And my adventure begins

And my adventure begins. Today I got to sleep in. Like hell. Despite an early night I only got a few hours sleep in between party goers, dogs and the bl00dy rooster. 

But this was my view first thing this am. The mountain in the background is active and every now and then does a wee puff of smoke. Some people climb it. In the words of Princess Anne I would say “not bloody likely”. 

As it was my last night at Jessicas I took my coffee downstairs to drink while the rest of the team were having breakfast. There were only four of us today, the others either having left for home or off on an adventure for the weekend. 

Goodbyes said I grabbed an Uber and dropped my main bag at the hotel I will come back to on Monday. None of the reception staff speak English. Yay this will force me to practice my Spanish which is improving by day.  Speaking is coming easier but understanding - yes! Well!

The hotel is the one that my tour will start in and it has the cutest outdoor courtyard. I am looking forward to staying there. 

I have started this post in a cafe.  Having left my bag and with a couple of hours to kill I set of to find an ATM. The hotel is not far from Jessica’s place so the area is familiar and it was easy to find a machine. 

Sadly, it didn’t like me so off I trotted to find another. That found I went to get my card out and OMG!  Every travellers nightmare. Where was it.??  After a few minutes of panic I retraced my steps, worked up a massive sweat and formulated a plan of how I could get cash another way. All good. I’ll grab a cold drink, cancel the card and be on my way. 

Just one more look. Just as well. Said card was found exactly where I should have put it and did put it. Panic over. Now to find an ATM that works!  

With that sorted and cash withdrawn it was time for a snack. The place I wanted to eat at didn’t open for another hour so it was lunch on the trot with a pulled (pronounced pull-er-ed) pork tostado, similar to the one I had at the market the other day but in a toasted roll and with cheese. A new favourite especially at a cost of $5. 

I did a recce of my new neighbourhood and found a wee jewellery store. I never travel with real jewellery and ended up giving my koru to the lady I worked with at the school. I was taken by this:

Look familiar?  I am now its proud owner and love it. 

Closer to home is a laundry - they wash dry and fold for 7quetzales ($1.50) per pound (weight). I’ll be back. 

Even closer (2 minutes walk from my new ‘home’) is a divine cafe/chocolate shop with seating in a quiet (well except for the american girl next to me that is) lush garden. Just gorgeous.  I will be back to this one too. 
Returning to the hotel I waited outside for the shuttle. And I waited. And I waited. The little house opposite took my eye.   So did the lady carrying stuff on her head. 

Eventually my shuttle arrived just when I was trying to figure out what to do because I didn’t think it was going to show.  The trip notes said they might be up to 30 minutes after the ouck up time. It was over an hour later when they arrived.  I got the front seat because I was last on board. 

The driver speaks english and was full of chatter, most of which I was not listening to but every now and then I got something useful. 

There are 22 spoken in this tiny country. A different language (not a dialect - totally different language) for  each department of the country.  Many people do not speak Spanish at all. 

We passed through many towns and villages. Some pretty some not. We passed by a village known for their leather work. 

The roads were great.  There were many slips but they have built retaining walls around the areas prone to slippage. Very well done. 
 

Rules were broken all along the trip. You pass wherever you can. Lanes are blocked off without warning (not in a gradual way like they are at home.  Suddenly you have something blocking the lane). Tree branches on the road can be used to warn drivers of a breakdown. Work safe and Waka Kotahi would love this:

We passed a graveyard. Even the graves/tombs were painted in one of the six colours allowed in Antigua City. 

Our drive took us mainly along the Pan American Highway which begins in Alaska and with the exception of a small part south Panama and north Colombia goes right down to the southern most tip of South America. I guess thats what we will be going on during the tour. 

The piece in the middle is called the Darién Gap, one of the rainiest areas of the planet running between the last outpost in Panama to the first town in Colombia. It is a good four day dangerous hike from one end to the other. 

We passed a few of the “Qute” cars we had seen in Antigua. They are mainly used for taxis and about the size of a tuk tuk but with a bit more power. New ones cost about $NZ10,000. I must try one. 

The scenery was sublime, towering hills, green everywhere and villages tucked away in the crevasses. Photos don’t really do it justice. 

Eventually we arrive in an unattractive town called Panajachel. My destination. After the cuteness of Antigua it was a let down. The hotel is down in the depths of a lane way but an unexpected oasis. My room bijoux but cute. 

I set off to see Lake Ataitlan, which is surrounded by volcanoes. Its only a short walk from the hotel. My little lane opens onto a street full of tourist stalls. The place is wall to wall full of tourists and the stalls full of junk tourist stuff. Its awful.   It leads to the lake which is lined by hawkers selling traditional souvenirs  (probably made in China). 

There are people everywhere, mainly Spanish speaking and its horrible. 

The Lake though is beautiful and as I write I am sitting in a restaurant on its edges waiting for the sunset while I wait for dinner. I’m glad I ate before catching the shuttle. 

I ordered taco carne de res. Beef tacos and nothing like the tacos back home which are a version of the US version of something they have in northern Mexico. I hate those tacos. 

But these were worse. The soft tortillas were doughy and undercooked. I scraped the filling out, smothered it in guacamole and corriander and ate the few morsels. I still had time before sunset so the wait called for a beer. At least it will kill the taste. I’m glad it was a cheap meal and I’m glad I dragged a pecan pie with me from Antigua. 
The sunset was worth waiting for:

I wandered the streets after that awful meal and saw nothing other than horrible souvenir stands and a few restaurants (one was an Indian Restaurant - and not of the American Indian variety). Really?

Eventually making it back to the hotel my day was drawing to a close. As cute as the hotel is, I think it is way up there with the noisiest places I have ever stayed. OK it’s early but do people really have to scream at each other across the balconies ( especially when they have screechy high pitched voices) and does that dog have to bark non stop.  There is a musically challenged place nearby and the base feels as though it is right next door.  I wish I could use ear plugs 🤪. 

This afternoon has been a real let down after Antigua but at least in this hotel I have my own bathroom and wont have to lie awake at night wanting to go but not wanting to scoot outside and down the path to the loo and wake someone.  But my wee room was so quiet during the evenings and it felt like home pretty quick.  I miss it. 

I miss Antigua but looking forward to the biggest textile market in the world in Chichicastenango (ChiChi for short) tomorrow.  I know it will be chaotic and touristy. I hope not as bad as this.