Panajachel, Guatemala

Volcanoes!

At the crack of dawn on Saturday morning (okay, 10.30am), we were on our way to Panajachel, which is right on the shore of Lake Atitlan (keep up with me, I have an endless supply of unpronounceable names). Needless to say, the resort we stayed at was awesome.

Even the bathrooms have more fun in Guatemala.

It takes two to tango but four to marimba! Corny but true.

The lake is surrounded by volcanoes and there are (very brave) little villages on each one. This was where the indigenous Kaqchikel (who lived on one volcano) teamed up with the Spanish colonisers in the 16th C. to defeat their neighbours the Tz'utujils (who lived on another volcano). Of course, the Kaqchikel later got a "bun in their face" as my brother would say, when the Spanish promptly turned around and colonised them too.

With Marvin (back), our Chauffeur/Friend/Guide/English-Spanish Dictionary. Marvin is awesome.

 


The first evening, we decided to take in the sights on Calle Santander, a colourful street that closely resembled a Commercial St. gully. The people from the villages around Atitlan come here to sell their wares. I believe it was after a visit to Calle Santander that Shakespeare penned the now-famous phrase, "A foreigner and his money are soon parted."

"But.. but she's offering me such a good price for that baby!"

Sudeep Hegde embracing the wrong foreign culture.

Next: A visit to a Kaqchikel village.

P.S. No babies were sold in the making of this blog post.