Monday, January 2, 2006

We felt even more determined to get out of Panajachel after our waiter at dinner tried to cheat us. When we asked for the check, he told us it came to Q150. It's not uncommon for the waiter or waitress to simply quote the price rather than hand over a paper check, but this sounded high. He said it included the tip, (the menu said tips were not included) but it still sounded high, so we asked to see it. He came back scribbling on the bill and when he presented it to us it said Q140.

I saw that the re-written price of my limonada con soda was Q18 and I distinctly recall that it was Q16 on the menu, but when I inquired, he said it was more with soda. I'm certain that was a lie - my new cheapskatehood forces me to scrutinize prices carefully and I would have ordered it with water if it was truly cheaper. But making a scene over Q2 was just too much, even for the principle, so we paid the Q140 and left. It was small in terms of money, but dispiriting. I take stuff like that too personally. (La Pescadora. The food was just ok, so not really worth it even if you get another waiter.)

So this morning we got up at ten or so and floundered around. We didn't know where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do. We had a lot of plans and ideas that might or might not work out with each other and that are not worth going into here, but none of them seemed quite right. Something about the shape of Guatemala doesn't lend itself to methodical coverage the way Mexico did. And I felt a little down and we both felt uninspired and discouraged about our career prospects. I didn't really feel like doing anything, to be honest. (Poor us, right?) Finally we decided, with very little enthusiasm, to go to San Pedro La Laguna, across the lake from Pana. This turned out to be a great idea.

I had been to San Pedro the last time I was here and have decent memories of it; I remember being able to enjoy the lake much more from that side. So we took our stuff down to the dock and were able to hop right onto a lancha headed across. The boat ride is an event of itself. The lanchas are small and low, so you're right there in the water and even though there are a roof and walls made of plastic sheeting, you'll still get soaked unless you're in the very middle. If you suffer from seasickness, definitely take a pill beforehand. For about thirty minutes we bounced up and down through the choppy waves like a pickup truck over a potholed road and were periodically hit with icy showers of lakewater.

This would have been unpleasant if it was just me. In fact I remember not liking it much last time I did it. But this time there were some little kids in the front of the boat that shrieked with delight every time they got hit with a sheet of water and then laughed hysterically afterwards. It was cute and it kept the ride from being miserable.

San Pedro is one big hill. If you're not walking uphill, you're walking downhill. Or you can try to figure out the narrow little dirt and rock paths behind houses and through fields that let you avoid the giant hill, but until you get that worked out it will take you three times as long to get anywhere. Seriously, it is a giant hill. The streets are paved with stones, but there is no demarcation between vehicle area and pedestrian area, so everyone pretty much walks down the middle of the street until it sounds like a car is coming and then moves to the side. There isn't a whole lot of vehicle traffic, but there is enough to keep you on your toes, especially if you're on a side street being overtaken by a huge Salva Vida water truck that practically grazes the buildings on both sides.

That first walk up the hill from the dock with our packs was a killer, but worth it. We found a room at the Hotel San Francisco and it was much, much nicer than the last San Francisco we stayed at in Pana. The room is painted all groovy-hippy, but it's impeccably clean with a whole wall of windows. There is a drape made of three Mayan cortes stiched together, which can be pulled back to reveal the small balcony in front of our door and a view down the hill towards the Santiago dock and the lake, and the hills rising up beyond. Gorgeous. We love it to pieces. Eight dollars a night - that is pricey for this town, but if it's a splurge it's well worth it.

The shower is electric, but actually works and did not shock us (except for the shock we had when the water came out heated). The trick to electric showers is to keep the pressure low – the less water coming through, the easier for the machine to warm it all before it hits you.

They say Lago Atitlan is one of the most beautiful places in the world. You wouldn't know it in Panajachel, but you might think so from San Pedro. The lake is at times bright blue and at times silvery gray and surrounded on all sides by craggy mountains that look just like undeveloped land in Sim City. (Yes, I'm hooked, even though Megantown is not doing too well right now.) So, right, beautiful. I could just sit there all day and look at it, which I might have to do while Michael takes his eternity-long turn Sim turn.

It’s not as though San Pedro is necessarily less tourist-oriented than Panajachel, but there are fewer tourists and more opportunity to remember we are in Guatemala, and what tourist stuff there is is much less painful and demanding. We can walk down the street without old ladies trying to tie scarves around our heads, and we can enjoy the views in peace. We’re just chilling here. San Pedro is great, but the room is great too, and then there’s Sim City (damn you!) so we’re spending a lot of time lying around. But we do walk around. The community seems to be mostly Mayan and while it’s usual to see Mayan ladies dressed in traditional huipiles and cortes, here we’re also seeing men in Mayan clothes for the first time, though they are all older men. As almost everywhere, the young men are all in jeans.

D’Noz, down by the dock, shows a free movie every night, so we’ll probably check that out for our evening’s entertainment.

HOURS IN A LANCHA: 1

 

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Lancha to San Pedro.

Nearing San Pedro.

San Pedro's "Panajachel side" dock.

Much, much better.

Eight-dollar view: Lago Atitlan from our terrace.

Me playing Sim City in the groovy room.