7.14.2008
I woke up this morning at 6am, packed, ate a cliff bar, and waited for my shuttle to Lago de Atitlan. There were 6 of us passengers in the tin can of a van. We rattled away over the uneven cobblestones of Antigua. Coincedentally an American woman I had chatted with during my ascent of Pecaya was on the shuttle with her son. I assume he has been in Antigua studying. It was nice having her to talk to. The main highway was closed so we took back roads the whole way! About 3 hours bumping and rattling around in that little van. The drive was breathtakingly beautiful, though. We drove through the highlands of Guatemala. The clouds were thick, low, and wet. I never imagined that these lush forests existed in Cental America. It dawned on me that it resembled the northwest United States. It seemed like we had entered a different country. Everyone we passed was Mayan and colorfully dressed. All we passed were farms, impossibly carved into the steep hillsides. My memory was overwhelmed with many details that I can´t fully list or remember. Some striking images were cows in the road, unbelievably narrow streets when we passed through villages, no guard rails on snaky mountain passes, powdery mine-sliced hillsides, and houses made from saplings and corrugated tin. The steep mountains resembled the bizarre shapes of the Yangtze river canyons - it looked more like an Asian landscape than Central America.
I had wanted to get on to Quetzaltenango (¨Xela¨). When I arrived in Panajachel (¨Pana¨) there were not enough tourists going there to fill up a morning bus. So I got a great room at Mario´s Rooms on the main drag. Down at the lakeside a water taxi took me to Santiago Atitlan village. It felt very foreign - a lot of begging kids, dirty streets, and all Mayan folks. I wandered to the top of the town and happened upon the interesting church there, Inglesia Santiago, I think. It has its origins in the 1500s. Many half life-size wood carvings of various saints lined both sides of the nave. It is a pretty massive church. Each figure was dressed in all kinds of brightly colored ornaments and garments. It felt sort of spooky to me.
On the left is Volcan Toliman and on the right is Volcan San Pedro. The lake is a vast 9 miles or so wide, and 300m deep, I believe. I´m sure there are dinosaurs down there. All afternoon I wandered down the bustling, exciting streets, eating ice cream and other street foods. Tomorrow I take a 6am bus for the two hour ride to Quetzaltenango. Í'm hoping I will get to climb Tuljumulco, the highest peak in CA. See you tomorrow. -AR
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