My Adventures in Central America
Part 3 - Guatemala
Welcome to Guatemala! This is our third country of the trip & the one we spend the longest in.
Day 13 San Ignacio to Flores
It was pouring when we woke up this morning unfortunately, so the backpack rain covers all came out. We were told to be prepared for a wet day, and to ensure our raincoats were in our day packs. We had the 2 vans again, which was good. It was only 30mins to the border, and when we arrived, we had to wait for the cashier. Things run on Belize time (same as island time) so there was a big queue of people waiting for the cashier to arrive at work.
Unlike the Mexico-Belize border, where there is a huge no mans land and you drive between the 2 borders, the Belize-Guatemala border is literally in the next building and you walk between the two countries. We had to pay $40BZD which is $20USD, as an exit fee. Guatemala didn’t charge us an entry fee though so that was good.
In Guatemala we have 1 bigger bus and our luggage goes on the roof. Fortunately, the driver had a tarp to covered everything as it was still raining.
Our first stop was the ATM. It took a very long time for most of the group to get cash. I exchanged some USD at the border so I was good.
Then we stopped at a restaurant for breakfast, which we pre-ordered. I had a ham and cheese omelet, which was delicious. It also came with some weird homemade cheese, tortillas, tomato salsa, watermelon and beans. Plus we had fresh pineapple juice and coffee. It cost us 50 Quetzals which is about $7USD.
Then we continued for another 1hr drive to Tikal. Here we had a guided tour of the site, which is an ancient Mayan ruins It was patchy rain during the drive, and bug territory, so we put in sunscreen and bug repellent, then gathered our rain coats, cameras and water. We had a tour by a local park guide, employed at Tikal to give tours. He told us that we should always have a guide because a few months ago, a German man became lost, and they found his body 3 days later on one of the trails in the thick jungle. He showed us on the scale model the route that we would take, and which temples we could climb. Then we set off.
Once we passed the security & ticketing checkpoint to get a bracelet, we began walking though the jungle to a series of buildings. These had been built to create hills, and each section of the park was completed 20yrs apart. We looked at a few temples along the way.
Then the guide, who was right in front of me, stopped and asked if we wanted to see a tarantula. Hell freaking no!! There was a tarantula burrow about 30cm in front of my feet. Obviously, I bolted far away, and while they were watching while he tried to entice it out, I stood near my guide Liam and silently cried. I couldn't help it. But from that moment on, I was absolutely terrified I was going to see one, or have one fall out of the trees onto me, or have one randomly climb on me from somewhere. My anxiety went through the roof. I saw Liam go up to the Tikal guide afterwards and I think he said something because he never mentioned tarantulas again.
Then we got to the grand plaza, where there are 4 building in a + shape. 2 big temples at either end, some residences at one side and another building on the opposite side. We were given free time here, so all of us went to climb the big temple, which was about 20m high. They have a wooden staircase on the outside of the building so tourists don't climb on the rocks. I also went and climbed the residences building and went and had a look at some of the monuments. Whilst waiting for the rest of the group we saw a white nosed kaputi. Related to raccoons, fairly harmless, but the y like human fingers when they have food in them!
We continued walking through the jungle observing buildings, and reached the astronomical temple. This is where the Mayans would stargaze. You get a full 360 degree view of the jungle from here. This one was 30m high and the wooden staircase was VERY steep. I felt like I was dying. The view was amazing though, and worth the climb.
Lastly we reached Temple 4. This is the biggest temple, and the one used to promote the Tikal site in tourism, and it was in one of the Star Wars movies. This temple is 70m high and you climb about 55m up. There is only a small section that you are allowed to access at the top, and you can sit on the actual rock steps. The view here is incredible. 180 degrees, above the tree canopy. You can see for miles!
When we came back to ground level and bought a drink, it started thundering so we decided to make tracks back to the entrance and the safety of the buildings, in case a torrential downpour happened. During the walk we saw a toucan! A real live toucan. 3 in fact. They are a different species to the stereotypical ones, smaller and less brightly coloured, but it was still cool.
A little bit further on we heard a lot of movement in the branches. It was 2 spider monkeys! I got some video and photos of them swinging and climbing through the trees.
Back at the entrance, most people got food in the restaurant, but I wasn't hungry so just sat there. Guatemalan time is as slow as Belizean time! Took about 1.5hrs for everyone to get their meals (burgers, pasta).
Then it was time to continue to Flores, our stop for tonight. It was 1,5hr drive, and by the time we got to Flores it was pouring with rain. We are staying on Flores Island, which is a small island in the lake. After checking in, I went in search of a supermarket (mmmm Doritos), and then walked a lap of the island. It is tiny, takes maybe 20mins to walk around the entire thing.
After showers, we all went for dinner spat a restaurant just down the road. We had pre-ordered our meals, but the service was slower than a snail going backwards. It took 1.25hrs for one of the girls to get her Hawaiian pizza! I had a BBQ chicken with chips, which was alright and a strawberry daiquiri.
Then we decided to go out for a dance. Almost the whole group went, and we ended up in a nightclub that was absolutely going off. It was chock-a-block full of people. It had smoke machines and the strongest bass I think I have ever felt. Drinks were cheap, I paid about $4USD for a premix vodka RTD and a large bottle of water.
We stayed there for several hours. Several times the boys had to switch places with us as there were a lot of men grinding their butts on us females. The vibrations were insane. It's been a long time since I have been in a nightclub, I'm not sure I miss it because my throat is now very sore from the smoke and yelling in people's ears to talk to them! Oh and people were smoking cigarettes inside on the dance floor, so now all my clothes and hair stinks like cigarettes. Yuk! It was also so ridiculously hot and sweaty. We were sweatier in the nightclub than we were at Tikal, which is saying something.
At midnight we went back to the hostel as most of us had had enough. Showers we absolutely necessary, then we climbed into bed. We don't have to leave until 9am tomorrow so we can have a bit of a sleep in.
Day 14 Flores to Rio Dulce
This morning we could have a sleep in as we didn't have to leave until 9am. I got up at 8am, packed and went in search of coffee. I found a little cafe that served takeaway coffee and got an iced coffee. It was very good!
Our bus driver was quite late, so when he finally arrived, we grabbed our stuff and walked to meet him. Our luggage went on the roof and we pulled inside the bus. I got my favourite seat, a single seat at the front of the bus, which means I have plenty of space for my bag & legs.
It was only a 3-4hr drive, and we stopped at a servo about half way. We got some anchor then kept going. When we arrived at Rio Dulce we stopped at a big supermarket to get some snacks. I got some fruit, which I haven't had since Belize.
To get to our lodge, we had to take a small boat. Our luggage was piled into the front and we climbed into the little boat carefully. This boat is very easy to tip! The ride was only 3mins so quite quick.
We had to carefully get out of the boat (we had a few hairy moments!) then had to carefully balance on the floating dock. Then we headed to reception to check in.
I was greeted with a friendly kitty cat! And this cat is clean, healthy, well-cared for and safe to play with. Turns out there are 2 kitties!! Thomas & Lily.
Here we are split into pairs for our accommodation. I’m paired with a British lady, and we have a cabin with a balcony and a view. The rooms themselves are basic, we have 3 single beds & a pedestal fan. It is hot! There is another room opposite ours, with an Irish couple in it. Beneath our rooms are 2 tiny bathrooms and a patio with chairs, tables & a hammock.
Some people went to the restaurant for food, while myself & others went straight to the pool. It was lovely and refreshing. We stayed for several hours.
After cleaning up, we boarded our boat and took a 3min ride to our restaurant. Never have I ever rode a boat right to the restaurant. We just hopped out the boat, walked straight into the restaurant. People were staring at us, we felt very fancy!
English is not very common here so it guide Liam translate our orders. I settled for a cheese, bacon & avocado beef burger. Service was excellent, polar opposite to the night before! The food was good too!
This restaurant has 2 resident cats too, which was exciting for me. One was super friendly and sat right next to my chair multiple times!
Then we boarded the boat & headed back to our lodge. I went straight to bed as it was 10.30pm by now.
Day 15 Rio Dulce
This morning some people chose to do the sunrise monkey kayak. The weather was forecast to be wet so I chose to skip this. Unfortunately, after my roommate got up at 4.30am, I couldn't go back to sleep so at 6am, I decided to give up and watch a TV show.
Then I decided to go have breakfast. There was a small group already there, so we made a big table. I had a mushroom & cheese omelette and a latte. It was delicious. During breakfast, we got to play with a friendly dog, who is staying at the lodge with her owners.
We also bombarded Liam with loads of questions (again!) about upcoming activities. My biggest decision now is....do I hike Acatenango Volcano (difficult, 6hrs, very steep, incredible views of actual eruptions from Fuego Volcano), or do I do Pacaya Volcano (moderate, 2.5hrs, get up close to flowing lava rivers & roast marshmallows). I know I did Kilimanjaro, but that was in 2016 when I was a bit fitter and didn’t have my disease. I’m conscious of the fact that I would slow the group down, which I don't want to do, but the views of Fuego are absolutely stunning. Hmmm what to do?!?!
Then I went and hung out in my cabin for a bit to watch a TV show, since I only had 4.5hrs sleep. I didn't sleep but just rested.
After a few hours, I went to Reception to use the WiFi. There were a few other people from the group there too, since WiFi is only available here & most of us don't have a sim card.
Just after lunch, 10 of us got ready to go to Finca El Paraiso. This is a hot waterfall. We boarded our boat & began the 40min ride. It was very pretty scenery during the ride. When we got to the location, we boarded a jungle limo (aka troop carrier) for a 15min drive into the jungle. We passed lots of animals (cows, pigs, horses, dogs) along the way.
We got to the carpark and had a 10min walk to the waterfall. It is popular with locals and some tourists. Guatemala has tons of volcanoes and here, the water is heated by volcanic activity. This place has hot and cold water. The main river is cold, very cold, and the water coming over the falls is very hot. It is powerful and hotter than I would have my shower in the dead of winter. It was so nice! You have cold water on the bottom half & boiling water in your shoulders & back.
There is a man on duty there who tells the groups where to put their stuff, and our guide asked him to get us some mud. He had to climb up to the top of the waterfall and went to a special place with some special volcanic mud. It is the same stuff you get in a day spa. We rubbed our all over our bodies which provided a good exfoliation and left us with silky soft skin.
We went over to the rocks on the side and discovered there were a couple of trickles of water that were hot. One became so hot that it burned my butt! It ended up so hot that I reckon it was at least 80 degrees. You could cook pasta in it!
After a couple of hours we headed back to our accommodation. The boat ride back was so bumpy!
We stopped at the supermarket on the way because we have an 8hr drive tomorrow.
We had showers and packed our bags before dinner. As I was emerging from my shower, I heard my roommate, who was in the other shower say “OH...MY...GOD”. As myself and another girl approached, she said she just showered with the biggest spider in there. We went to look (big is subjective) and it was a ginormous thing on the shower curtain. It looked similar to a huntsman and would have been 15cm in length. As it turns out, the guy in the room next to ours had a shower earlier and saw the shadow. He bolted out and ran up to the room dripping wet! Then he forgot to let us know when we got back so my roommate didn't see it until after she showered. It was awful!
We packed our bags then went to dinner. I found our guide Liam and told him we have an emergency. I told him about the spider and asked him to remove it. He was so unbelievably calm! He grabbed an old flyscreen from under our stairs, managed to get the spider on it then, with a bit of effort, got the spider into the bushes. Liam doesn't kill spiders. It was terrifying but he saved the day!
Then we joined everyone else at the dive table and my roommates and I told our tales.
Dinner was a shmozzle. We pre-ordered our meals and they still messed them up. Particularly the pasta dishes. I had Alfredo pasta with prawns, which was ok.
After dinner, we paid our tabs from the last few days then most went to bed. A few of us stayed in Reception to use the WiFi for a bit. We had to be up at 2.30am so we all went to bed early.
Day 16 Rio Dulce to Antigua Guatemala
This morning the alarms went off at 2.30am. So early! The plan is to time our arrival at Guatemala City in between the 2 morning peak hours. If you time it right, you can cross the city in 45mins. If you hit peak hour, it can take 2+ hours.
We boarded our boat at 3am and headed to meet our bus. We have a different bus this time. Far more spacious with working air con. In fact, the air con was so good that by 6am we were all freezing. It was a relief to be outside on the warmer air!
We continued driving for the next few hours. Some people slept but I couldn't so I watched a movie. Unfortunately about halfway, one of the Belgians was very sick & vomiting up last night's dinner. Then when we were just coming through Guatemala City, the Aussie guy was very sick & vomiting. He was so sick that he kept vomiting all day and was taken to a local doctor. Almost everyone in the group has been sick at some point. Fingers crossed I don't get sick now!
We made such good time, even with the extra stops for illness, and arrived in Antigua Guatemala just before noon. We checked into our rooms (very small, 3 bunks high in my room) then went out for food. Liam recommended we go to the McDonald’s because it is beautiful. So a big group of us did. It was nice, but I think the one in Portugal is better. Most of us had something called a bacon smoky burger. It was beef or chicken (your choice), bacon, cheese, caramelised onion and honey mustard sauce. It was quite good, although the honey mustard was extremely sweet.
Then we separated. I went to the bank to exchange some USD for Quetzals, saw the famous arch and went back to the hostel for our meeting.
The guy from the Volcano tour company was on the phone answering all our questions about the Acatenango & Pacaya overnight hikes, which are being done tomorrow. I found out that you can hire a Porter to carry your 15kg hiking pack (you carry tent pieces, communal dinner ingredients, 4L water, change of clothes, winter coat, rain coat, beanie, gloves, toiletries & a ton of sugary snacks). I decided to do the Acatenango hike. It is 6-8hr hike, then got hang out at base camp and at 4am got hike 2hrs to the summit to watch the sunrise and see Fuego Volcano erupting. Very tough challenge but I want to see an actual volcanic eruption, and this erupts every 20-30mins. You can hear & feel it as well! Only 6 of us will do this one, the rest will do Pacaya. It is shorter, only 2.5hrs hike so they leave early afternoon (we leave at 6.45am) and then follow a similar program with a sunrise hike. The difference is Pacaya has lava rivers, not spectacular eruptions. Both will be incredible in the dark.
I went out to start stocking up on food turn went for a wall around Antigua. It is a pretty town with cobblestone streets & colourful buildings.
At 5pm we had a briefing with the volcano expedition company. Turns out there are 14 in our group tomorrow. Two Germans, two British, one Spanish, one Canadian & two Americans will be joining our group of three Irish, one Dutch, one British & one Aussie. The guy explained a lot about the hike. It sounds like there will be a lot of stops, which will be good. I’m not fit and you do need to be in good fitness, but I'm seeing myself a huge challenge to succeed. Do it for the incredible views & photos of an erupting Volcano! Mind over matter!
We went back to the supermarket after the briefing to get extra sugary snacks & drinks. Then we headed back to the hostel to sort our stuff out.
Tomorrow we will take just our Volcano stuff with us & leave our main luggage at the hostel. Since we are getting up at 6am, we have to be organised so we don't wake our dorm mates.
Then 8 of us went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. It was a really pretty restaurant, but fairly pricey for Guatemala. One of the boys chose it so we blamed them. I had the port ribs with mac & cheese croquettes and coleslaw. It was very good!
Then we got very cold (most of us, including me, still had on shorts & singlet) so we headed back to the hostel. I was so cold I had goosebumps!
I finished sorting my stuff out, had a shower and went to bed. I'm buggered after 2 days of only 4hrs sleep, and I know I should sleep but I'm not sleepy. Our entire group was in bed by 9.15pm!
Day 17 Antigua Guatemala
Well things didn't go to plan. I woke up at 4am not feeling great and by 4.20am I was sick, vomiting and diarrhoea. I was sick for hours and didn't sleep. I could not climb a volcano in this condition. The Aussie guy was feeling a bit better so he took my place on the hike.
I spoke to Liam, and he is almost certain it was the pasta from the jungle lodge. That is the common food link between all the people who have been sick in the last couple of days. He gave me a bottle of this local rehydration drink they have here in every cold drink fridge. I had only a couple of tiny sips (its gross, tastes like artificial creamy strawberry milk or yoghurt, but it is a clear like strawberry Fanta). I ended up vomiting it all back up anyway. I was sick on and off for the whole morning.
At 1pm I woke up and went to say goodbye to the group going on the Pacaya overnight hike. I was starting to feel a bit less nauseous, and I made up a Hydralyte bottle. I also felt it was safe to take some Imodium. I was in a bit of pain though, my head, my back.
I went back to my bed after the group left and watched a tv series. I was very uncomfortable with my back pain, so I tested the waters by having 1 Panadol, then another a bit later.
We had a huge storm about 30mins after the group left. Torrential rain, thunder and lightning directly over the town, kind of storm. It was insane. After a particularly ear-splitting thunder boom, I went to see if one of the group, who was in the room next to mine was awake, so I could sit with him. No answer so I had to ride the storm out alone.
This afternoon I managed to sleep for most of it, which my body clearly needed. I woke up at 6pm and went and sat outside with better WiFi. The other female who didn't go hiking came past and went and got Liam as she was bored. He told us lots of info about the upcoming days and also about Nicaragua.
We had another torrential downpour just before 7pm, and the others decided to go for diner at a Chinese restaurant. I'm going with them as I probably should try and eat something. My favourite soup is Chinese chicken and corn, which is light but at least solid, so will have that. Since I got up at 6pm, I have managed to have half an apple and a third of a Lipton raspberry iced tea. My stomach doesn't feel good but I'm fairly sure it is from hunger.
Well, the Panadol had worn off and the really uncomfortable back
ache had returned by the time we went for dinner. I couldn't work out what my
stomach was doing, but I was in a very uncomfortable situation. I still went to
dinner and ordered a bowl of soup. It was huge! Enough soup to share with the Liam
and the other guy. I managed to eat very little, maybe 1/3 cup worth. Such a
shame as it was lovely but my back was causing a great amount of grief & I
just couldn't eat anything else.
We went back to the hostel and I took more Panadol and went
to bed. I was freezing so I took a blanket off one of the other beds since I
had the whole dorm to myself.
Day 18 Antigua Guatemala to Panajachel
This morning I woke up at 7am feeling much better. I had
almost 8hrs sleep and I think the bug has gone. I start on bed for a while
playing on my phone, then got up and started packing. Today we are leaving our
big bags at the hostel and taking only a backpack for the next 2 nights. I had
so much extra stuff since I had bought a ton of snacks for the volcano hike and
a big 6 pack of toilet paper.
At 9.30am, Liam and I went for breakfast at a Cafe he
recommended that had a rooftop terrace. The other 2 were still asleep! It was a
lovely cafe, and empty, so we were the only ones. There was a brief view of the
volcanoes before the clouds returned. We both ordered the burrito and coffee.
The burrito had sausage, bacon, egg, cheese, black beans & a tomato salsa
in it. It was so good! There was some guacamole on the side & fried banana.
Absolutely delicious! The coffee was semi-decent too, far better than the black
liquid they call coffee at the hostel. That was fowl! It was really nice to
feel normal again and having good food with good company. When we went to pay,
we got a pleasant surprise...it was 2 for 1 breakfast! So it cost us approximately
$4USD for the huge burrito and coffee.
When we got back to the hostel at 11am, we found that all
the volcano hikers were back. Both groups! They were completely exhausted, some
said it was awful, some said the views were worth it. The Pacaya group didn't
see any lava rivers, the Acatenango group got to see Fuego erupting. Both
groups had torrential rain and thunderstorms during the night. They all went
for showers and to sort their bags out for today.
As we weren’t leaving until 3pm, the Irish guy who was with us yesterday and I decided to go to Cerro de la Cruz. This is a lookout over the city, popular at sunset. It was a 20min walk from the hostel and started off fine. Then we got to the forest trail. It was all steps and steep. I had to stop twice on the way to the lower lookout! John told me I was being very hard on myself, given I have been so sick and not really eaten since Tuesday. The view was good.
Then we went to the higher lookout point before heading back
down the mountain.
When we got back, I decided to go get my nails redone as
they were all coming off and terrible. I found a good place and I was so
exhausted by this stage that I almost feel asleep when she was doing my nails!
By the time I got back to my hostel, I was absolutely
shattered. I sat on the couch next to Liam and just about feel asleep.
Our transport arrived on time (wow that's a first!) so we
loaded up and began the drive to Panajachel.
The drive was extremely windy and our driver drove fast, so
those of us in the single seats had to hold on so we didn't fall into the
aisle. The mountains were very beautiful though. Lush, green and, in parts, covered
with clouds.
It was only about 2.5-3hr drive. Panajachel is located on
the shores of Lake Atitlan. It is a huge lake located inside a massive volcanic
crater, surrounded by several volcanoes and sits at 1500m above sea level. I
just did a quick Google and one website says it's is considered to be the most
beautiful lake in the world!
When we arrived we grabbed our backpacks and walked down a
cobblestone lane way to our hotel. I ended up having a room to myself this time
as my roommate wanted a room to herself so she could sleep after the Acatenango
hike.
I went for a walk along the streets of Panajachel and went to see the lake. It isn't very beautiful today. Very dark grey clouds, breezy and cool. I took some pictures then headed back to next the group for dinner.
We walked down the main restaurant & shopping street to a big place that has lots of different options. I wasn’t feeling hungry, so I ended up getting coxinhas, which are Brazilian chicken croquettes. It was the smallest thing on the menu.
I was feeling very sleepy at the table so I left whole the
other decided to stay for one more drink. It was a 20min walk back alone
through the dark streets but I didn't feel scared or nervous once.
Over the lake was a big sheet lightning storm. Lots and lots
of flashes, orange ones and white ones. It was very pretty so I stopped for a
few minutes to watch it.
Then I went to my room and went to bed. Hopefully I feel
much less tired tomorrow.
Day 19 Panajachel to San Juan La Laguna
This morning we could have a bit of a sleep in as we weren't
leaving the hotel until 10.45am. I woke up at 7am and played on my phone for a
bit.
Then Liam sent through the information on the Honduras
immigration pre-check. We had to go to the website, create an account, complete
the pre-check, complete the health screening and then email the pdf to Liam to
be sent to a printing shop as they need hard copies. So I thought I would be
good and do it straight away to get it over and done with. Well! That stupid
form took hours to fill out! Creating an account took forever. It had one of
those Captcha codes that you have to enter. Every single time mind was wrong. Then
I found a ‘verify email address’ email in my junk so I did that (15mins by now)
and got started. Liam also sent us a sample form with the information we needed
but it was in Spanish so hard to decipher. The biggest issue were that it was requiring
covid test date & photo (um no covid test is needed?) and when you click on
some of the drop down boxes & select something, or doesn't actually select!
I cracked a wobbly after an hour and went to find breakfast.
The place I wanted to go to was closed (no power) so they sent me to a nearby
place which had good coffee. I got an iced latte then went back to the hotel. Then
I continued with the stupid form. We were told that we should submit covid
vaccination information in the test section so that was ok. I had to refresh
the pages loads of times to be able to select the drop down menus (nationality,
country of residence, profession etc). At the bottom there is meant to be a
number, but I didn't have one so I submitted anyway. After another hour of
studying around with it. Then I found out from someone in the group that if you
change the language back to Spanish, then all the magic numbers pop back up. So
I had to redo the whole health form again. By now, I was at the point that
Honduras could jump off a cliff. Copan better be worth all the effort to get
in!
Then we left and went to the lake to get our boat. We had decided as a group to stop at a place called La Casa del Mundo. This turned out to be a fancy cliffside/lakeside hotel on the edge of Lake Atitlan.
After disembarking we had to go up some very steep steps to the main restaurant level. The views were wonderful! We took over one of the terrace areas and ordered some drinks. I chose a banana smoothie with milk. It was super thick. It was basically a frozen banana blended with a splash of milk. It was very good! We just sat and chilled and talked. There was an opportunity to swim but it was very rough and the water was cold apparently so nobody swam.
After a while we ordered some food. I chose the chicken & avocado sandwich, which was very good.
At 2pm we boarded our boat and continued crossing Lake
Atitlan, headed for the town of San Juan La Laguna. It was only maybe 20mins,
so not far. As we are currently inside a huge volcanic crater, all the towns
are built into the slope. This means a VERY STEEP uphill walk to get to the
office of the homestay program. The perk is that the street is actually really
beautiful.
We arrived at the office, huffing and puffing here we were welcomed to the town (through
Liam who is our translator as not many people speak English here), then
introduced to our host mum’s for the night. We are split into pairs and we will
all be staying the night in a local Mayan family’s home. Myself and the British
lady were allocated to one family. She took us to her home, which is
located at the back of a shop, and showed us to our room. We have a big room
with 2 big beds (between a single and double in terms of width), with a private
bathroom.
Then we were taken to a park (covered basketball court) in the middle of town to meet up with everyone else. From here, we began walking around the town visiting some of the local cooperatives.
First up was the Mayan honey cooperative. They have several types of bees, which all produce different amounts of honey. The European bees produce 10L of honey a year but one of the Mayan bees produces only 500ml of honey per year. They also have mango trees, coffee bushes, ginormous passionfruit and ginormous sunflowers! I bought a passionfruit from them and they cut it for me. It was delicious and by far the biggest passionfruit I have ever seen! On the way out I saw their sunflowers and they were taller than me! Absolutely massive!
Next stop was the chocolate factory. We were given a
demonstration of how they roast and grind the beans (all by hand) and then
given a tiny (the size of 2 corn kernels type of tiny) piece of their 70% chocolate.
It was most definitely not to my liking! No sweetness, unique texture,
definitely not like a 70% Lindt! They do have 50% and 40% so I bought 2 small
bars (mint and vanilla) and 3 individual balls (coffee, coconut & cranberry)
to try.
Next up was the textiles factory. These women grow the cotton, clean the cotton, pull it into fibres and threads, dye the cotton (using completely natural products) then hand make all the products that they sell. The lady showed us how to do it from the raw cotton phase through to the making of a scarf. They use plant leaves and bark mostly for the dyes and also cochineal beetles. Each plant gives a certain colour and they can mix plants to give other colours. I did confirm with Liam that they do actually do literally everything by hand. Each piece in the shop has the tag with the weavers name and the price. Each weaver sets their own prices. Scarves can take 4 days to make, one the fibres are actually dyed, dried and ready. In the pictures below you can see the plants that they use for their dyes.
Naturally I wanted to buy something. Completely handmade from plant to finished product, um yes please! I find myself a gorgeous pink, red & blue scarf. It is very soft too. It was woven by Marella and cost 175 GTQ. That is less than $25 USD! I asked the lady about the dyes in it and to get the hot pink they mix cochineal with the leaves of the indigo plant. How cool!
Fourth stop was an art gallery. They have 20 male & 5
female artists, all of whom have their own individual style. We had a brief
welcome and wandered around. The colours were so bright and incredible. There
were actually quite a few that I would like but I found one that I feel in love
with. It is stunning 😍. Unfortunately it was 2,200 GTQ, which is
about $286 USD, and their credit card machine was broken. Sign that I'm not
meant to buy it. But it was gorgeous!!
We also looked up our Mayan ‘star’ sign. They aren't actually star signs, but they are kind of like the same thing, only the Mayan version. You actually have 3 signs. Nacimiento is the sign of the time of your birth (mine is Kan), origen is the sign of the time your were conceived (mine is No’j) and esperanza is the sign of your future or hope (mine is Aj). For Mayans, people have characteristics of each of they 3 signs. I’ll post the meanings for each of my signs below.
Last stop for the tour was the medicinal plants shop. In the turn, they only have a small demonstration garden, which has 15 different plants. Outside of town they have a bigger place which has over 40 types of plants. They have most of their women working in the bigger property. They have plants for everything. I asked about kidney problems and was told they would use the horse tail plant, made as a tea, to help. I also asked about blood pressure, and was told a tea of basil leaves helps regulate blood pressure. I'm actually tempted to stop my medication and try drinking basil tea for a few weeks to see if it actually does anything for me!
Then we went to a big church and met our families again. Liam spoke to the family and double checked out dietary requirements with what they had prepared for dinner, to make sure everything would be ok. Most of our group HATE cilantro/coriander, and that is a fairly staple ingredient in Central America. We went back to our home and said hello to the family. They consist of mum, dad & 2 sons (11 & 16). We were seated at a little table and served chicken in a tomato soup style sauce, rice & potatoes. Of course some fresh corn tortillas were there too. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of these. The people in the town speak Mayan. There are 22 Mayan languages and the language of San Juan La Laguna is Suchito. It is their mother tongue. The boys learn Spanish and English at school. The oldest did most of the translating, and Google Translate was most definitely useful! The parents do not speak English at all. We managed to make good conversation though, and they are very lovely people.
I’m not an avid history person, and don't know a lot about Mayans, but I did have in my head that Mayans were a long lost civilisation, like Incans and people from Atlantis. Kind of mythical, ancient people. To be in a home, eating dinner with Mayans is actually mind-blowing to me. Literally! It’s like having dinner with Cleopatra or something!
After dinner Nat helped wash up while I made a friend. A
gorgeous, snuggly, 4 legged, super soft friend named Patricio. Oh my goodness, I
feel in love! ❤️ He stayed in my arms for about 20mins until I had
to put him down when we went to bed (cats don't sleep in beds here).
By now it was 9pm so we went to our room and got ready for
bed. Right now I'm laying in my bed, writing this and listening to the
multitude of barking dogs outside.
Day 20 San Juan La Laguna to Antigua Guatemala
4.24am.....KA BOOM!!!!! Some bright spark decided to let
fireworks off! What the heck?! Liam thinks they must be cheap because every
single time they have a celebration (birthday, wedding, local football team
winning etc) they set of a ton of fireworks. This obviously set of the dogs
again, and then there was a cat fight. All in all, not a great night sleep.
We got up and while Nat was getting ready, I went in search of Patricio. He was ready and waiting for cuddles! He snuggled on my chest and neck and purred so hard!
The 16yr old son took us to the office in town after saying
goodbye to our host mum. We met a few others there, then we went to a café for
breakfast. They grow & roast their own coffee beans, so I got an iced
latte. It was pretty good.
I decided to go for a walk to see if I could find a shot glass from Lake Atitlan, and saw a gallery by the dock. It had similar paintings to the gallery yesterday so I went in to have a look in case they had a small version of the one I feel in love with yesterday. He didn't have small ones, but he had 2 big ones. Very similar.....and so much cheaper! It turns out he is the artist of these paintings! I showed him the photo of the one from yesterday and he said he process are different, depending on the cooperative that they are in, and that one was a very expensive price! The ones in this gallery were less than a quarter of the price! I chose the bigger one for 500 GTQ, which was $72 USD. He pulled it off the frame and rolled it into a plastic tube for easy transport. I was so happy!! Here is my painting with the man who painted it!
Then we boarded the boat and headed back across Lake Atitlan to Panajachel. Then we boarded our bus and began the drive back to Antigua Guatemala. We passed a big waterfall, then stopped at a lookout point, overlooking the lake. The weather is gorgeous today so it was a stunning view.
