09/11/09-15/11/09 Lake Atitlan is one of Guatemala's biggest and most beautiful lakes and one of the country's touristic gems. It has a circumference of 50km and is surrounded by lush green mountains and three giant volcanoes, with several small villages dotted in between, some 100% idigenous communities, and others, more popular with the gringos, that have been converted into tourist hotspots. Panajachel is one of these and served as our base for exploring the lake. The old town of Panajachel is calm and quiet and situated about 1km from the lake's edge. The new part of town, which is almost completely dedicated to tourism, spreads out from the old town down to the lake, alongside which there is a short promenade and small park, a great place to sit and enjoy the magnificent sunsets. Our favourite sunset-watching place ended up being a lovely hotel with a great lake view and a fantastic cappucino :)
The main road leading down to the lake is filled to bursting with sellers, stalls and shops and you cannot walk from one end to the other without being asked to buy something at least 10 times. I understand they have to make a living somehow, but the constant harrassment does start to grate after a while. However, Panajachel happens to be one of the best places to buy indigenous textile products, not only because of the range of goods available but also because the prices are supposed to be very reasonable....So we were not completely against making a purchase, we just didn't want to be forced into one, and you will not believe how insistent some of these people are! As well as the numerous stalls and shops which are filled to the brim with the typical woven products including shawls, scarves, bracelets and table runners, there are hundreds of independent sellers who carry big bundles of goods to sell and they are almost always women. A lot of children can be seen trying to sell things too and it really makes you wonder about the lack of education here. It's heartbreaking at times to say 'no' to these people who have no other choice in life but to hope each day that they will find people willing to buy a few things from them.
But even buying a few things from someone doesn't make you feel any better, because the next day there will be several more that want you to buy something. And how on earth do you choose just one person to buy from? We knew who it would be when one afternoon a friendly indigenous woman offered to show us the house where she did her weaving. We thought this was the perfect opportunity to learn a bit more about the process, build a bit of a friendship and then buy a few things. We met the woman and her daughter the following morning, jumped into the back of one of the numerous pick-up trucks heading to the small neighbouring village of San Antonio Palapó and within twenty minutes we were there. They took us to their house, where we also met the woman's parents, and they showed us how to work the weaving machine, which you operate with both hands and both feet. It's quite easy once you get the hang of it, but I would need a lot more practise before I could make anything.....I was very slow, but it was fun to give it a go. Afterwards, they took us to a room where they keep all of their finished products and they dressed me up in the traditional clothes....the big blouse and long skirt, all brought in at the waist with a sash, and then the finishing touch, they tied my hair up with a long piece of decorative ribbon, apparently a very important piece of their outfit. They dressed Vic in a shirt as well and we spent a few minutes taking some photos and then we did some shopping. Vic had soon picked out the things he wanted....I took a little longer, and by the time we were finished I think we had made their day. We didn't spend lots of money, but I think it was a pretty good day for them, especially as it is still low season here at the moment.
Apart from the shops, there isn't much to do in Panajachel so we continued to have a fairly relaxed time :) We did venture out one day though and took a boat across the lake to another popular town of Santiago Atitlán. It too has its fair share of stalls and sellers but it is a lot calmer than Panajachel and we didn't feel as harrassed here either :) One of the most famous things you can see here is Maximón, a saint that the locals worship and pray too. He is not a Catholic saint and in fact the church does not approve of Maximón, because he is quite unconventional. The real Maximón is thought to have lived in Santiago Atitlán about 400 years ago (if I have remembered that correctly) and he is reported to have been a miracle-worker. The image of Maximón is cared for by a group of 12 people who take it in turns to keep him in their house for periods of one year at a time. He is very different to any Catholic image that you see in churches....he is made of wood with quite a haggard face and a hat. Around his neck are hung numerous silk ties and scarves and throughout the day, his carers supply him with cigarettes and swigs of tequila. Yes, they actually pour tequila and put lit cigarettes into this wooden figure's mouth because it apparently keeps him happy, and if he is happy he is more likely to fulfill the wishes of the people who come to him for help. His carers appear to sit with him all day long, also partaking in the alcohol and cigarette consumption. It's quite an extraordinary custom and unlike anything I've ever seen before! I wonder why the Catholic church does not approve of this tequila drinking chain smoker? :) Before taking the boat back to Panajachel we made a quick visit to a tiny weaving museum that explained the whole process from the picking of the cotton, to the making of the thread, to the set up of the weaving machine, and the different weaving and dying techniques from the past through to the present day. We didn't have time to have a weaving lesson unfortunately, but I found the museum interesting.
We spent just one night away from Panajachel, and that was in order to visit La Casa del Mundo (The House of the World), a beautiful, family-run hotel set up on the mountain side near to the tiny village of Jabailito. The Irish girls we met in Caye Caulker had highly recommended it to us so we wanted to give it a try. The setting is idyllic and the views of the lake breathtaking. From the hotel you can walk left to Jabailito or right to Santa Cruz, which is further away but a bit bigger than Jabailito, so we decided to head there....in our flip flops! The path was narrow, winding and rocky with several ups and downs and trainers would have been much more sensible, but we eventually got there! We were disappointed to find not much of interest in the main square so we decided to make the 15 minute walk downhill to the lake, where we were hoping we would find a bit more life. We didn't find much there either but decided to sit down, have a drink and wait for the next boat to take us back to the hotel....we didn't fancy the walk back, and we were worried that it might get dark before we arrived and we didn't have torches with us (unprepared or what????). 
It turned out, however, that the driver of the next speed boat was charging way too much so we reluctantly decided to walk back, as fast as we could. It would have been a bit easier if we didn't have the 15 minute uphill climb to do first, but luckily we just about managed to reach the hotel before all the light had disappeared. We were so relieved :) We were really hoping that we would get a chance to swim in the lake while we were at this hotel, as they have a special area where guests can go swimming....In Panajachel it's impossible to swim in the lake because of all the boats, but people have stopped swimming in the lake altogether for the mean time due to the level of pollution. Because of the rise in tourism, the amount of chemicals dumped into the lake (washing powder, fertilizers, petrol etc.) has increased too and has caused bacteria to form, which appears to be growing at an alarming rate. We have seen several articles about the problem in the local papers and it seems that everyone is very concerned and keen to find a solution. The main problem is the cost factor, however, and people are very doubtful that the government will be able to do anything anytime soon. We just have to hope that some miracle solution will come along, because Lake Atitlán is one of the country's biggest assets and such a thing of natural beauty that it would be a crime to let it go to ruin.We decided to head to Antigua next (probably the most popular destination in the whole of Guatemala) but on the way we stopped off in Chichicastenango to visit the famous Sunday Market.....
It was huge, with thousands of people bustling in every direction, the colours were amazing and the cacophony of sounds deafening (well not quite, but it was quite intense). The stalls are packed very tightly together so everyone has to walk in single file and every other person you walk past invites you to (Pase adelante!) come into their little alcove of treasures! Having already bought enough in Panajachel we were adamant with our 'No's although I couldn't resist buying a few of these beautiful embroidered purses that I admire everywhere we go. We took a break from the market to visit the cemetery which, like others we have seen on this trip, was awash with colour. I even saw a tomb that looked like it had been decorated especially for Halloween as it had bats and pumpkins painted on it. 
In one section of the cemetery, there were a couple of people chanting and praying and one of them constructed a kind of shrine, (I don't know what else you would call it), using different coloured powders to draw a circle divided into segments, which he then filled with different coloured candles, which represent different prayers e.g. money, health, the sun, the moon etc. On top of the candles he put broken pieces of twig and a few other things, and then he began to pray. I didn't see what happened next but I assume he burnt it! Before getting back on the bus to Antigua, we treated ourselves to a great buffet lunch in a nice hotel, with a beautiful courtyard complete with a fountain and several colourful birds. It was a great way to end what had been a brilliant morning out!
It was huge, with thousands of people bustling in every direction, the colours were amazing and the cacophony of sounds deafening (well not quite, but it was quite intense). The stalls are packed very tightly together so everyone has to walk in single file and every other person you walk past invites you to (Pase adelante!) come into their little alcove of treasures! Having already bought enough in Panajachel we were adamant with our 'No's although I couldn't resist buying a few of these beautiful embroidered purses that I admire everywhere we go. We took a break from the market to visit the cemetery which, like others we have seen on this trip, was awash with colour. I even saw a tomb that looked like it had been decorated especially for Halloween as it had bats and pumpkins painted on it. 
In one section of the cemetery, there were a couple of people chanting and praying and one of them constructed a kind of shrine, (I don't know what else you would call it), using different coloured powders to draw a circle divided into segments, which he then filled with different coloured candles, which represent different prayers e.g. money, health, the sun, the moon etc. On top of the candles he put broken pieces of twig and a few other things, and then he began to pray. I didn't see what happened next but I assume he burnt it! Before getting back on the bus to Antigua, we treated ourselves to a great buffet lunch in a nice hotel, with a beautiful courtyard complete with a fountain and several colourful birds. It was a great way to end what had been a brilliant morning out!
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