Surfcrest
April 3rd, 2014, 15:17
Guatemala Travelogue, Part 4 Lake Atitlan & The Highlands
Guatemala тАУ Land of Eternal Spring
A six part travel article on Guatemala, Central America
Part 1 The Pet├йn and Tikal
Part 2 Livingston and the Rio Dulce
Part 3 GuateтАж.Guatemala City
Part 4 Lake Atitlan & The Highlands
Part 5 La Antigua
Part 6 Monterrico and the black sand beaches of Pacific Coast
By the time we left Guatemala City, my partner was feeling much better. It simply made a lot of sense not to waste time and to suffer any discomfort needlessly when a good doctor is affordable and within easy reach right to our hotel room and most medications cheap and readily available at the many street pharmacyтАЩs in the area. IтАЩve arranged a car and driver to pick us up at the hotel and drive us all the way to Panajachel. There are many ways we could take the trip, including getting on and off chicken buses, reserving a seat in a mini bus to even hitching a ride if need be. My most memorable and fun travels down here have been on a chicken bus, I quiet enjoy chatting with the MayansтАжwhen theyтАЩre not acting too shy, but these buses have had their hazards tooтАжfrom everything to stolen bags to buses rolling off a mountain road. The next offering up is two seats on a mini bus, sometimes itтАЩs a comfortable rideтАжwhile other times, youтАЩre jammed in driving dangerously fast with the price comparable to hiring a car. We are eager to get to the comforts of lake, and so we take the easiest and fastest option. Our car made the climb of out of Guatemala City from the southern end and then connected up with the Pan American highwayтАжan excellent roadway that has been recently rebuilt and conveniently runs along the top of the mountain ridges between Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango, GuatemalaтАЩs second biggest city. As we depart on this bright sunny day, the Pacaya Volcano is visible and smouldering just over the next mountain ridge and for the next few hours, weтАЩll wind our way through the dense forests of the highlands, up and down valleysтАжand across the ridge toward Lake Atitlan. The distance isnтАЩt far, but it will take us several hours to navigate around the massive Agua Volcano and travel father into the interior to the turn-off for Lake Atitlan. ThatтАЩs where weтАЩll begin the steep descent to the lake and to the town of Panajachel below.
TheyтАЩve been calling Panajachel тАЬGringotenengoтАЭ for as long as IтАЩve been coming to Guatemala. Gringo is a fun / slang / derogatory at times, name given to foreignersтАжand especially Americans, somewhat like how тАЬfarangтАЭ is used in Thailand. The suffixтАжtenango, a common word for town or village in down here. Panajachel has been a haven for hippies and draft dodgers since the 60тАЩs and even though quite a bit of violence has happened only a stoneтАЩs throw from here over the years, this region, the region around Panajachel has been relatively left alone and the ex-pats have in turn kept a fairly low profile in respect to the violence occurring around them and within earshot. Some of this generation of ex-pats are still here, although not all are тАЬhippiesтАЭ as some have opened successful businesses in the area and have become entrepreneurs, while a new younger generation of тАЬhippiesтАЭ has now re-created themselves, moved in and have continued the tradition. Now these kids are here, living the party life, making tie dyed clothes, bead making while holding down under the table jobs serving tables or washing dishes to get by. You can buy the local beer тАЬGalloтАЭ in one gallon plastic jugs in Panajachel, which youтАЩll see some of the young kids haul around as they wander about town in the evening. The restaurants, the pubs are all casual and quite full at night. ItтАЩs easy to get a good cheap meal at most of the places along the main street, while some you can clearly see specialize more in alcohol than with food. Because of the lake, fish is always a good choice around Atitlan and many places serve up similar steamed or fried fish plates with veggies. Staying at any of the hostels along the main street are going to be loud at night. WeтАЩve rented a small cottage near the lake and a few blocks from the main street.
Lake Atitlan has been a special place for the Mayan people and continues to be the heart of the last area of the world the Maya people still predominantly populate.Lake Atitlan is essentially a Volcanic basis, a deep lake (The deepest in Central America) surrounded by three majestic Volcanos and some very unique and distinct Mayan settlements. The Mayans once controlled and populated a great part of Central America and southern Mexico, all the way to the isthmus of Panama and a trading relationship to South America. The various tribes sometimes spoke different languages than each other and certainly dressed differently. Today, as you circle the great lake by boat, you will see peoples that look similar, but speak different languagesтАж communicate between tribes today that quite often can be in basic Spanish. Tzotzal, QтАЩeqchi, and KaqchikelтАжyou can hear the click in their tongue as they whisper to each other and look about to see if they are heard. The Mayans in this region are very careful in public not to draw attention themselves.
Guatemala тАУ Land of Eternal Spring
A six part travel article on Guatemala, Central America
Part 1 The Pet├йn and Tikal
Part 2 Livingston and the Rio Dulce
Part 3 GuateтАж.Guatemala City
Part 4 Lake Atitlan & The Highlands
Part 5 La Antigua
Part 6 Monterrico and the black sand beaches of Pacific Coast
By the time we left Guatemala City, my partner was feeling much better. It simply made a lot of sense not to waste time and to suffer any discomfort needlessly when a good doctor is affordable and within easy reach right to our hotel room and most medications cheap and readily available at the many street pharmacyтАЩs in the area. IтАЩve arranged a car and driver to pick us up at the hotel and drive us all the way to Panajachel. There are many ways we could take the trip, including getting on and off chicken buses, reserving a seat in a mini bus to even hitching a ride if need be. My most memorable and fun travels down here have been on a chicken bus, I quiet enjoy chatting with the MayansтАжwhen theyтАЩre not acting too shy, but these buses have had their hazards tooтАжfrom everything to stolen bags to buses rolling off a mountain road. The next offering up is two seats on a mini bus, sometimes itтАЩs a comfortable rideтАжwhile other times, youтАЩre jammed in driving dangerously fast with the price comparable to hiring a car. We are eager to get to the comforts of lake, and so we take the easiest and fastest option. Our car made the climb of out of Guatemala City from the southern end and then connected up with the Pan American highwayтАжan excellent roadway that has been recently rebuilt and conveniently runs along the top of the mountain ridges between Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango, GuatemalaтАЩs second biggest city. As we depart on this bright sunny day, the Pacaya Volcano is visible and smouldering just over the next mountain ridge and for the next few hours, weтАЩll wind our way through the dense forests of the highlands, up and down valleysтАжand across the ridge toward Lake Atitlan. The distance isnтАЩt far, but it will take us several hours to navigate around the massive Agua Volcano and travel father into the interior to the turn-off for Lake Atitlan. ThatтАЩs where weтАЩll begin the steep descent to the lake and to the town of Panajachel below.
TheyтАЩve been calling Panajachel тАЬGringotenengoтАЭ for as long as IтАЩve been coming to Guatemala. Gringo is a fun / slang / derogatory at times, name given to foreignersтАжand especially Americans, somewhat like how тАЬfarangтАЭ is used in Thailand. The suffixтАжtenango, a common word for town or village in down here. Panajachel has been a haven for hippies and draft dodgers since the 60тАЩs and even though quite a bit of violence has happened only a stoneтАЩs throw from here over the years, this region, the region around Panajachel has been relatively left alone and the ex-pats have in turn kept a fairly low profile in respect to the violence occurring around them and within earshot. Some of this generation of ex-pats are still here, although not all are тАЬhippiesтАЭ as some have opened successful businesses in the area and have become entrepreneurs, while a new younger generation of тАЬhippiesтАЭ has now re-created themselves, moved in and have continued the tradition. Now these kids are here, living the party life, making tie dyed clothes, bead making while holding down under the table jobs serving tables or washing dishes to get by. You can buy the local beer тАЬGalloтАЭ in one gallon plastic jugs in Panajachel, which youтАЩll see some of the young kids haul around as they wander about town in the evening. The restaurants, the pubs are all casual and quite full at night. ItтАЩs easy to get a good cheap meal at most of the places along the main street, while some you can clearly see specialize more in alcohol than with food. Because of the lake, fish is always a good choice around Atitlan and many places serve up similar steamed or fried fish plates with veggies. Staying at any of the hostels along the main street are going to be loud at night. WeтАЩve rented a small cottage near the lake and a few blocks from the main street.
Lake Atitlan has been a special place for the Mayan people and continues to be the heart of the last area of the world the Maya people still predominantly populate.Lake Atitlan is essentially a Volcanic basis, a deep lake (The deepest in Central America) surrounded by three majestic Volcanos and some very unique and distinct Mayan settlements. The Mayans once controlled and populated a great part of Central America and southern Mexico, all the way to the isthmus of Panama and a trading relationship to South America. The various tribes sometimes spoke different languages than each other and certainly dressed differently. Today, as you circle the great lake by boat, you will see peoples that look similar, but speak different languagesтАж communicate between tribes today that quite often can be in basic Spanish. Tzotzal, QтАЩeqchi, and KaqchikelтАжyou can hear the click in their tongue as they whisper to each other and look about to see if they are heard. The Mayans in this region are very careful in public not to draw attention themselves.