Home » Guatemala » Into Guatemala 1989 [Part 4 of 11 Parts]

Day 6 Lake Atitlán, Sapphire of the Maya Highlands (continued) 
Day 7 Sololá, Panajachel, and off to Quetzaltenango 
Day 8 At the Summit 
Days 9-10 A Good Rest at La Capital

Into Guatemala 1989 [Part 4 of 11 Parts]

Jo
2004-03-05 22:49:55

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[Photo 1]

Nada sino los montes

y la luz entre brumas;

agua y cielo reposan,

pecho a pecho, infinitos.

Lago

Octavio Paz

[Nothing but the woodlands

and the light through the mists;

lake and sky repose,

bosoms touching, infinite.

Lake

Octavio Paz]

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Day 7 May 29

Sololá, Panajachel, and off to Quetzaltenango

[Photo 2]

The previous evening, we had the usual egg-bean-tortilla combo for dinner. The family-owned restaurant in San Andres was already closed, but we simply knocked, and, amazingly enough, they cheerfully fixed us a meal.

We visited Sololá, a predominantly indígena town. The indígenas of Lake Atitlán suffered much from the brutal Spanish conquest. Among them, there is still much mistrust of ladinos or outsiders. The men eyed us hostilely-- vexed, I suspect, by Roberto's strikingly Castillian features. We did not take any pictures. However, I did take another microbial bombardment of my digestive system in the form of a dubious lunch, and another episode in "Montezuma's revenge" against the hated foreigner was soon begun.

At Panajachel, the busy tourist town, we passed by streets where expatriate gringo hippies were competing with local Maya vendors in selling tipica handicrafts. The merchandise ranged from colorful cloth pulseras (bracelets), trinkets, hats, shirts, and small souvenirs to more expensive pottery, hand-woven native cloth, bags and costumes, and elaborate woodcarvings.

I quickly grew tired of the bric-a-brac shops, the crowds, and the commercialism. Yet there was nearby Atitlán ...