Panajachel, Guatemala, 12/10/07-12/12/07

Panajachel, more commonly known as Pana, and derogatorily known as "Gringotenango", is a tourist trap of a town on Lago de Atitlan. Lago de Atitlan is beautiful lake in the southwest of Guatemala between Xela and Antigua. The lake is ringed with 3 dormant volcanoes and is itself a crater lake.

The things to do in Panajachel are look at the lake, take a boat across the lake to other little towns, and hike. Unfortunately, due to robberies and the like, one needs to hike with an armed policeman provided by the government. I usually like to hike, but somehow thought that the serenity of the natural beauty would be spoiled by the presence of an armed guard.

I stayed two nights in Pana in a hotel on the lake shore. My room was on the upper floor and had a great view of the lake and volcanoes. Well, except when I woke that first morning to see freshly washed towels strung in front of my window.

I went to the lake shore the first day to watch the sunset. Who should wander by but a guy I was talking to at the hot springs a day or two before.

I had dinner at a restaurant whose front was open to th street. While waiting for my food, people would come by trying to sell things. One of the child vendors saw my PDA and was obviously curios. He was maybe 8. He went to the other side of the table and looked some more, not hiding his curiosity as an adult would. He asked if he could see it. I showed him the screen which had the solitaire game I was playing. He came back around to the other side and I kind of shooed him off. He was back a moment later on his way out of the restaurant and asked if he could have a piece of the buttery toasted bread that was sitting in the basket at my table. I said that he could and he quickly grabbed one and ran away like a squirrel scampering off with a proffered nut. Several minutes later after my food came, another kid came by. He was sort of standing at a little distance and saying something. He would sort of say it coyly and dart away. I realized that he was asking if he could have some bread. I guess word got around. I asked if he wanted a piece, he said yes, and I held the basket out for him. He grabbed one and ran off, kind of giggling. For this kid, I think it was more a game than a desire for the bread. I didn't mind. I was entertained.

The next morning I decided to walk to the next town. When I left, I carried only the bare essentials and my cell phone. I did not want anything vital stolen if I was robbed on the way. This meant leaving the camera at home. The walk was fine, but no real glorious views materialized. When I got to Santa Catarina Palopo, I walked to the shore. It was a beautiful view. When I sat near the water's edge and saw the volcanoes framed by willow branches with tufts of water grass in the foreground, I really wished that I had had my camera.

I decided to have lunch at the little restaurant overlooking the lake there. It was more for the view than because I was hungry. I was the only person in the place. This was definitely not another "Gringotenango".

On the walk back, I passed some kids sitting on piles of firewood. I remembered them from the walk there. The oldest was probably 12. As I approached, he asked, "Agua pura?"

"No, gracias," I said, thinking he was trying to sell me some water.

"No," he said. "For me."

I still had a lot of water left so I pulled the bottle out of the plastic bag I was carrying. He drank enthusiastically and handed it to the two other little boys. They handed me back the little that was left.

As they drank, I asked if they were out here all day with no drinking water. He said yes and I clucked my tongue as they drank. I don't know if that was true or if they were just trying to see if they could get the gringo to give them water. But they seemed genuinely thirsty. The oldest (who did all the talking) asked where I was from.

I went back home and chilled. After a while, I realized that it had gotten dark and I was missing the sunset. I ran to the rooftop to watch the remains of the sunset. As I watched the sun setting behind the volcanoes, I had this burst of appreciation of how lucky I am. Not that many people have had the chance to see the things that I have.

That night, after dinner, I had the waiter pack my leftover pizza in case some kid wanted it. I went to use the net, and sure enough some kid came in with his baby sister on his back. He asked for something and I asked if he wanted pizza. He took it, but a little hesitantly, and then told me to buy him a coke. I said, no I wasn't buying anything.

Fuentes Georginas Hot Springs, Guatemala 12/08/07-12/10/07

Fuentes Georginas is a hot springs near Xela, Guatemala. They are set in a mountainous cloud forest a few miles outside of the small town of Zunil (whose patron saint drinks and smokes.)Most people go to Fuentes Georginas as a day trip, but there are about 10 small cabins there for people who want to stay the night. I decided that I would kill to get some peace and quiet, so I booked a cabin for two nights-about US$12 a night with access to the bathing pools all night.I was the only passenger in the shuttle from Xela to the hot springs. The driver sort of acted as a tour guide. He is an American who fell in love in Xela and decided to stay. He told me how the locals switched from subsistence corn farming to growing vegetables. He pointed out all of the (very small) irrigation pipes. He pointed out where the new hydroelectric power plant was being built. He even went with me to make sure I got checked in and I showed him the cabin since he had never been in one and was curious.

The ride between Zunil and the hot springs was pretty amazing. Cloud forest covered mountains and valleys with a layer of mist rolling in from the unseen ocean many miles to the west.

I was totally pleased with the place. The hot springs were pretty basic--no spa resort here. I was very glad of that. There are 3 pools--the top one is the largest and hottest. It drains to the second pool which is shallower and cooler. Finally, the water runs to the third pool which is shallowest and coolest. Alongside the big pool is a restaurant/bar. The end of the big pool is an almost vertical wall up the forest. The spring comes out here. The whole place was shrouded in afternoon fog. There were maybe 20 people there, a mix of whites and latinos.

After the place closed and I had finished bathing and eating, I went back to my cabin. It had gotten quite chilly, so I decided to light a fire in the fireplace. (The cabins are not heated. In fact, I have not stayed anywhere with heat since I left the US.) It was my first time lighting a fireplace, and after an hour of frustration and my last piece of kindling, it was blazing.

Since they turn of the power at 10pm, I peaked outside around 9:30 to listen if anyone was out and about. When I stepped out my door, it was pitch black. There was no way I was going to walk the 20 yards to the pools in this. I could not see anything. I lit my LED flashlight so I could walk out far enough from my door to see the sky. I thought there would be mist obscuring the stars, but it was clear. The starts were amazingly bright and sharp. I read on the net that day that there was a meteor shower reaching its peak in a few days. I looked for some, but only stayed out for a couple of minutes. It was way too cold out to hang out long.

I awoke around dawn--7am or so. There was a bit of shouting a bit later, similar to last night when it got dark. All in all, there is not much shouting around here when it is just the cabin dwellers. When I first heard the shouting the previous night it did foster the thought: What is it about human nature that when we encounter a beautiful, tranquil, quiet setting, we feel compelled to spoil it by shouting at the top of our lungs? It is a truly an annoying characteristic.

After a morning bathe in the pools to defrost, I walked up the hiking paths into the surrounding hills. It was pretty in the cloud forests, but not much in terms of views. What would have been fantastic views were obscured by trees. It was kinda cool walking through the bamboo part where bamboo leaves carpeted the ground pretty thickly. I was surprised to find a lone grave up there marked with a simple wooden cross.

I took one snapshot of a vista. When I turned around and came back, what was a clear vista 15 minutes earlier was now just a wall of fog.

In the evening, I met a guy named Ken in the pool. He and his girlfriend are super low-budget travelers. I got to talking with them. In the end, it was decided that I would get to Xela tomorrow with them via pickup and chicken bus.

The next morning, after our morning bathe, we hopped in the back of a pickup truck in the parking lot. The girl (Adrien?) negotiated the price--US$6 for the 3 of us. Someone else I talked to yesterday payed that much per person.

The ride back to Zunil in the back of that truck was fantastic. Surprisingly, I was not freezing. It was great to see the views in 360 degrees. The couple and I talked about the vegetables in the fields we passed. They are small organic farmers in Maine.

Once in Zunil, we hopped on a bus destined for Xela. It was my first "chicken bus" (long distance, no frills bus) in Guatemala. In fact, I think the only other one I've been on was in India. It was actually quite nice. The owner clearly took pride in his vehicle. It was spotless inside and out. It was an old Blue Bird school bus, but the outside had been painted, a little chrome added, and some adornments placed around the driver's area. All of these buses in Guatemala seem to have names--usually women's names.

The bus took us to the main bus terminal in Xela. When I say bus terminal, it was not like a nice airport-like building like in Mexico. It was basically a wide point in the road with several long lines of buses parallel to each other. It was slightly organized chaos, with a minor market forming around the buses and vendors wending their ways through and on the buses.

This was where I parted ways with the Maine farmers. I was so encouraged by my travels so far today, that I decided to just get on another chicken bus and head to Panajachel. I wandered through the maze of buses and market stalls until a guy asked me where I was going. He then took me to the appropriate bus. The bus was scheduled to leave at 10. I got on at 9:45. It leaft at 10:20. I breathed a lifetime's worth of exhaust in that period.

The ride to Panajachel was fine. There were a couple of 10 minute stops for road construction. I did find that by the end of the 2 1/2 hour trip, my knees were a little achey (these were school buses made for kid-sized legs) and I was getting a mild headache. Nonetheless, I am a convert. For the most part, it is now chicken buses for me. It is just so much easier to schedule them than shuttles or "luxury" buses.

Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala 12/06/07-12/08/07

I am falling behind in my blogs, so I will be doing them out of order. I am writing this in Antigua, Guatemala. Prior to getting here, I was in Oaxaca, Mexico; Tehuantepec, Mexico; San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico; Quetzeltenango (Xela), Guatemala; Fuentes Georginas Hot Springs, Guatemala; and Panajachel, Guatemala.

I'm in Guatemala because, well, it's on my way. Several people have sung the praises of Antigua, so I am curious to see it.

I'll start this blog entry from my departure from Mexico.

I woke up early in San Cristobal, packed, and got picked up by the shuttle to Guatemala. I was the second to last person to be picked up and when we picked up the last group, there was some shuffling. Two shuttles where driving together (a good safety precaution) and I got shuffled to the second one while my baggage stayed in the first. This was fine, but it meant that when we got to the border, I had to wait for my luggage before getting on the shuttle on the Guatemalan side. Because I was in between the two groups of people, I caught up with the first group and asked where to get my passport stamped. There was a miscommunication (with another American) and I was told that the next shuttle would take me there. If I had just opened my eyes, I would have realized that this was not true. I was 50 feet from the immigration control point. Once we were on our way in the shuttle, it shortly became clear that I was screwed. I was in Guatemala without my visas stamp. A week and a half later I would end up making a run to Guatemala City to get this fixed.

The mountainous scenery in Guatemala was beautiful.

My destination in Guatemala was Quetzeltenango, known more commonly in Guatemala as Xela (SHELL ah). Xela is a highland town and is the second largest city in Guatemala. The focal point of the town is the central park, which although small, is quite nice. It is surrounded by old colonial buildings. Unfortunately, that is pretty much the only interesting part of Xela. It is definitely less touristy than Antigua and less grungy than Guatemala City. Not a bad city, just not overly exciting.

I checked out a guesthouse recommended by the guidebook. Although my Spanish is not great, I can usually pick up quite a bit of what people are saying. With the young guy who showed me the room at the guesthouse, I was thining, "Is this guy even speaking actual words?" If this was how all Guatemalans talked, I was going to be in trouble. Fortunately, it was not. I did not stay at the guesthouse because the room was right off the kitchen and I did not want the noise.

Instead, I stayed at an even dumpier place that ended up being just as noisy. No matter.
That first evening I ended up having dinner with four women, two of whom were waiting outside for the restaurant to open when I arrived. The other two were the pair from Maryland whom I talked to on the shuttle.

After dinner, I picked up a SIM card for my phone at a little store next to the restaurant. It was with the phone company Claro. It only cost around US$6. Unfortunately, it kind of sucked. Most of my calls in Xela were not completed. I had to try many times before I could send a text message. People had to try many times before they could reach me. On many calls, I could hear the other person, but they could not hear me (both local and international.) When I got to Panajachel and Antigua, things worked much better.

I spent half of the next day sick in bed. I felt exhausted, my stomache was a bit woozy, but mainly, I had the trots. Six hours later I was fine. I think my immune system has gotten very good at fighting off foreign bacteria.

It turns out that the guy who runs/owns/lives in the house where I was staying lived for several months in San Mateo, California which borders Belmont where I used to live.

By the second full day in Xela, I was making plans to leave. I made a reservation for a cabin at the hot springs nearby. I was going to arrange a shuttle there, but there was a miscommunication between me and the guesthouse owner (who also runs a tour agency).
I went around town taking photos, which I had not yet done. Not much to take, other than the square.

I had dinner at this "Middle Eastern" restaurant, Cafe el Arabe, which I only mention because I swear that the meat was carved out of salt. I was warned that the food here can be salty.

Here is today's bullet list: Concepts not understood in Guatemala:

• A full bus
• Too much salt
• Peace and quiet

Except for the one about salt, they apply to Mexico as well.

I was very tired and tried to sleep early, but the house's owner had the morning's tour group staying over, so there was an hour of noise and mayhem. After that (around 11 or so) it was fine.

The next day, I discovered that the shuttles to the hot springs only ran if two or more tickets were purchased. I purchased two and killed several hours until the afternoon departure. I walked to a point overlooking Xela and snapped a few pictures.

The Pyramids of Teotihuacán, 11/20/07

The pyrimads of Teotihuacan are about an hour away from Mexico City by bus. There are some very nice pyramids and platforms and lots crumbled ruins of which little remain.

My journey started with a ride on the Mexico City metro to the northern bus station. There is a bus line that has a direct bus to the pyramids. It also serves a nearby town, and I was surprised that I was the only person to get off the bus at the pyramids. (Thankfully, the bus driver gave me a little prod at the appropriate time.)

There were not many people at the ruins when I got there. As such, I got even more attention from the people selling trinkets. They didn´t try the hard sell, though.
When I go on these little excursions, I always make sure that I pack some food in my bag. Except that day. I had the food but forgot to put it in my bag. After about 10 minutes of walking around, I was really kicking myself. And the museum snack shop was closed that day, naturally. I managed to make it through without too much trouble.

You can climb up a large number of the ruins, including the two big pyrimads--the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. The Pyramid of the Sun is the larger and is quite a climb. You can go all the way to the top and get a 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside and the other ruins.

One can only climb part of the way up the Pyramid of the Moon, but it is still a good view. While up there, I took a picture for some German guy who in turn took the picture of me you see here, with the Pyramid of the Sun in the background.

When it came time to leave, I had to ask where to catch the bus. The guy at the entrance told me which exit to use to catch the bus, but there was no marked bus stop. I asked the guard there where to catch the bus. I asked in Spanish, but he responded in English. I guess that shows how good my Spanish is.

I waited across the street to catch the bus at the unmarked bus stop. I was the only one to get on the bus. It was an uneventful ride back to Mexico City, where I finally got some food, after way too much walking to get to a restaurant.