Lets play tourists ~ but only for a day or two!

As my time is drawing to a close here, decided that it would be a good idea to visit one of the great beauty spots / tourist attractions in Guatemala, namely Lake Atitlan.

The lake which is volcanic in origin was formed after an eruption 84,000 years ago and is at 340 metres the deepest volcanic lake in Central America.

During the Guatemalan civil war, the lake was the scene of many terrible human rights abuses. At least 300 Maya from Santiago Atitlán are believed to have disappeared during the conflict. Two events of this era made international news. One was the assassination of Stanley Rother, a missionary from Oklahoma, in the church at Santiago Atitlán in 1981.  The memorial mass was taking place for this now deemed “local saint” during my visit.

His full story can be read here    
Or watch this video  .......

 

Surrounded by small villages and towns the lake thrives on tourism, and farming. German explorer Alexander von Humbolt in 1853 said that the lake was “the most beautiful in the world”, and this has kind of stuck – a gift to any marketeer!

OK, so having made some hotel reservations and booked a shuttle bus, my friend Eduardo and I headed of at 8:00 for this touristic weekend.  Pity the poor tourist, from the second we descended from the bus in Panajachel we were set upon, touts for buses, boats and hotels flocked around us and extricating ourselves from this melee was not easy.  However, in the process we learned that my chosen hotel was in a village that was no longer served by public launch, or by bus, but only by occasional pick-up trucks, or a private launch could be had for Q.300 (£25), given that the hotel was only Q.250 per night, the boat would cost more than the room.   Eduardo quietly asked a shop owner if what we had been told was true, sadly it turns out that San Antonio was now virtually cut-off and for a tourist getting to and from after 6pm would prove nigh on impossible. 

So, we made an immediate executive decision to stay in Panajachel as it was the centre of communications (and night life, restaurants, and all things touristic!) Resisting the oh so kind offers of help from various touts we set off in search of an hotel, easier said than done as common to all the places round the lake one you left the main road you were presented with a maze of tiny lanes and alleyways only negotiable by bike or tuk-tuk and it was not long before a quietly spoken and affable “tout” was indeed helping us by showing us various hotels, actually once he had worked out how much we were prepared to pay he proved to be very helpful and we were settled into the Hotel Kakchiquel (self appointed 4*s), it was on the main street and we obtained a “relatively” quiet room at the back of the hotel.  Anyways by mid-day we had our hotel and were ready to go to play tourists!

First Cuba Libre of many!

I quickly learned that for a village around Lake Atitlan to be touristic it needed at least one street crammed to the gunnels with shops selling the same Mayan artefacts “touriste-facts” as every other place in Guatemala, with some local variations in the smaller villages, to inflate all the prices by at least 300% in order to get some good negotiating going and even then the poor tourist will probably have been overcharged and to assume every tourist is an American!

OK, OK so I probably sound naïve, but I have so settled into a life whereby I try to avoid the tourist traps and trappings that it all came back as rather a nasty shock! Fortunately having a "Guatemalteco" with me, probably meant we were targeted less often than most! 

We soon established a very pleasant routine, some tourism followed by a leisurely lunch more tourism, a late siesta, then hit the town for dinner a "few" drinks. We serendipitously happened upon the Circus Bar, a restaurant, bar, pizzeria with live music and it was just right. A great atmosphere, we sat at the bar and Francisco the barman was attentive without being pushy and treated us both well, my “measures” got decidedly larger as the evening wore on!

Actually, I quickly realised that this change of routine was just what I needed and as I had very amiable company, had lovely weather etc. I was able to relax, blow the budget completely and set about having a jolly good time!  Eduardo and I proceeded to make the very most of our time.

I managed to get sun burned on the Saturday, as being the last to board a launch to cross the lake Eduardo and I sat at the back, outside and the combination of sun, spray and wind managed to turn half my face and one shoulder and half my neck a delightful shade of bright red!

Both Eduardo and I seemed to have a sense for how to take a detour of the tourist routes and delve into the little lanes and as a result in Santiago were able to find the “real” town centre complete with Fair in honour of Saint James, and In San Pedro la Laguna to find a Restaurant/Café in the most beautiful grounds, quiet, no music just the sound of the breeze and bird song and to enjoy freshly made fruit drinks and wholesome whole-food! So ideal for a leisurely 2 hour lunch, sans Alcohol!

Cucumber, mint, ice .....NO ALCOHOL!

 We had arrived at the “harbour” for launches to/from Santiago and assumed the same place would be where we left for our return to Panajachel – wrong!  But it was again fortuitous as in order to reach the other landing stage we had to walk through the more Guatemalan part of town, up some steep hills and down the other side, but this gave us the chance to see the lovely town square and church of San Pedro.

Over the last few years the level of the Lake has been steadily rising, a tropical storm in 2010 and heavy rains earlier this year have seen the overall rise in the lake to be about 14 feet some  5- 6 feel more than the usual change due to rain.  Athe Lake has no rivers leading from it.  This has resulted in the loss of many Lakeside houses, cafes, and attractions, in San Pedro what was obviously once a restaurant is now the landing stage for the boats as you walk along gangways that were at what would have been table height to reach your boat.

I now realise that my eyes open wider with more alcohol!

Three 40 minutes journeys on launches, two of which were during rather rough conditions, with few or no life vests and the opportunity to get completely soaked required Eduardo and I to take resuscitative action, and after a 30 minute ear splitting time in the “Pana Rock” Café we headed to Circus Bar for supper (lovely pasta), a few restorative drinks, some good music (the bar had the atmosphere of a French street café with music to match), we were definitely relaxed and both enjoyed a little innocent across the bar flirting, all part of the holiday mood!  We were the last to leave the bar gently encouraged to leave by the unannounced or requested presentation of the bill, and so we wandered back to our hotel pretty ,much exhausted and happy. Stopping only for me to do the traditional thing of having a nice plate of street food - tortillas and carne with lashings of chilli sauce – the Guatemalan equivalent of the ubiquitous Doner-Kebab!

 Strangely, both Eduardo and I were a little quiet come Sunday, got up late, gingerly managed breakfast, both complaining of a slightly out of salts stomach, nevertheless the day was spent quietly walking around taking pictures, and having lunch, having extended the checkout time at the hotel we could even manage a siesta before it was all back on the bus for the 3 hour journey to Antigua.

Occasionally, I manage to get everything right and take apretty good picture Eduardo is well pleased with this!

Had a great time, but, being a tourist is hard work, very tiring, quite costly and only shows you one side of life, most of which is universally the same “touristic-ally” – for 2 nights it was fun, but once in a year for a couple of days will definitely be enough!

Definitely I am more of a traveller than a tourist, I am confirmed in Knowmadic existence and wouldn’t swap for the world (at the moment)!  [Euromillions not withstanding!]

Finally,     the people of Lake Atitlan still very much wear traditional costume and NOT as a tourist attraction, this is everyday wear here.  I simply loved the bright colours of the men - who are definitely peacocks here!

Every village has its own design and colours and the men sometimes weara king of blanket wrapped around their middle as part of their costume.

Here is a wonderful video about Guatemalan costumes ......

So that's it for this week BUT

if you want to see more pictures go here

Hasta Luego Amigos!

Reflections on the road ....... being KNOWmadic.

 (the fotos this week are unrelated to my words but to me are inspirational inasmuch as they show some creativity being released in the children ....  we had such fun!)

You may have noticed that my blog now features a few verses from Walt Whitman’s poem 

"The Open Road" 

Did he write it for me? 

It certainly speaks very deeply to me, now, on my adventure.

The recognition that Vagabonding, Nomad-ing, being Knowmadic is not an escape but a means to confront, accept and set-aside the old ghosts …

Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,

I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,

I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,

I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.

One gift of this Knowmadic life, is that of time, time to think, time to do and time to simply “be”, to learn from others or to simply absorb and wait and see how these new ideas work their transforming energy.

From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines,

Going where I list, my own master total and absolute,

Listening to others, considering well what they say,

Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,

Gently,  but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me.

I inhale great draughts of space,

The east and the west are mine, and the north and the south are mine.

This year in Guatemala is I feel simply an overture, an hors d'oeuvres, an appetizer for the myriad of possibilities that await me.  Some call out to me pick-me, pick-me others lay quiet in expectation that I will one day find the key and unlock the secret of their learning.

I am larger, better than I thought,

I did not know I held so much goodness.

All seems beautiful to me,

I can repeat over to men and women

You have done such good to me I would do the same to you,

I will recruit for myself and you as I go,

I will scatter myself among men and women as I go,

I will toss a new gladness and roughness among them,

Whoever denies me it shall not trouble me,

Whoever accepts me he or she shall be blessed and shall bless me.

I meet with other volunteers, with guys I meet via the Internet,  people in the park, (usually) all younger than me, all on their own journeys, their own stories, searching or busily doing, busy, busy “being” and am aware of the Proverbial quote about the “wisdom of grey hairs” (Bible: Proverbs Chap 16) although at present I am salt and pepper the grey increases and I like it! People listen to me as I tell my tales of travel and taking responsibility, of cutting myself loose from my family and being more and more like Kipling’s “cat that walked by himself” (see footnote) ultimately answerable only to myself. There seems to be such a desire for knowledge/wisdom from the young - who seem less and less to discover it between the pages of books, and through talking!  With the art of conversation forever replaced by  " txt msgs"..... when real converstion is possible sadly the young seem to find it "awesome" [ is it so rare these days to listen and be listened to?] .. .. and I don't mean to be in the least patronising.
For me, food and converstion sustains body and mind!  I have no wisdom, only my experience, no magic, only encouragement.

Here is the test of wisdom,

Wisdom is not finally tested in schools,

Wisdom cannot be pass’d from one having it to another not having it,

Wisdom is of the soul, is not susceptible of proof, is its own proof,

Applies to all stages and objects and qualities and is content,

Is the certainty of the reality and immortality of things, and the excellence of things;

Something there is in the float of the sight of things that provokes it out of the soul.

I tell them of my fears and concerns, of being like “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”  (see footnote) and one day simply jumping of the cliff and flying…….. but also, (and maybe I play down this bit) of those long dark nights of the soul when the ghosts of the past try to spoil the party, after all every feast must have its spectre! (or must it?) 

Of course all this is still shiny and new to me, and maybe, over time, my need to have a plan will fade and I can simple go with the flow more, and seek structure less.  I am free, yet, I have dates in my diary for 2014! Will it matter if I make the Baroque Music Festival in the Bolivian Amazon jungle in 2014, 2016 or 2018 or maybe I will just happen upon it one day!  Maybe, better to make my own music, in my heart or with a group of Indigenous children in the high Andes! ……..  Who knows?

Forever alive, forever forward,

Stately, solemn, sad, withdrawn, baffled, mad, turbulent, feeble, dissatisfied,

Desperate, proud, fond, sick, accepted by men, rejected by men,

They go! they go! I know that they go, but I know not where they go,

But I know that they go toward the best—toward something great.

I am curious to see for myself how all this will pan out, I know I have so much to explore, so many as yet unimaginable experiences to have, and much to jettison and much to learn. It all sounds so “lofty” so ”admirable” but to me it is simply an exploration a search for meaning of all that has gone before – and really my hope is that I stop searching and start being. 

Mankind has always searched for meaning, and the day I became an atheist was the day I realised in my heart that the joke was that their was no meaning only being. And yet the struggle “to be” and not to “search” is surely the path “the open road” to a true and personal "enlightenment."

All parts away for the progress of souls,

All religion, all solid things, arts, governments—all that was or is apparent upon this globe or any globe, falls into niches and corners before the procession of souls along the grand roads of the universe.

Camerado, I give you my hand!

I give you my love more precious than money,

I give you myself before preaching or law;

Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?

Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

Despite the distance, friendships remain, (and grow), my faith in the goodness of people grows, (sadly more with the “have-nots”  than with the “haves”) we are all on a journey and we all have our roads to travel, I am at least trying to stop and admire the view as I travel, philosophically and in reality ........

"I believe myself to be greatly blessed by Mother Earth to have this opportunity and I hope with all my heart  that I will learn to use it in the most fitting way ….."

and so,
to end,
the opening of stanza of  "the Open Road" ...

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,

Healthy, free, the world before me,

The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,

Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,

Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,

Strong and content I travel the open road. 

Footnote (hohoho!):

1. If you enjoy this blog, please encourage others to read it, join as members and to post comments , I want it to be more interactive over time. Since I started this blog it has enjoyed over 2000 viewings, including in USA, UK, Latin America, Spain, Holland, India and Russia!
   
   
2. I feel that a book I gestating within these words and within me, maybe a couple more years on the road and then …….   I had started to write a straightforward autobiography but found it too painful in places ……  but may be now as I travel I am laying many of those old ghosts to rest.  And this blog helps!
   
   
3. Johnathan Livingstone Seagull - see here  with full text available here
   
4. The Cat that walked by Himself - see here with full text available  here
   
5. Full text of Whitman Poem - here

Mr W Whitman!   Better get my beard going!  And of course, he was (probably) one of the very first "gay pioneers" ... a beacon and an icon.  Thank you Walt!  

More about Whitman as a gay icon here

OK, that's all folks!

Hasta la proxima semana!