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Posts from the ‘Central America’ Category

Apr 14

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Lago de Atitlan & Santiago

(travelled January 2012)

Atitlan is a Mayan word that means “the place where the rainbow gets its colours.” I was in Lake Toba 2 years ago with friends and we also stayed at a village next to the lake and that was one of my best trips to Indonesia. This time round, Lake Atitlan offered the same kind of tranquility that Lake Toba did. More so, we stayed at a resort, Posada de Santiago, which is by the lake that offers sauna, swimming pool and hot tub, among others. The two evenings were there, we just hung out by the lake, have mojito and watch the day passed us by. If that’s not relaxing, I don’t know what else is.

You might think we paid a hefty price for it, but we didn’t. We took the cheapest room, ie. US$50 per night (US$25 per person) and with facilities like that, we basically didn’t go anywhere else besides hanging out at the resort. Well, we did go to town for half a day, and that’s because I had an emergency and need to buy something at the shop *sheepish grin*.

Man carrying a heavy load on market day @ Santiago

Santiago is the biggest Mayan village on Lake Atitlan, and about three and a half hours drive away from Antigua. Locals depend on the lake for basic washing, drinking as well as fishing. There are three volcanoes around the lake – Volcan San Pedro, Volcan Toliman and Volcan Atitlan. In the mornings, men with straw hats get busy at the market or going to the field to harvest coffee (it’s the season now). Fridays and Saturdays are market days in Santiago, which means more stalls are opened with crowds of locals and tourists looking for bargains.

Happy with his purchase

Prices are quite decent – blue eyes bought a small pouch for Q35 while our brunch, comprising of omelet with coffee and beef burger with tea, amounted to Q76. In fact, our total cost including transport accommodations and meals over the 3-day, 2-nights in Santiago amounted to about Q2,780 for two persons.

To go to town, we hailed a tuk-tuk, which can carry a maximum of two passengers. It cost about Q3-Q5 per trip and the trip takes about 10 minutes, depending on which part of town you want to go. The ride can be quite an adventure since the driver goes up and down the hill area. The view is also a bit different when we’re in the tuk-tuk compared to walking.

Our day out in town was fun! Had a simple breakfast at a local cafe. The waiter didn’t speak a lot of English but was patient enough to try to communicate. We walked around the marketplace and tried to avoid some of the fast running tuk-tuks 🙂 The day was gorgeous – blue skies, clear clouds. Blue eyes had a nice chat with the teenager who was maning the souvenir stall. He’s quite a smart salesperson – the minute he observed that we liked certain colours, he would immediately offered those shades in different forms. Blue eyes finally settled on one of the colourful pouches that he offered and he smiled in glee 🙂

Looking back, we will always appreciate Guatemala for its tranquillity and thankful that we had such good rest in this beautiful country. The nature and landscape is amazing. Not always easy to be living on a land that is always at risk of volcano eruptions and economy wise, not as competitive as neighbouring countries but life goes on. People make do. They survive. A true reflection of human strength and resilience.

Jan 17

Touch of Guatemalans

One of the best memories I’ve had so far of Guatemala is at the lake where we stayed for 2 nights. I had the idea of taking the canoe out to the lake and enjoy the late afternoon before the sun starts to set. I forgot that I dislike water, and panic immediately gripped me as soon as I stepped into the canoe. Blue eyes found it amusing, he’s so used to lake and water that it feels like second skin to him. He managed to calm me down a bit and we started paddling further out to the lake. I was still afraid until blue eyes pointed me to a boat away from us where 4 kids were laughing and enjoying the lake view.

Boys having fun on Lake Atitlan

We watched the kids for a while. They saw us watching and laughed. The oldest boy was doing most of the paddling while the others laughed and giggled away. Our boats soon crossed each other and blue eyes gave them some snacks that he had in his bag. They tried to fight for the snacks among them, laughed some more and then paddled away. We laughed along with them, waved and watched them for a couple more minutes. No jokes needed and I forgot I was afraid.

Boys jumping into the lake for a swim @ Lake Atitlan

Guatemalans always have a smile on their face. Regardless of how difficult life can be. And life here can be difficult. Especially on the highlands. On our way to the lake, often times we see men carrying heavy loads of wood on their back while walking up the steep hill. Kids and their mothers carry handicrafts on their heads and try to make ends meet. Later in the day, mothers get busy washing clothes on the edge of the lake while their children swim and play in the water. Fathers go out to the lake to lay out their fishing nets for the next day catch. And finally when the sun sets, family returns home and have a meal together.

Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America. The US Department of State website, quoting the World Bank, said Guatemala’s income distribution was one of the most unequal in the region with the wealthiest 20% of population consuming 51% of GDP. This means 51% of the 15 million population earns less than US$2 a day and 15% on less than US$1 per day.

On the day when we’re leaving Lake Atitlan, there were two kids playing near our pier. They saw us and laughed. We smiled. Blue eyes had some stickers from Finland so he gave one to each. They gigled, said “gracias” and ran away and hid behind some trees not far away. When our boat arrived and we got on it, they came out of their hiding and waved us goodbye. Again no words needed, just a simple gesture and we felt touched in some ways.

Jan 16

Guatemalan road trip

We took Daniel’s recommendation and headed to Lake Atitlan for a three-day getaway. There were several options on how to get there but we decided to take the most expensive one ie. rent a driver so we can have stops along the way and see some places. It cost us US$100 (it should have been US$95 but our driver didn’t have change), which is equivalent to our 2 nights stay at Posada de Santiago.

Local woman praying to San Simon

Our first stop was San Andes, the permanent home of San Simon, or also known as Maximon by the locals, a deity that reflects a combination of Maya gods,Pedro de Alvarado (the Spanish conquistador of Guatemala) and Judas in the Bible. And oh man, what a strange looking god he is! He wears a cowboy hat and smokes a cigar while sitting on his altar. The walls were decorated with plagues of worshippers giving thanks to San Simon for answering their prayers and granting their wishes. It’s quite an unusual scene for me.

After the strange encounter, we left for Iximche, the Mayan ruins where the indigenous people once lived. The archaeological area features palaces, plazas where people gathered and had various ceremonies, as well as ball courts, where people played their version of football. Apparently, the losing team had to sacrifice (literally) one of their members. Human sacrifices were not uncommon then.

I find it amazing that the places we’ve been to in Guatemala have always been clean, since not everywhere in Malaysia is considered clean, even in major cities. I’m particularly grateful that public toilets that I’ve visited so far have been clean and there’s always toilet paper (again I’m afraid not common in Malaysia). I’m sort of a clean freak (clutter and messiness makes me queasy) so you can imagine my relief that I didn’t have to hold my breath when I visit the toilet.

We had a pretty good start of the day as by the time we finished walking around Iximche, it was not even 11am yet. There’s still ample of time before our check-in at 3pm so we headed to Chichicastenango, as it’s popular for its market day on Thursday. The town was crowded when we arrived. Roads are narrower than Antigua and less well maintained to a certain extend. Still there’s a Guatemalan feel to it – the rustiness, the people, the colour, the sound. We took a quick lunch (it cost Q150 for 3 persons) at a cafe at the edge of the market and started roaming around.

Items at the market are pretty similar; handicrafts in the form of bags, table runners, table mats, scarfs, belts and clothes; pottery, wooden masks and wooden instruments. There are also fruits, vegetables and fisheries on sale. Prices of souvenirs and handicrafts could be slashed by at least 20%. I bought a handmade belt for Q70; the boy had asked for Q90. It was interesting in some ways to negotiate and bargain, and watch how they react.

Shoe polish boys working outside the Church of Santo Tomas

There’s a famous church called Church of Santo Tomas, which is about 400 years old, in the middle of the marketplace. There are many people at the footsteps of the church, selling flowers, incense and candles. Sort of reminded me of Hindu temple back home. As we walked in, I found worshippers along the stairs burning a strange smell of incense and there were many burnt candles found within the church compound. I read later that K’iche’ Maya priests still use the church for their rituals, hence the incense burning and candles. We weren’t allowed to take photos of the church but the interior seems darker than any church I’ve visited before. There was a mother and son walking on their knees on the ground towards the altar. The mother was praying fervently while the son looked a bit bored. The holy place, it seems, is a contradiction between Christian beliefs and pagan worships, and yet it fits the locals just as well.

Lake Atitlan

After Chichi, we went on our way to Posada de Santiago. The journey wasn’t memorable as we fell asleep along the way. We woke up when the view of the huge lake opened up before us and we quickly asked Angel, our driver, if he could stop and let us take a breather (also to take pix!). The lake stood gorgeously before us, even with the misty and clouds, it looked magnificent. The short road trip has been fun and the arrival of the lake is very much welcomed. Think we’re all ready for some quiet days ahead.

Jan 12

Hola Antigua!

Antigua and Guatemala is one anticipated destination that we’ve been wanting to visit. And we’re not disappointed, even after the tiring flight with less than 5 hours sleep.

We didn’t book our LA-Guatemala-Cuzco-Rio  flights until couple of days before departure. As such, we paid a hefty price for those airfares 🙁

Antigua doesn’t have any airport. To get here, one has to fly to Guatemala City and get on one of the shuttle vans available at the airport. The ride is about an hour and cost about $12 per person. Some guesthouses also offer airport pick-up services, which you can ask for when you make your reservations.

Tip: If travelling 2 or more persons, it’s cheaper to just get the B&B/hotel to arrange for private shuttle. 

For accommodations, blue eyes wanted to rent a flat for privacy and quiet days and I emailed some of the flat owners but did not receive any reply. With just few days leading up to our flight, I was getting anxious and decided to check out some of the B&Bs. LP highly recommended Yellow House and I found on Tripadvisor Chez Daniel, which was on top of its recommended list. I emailed both places and they were prompt in their replies. The two places were available for the dates of our stay (Chez Daniel is full for 2 of the 10 days and suggested we do a short trip outside of Antigua) and I decided on the latter since we’ve never had a chance to stay on the #1 recommended place on Tripadvisor as they’re usually above our budget.

TIP: If pay in cash, one can save a few bucks for lodging. Most places take VISA only (strange but true!). 

Chez Daniel charges a single rate of $54 per room per night. Since it’s 2 of us, that comes up to about $27 per person, which is way cheaper than renting a flat (it cost between $500 to $600/week for a flat in Antigua!). Chez Daniel could also arranged us the airport pick-up for $35 (about $17.50 per person) so we were all set by the time we left for LA.

Our flight via TACA had a short stopover of about 1.5 hour in El Salvador. The Guatemalan immigration was a smooth process and we were out of the airport with our luggages in just half an hour! It’s probably one of the fastest airports I’ve been! Puts KLIA to shame cos’ it usually takes ages for the baggage to arrive.

We were quite tired but our eyes lit up as the driver pulled into the cobbled streets of Antigua. It’s such a quaint little place with colourful houses. It has a rustic feel yet it’s also homey and friendly. And Chez Daniel is the perfect place to stay as it’s in a quiet neighbourhood and the compound itself boasts of a beautiful lawn (lushful trees and blooming flowers), large rooms with attached bathroom, and a well equipped kitchen. There’s only 4 rooms in the whole B&B and that gives guests a lot of space and privacy. They could have more rooms but Daniel said they preferred it that way – smaller capacity, easier to manage and operate. “Besides, we get enough income to be contented so we don’t need more”, the quirky owner says. I like Daniel. I think he’s got a wicked sense of humour and he’s got such an interesting life (French-American, came to Guatemala in 1975 because of a girl, hehe …).

Breakfast @ Chez Daniel

Chez Daniel doesn’t feel like a B&B because they offer services almost like any hotel – room cleaning daily basis and towel change every 3 days. It comes with Wifi (connection a bit wonky when in the room) and simple breakfast of baguette, croissants, orange juice and coffee/tea. Daniel offers many suggestions on what to do, and his suggestions are genuine ie. he really thinks it’s worthwhile rather than just trying to make more money. When I mentioned Chi Chi market, he paused and said, “It used to be interesting but not anymore. I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Antigua is an easy city to navigate since the directions can be determined by the 3 volcanoes. Towards north is the Hill of Cross and to the south is Agua Volcano while to the west is the twin-peak, Acatenango Volcano. Chez Daniel is about 7 blocks from Central Park and we have taken walks on most days around the city, absorbing the atmosphere around us. We don’t speak much Spanish (a pity!) but we’ve so far managed to communicate when ordering food and even getting our laundry done 🙂 Locals are friendly and most are quite patient when they realised we don’t speak Spanish – no hablo Espanol.

Local-tuk-tuk

Street sellers

One of the things to do in Antigua is to climb one of the volcanoes. We signed up for a hike up Pacaya Volcano on Tuesday (10 Jan) afternoon. We were hoping to catch the sunset but the day was really cloudy and misty so we didn’t see much on the way or coming down. It’s a pity but the trek was a good exercise since it’s about 1.5 hours hike and on the way down, the skies started to clear and we managed to see some good view of the peak (we didn’t reach the crater; Daniel says not many ever do). We met some interesting characters in our tour group and blue eyes had a long conversation with Mark, an American undergraduate travelling with his mom and another friend, about Finnish social security system. We were dead tired reaching home but it was an afternoon well spent. Conversations, views and exercise don’t always come together but when they do, they’re usually quite memorable 🙂

Tip: Wear comfortable walking/hiking shoes and bring water, energy snacks (ie. bananas, nuts..), torchlights (if going down in the evening) and windbreaker. It can be quite dusty so have a bandana for the face if you don’t want your face to be covered in dust.

And today, we decided to take it easy and not do anything except to catch up on reading and researching on our flights to Manila in March. We’ve learned our lesson. Best to book it when it’s still good prices .

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