Guatemala

Talk about relaaaaaaaaaaaaxing!! The weekend of November 2-4 (which was a 4.5 day weekend for me because of Day of the Dead), Danna, Carrie, and I went to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. On the first, we headed up to San Cristobal (I say up, meaning altitude-wise, as I have no idea where it is in the north-south-east-west sense) to stay overnight. We had a lovely meal at Normita's, which I mislabeled as Lupita's on my facebook because they both end in -ita, and I work with a Normita AND a Lupita. Anyhow, at dinner there were two obnoxious, old, (probably) American men talking ...obnoxiously and getting feisty about the fact that one of them had ordered "wrong". One of the men ordered guacamole and food, and the other (I'm pretty sure they were both intoxicated?) started ranting about how his friend had ordered "wrong", and that the waiter would serve his guacamole at the same time at the food... so he proceeded to call the waiter over, and in decent spanish with a HORRIBLE cowboy accent, told the waiter to cancel the food and just bring the guac. Then he told his friend they'd order later, so that they could enjoy their guacamole, and then went on about cultural ignorance... I wanted to turn and say, HELLO, YOU'RE the ones in another country expecting them to serve you like you're in yours!! Idiots! They also proceeded to say that Mexicans are too poor to have wine, and then talked more about rudeness and cultural ignorance, and I was trying not to die laughing at their ignorance, or say something "passionate". (FYI, there is plenty of wine here, and I know plenty of wealthy Mexicans- hell, I teach their children- just in case I need to dispell any stereotypes for y'all.)
Anyway, the next morning we were picked up at 8am to ride in a van/minibus to the Guatemalan border, and then walk over the border, and then get into another van/minibus for the rest of the way to Panajachel. We didn't know of this transfer before it occured, by the way. Upon arrival, we were taken to a viewpoint/lookout of the lake and its surrounding volcanoes...gorgeous! There were four local kids that were freaking out to be in our photos because they wanted to see them on the LCD screens, which resulted in lots of giggling.
Our accommodations were modest but cheap, at about $6 USD a night per person, and we each had our own bed! Ah, luxury. We only had hot water half of the time, but I'm kind of used to that at this point, after having gone three months without knowing how to light the pilot light on my water heater.
Bargaining fever hit me hard in Panajachel, since the Quetzal was stronger than the Peso, and just because sometimes the 'tude has to have an out. So I was the unofficial market/store worker, getting deals for me and for my friends. I actually got a guy to sell me a poncho/sweater thing for 10 quetzales less than Carrie, and he said, "Please don't tell your friend you got it for less." I found myself whispering things like, "Tell him 2 for 50" and "If he says no, we walk; don't worry, he'll call us back and give us our deal!" It was exciting. I'm still kind of miffed at the water bottle holder guy for not coming down where I wanted him. [Above: I was NOT about to dine with that spider.]
We only had a few days in Panajachel, which was entirely too short a time to enjoy the quiet natural haven that this town is. We also visited San Pedro, a town across the lake, where I'm pretty sure people hide out and use illegal substances... the ambience was incredibly laid back, and there wasn't much to do except hike the volcano (which I will do for sure next time, since I will bring the right shoes!), horseback ride, eat, and be lazy. We found a restaurant on the lake where I could have fallen asleep.
I think this spring I might travel out to the Yucatan and down through Belize and back to Guatemala, possibly on the start of a road trip down through Central America to go to Colombia, so there might be more Guatemala to come!
Also, I have posted pictures to Snapfish. Here's the link:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=139297659/a=54499013_54499013/t_=54499013