We have stayed here at Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala, for far longer than we anticipated, so will, as with our Oaxaca musings, write 2 (or more!) blogs on this wonderful place...so, Part 1
Off we strolled at the crack of dawn to the travel agency where we picked up our transit to Guatemala, the first passengers on the van. We'd booked our ticket at one of the cheaper travel agencies in the town, served by a sullen woman who was more interested in her mobile phone than serving customers. She initially asked if we wanted to be picked up at our lodgings, but then changed her mind when discovered that it wasn't one of the better known hotels or hostels. When we showed her on the map where our house was she said that the driver couldn't possibly get there and if he couldn't find us he'd go without us.... nice - service with a snarl. The other tourists were collected along the way, including a very enthusiastic Dutch family on a 3 week holiday, plus a yoga teacher and a very quiet young German woman. We weren't altogether surprised when we passed our bloody house en route! The driver was a man of few words and looked as if he would rather be anywhere else than with a bunch of tourists on their way to Guatemala.
All on board, we set off on the 4 hour journey to the border, feeling sad to leave Mexico, but excited to be going to a new country, about which we'd heard and read so much... Then 'Keep awake - you are endangering all our lives!' came the sudden, frantic cry from the father of the Dutch family behind us and, prodding me on the shoulder, told me to poke the drowsy driver. I, and the yoga teacher, who spoke good Spanish, asked the driver if he wanted to take a break and if he was ok. He replied grumpily that he was ok and no need to rest. The Dutchman shouted again from the back 'You are putting our lives in danger!', which meant nothing to the driver, who spoke no English, though I'm sure he got the gist. From then on, we all watched him in the rear view mirror to ensure that he stayed alert. He perked up considerably after a huge breakfast in the motorway service station cafe.
Just before the border we were told to collect our backpacks from the roof of the transit and walk through an area of market to the immigration office - a little portacabin, where we queued in the hot midday sun, before being processed by friendly Guatemalan officials and waiting half an hour for the next transit van to take us to Lake Atitlan, our first and excitedly longed for destination in Guatemala. We'd been drooling over the images of the Lake on the net for months. As we approached, the driver, much more amiable than the first, stopped so that we could marvel at the lake below and take the first photos of many, many of the gorgeous views. Unfortunately, due to the gathering clouds, they were disappointing......... Never mind, we'll take a few thousand more during our stay at the Lake.
Our first view of the lake from above Panajachel
We reached the main port of the lake, Panajachel, or Pana as it is commonly known, at sunset and luckily caught the last small motorboat, or lancha, to San Marcos La Laguna. (Lanchas and tuk tuks are the main modes of transport around the lake.) It was completely full of local people and tourists, and as we boarded the rain and night began to fall. The boatman pulled the blue tarp over us at the front of the boat, to protect us from the lashing rain for the 20 minute journey, so we had no idea what the area around the lake looked like. Still, it's always fun to discover a place for the first time when we awake next morning. We stayed that night in a little house on the lakeside with just a bed, at the same 'hotel' where our Aussie friends were staying. The drinking water was supplied by a natural spring and there was a shared kitchen and bathroom. Having feasted on homemade pizza and red wine we toddled off to bed, awaking very early next day (Mexico had been an hour in front) to discover in real life the lake we had goggled over so many times. It was even better than the pictures and absolutely stunning in the early morning light.
View from the hill just next to our casita, early morning
Each town or village on the lake has its own personality. San Marcos is renowned for its spiritual vibe. Every therapy is available here: cacao, sun and moon, juice cleanses, plus the better known yoga, reiki, massage etc. There are several therapy centres in the little town, also a health food shop, and lots of little general stores selling the usual groceries, but also probiotic drinks, fresh tofu, homemade organic peanut butter etc. Little stalls selling fruit and vegetables are dotted around the town, also a few jewellery and textile stalls. It's all very low-key, at least in the rainy season, though we're told it is very different when the hippies and spiritual tourists hit the town from November onwards.
The dock at San Marcos
A lancha on the Lake... In the afternoons it can become quite choppy and not for the faint-hearted
We had decided before arriving to stay a little out of town and took a bone-ratlling ride in a tuk tuk along the rocky dirt road to Pasajcap, a little area between San Marcos and the Mayan village of Tzununa, comprising just a few houses spread around the hill- and lakeside. We found a very reasonably priced mudbrick (adobe) studio cottage with an indoor/outdoor kitchen and dining area on the big terrace overlooking the lush garden and with a great view of the lake and volcanoes.
And sunset from our veranda
Alan doing the manly thing (yeah, ok, he is wearing a skirt) carrying the 5 gallon garafon of drinking water down to the house
The terrace of our casita and the 'indoor/outdoor' kitchen
Massive and beautiful moth - one of hundreds of critters which frequent the kitchen and veranda when the lights are on in the evening - we have to keep the dogs from chomping them!
This place grabs you with an irrestible magnetic force. The lake is stunningly beautiful, as are the volcanoes, changing by the minute as the clouds nestle among and atop them and with the changing light. There are many ex-pats who own properties here and we must confess to whiling away an odd hour or two browsing the real estate websites and dreaming of waking to sunrise over the lake in our house full of exquisite soft furnishings woven in the local villages, with a rescue dog to swim with in the lake well into our dotage....Aaaah.
Going for a morning dip from the dock below our casita, with Indy, the very lively and affectionate black labrador who lives next door and loves swimming, often on Alan's back!
View of the volcanoes from the dock at our house, waiting for the lancha to town for shopping... beats the bus any day!
The dock at San Juan La Laguna, the man in blue is a tuk tuk driver fishing while he waits for his next fare
Talking of textiles, which I (Anna) could do for hours with no problem at all, San Juan La Laguna is THE place to visit. The main street leading from the dock is lined on both sides with weaving workshops, making and selling the most delicious textiles: scarves, shawls, bedspreads, cushion covers, ponchos, trousers, hats, slippers, stuffed toys, textile covered notebooks and pens, etcetera etcetera. Many of them are co-operatives. The women weavers are incredibly skilled and many learned to weave using a backstrap loom at a very early age... some as young as 5.
I made this!
After I did a short course in the neighbouring, party town of San Pedro, which was fine and, to my amazement, I produced a scarf, Alan did a course in San Juan, which was excellent. He learned how to set up the loom from scratch, using recycled materials, which is what's used by the professional weavers and also produced a scarf. The women at Artesania Maya, in common with the other weaving co-operatives, grow their own cotton and plants they use to dye the cotton and bamboo, then spin and dye the cotton themselves. All the dyes are natural. It's fantastic to see the plants from which the dyes are extracted: indigo or campeche plus banana plants for the blues, a seed called achiote for the yellow and oranges, beetroot for the deep purply reds, cochineal for the reds bougainvillea for a pink etc. The most amazing thing, though, is that colours are stronger and darker if the process takes place during the night of a full moon.... wow, that fact blew us away.
Winding the cotton thread ready to weave
Alan in deep concentration mode with his lovely and exacting teacher, Mary
Stuffed toys for sale - loving the turtles, not sure about the purple dude, though!
Like catnip to Anna......
Maybe we'll try this design next time?!
On the last day of Alan's course he had an 'exam' - he had to set up a backstrap loom, or tejido de cinturon from scratch, under the watchful eye of his maestra, Mary, who was extremely professional and precise, and produces beautiful weavings. She didn't miss a trick: 'Esta un error, Alan!' she observed, even when she appeared to be getting on with something else. She and the president of the Co-operative, Clementina, were in fits of laughter when Alan fell off his low stool and when he called a part of the loom a 'levadura' (which means yeast, as used in breadmaking), rather than the correct term 'abiadura' during the course. What a great experience: humbling (these women weave for hours and hours each day and raise children, cook, clean and look after the house etc), inspiring and loads of fun.
Alan's scarf, in the process of weaving.... how complicated is that loom!
Wandering the streets of San Juan, we noticed the many colourful murals depicting domestic and topical scenes. Some are distressing, including this one, which seemed to be signed by 'Stan', documenting a horrific scene of bodies in wooden coffins and on the banks of the Lake, houses destroyed. We looked on the internet and there was a catastrophic mudslide following the torrential rains in the wake of Hurricane Stan, in 2005, which killed hundreds of people in the villages around the Lake and left many, many more homeless.
Moving depiction of the disastrous effects of Hurricane Stan in 2005
Another of the amazing and powerful murals in San Juan this one depicts the use of natural methods by a Mayan doctor to treat a broken leg (often still used as many Mayan people can't afford and/or don't trust modern methods). Note the anaesthetic - bottle of locally produced alcohol on the table on the right
This mural was on the wall between an art gallery and a grocery store. We wandered into the art gallery to ask about the painting and were greeted by the artist, Angelina Quic, who was glad to explain the content. The gallery was a co-operative of 23 artists and the paintings were fantastically colourful and symbolic.
View of the Lake from the dock at San Juan - the algae provides food and shelter for the fish and a feeding platform for a variety of birds
Local woman in a traditional fishing boat at San Juan
The funky trousers are the local costume for men in San Juan.
San Juan really grabbed us... it's a weaving town and tourists usually come to visit the workshops, buy their souvenirs and leave. There are only a couple of coffee shops, though these are special, as the coffee is actually grown on land behind them, then harvested and roasted on site, so no air miles there! The town therefore feels very 'Guatemalan'. However, there is an amazing little cheese and wine restaurant, which serves a fantastic cheese platter, in a beautiful garden setting. (They serve a meat one, too, which if you're into charcuterie must be wonderful, but we're vegetarians, so can't comment.) The Guatemalan-born, half-Swiss chef, serves with love and great enthusiasm and quiet pride as he talks each guest through the mouthwatering array of 23 different cheeses, all produced in Guatemala, from mild, creamy goat cheese to 'stinky' and aged gorgonzolas, via tasty gouda and gran padano, scattered with almonds, pecans, dried figs, olives and strawberries, with honey and a homemade marmalade and as much homemade bread as you can manage. All washed down with a great selection of wines. Oh heaven. There's a little bell on the table to ring if you'd like more bread, or anything else. Who would have imagined that you'd find a restaurant like 'El Artesano' in a little town like San Juan? What a treat. We went just the two of us for the first time, then had to return with our new neighbours and another new friend. Mmmmmmmm......... It felt decadent, but as we've been shopping at the veg stalls and cooking at home we've not spent much on meals, so it was a great treat.
The amazing cheese platter at 'El Artesano' - the cheeses are eaten in order of flavour intensity, from mild to 'stinky' and very strong......mmmmm
One day we took a trip to the market at Solola, the capital of the Lake region. We took a lancha to Panajachel, then a 'chicken bus' as they are known, which are ex-US school buses, just like in The Simpsons, to the market town, up above the Lake.
Our chicken bus, with conductor
Being school buses, for kids, the leg room is nada and people are packed in like livestock, thus the nickname. People sit three, four or even five, at a stretch, to a seat. We being bigger than most of the local people, it was difficult to fit another person next to us on the seat, though one poor woman made a valiant effort to keep one buttock on the seat next to Alan, who apologised for being 'grande'. Arriving in Solola we walked uphill to the market, joining the throng. It was fantastic, everything you could possibly want and probably lots you wouldn't. The produce was great and there were several items we'd never seen before, as is usual in the markets in Central America. On one stall there were huge brown snails slithering over each other. Alan asked 'Como se llaman?' meaning 'what are they called?' 'Jorge' (George) came the cheeky and very rapid response.
His outfit would turn heads even in Brighton!
Sellers in Solola market, even the cloth they use to cover their produce is beautiful
Outside the market we spotted this man carrying a triple mirrored wardrobe using a headstrap. Big respect... that's gotta be soooo heavy
This haberdashery store sold every single type of thread, button, trimming etc you can imagine
After lunch at a little street stall.... delicious... we boarded the bus, as we thought, to Panajachel, where we would catch a lancha home across the Lake. The bus was packed. We chatted in Spanish with the local people. About 15 minutes into our journey we realised that the bus was climbing around hairpin bends and we didn't recognise anything from our journey to the market....we should be descending to the Lake. We asked the bus driver where we were heading: 'Guatemala' came the reply, which is what Guatemalans call Guatemala City. We scooted off the bus, to the amusement of the local people, to whom we explained what had happened. The buzz of explanation re the behaviour of these crazy gringos to flowed from the front to the back of the bus, with amused but sympathetic glances at us....until we laughed, then and whole bus erupted in stitches.
The terrace of our adobe casita at Vistas de Pasajcap, Canela under the table
Our accommodation was lovely, a little studio with what's termed an 'indoor/outdoor kitchen' and a terrace with dining table. The best thing about the place, apart from the lush garden and gorgeous views, was the neighbours, human and canine. We dined several times, breakfast and dinner, with Amy and Dom, a couple from the US and the UK respectively. Dom is a fantastic baker and often turned up with homemade bread and jam. So much for the svelte physiques we'd hoped to achieve! They were just perfect neighbours and we are missing them terribly now that they have gone travelling for a few months. Still, we have the dogs, Bodo and Canela. Bodo is a shar pei/chow cross, who belongs to the owners of the property, but lives here as they live in a flat in Guatemala City, visiting the Lake whenever they can. Canela is a fluffy fox-like female, who technically lives in the property next door, but the ex-pat owner there is also absent for much of the time. So.... we have 2 canine friends, and, as usual, have become very fond of our adopted animals.
Bodo on the terrace of our casita.... look at that face....
Supermodel Canela in the garden
We've so enjoyed cooking on the terrace, and especially sharing food and recipes with our neighbours.
Here's our vegetable curry recipe:
Ingredients:
1 and a half pounds potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala (or curry powder)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 and a half dried red chilies, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
1 cup diced tomatoes
3/4 cup water
dollop of natural yogurt
8oz tempeh in 1cm cubes (or 8oz canned chickpeas or 8oz cooked cauliflower florets)
1 hardboiled, shelled egg per person (optional, but it does add to the flavours and textures)
Method:
Dice the potatoes into 1cm cubes, then cook until just soft in boiling salted water
Melt the butter and oil and cook the onion gently until softened
Add the spices and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes
Continue stirring while adding the tomatoes, then add the water
Simmer, continuing to stir, for 5 minutes
Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt
Add the tempeh and return to the heat and bring to a bare simmer
Allow to cook for 5-10 minutes and then add the potatoes and stir in gently
Serve with plain rice or flatbreads, more yogurt as garnish, and accompanied by the beautiful and tasty........
Beetroot and carrot salad
Ingredients:
1 large raw beetroot
1 very large raw carrot
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
pinch salt
Method:
Wash and peel the beetroot and the carrot, then grate them coarsely
Put into a serving bowl and stir through the apple cider vinegar and salt
Yes, it really is that simple, but try it.... it's divine... and healthy......Muchas gracias to Mike at 5th Dimension, San Pedro, for this recipe. (His burritos are also fantastic!).
Rosemary and Garlic Flatbread recipe, perfected during our stay at the Lake, to follow next blog, plus Mike's veggie 'meat' and Dom's jam! Yum.
Watch this space for Part 2.........
