if you're on the shore, then you're sure not me-oh • 13 comments • While we were at Lake Atitlan, we were pretty disappointed that we weren't able to get onto the lake right away. A lot of people were away for the holidays and there was only one kayak. Also, scuba diving wasn't a great idea due to the algae bloom. So, when we rode into Panajachel on a pick-up, we decided to take a boat back to San Antonio Palopo. We negotiated a price with some men on the beach and got in the boat. Suddenly, some kid hopped in and started the engine. The man who we thought would be with us got on another boat and sailed away. We were a little confused, but the kid seemed to know what he was doing, so we relaxed and enjoyed the ride. We're so glad that we were able to get that ride back because it turned out that it was the only time we got on the lake. I'm sure an opportunity will present itself where we can kayak and scuba (hopefully, soon)!
guatemalan christmas • 6 comments • We didn't do presents but there were tamales, Home Alone on TV, and a roaring fire in our room. We had a very merry Christmas.
lake atitlan • 14 comments • Our first morning at Lake Atitlan was filled with pancakes, maple syrup, lots of tea, and... parrots. Not a typical Guatemalan breakfast, but a welcome change from all of the unusual foods we had tried the prior week. There are several towns surrounding the lake. The largest is Panajachel - where there were a lot of Americans on vacation. Our hotel was in a town called San Antonio Palopo, and we didn't see any other tourists, so we felt pretty isolated. It was a little inconvenient to be far away from all the businesses of Panajachel, but it was only a 20 minute ride in the back of a random person's pickup to get into town - for the price of 5 Quetzals. Since all the locals get rides into town in this manner, it is completely safe. The few thousand people in the town are primarily Cakchiquel Maya. They retain their traditional clothes and language, although Spanish is widely understood. The best thing about staying in San Antonio is that we felt that we really got to see the authentic culture of the people in the area and that it wasn't just catered to visitors. We were able to to relax without being harassed by people trying to sell us things. We sometimes felt that it was just the two of us on the lake!
guatemala • 9 comments • Bound for Guatemala City, on the 7am TicaBus, we reluctantly embraced another bus ride. TicaBus provides service to all of Central America and offers extremely cheap fares ($20 for the 7 hour ride from Tapachula to Guatemala City). You can't, however, buy tickets online, make reservations online, or get much information about the exact service you'll be getting (our bus arrived in Guatemala City 3 hours later than the website indicated it would). The border crossing was interesting, to say the least. You are immediately accosted by several people the moment you step off the bus - mostly money exchangers and people selling their wares. While Alex waited in line, to go through customs, I ran from one guy to another trying to find the highest rate for changing our leftover pesos. I find that the most effective way to get the best rate is to look sad and disappointed when they offer you the first rate, then a "come on, really?" expression at the second rate, and then you just point up when they give you their final rate... then when they won't go up anymore, you move on to the next guy. This method has worked out extremely well for us! Some photos from the bus ride into Guatemala City: Our shuttle to Panajachel (on Lake Atitlan) was waiting for us at the TicaBus terminal in Guatemala City. The shuttle then dropped us off in Antigua so it could pick up more passengers. Half an hour later it was off again. We finally arrived in Panajachel about 2.5 hours later and then had to get another van to San Antonio Palopo (a small village on the lake). We arrived tired, and yet relieved, at our Hotel at 9pm. Our accommodations were definitely not what we expected. However, since we were pretty much the only guests around Christmas, it was an amazing deal for the 5 days we were there and the view from the room was breathtaking:
