Spent a very pleasant day wandering around Antigua in wonderful sunshine. This place is firmly on the tourist route with many ageing Americans in sight most of the time in formation fashion. We found a couple of great bars & made frriends with a young guy who was selling flutes which had been made by his father. Whilst wandering around one of the main streets which was populated by bars & restaurants I spotted a most unusual sight. It can only be described as a car park for religious icons! It was an area within what had obviously been a church. There wasn't a roof but the floor space was filled with about 10 huge religious icons which had been left there ready for the next festival. Quite a sight!
I bought some very delicious but very expensive beer snacks in the form of various nuts & dried broad beans-some parts of the mix were better than others. Had some pupusas for supper by they didn't compete with those sampled in El Salvador. So it was off to a couple of bars near the hotel before an early night. A quick word about the hotel. It wasn't true to sat that you couldn't swing a cat in it-there wasn't enough room. Possibily a kitten at a push!
Up early to catch the chicken bus to Lake Atitlan. I love these buses, yes they take longer than the shuttles but they are full of local people who are happy in the main to see you & they leave on time. The journey in this case was about 3 and a half hours but it was through some lovely countryside & whilst not the most comfortable ride, is perfectly acceptable.
Arrived at Panajachel where we waited about 30 minutes for the boat to fill up. Didn't want it to be too full as I have realised on this trip that of all the modes of transport I have been on, these small craft are my least favourite. However this particular trip was OK & only lasted about 30 minutes. Found a great room with sensastional views over the lake towards the Indians Nose for about £4 a night. The guy who directed us here then asked if we wanted a trek through the jungle to the top to watch the sunrise. Clearly S was under orders to politely say no to this. The guy said that in the 25 years he had been guiding people there he had never wittnessed a snake. S (who by this time had been fully trained in all things snakey) gently informed the man that whilst he believed his information to be correct, I on the other hand truely believed that every snake in Guatemala would be there looking for me.
Spent the first day sunbathing on the roof of the hotel which was lovely until the whole building started to shake & make "falling down" noises. This went on for about 20 seconds I think & was seriously not funny. Yes it was my first earthquake! Hopefully my last as well. Beer was needed after that.
So whilst wandering around San Pedro I came across a category of traveller who I have witnessed on all of my trips around the wolrd so far namely The Worthies. This is a name that I have come up with to describe this particular group of people. They ALL conform to the following characteristics which are as follows:
- Early to mid twenties
- Hair braided but not in a cool dreads way
- Tattoos and or piercings
- Wear locally made muted coloured patchwork rags-sorry I mean clothes
- Barefotted or Reef sandals
- Want to save the ant or any other creatures they come across
- Talk earnestly or bollocks about world matters
- Adopt local stray animals
- Travel on Daddies trust funds (that part might not be strictly true in all cases)
So you get the picture they are REBELS!!! Well actually they arent. When it comes down to it, it could be argued that I am far more of a rebel than they are, being as I am in my mid forties(oh yes I am), have no kids, single & travel by myself. Not many of them will be doing this when they grow up I can confidently say. Oh welll each to their own I guess.
S left to return to Honduras after a couple of days so I settled into a pattern of reading on the roof, going to the gym & chatting to or being chatted up by anyone who had the misfortune of being near me. Kept checking the weather here & in Playa del Carmen as I was determined to return to the UK with a very healthy tan. So the decision was made eventually to leave this quite wonderful place & make my way to Playa for the final week of this trip. Accuweather had better be as the name suggests as I will be seriously unhappy if not burnt to a cinder tomorrow! Taking the night bus from San Cristobal de las Casas this afternoon & in theory arrive 17 hours later in Playa. Wish me luck!
