowboy hat of some sort, and possible a large machete. All in different colours and patterns´. The bus wound through switch-backs all through the hills, it was nice, but long as usual. A solid 9 hours of bus that day.
I never expected Lago de Atilan to be this beautiful. As soon as I caught a glimpse of it as we came over a hill on the bus was amazed. I know I say everwhere I go is the nicest place ever, but I really mean it this time! This place is so incredibly captivating and amazing. The colour of the water, the surrounding volcanos, the people, the sun, the nightly thunder and lightening, the water temperature is perfect too. The rich, lush, steep, walls that surround the lake. The little towns everywhere cut into the hills. It´s so perfect!
Pana is a little touristy for me, but as soon as you walk away from the main street you see where the locals live and hang out and it's much better. There is always this facade in almost every place I have been too, and you just have to walk away from that to find the real places. From the tourist front some of the towns seem be clean and well off, quite nice, but as soon as you move away from that the poverty is striking, and you see how the people who work in the tourist areas live. The girls and women selling material and bracelets in the street in Pana are so persistent, I have never encountered anything like it. They come up to you when you are eating and will not leave you alone. I ended up buying a few bracelets just because I wanted to relax while I ate breakfast one day. And they might start at 20Q, no 10Q, okay 5Q, okay, okay 2Q, okay 2 for 1Q. So they start thier prices high enough, I wonder if anyone buys things from them for the full price. Also the nut venders here are very persistent, one guy told me I needed cashews to make me strong and fat, come on, you need them! But I do love cashews so it´s okay, and they´re cheap as cheap can be.
San Pedro was nice and fun and all that, but San Marcos across the lake couldn´t have been more different and it was exactly what I was looking for. There aren´t really roads but just little paths everywhere and, both dirt and cobblestone. It´s so peaceful and relaxing and I stayed in the most beautiful hotel ever! However, San Pedro was so cheap I couldn´t believe it. The food was really really good and cost next to nothing, and I paid less that 5 dollars for my own room, own bathroom, HOT WATER, a big bed, tables and shelves (a real luxury), and the hotel had a nice dock to hang out on. It is interesting though because as you are relaxing on the dock, the lake is full of local people doing all their washing and bathing right beside you. There were some really steep hills in San Pedro to walk up and some of the old women with a full head load of stuff seemed to make their way up no problem. Or a young women with a head load and a kid on her back and one along her side. It´s impressive, not to mention the head to toe thick clothing they wear.
My hotel in San Marcos was amazing, the whole place was covered in beautiful stained glass and gardens. I paid 7 dollars for my own room all made out of beautiful wood, it smelled great. Every lamp shade and window and every little space you looked had great stained glass creations. Huge butterfly stained glass lamp shades, amazing windows and whole walls out of stained glass, there was a perfect view of the lake and volcanos, and a great patio in the sun. The whole place was a huge garden too, full of flowers and green everywhere you looked. I think it was the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at, and it probably would have cost a hundred dollars a night in Canada. My only annoyance was a scorpion that dropped on my hand this morning when I opened my window, I forgot to mention my room looked out over the beautiful lake and was all window.
San Marcos involved a lot of relaxing but my days were surprisingly full. I did yoga every morning for two hours at one of the other hotels. The yoga area was outside under a thatched roof, surrounded by little paths and gardens. Green, green and more green everywhere, and sunshine poking through. It was perfect. We had flowers and herbs from the organic garden in the middle of our thatched yoga mats. There were only two of us and the instructor every time too. And again, there was stained glass lamps and decorations all around. I always think of Auntie Leanne in these places and how much she would love it! I did a lot of walking and hiking around, of course lots of swimming and laying in the sun, and eating the best pizza ever at a little restaurant down the path. There were some nice rocks to jump off of and relax on, but you had to negotiate the washing drying on the rocks. Huge blankets and lace material would be drying everywhere, and kids swimming in the lake, women doing washing on the rocks and bathing. I wonder how much soap gets put into the lake though, the lake has no output so it must be having an effect on the environment.
It seems as you move away from tourist areas you get less and less attention. I have been getting much more male attention again now that Dean is gone, I forgot how annoying it is sometimes, but I don´t mind too much. But you get the most attention around the areas where there are other tourists, when you walk away into the towns people don´t seem to pay any attention to you and you can walk around in peace for the most part. I usually have a few little chats with old, teethless men though. They´re so friendly, maybe a little too friendly every once and a while. The local people are so friendly, everyone says hello and good afternoon to everyone, it´s great. It´s so much better than at home where many people walk with their eyes down, don´t smile, and don´t say hello. Even here, some other travellers and foreigners won´t even say hi to you. It´s silly.
Speaking of persistant sellers, three girls have come up to me in the last twenty minutes with various goods for sale. They all say special price for you, of course. It´s hard though because you want to help and buy some stuff but you can´t buy everything from everyone and I have already gave a lot of money to people.
It´s been a very full few days here, I am leaving out so, so, so much as usual. But I now have less than two weeks here. It has been impossible to try to come up with somewhat of a plan for the next two weeks because there is so much I want to do between here and Mexico city. How do you decide where to go, and how do you move on from such amazing places. Yep, my life is so hard.
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mom
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decisions...
now that it is almost time to come home, even i am panicking about what you will miss doing/seeing, and what will you do with your time...but i will be quite glad to see you...did you get your "record" picture yet? please do so we can send it in! what an adventure..next time, maybe i will go...? love you..m