I left Xela on Friday afternoon and headed for Panajachel. Things didn't go all that smoothly because the 3:00 pm shuttle did not leave until 4:30. However, once underway there were no real hassles apart from having to call the posada to tell them I wouldn't be there until 7:00 (they close reception at 6:00). My Spanish must be getting better because I called them on the mobile from inside a noisy bus and when I arrived everything was as discussed.
Didn't see much of Pana because it was dark when I arrived and I left on a plancha (boat type thingy, think oversized dinghy) at 9:00 for the 25 minute trip to Santiago. On arriving at Santiago I jumped into a tuc tuc and went straight to the house where I am staying. I met a couple of the family members and chatted for a while then took another tuc tuc to the hospitalito for a bit of a squiz. It felt quite surreal to be actually standing in front of the place after so many months of preparation. I met up with Lyn (my contact here) and she suggested I just spend the weekend relaxing and checking out the town. So I haven't had a Cook's tour yet but come Monday it will be full on.
Anyway, on Saturday there was a full day music festival here so I forked out my Q125.00 (about $20.00) and kicked back listening to the music from about midday until 10:00pm. The music was of all types with heaps of different bands and the sound engineering was better than a lot of gigs I have been to in Australia. And it was full-on hippie! Which meant the food was all magnificent organic stuff - I love that kind of tucker. In fact, there were so many old hippies there I honestly think the hippies from 60s America moved here to continue living the dream. There were lots of young people too and they were obviously neo-hippies with fire twirling, weird interpretive dance and the like. It was very much like a small Wintermoon or Port Fairy Festival. All in all it was excellent. The crowd mostly consisted of gringos and the family I am staying with called it 'El Festival Gringolandia'.
So, I am sitting in a lounge chair writing this blog and looking out at Volcán San Pedro only about 1 kilometre away. Lake Atitlán and the mountains here are absolutely breathtaking. This has to be one of the most spectacular places on the planet!
OK, the next blog will most likely be a synopsis of the Hospitalito.
My room in Panajachel.
View from the roof (terrace) of my room looking over Pana.
On the lake heading for Santiago.
The Hospitalito. Probably the most modern and clean thing I have seen in Guatemala!
Lots of old hippies like this at the festival.
Not a great shot but these guys were great. Mostly Latin grooves.
This is the view of Volcan San Pedro from my window. It looks a bit yucky with the wires and buildings so see below...
This photo is better and is taken from the end of the street (about 200 metres closer to the lake). The canoes in the foreground are all rough hewn timber used by the pescadores (fishermen).
I took this picture of the men sitting in the shade while the women work in the market. Did I hear someone say 'that'd be right'? Check out the pants. A lot of the men here wear these traditional mid-length pants that are highly decoratively embroidered.
This is Henry in his shop. He is an electrician and is going to shadow me in the Hospitalito to learn how to do basic verifications on biomedical gear. He started a course in electronics this year and last night we discussed phase angles, reactance and impedance. Normally that stuff doesn't faze me (no pun intended) but it is a different story trying to discuss mathematical concepts in Spanish! I am staying with him and his family at his house.
Location:Santiago Atitlán,Guatemala
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