Day Fourteen (Nels)
We bumped our Antigua getaway up a day, skipping school Friday to leave for Panajachel on the 8:00AM shuttle. I've been wary of these Pana shuttles, because every tourbook warns of bandits on this busy tourist path. I haven't found that impossible balance of vigilance and calm whenever we're going someplace new in Guate; Dena and I wrote off Tikal more out of fear (a massacre of 28 in nearby El Mirador in May) than the additional cost.
Once you get where you were going, however, and stick around a bit, you wonder what you were so scared of.
The lanchas (Lake Atitlan "ferries," really just covered motorboats with 4-5 rows of benches) here are a unique bargaining experience, as the prices vary every trip. From Pana to Jaibalito, the price started at 100Q and closed at 50Q. The Norwegian couple we met told us they never pay more than 5Q for a shorter jaunt we took later, but the driver insisted on 40 for the 4 of us (he settled on 30). There are 3 price tiers-- local Quiche, ex-pat homeowners, and tourists-- but an indefinite number of actual prices.
Tonight we're at Casa del Mundo, a beautiful hotel in Jaibalito I'd characterize as "backpacker chic". Check out our photostream for photo of San Pedro volcano from our room (and Paul reading in a hanging chair); we hope to hike SP sometime next week.
Post-note from Paul, on hiking among potential bandits: "Remember, Erik, we still have our knives [which we bought at the market".
Day Fourteen (Dena)
After a curvy and sometimes frightening journey from Antigua to Panajachel, we found our new home away from home. We have rented two apartments in a secluded garden that is absolutely charming, complete with peacocks roaming the grounds. But we only dropped off our stuff before heading to lunch at Deli Jasmin and then onto the boat docks.
Nels negotiated a price and we got on the boat and met a Norwegian couple who invited us to see the house/mansion they have built in another village called Santa Cruz. They had a pool and invited the boys to swim. The place was spectacular with 4 bedrooms ( all with views) and 4 bathrooms, three stories high.
The couple seemed a bit eager for company, but every detail of the place was beautiful.
