14: Panajachel pt1 - Guatemala

Days 52-54 (4th-6th Dec): Travel to Panajachel, The Town and Volcan San Pedro Expedition :P

Me not wanting to leave the nice bed in Coban!

So Panajachel is a nice little town, but very touristy. That made a bit of a nice change I suppose! Lots to do here so need to do some planning to see it all. Lake Atitlan (Pana is just one of about 12 villages on it) is one of the main attractions in Guatemala, some very traditional villages mixed with tourist hotspots and beautiful scenery. There are 3 huge volcanoes that help make it gorgeous and you can climb them too. They are our first real volcanoes and they were very striking to see!

Slums of Guatemala City

 To get here the 10 hour bus ride was much like the others. Long, but with amazing scenery the whole way out the window with mountains and hills and forest and landscapes so different to ours. We had to make several bus changes and while in Antigua (which looks lovely and we're excited to go back there next week) an electricity cable from a pole fell down and got wrapped around the wheel of the minivan.. the driver didn't even notice untill we shouted at him and jumped out, and even then he acted totally nochalent and just started to pull on this live cable... mental. Thats just whats its like here, no one cares about their own or anyone elses safety really! On the 3rd bus change the driver we got was crazy, and it was probably the first time I felt pretty unsafe, he was wheel-skidding (we could hear them skreetch) round rele tight corners on a small mountain road... eventually someone asked him to stop so that was ok. I think thats pretty normal here too lol.

One great thing was that some sunshine broke through the clouds which was nice to see after about a week and half without any at all, and it made some gorgeous sunset views over the valleys. When we arrived in Panajachel it was dark so we couldnt see the lake or the volcanoes which was a shame (we had left at 7 that morning too!), but did find the hospedaje ok and it was quite nice compared to most we had been in, its had cable TV and wifi! We hadnt eaten anything but crisps and bus food all day (at each stop locals will jump on the bus and try to sell you paper plates of cooked food, its weird but actually really nice!) so ran to a restaurant and had some fancy steak and skewers to treat ourselves :) Every inch of the main street here is lined with shops and stalls and cubbyholes, like a long market, full of crafts and mostly beaded bracelets... oh dear lol. Will deal with that another day haha.

The next day we went and found a really nice little cafe that had a lovely garden full of tropical flowers and plants and we ate out in the courtyard surrounded by it all. We had got a bit bummed out because when we were watching the TV all the christmas adverts where on and it just reminded us that we wont be at home for all that and how different/hard it is going to be, even though we keep trying not to think about it. And then the garden we were sitting in reminded me of my Grandmas and so that made it worse lol. But still, it was a lovely place and the sun was out so not too much to be sad about!

 We then went down to the dock and got our first real look at the volcanoes. They were so imposing across the lake from us and made quite an impression being the first ones we had rele seen (despite the cloud lol). They looked like a picture.

Afterwards we walked along the docks looking at all the stalls and got caught by lots of people selling things and shoving them in your face, they are very persistant lol. Its great to see the traditions though with the really pretty clothes and women carrying things on their heads.

It actually got a but nippy again so we went and got a cup of tea in a coffee shop and wrote my diary. Liam ended up talking to crazy old Guatemalan man selling nuts from a bag, he had scales and everything and was quite funny :) It was nice, until some very loud Americans came in and ruined it all. I don't think they realised how loud they were talking and that what they were saying often sounded very stupid?!? There is quite a mix here of some backpackers and some rich/older/retired toursits too, that obviously have a lot of money and flash it about a lot. Very annoying, worse for the locals I imagine!!

 

The next morning I woke up and Liam was gone. I found him doing some washing of our clothes! Part of why I love him :) Today we decided to actually do something so went down to the docks to try to get a lancha (small boat) across the lake to one of the volcanoes (San Pedro), to try to climb up one and get to some small ruins that are up there. We found a man who said he would take us and wait a few hours and take us back (for a heafty fee) so we went with that. The ride across the lake was really bumpy actually and I was worried about Liam but he managed it fine :)

We got off at what looked like someones private dock, and got shown up a path. It looked small, unofficial and we werent sure it was the right place but we gave it a go. So then the climb began! Up this steep, muddy, rocky path, through coffee fields, maze field, olive groves and some old spooky rundown buildings and farm houses. It looked strangely deserted, it was totally silent up there and quite creepy, like no one ever came up here and hadnt for a long time! Felt very remote, but in a way it was great to see this part of the country too and if you turned around you got amazing postcard vistas of the lake and the other volcanos from that height. We did consider the fact we might die and get eaten by the vultures up here though lol :P

 

 

 

We wandered around for a bit but couldnt find a lot. We were following all the paths off, wading through waist high grasses, fields, snakes, and up rocks to get to other places. We came across this rele creepy dark cave so ran from that quickly lol, and eventually Liam spotted somthing in the distance and we reached some rele big boulders and what looked like stairs. It was the remains of a small simple temple, though not the bigger site we had been looking for (no idea where that was). There was a fire pit here and some melted wax, some long-dead flowers and other weird items, and we later found out that the area is still used by shamans and locals to make offerings :S The temple was not a lot to see but the views from here were gorgeous and you could see for miles.

Liam all victorious with the climb :)

 

It was getting dark though and was a very creepy and the lancha was leaving soon so we had to run back down the side of the mountain in the dusk, down the steep paths and through all the fields, tripping up as we went on the mayan ceramics lol. We just made it before we were abandoned on the island, and the boat ride back in the dark was pretty with all the village lights twinkling. The boatman had been getting quite worried about us apparently lol. I think he had taken us to the wrong place. I dont think he knew what we meant by the ruins here, its difficult in Spanish, and so had just taken us to the volcano anyway lol. No one we asked seemed to know what we were on about despite it being in the guide book!? We were glad to get back, but still, it was definitely a great adventure! :D We ended the day by cooking omelette and watching the smurf movie, yay for cable :)

 

So that is just the start of Panajachel, lots more to do here and will hopefully see some more tradtional villages too. Im liking the warmer weather and TV too much though lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Chicken Buses!! :D

We love these, they are always SO brightly coloured and pimped out and packed fuller than sardines! You need some balls to ride one but you are guaranteed to get friendly with the locals and see something funny :)