Lake Atitlan, Guatemala – May 14-16, 2011

We were up and ready for our 8 a.m. transfer that showed up just after 8:30.  After a few more stops in Antigua we began the trip to Panajachel.  The van was pretty full and my seat wasn’t all that comfortable.  However, we did arrive at our new hotel several hours later – just a bit stiffer than expected.

The drive repeated part of the drive with World Vision on Thursday.  I recognized many things including the turnoff to Santa Apolonia, which is where the World Vision office is located.  The drive beyond that point was new to me but it looked pretty much the same.   There were lots of rolling hills and everything was very green.  There were many small fields of vegetable crops and the farmers were always out in their fields working.  The soil is very dry in this area and the fields seemed to be in different states of process.  Sometimes the farmers were planting seeds by walking through the fields casting the seed by hand with the seed held in a sack slung around their shoulder.  Other times they were spraying the crops by walking through the fields waving a hose back and forth with the tanks on their back.  It was all manual labour.  Sometimes the farmer was alone in the field and other times it seemed that the whole family and all the neighbours were there.  It was a Saturday so I guess the whole family could have been involved.  When there were larger numbers of people it seemed to be more in the final picking stages for the crops and I guess that makes sense if the crop is ripe and has to be harvested right away.  Most of the fields were relatively flat on the areas near the highway but you could also see many terraced fields up on the hillsides.

The road was good but there were a lot of construction areas and again a lot of manual labour.  Yes, there was some large equipment for some jobs but a lot of it was done by hand.  At one point they were moving rocks and there was simply a line of men throwing rocks, which appeared to be very large and heavy, from one person to the next down the line.  The process worked well and was amazing to see but I had trouble ever imagining it happening in Canada.  I imagine it takes them a long time to complete their road work but it certainly isn’t from lack of effort.

The roads were busy with traffic but busier with pedestrians.  There were people going everywhere.  They were walking on the side of the road and some were carrying huge loads on their backs or heads.  In the towns they were on the streets and in the markets.  Again the markets and the traditional costumes were very colourful with every colour imaginable.  Even the streets themselves were colourful.  The homes were small but they were every colour under the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, rose, pink, etc.  The towns were all small but they were also all beautiful to see.

Finally Lake Atitlan came into view with its volcanic peaks in the background.  These volcanic peaks just seem to rise out of the lake as perfect cones.  The lake looked quite calm and there was a good reflection of the volcanoes.  However, we were going so fast that pictures just don’t do the scene justice.  The roads near the lake are very narrow and windy but we made it safely to each of the hotels we had to drop people at.  Sometimes we couldn’t turn into the road or driveway but we at least got close to each place.  Tuk-tuks and motorcycles fare better on these roads than large vehicles like buses and vans.  The streets here are cobblestone but they do have two tracks down the middle that are a bit smoother to walk or drive on.

We got checked into our hotel in the town of Panajachel and took a walk down to the lakeshore and walked along it.   We had lunch at a waterfront restaurant and it was very tasty and very inexpensive.  It was also nice watching the boats coming and going and looking at the scenery.  I can’t say it was totally relaxing though because there was a continual stream of vendors trying to sell us things and they didn’t give up easily.  No matter how many times you said, “no, gracias,” they continued to wrap their wares around your head or shoulders and try to sell you something.  I definitely did not enjoy that part. 

We then wandered some more along the waterfront and around some of the streets of the town.  It definitely survives through tourism and every store front is trying to sell you something – handicrafts, souvenirs, food, drinks, etc.  There were few big stores.  Mainly they were just small local vendors trying to sell their wares.  The streets are incredibly busy, mainly with foot traffic, so luckily others were buying and the vendors didn’t bother me a whole lot.  We eventually had dinner at a restaurant in the town and again it was very good and very inexpensive.  I think I had two drinks (happy hour deal) and a full meal for around 60Q or about $8. 

The next day we had an 8-hour tour planned so had to leave early.  Breakfast was included with our room and it was a real treat to have plain old pancakes for the first time on the trip.  They were delicious and came with some fruit and juice.  We were then picked up at the hotel and headed off for a one hour drive on windy mountain roads to a nearby town.  It took us more like two hours because of an accident.  A tractor trailer had jackknifed on the road and closed traffic in both directions.  We were stopped for quite some time but that was quite fine with me as the windy road was really getting to me so I needed some steady ground and fresh air.  We could see miles of vehicles stopped and waiting along the roads winding up and down the hillside.  This included many chicken buses going in both directions.  Some of their passengers started to walk and many of them were carrying very heavy loads.  Once the road was cleared and traffic started moving I assume the buses then picked them up again but I was never quite sure of that.

We eventually made it to the town of Chichicastenango where their Sunday market is famous throughout the country and beyond.   We were dropped at one location and told where our pickup spot was and that left us with about four hours to wander through the town and have some lunch before heading back.  Personally I was rather glad we arrived late because I could imagine wandering through a market for more time than that.  I don’t know the exact name of the hotel we had to meet at for our ride back but I think it was the Santo Thomas.  I wandered around for a bit at the end of the day and it was quite an amazing place – probably an original old building or two that have been redone as a hotel, and quite a posh one at that.  I don’t know what it would cost to stay there but I think it would be a nice place to stay if ever again visiting Chichicastenango.

Anyway, Chichicastenango is on a hill and the main square and main part of the market are at the top.  We wandered up and down streets for several hours and there were vendors everywhere.  There were certainly touristy things and those were interesting to look at but there were also everyday things for the locals as well.  Sometimes the space between the shops was only a couple yards and the place was packed with people so it was slow moving in hot, crowded conditions.  In other spots there were vendors on each side of the street and some in the centre but there were fewer people around and more room to move about.   Aside from the main square and the area around the two churches I’m guessing the market extended about six blocks in length down the central street and then probably three blocks in either direction off that central street.  There were hundreds of vendor stalls and thousands of people wandering the streets with probably more locals than tourists although it is sometimes hard to tell.

So what did they sell?  Well basically everything.  I can think of jewelry, traditional costumes, cowboy boots & hats, jeans and t-shirts, underwear, scarves, souvenirs, candy, ice cream, all kinds of food ready to eat or drink, grains by the sack full, fruit, vegetables, eggs, live animals (chickens and chicks, kittens, goats, etc.), meat butchered and just hanging in the heat and covered by flies, fish in the same condition or dried, general groceries, pottery, small kitchen appliances and cutlery, plain plastic buckets, flowers, bags and purses, toys, baby clothes, small furniture, building and roofing supplies, fencing supplies, etc.  You name it and they had it.  Of course some of the larger items were from fixed stores and not small vendors but they were all there together.  And I assume this only happens once or twice a week on a scale this large.

The main square was at the top of the hill and there were two churches, one on either side of the square, and both with steps leading up to them.  The vendors and people were right up to and on the steps.  Between the two churches, in the view from the top of the stairs, it was just a mass of odd shaped pieces of canvas covering each vendor area and overlapping in most places.  It was virtually impossible to see the square itself.   At one end of the town on the central street there was the old city wall and gate dated 1932.  I’m not sure if that was the original date or when it was replaced but I thought the town and city wall was supposed to be much older.  Sometimes there were lineups of men outside some of the buildings that had TVs.  Apparently there was an important football/soccer game on and it was funny seeing these lineups of people trying to see the screen – especially in the midst of such a traditional market.  At the nearest corners where vehicles were allowed, there were trucks taking lots of people to and from the market.  They were packed in the back like sardines along with their wares. 

While we were having lunch on the balcony of a second-floor restaurant it was great looking at the people and the colours and all the activity on the streets below.  And yes, a few of the vendors did come up to the restaurant and try to sell their wares to us – again, a very annoying practice in my mind but they did make some sales to other patrons.  At one point all action on the street below us seemed to come to a complete stop.  Someone came by with a big tub containing several pots and he was serving food from them.  Obviously his food was very good and he was well known as his food was very popular.  I have no idea what they were paying for their meal but they were getting several different things (rice, beans, meat dishes, etc.) on their plates and they all seemed very happy.  The people trying to get by and carrying heavy loads were not perhaps as happy but eventually the traffic jam did clear.

It was obvious that the locals do a lot of their buying of goods on market day as people were always buying and carrying heavy loads.  It was good to see this amount of activity in one small town but I was also glad to get out of there, even if it was just up to the second floor balcony for lunch.  It was just a bit too crowded and noisy for me.    However, I’m glad I went and it will certainly be another memory from Guatemala, especially all the colours and sounds and smells. 

On the Monday we went for a boat trip around Lake Atitlan to visit three of the local villages.  It was an eight-hour trip and with about an hour at each of the villages, that means we were on the water for about five hours.  The lake was really calm and the ride was very relaxing and cool, which was nice.  The boats were just small ones and there were only four or six of us plus the driver at any one time.  Different boats shuttled us to the different locations and sometimes the people on board differed as well (just in case you think I can’t remember how many people were on the tour!)  Unfortunately it was another hazy day so the volcanic peaks around the lake were never totally visible.  I’m still not sure if this is smoke or just a fog / haze of some kind but it is most annoying when it comes to pictures. 

Lake Atitlan covers 130 square kilometers and is the deepest lake in Central America and it’s located in the highlands of Guatemala.  The exact depth is not known but it is estimated at 340 meters in some places (one source said 600 meters).  The lake is “endorheic” in that it does not flow into any ocean, which is rather unusual until you realize it is a crater lake formed by a volcano 84,000 years ago.  In 1976 a massive earthquake cracked the bottom of the lake and the water level dropped two meters in one month but then leveled out.  There are currently three stunning volcanoes that surround it: Toliman, Atitlan and San Pedro, and they make a stunning backdrop for the lake and surrounding communities.  I should also note that several Mayan cities have been found at the bottom of the lake with many of the buildings still intact.

 

Our first stop was San Pedro La Laguna.  The second stop was Santiago Atitlan and the last stop was San Antonio Palopo.  Since I’m writing this on June 9^th and this tour was on May 16^th it’s hard to remember the details even though I have a map of the lake at my side.  Most of the communities around the lake are very small and are not linked by road so they can only be reached by boat.   The three towns we visited were rather similar so it’s hard to remember what was in each spot.  Of course they all had the requisite church and square and market area but aside from that there was little to distinguish them.   And of course they were all an uphill climb from the dock where we got off the boat!  The people, at least the ladies in the towns, all wore traditional costumes that were very colourful. 

San Pedro was quite quaint.  We made our way to the main square and church, which seemed to be surrounded by a school and hard to get at.  The church was white on the outside with three tiers of columns and alcoves where statues probably stood at one time.  There was a small park in front of it complete with fountain, garden and benches and it was very relaxing.  There were some neat art stores in this town and one in particular had some great art which I wish now I had purchased.  The one that caught my eye was a big painting and very colourful and Guatemalan looking.  At first glance it was the profile of a man and a woman looking at each other but then when you looked at it closer it was all different pictures of the local people and their costumes and lifestyles.  It’s hard to describe and that’s what made it really interesting.  I’d love to be able to stare at it a lot longer to unwrap all the layers of complexity but alas, it is there and I am here.

Santiago Atitlan is the largest community on the lake and it is famous for its Maximon, an idol that is a combination of Mayan deity, Catholic saint and Spanish conquistador legend.  Several people offered to take us to see Maximon but we really weren’t that interested.  Besides we had very little time in each town.  The main church in Santiago date from 1547 and it looks old.  It is white and has one bell tower (might have two but one fell down in an earthquake).  There are pillars in front of the church and there appears to be a wooden balcony around the top part.  This makes it not look like a church at all, if it weren’t for the bell tower.  The location itself has been a church or worship area since 900 BC when a group of Mayans moved here from Mexico.  They were defeated by the Spanish in 1524.  The Franciscan friars arrived shortly thereafter and started the construction of a church on the site.  It has been damaged by earthquakes and rebuilt many times since then.  On the inside the church was very plain with white or light walls and dark brown wooden ceilings and trim.  There are no windows or adornments around the church.  At the front there is a large ornate wooden carved altar containing seven statues.  Around the outside of the church there are many statues of saints and Biblical figures I assume.  They are all dressed in traditional costumes and are apparently their clothing is changed quite regularly depending on the season and time of year.  At the back of the church there is a plaque dedicated to the martyrs who died during the Guatemalan civil war including ten farmers who were just gunned down while they worked in their fields in 1980, a priest from the US who was assassinated in 1981 for providing shelter for people at the church, and thirteen unarmed protesters who were gunned down in 1990.  It’s quite a sobering memorial and yet very simple and to the point.

The church in San Antonio had a very simple and white exterior that looked new and yet Baroque in style.  It wasn’t open so I have no idea what he interior looked like and whether it really was old or new.  This was definitely the smaller town of the three and there wasn’t a lot to see here although it was very peaceful and rustic.  We stopped at a restaurant near the lake and had a quick bite to eat.  The school children were going through drills in the gym or court below the restaurant and they looked like kids everywhere.  Some were chosen quickly and others were left to the very end when choosing sides, and some were very quick and talented and others not so much.  The girls certainly had a tougher time than the boys as the girls had their long, wrap-around skirts to contend with wile the boys just had their shorts on.  Jumping over pylons in a race to the end of the court was definitely more difficult as the girls had to jump at least a foot higher just to have their skirts clear the top of the pylon.   Some things in life just really aren’t fair.

That’s about all I can remember from the day except that the water was very cool and refreshing looking and the boat ride was definitely cool and refreshing due to the constant breeze.  The water in the lake looked clear but there was a lot of algae in it.  I remember googling it to see what it was and NASA can even see it from space it is so thick.  Whatever kind it is, it spreads quickly and eventually kills everything in the lake as it reduces the oxygen level so nothing else can survive.  It is even toxic to humans so kind of scary.  Perhaps this is something that happens to a lake that has no drainage system except evaporation.  The water isn’t flowing at all so it would make it easy for algae to get started and to grow.  I think the quoted figure was over $30 million to clean up the lake so hopefully they find that money somewhere soon.  It’s pretty bad now and it only first appeared in 2009 so they can’t wait too long.  Lake Atitlan and its setting are beautiful.  Now they just have to get rid of the algae problem in the lake.   

We eventually got back to our hotel and then immediately took a shuttle to Antigua for the night before starting our next adventure in Guatemala at Semuc Champey.