Departing Antigua around 1330, we arrived in San Pedro about 1700. Driving out of Antigua along Route 14 to CA1 (the Pan-American Highway) was fine. The roads were well maintained and with the exception of a few towns traffic moved along at highway speeds.
The last hour and a half of our journey to San Pedro was down the mountain to Lake Atitlan, and the roads went to crap. For the most part they were unpaved, rutted with plenty of pot holes, several switchback turns, and a 20 minute delay due to road construction.
Traveling through small towns like Santa Maria, Santa Clara, and San Juan, we encountered navigational challenges; the GPS and roads did not coincide with each other. As locals watched, pointed, and laughed, we went the wrong way several one-way streets. A couple of locals told us not to worry about going the wrong way, and indeed we were not the only ones doing it.
When we finally found our way to the
Luna Azul (FB page), an
AirBnB rental, the car had no brakes. Even after driving downhill in 1st and 2nd gear most of the way, I felt like Fred Flintstone, dragging my feet to stop. Needless to say,we requested a replacement car. A bit more on that later.
Amanda and Kathie started half-day Spanish classes on Monday while I walked around town with Erin, our Luna Azul hostess. She showed me where and where not to go, recommended things to see, and the best days to visit nearby villages.
In addition to managing the Luna Azul, Erin is the owner and therapist of "
Erin's All Natural Facials and Massage". During our stay, both Amanda and Kathie got facials and raved about it for days. Even though I didn't get a facial, based on the comments of my travel partners, I recommend it.
During my walks through and around town, I talked to several locals and expats sharing stories over morning coffee. The people were all friendly, streets were trash free, and I never felt uncomfortable or in any danger.
Here are some pictures of San Pedro.
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| Sunrise from our patio at the Luna Azul |
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| Lake view from the patio |
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| San Pedro from out patio |
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| Morning shot looking down the main street |
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| Alley leading to the market |
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| One of the many churches |
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| Live entertainment in the middle of the afternoon |
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| The fair was in town and this road leads to one of the two ferry docks |
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| The ferry dock for Santiago |
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| Indian Nose peak |
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| Human truch |
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| Table in a restaurant |
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| One of my favorite shots of a local child playing |
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| Another shot of a local child playing |
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| A Mayan lady and her children |
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| Laundry day on the lake; and in the lake |
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| The baker invited me in to take shots and of course buy some bread |
WALL ART IN SAN PEDRO
As our time in San Pedro grew to a close, Erin and her partner Stace invited us to the "Fourth Annual Gringo Bingo" event. This takes place annually while the fair is in town. A large number of the expats fill several tables to play bingo in a way I've never seen. Instead of calling out numbers on a card, and covering the number with bingo chips or ink dots, they use picture cards and corn.
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| Gringo Bingo card |
Since the Spanish class was in the morning, we took time to explore neighboring towns in the afternoon. Two we drove to, one we rode a tok-tok (covered three wheeled motorcycle with a backseat), and one we took the ferry.
These are photos from various afternoon excursions.
SAN MARCOS
As I mentioned before we requested a replacement rental car; our request was for any morning exchange. I met the girls outside the school and broke the news that the care would be exchanged today, in the afternoon. We had plans to take the ferry to Santiago today, so this didn't go over well with Amanda (she signed for the car).
When the replacement car arrived, we took car of the exchange and instead of Santiago we went to a closer village, San Marcos. The girls and I drove there, but Kathie elected to take the ferry back.
San Marcos is a small village without a whole lot to see. Here are some shots from our expedition.
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| Dry man-made stream in town park |
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| Path leading from town to the pier |
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| More of the path |
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| Wall art |
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| San Pedro volcano from the pier |
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| Fishing and drinking; choose your fancy |
SANTIAGO
Since yesterdays plans to go to Santiago changed, today was the new day. I again met the girls outside the school and we caught another tok-tok to the ferry dock. Buying our round trip tickets (less than $6.50), we got on the boat for the 30-45 minute ride. The waters were chopping, sky was hazy, but the ride was good.
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| Entering the Santiago ferry dock; yes those are 55 gallon drums |
The main purpose of this trip was to visit the local market, which to me was nothing more than a farmers market and flea market combined. Yes, it was big, we saw plenty of Mayan natives, it was crowed, and we got some decent pictures.
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| Traditional Mayan |
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| Two Mayan men solving world problems |
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| The men change, but the conversation continues |
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| This is Mishmo, a Mayan God that is moved from house to house |
SAN JUAN
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| Santiago ferry dock; the best looking dock I saw on the lake |
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| "Indians nose peak"; look from left to right to see the eyes, nose, mouth |
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| "Indians nose peak"; look from left to right to see the eyes, nose, mouth |
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| Mayan woman dying the color into white material |
Our travel partner Kathy .had started the trip with an infection and yesterday she elected to return to the US to seek medical attention.
Now with only Amanda and I to finish the trip, the manager of the AirBnB made reservations for us at a highly recommended wine and cheese restaurant;
El Artseanao
Not knowing where the place was and not wanting to drive the wrong way on one-way streets again, we rode in a tok-tok. It wasn't as bad as I'd imagined, but it was still bumpy, dusty, and long; doubling the drive time if we'd driven the car.
WALL ART FOUND ALONG ALMOST ALL THE STREETS
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| This wall art is on a wall beside the ferry dock |
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| Inside a waiting area at the ferry dock |
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| Another shot from inside a waiting area at the ferry dock |
SOLOLA
For this trip, we combined it with our departure of San Pedro to Guatemala City with a two night stay in Panajachel.
Once again, this was a local market with fruits, vegetables, and meat, only this time the atmosphere more like a flea market with more trinkets, and new and use stuff for sale. The crowd was more intense, the Mayan tradition more evident, and another opportunity for more photos.
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