San Pedro La Laguna, Lake Atitlan

To San Pedro, Dec. 28 - Jan. 5

I took the tourist shuttle from Antigua, as I was not ready to face the infamous "chicken bus" (more on them later) just quite yet. The "faster, more comfortable" tourist shuttle is slow and uncomfortable enough.  We drove in circles, quite literally, through Antigua's busy Sunday streets, collecting tourists.  It was kind of like the scene from National Lampoon's European Vacation where they go round and round past Big Ben (linked to here for your viewing pleasure).  Only for us it was the Yellow Church, which was only 2 blocks from my hotel to begin with.  Like Chevy Chase in the movie, the only thing you can do is laugh. Actually, I was struck by what a tolerant group of people "off the beaten path" travellers tend to be.  High maintenance folks would not last long around here.  Anyway, we finally found the last flustered couple (who undoubtedly thought they were being left behind... more on that later, too), and then we were off!  Like a herd of turtles, as Dad would say. 

The 3 hour drive (not counting the 1.5 hours circling Antigua) was mostly uneventful, until we finally crept over the caldera wall that bounds Lake Atitlan and began to inch our way downhill.  Dusk was falling.  Lonely roads at dusk are generally something one wants to avoid in Guatemala. We passed a police truck sitting mid-hill, several officers idling around it.  Police are also something you generally want to avoid in Guatemala. Our driver gave a friendly toot, though, and later we passed another police truck and did the same thing. Like we were saying, "yup, this tourist van made it through, thanks!"  Finally we could see lights below us, and the gray outlines of the lake in the dimming light. But it was dark when we finally rumbled onto the main street of town and we all tumbled out of the van onto the festering main street of San Pedro.  Fortunately my school was close by, and I found it with only 3 asks (walking around new cities in the dark also being a non-recommended activity!!).  My host family father Felix was patiently waiting for me at the school, bless him. He promptly put me in a tuk-tuk (motor scooter with a covered, double-wide back seat), gave the driver directions and sent me off!  The tuk-tuk labored straight up hill, away from the lake and its tourist masses, up little side streets, until we stopped at an alley way,  and Francela and Felix Jr. were magically standing there to welcome me.   Later that night as Felix was giving me the tour, I asked if anyone else lived there. Felix said no, just us four:  Felix, Francela, Junior, and me!  Home at last!

My room, carefully decorated with about six crosses of various size and vintage, one Jesus picture, and a saint of some kind. Did I mention San Pedro is a very religious town?

In an unusual twist, Felix and Francela shared the cooking. Felix Jr. also liked to cook, and would blend up the lunch-time juice (pineapple today) or scramble the eggs.  He is 11 and a good kid.  One night he made us all a special hot beverage made from plantains and cinnamon, so that I could sample it.  It was quite good!  Note the two stoves--Francela is at the traditional wood stove, which is very common here. It has a steel-plate top where one can cook tortillas, as she is doing now, and more.  We had fresh tortillas at every dinner and lunch.  My family also has a gas stove, which Felix estimated about 2-3 homes in 10 might have.  Also notice there is no:  fridge (downstairs in the entry room), sink (also downstairs) or pantry.  There is some food on the shelves there, but that was it. I think it's just so easy to pick up whatever you need for the day from a market stall or street vendor, that they just do not "store" food the way we do. 

Family dining--we always ate lunch and dinner together. Felix would make me breakfast and sit with me while I ate.  Note how my plate has the most food.  I'm not particularly tall, but I did stand about a head over Felix, and more over Francela, and I have to say I was hungry and always ate all they gave me!  They did not eat much meat themselves, so we all ate the same meals, except one lunch when Francela made chicken soup.  This was quite clear because there were chicken feet in Francela's bowl.  And she was eating the skin off them.  I was quite happy to be eating my tortillas, thank you. 

The sink set up fascinated me. There is a cistern under the stairs, where they get water twice a week or so (pumped to the whole town from the lake). Then they use a series of bowls to dip clean water from the cistern and wash, brush teeth, etc over the sink and drain side.

Felix and Francela both are artists by vocation. They paint in the traditional style of the region, which are unique views from above of traditional scenes (such as coffee fields, the market, flower picking etc, but all from a bird's -eye view).  Felix is posing for me--he does not normally paint 14 paintings at once!

Close up of two of Felix's paintings. The one on the left is two women picking coffee, one has the bowl of coffee beans on her head.  See her hands?  The other is two women picking calla lilies--which do grow all around this area. 

My school was a 10 minute walk straight downhill in the morning, to this lakefront setting. The school had 5 levels, and my study area was on the top, with a lovely lake view. 

My young teacher Eduardo.  He did a good job, and I liked him.  He had a bird book that a former student had left with him, and one day I brought down my binoculars to share, and he was so pleased. He also liked to run on the paths around town, and play soccer with his friends.  His family lived right behind the school, and one day we went for a walk during class and I got to meet some of them.  Family does not stray far.  Eduardo had aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, all clustered in the same set of houses. 

Break time!  About when you thought your head was going to pop off if another new verb was introduced, there was a mid-morning break with real coffee and some kind of treat.  The teachers (always the women) brought up the food and gabbled loudly [usually in Mayan] while we rejuvenated.  This is Martin, a vet from England on an extended leave, travelling slowly thru Central America,  studying Spanish along the way. We got along splendidly, as we quickly discovered that most of our fellow students and indeed the vast majority of the tourists in town were here for the partying, easy drugs, cheap beer, and general buffoonery.  Martin and I actually liked to hike, and do things around the area! 

Lake view from the school.  The swarm of boats you see is one of two main town docks.  There are many small towns dotting the shore of Lake Atitlan, as you can see across the lake, and a little army of small boats connect the towns with frequent shuttle service.  It also makes for a nice excursion.