Lago de Atitlan
Sunday, February 24th, 2008For the next day I arranged my transport on the $5 pullman direct to panajachel (on lake atitlan) – which leaves at 7am. This can be arranged at many places around Antigua – just look for the signs. it is a beautiful drive but I exited the bus unprepared. Typically I know which direction I want to head when I arrive someplace, thus avoiding the vultures preying upon bodies that rest too long. But this particular morning I had a hangover. My first since the holidays! the night before I ran into some people I had met on the collectivo from copan, then got into a conversation about evolution with a kiwi at the bar….and the rest is history. I must have needed this. Regardless, it was all I could do to keep my wits about me on the windy, up-and-down road to atitlan and it was out of the question that I try to read my guidebook to figure out where to go once in pana. I can’t read a book or even a map during the best of times when I’m in a moving vehicle.
I got ripped off by the tuk tuk driver but eventually found my way to posada vinas del lago near the lake. For $10 I got a clean room with cable tv and sinking mattress. I had to wait too long for the water to get hot and since the shower basin drained slowly, by the time the water was hot enough it was spilling over the edge of the basin’s edge. Thus, my arrival in pana didn’t go smashingly. I rested that day, prepared to make a go of it the next.
Pana is a decent sized town with a main drag that caters to tourists in the market for souvenirs. It’s a very reasonable place to do this, but since I don’t have room for fabrics, clothes, etc. – it did not suit my needs. What it did provide was a perfect launching spot for the Sunday chichicastenango market an hour and ½ away, renowned as a regional best, so I stayed an extra day. This was worth it!
Peggy Rehm