pictures here
After climbing Tajumolco, I needed a vacation away from my vacation. What better place than the beautiful Lago de Atitlan to get some hammock time? The lake is just as pretty as the last time I visited.
Running into New Zealand Miguel from Xela, I started my day with an enormous fruit shake sitting by the dock overlooking the lake. An afternoon message followed. Even though the quality doesn’t compare to the Brazilian massage I got in Florida when I hurt my neck, for $7 USD, it was well worth the price. The rain usually came in the afternoon, making it the perfect setting to relax on a hammock.
Since my traveling, I have met people in different cities, or even countries and then saw them later again. At San Pedro, a village on the lake, I ran into the three Belgians, Jerone, Lynn and Toon and Katy from Texas again. We had met on a bus from Mexico. What are the chances?
In his spare time, Jerone farms bee for honey. He gets stung by bees a few times a week just for fun. Toon said he studied philosophy at a bad university and now he teaches in a terrible school. He is a funny guy with a very warm laugh.
Katy’s friend Meghan is a math smarty who will attend NYU in a few months. I told her that I was one class shy of getting a math minor at my university. After two days sitting in advanced algebra, I decided I will probably never use those crazy formulas. I was right.
We had pizzas made in an oven that is the Buddha’s belly at a restaurant called the Buddha bar. James and I shared an eggplant and chicken pizza mixed in a special green sauce. Much fun was had by everyone at the hot tub afterwards.
Next day I shuttled my way to Chichicastenango for the Sunday outdoor market, supposedly the largest in Central America. I am pretty convinced that most of the good are not made by hand locally because many items looked the same. There were the usual fried chicken with rice and beans. And then there was Kellogg’s cereal with rice milk. Merchants sold handicrafts, masks, bags, towels, blankets, cheap toys, lime stones used as soaps, flowers, wood, beans, meats hung on metal hooks, incense rocks and fresh fruits – I especially like the pineapples. I wasn’t tempted to buy anything except for a machete. Everything was for sale, even the used, dull and rusty machete with enough kinks on the blade to be used as a saw. Bargaining was a necessity to buy anything at the market.
As the sun started to set and rain came down, the street stalls began to close one by one. Canopies held up by metal or wooden posts are taken down. Twice a week, merchants come here the night before to set up for a full day of market. Empty handed, I walked away with a full stomach and was glad my backpack was not any heavier than before.
And…. this little fire hazard sits above the market.
