Antigua, Guatemala

Antigua Guatemala is a beautiful city surrounded by volcanoes, with cobble streets and colorful buildings. It is also a city I could stay for a really long time. There are restaurants and cafes, the people are really nice and it was a city between places where I had a lot of fun. I was in Antigua before Semuc Champey, but the time I spent after with my new friends was amazing.

One of the volcanoes around the city

Music in the streets

The Devil at Buring of the Devil

There is  a festival in all of Guatemala called Burning of the Devil, and I was in Antigua that night and went with a group of friends I had made at the hostel. The festival consists of Devil statues being burned at the end of the day, with music, beer tents and lots of street food vendors. It was packed and people were dancing in the streets and surprisingly the festival started on time and by the time we got there, 10 minutes late the Devil was already burning. When the Devil was almost gone, a crazy man with fire works attached to a wodden structure he was wearing came running into the street with fireworks shooting everywhere and people running in all directions. It was hilarious and pretty scary at the same time. I later had a corn and some bean with cheese tostada from the street vendors and after went out with my friends from the hostel.

Being burned

Crazy man with fireworks attached to him running around town

One of my new friends at the hostel was Aylon, who is Israeli and was travelling trough Central America after serving in the army. We were in Antigua during Chanukah and Lauren and I decided we would have a little party celebration with jelly doughnuts included. It was a beautiful celebration with lots of singing, eating and later some delicious Ron Zacappa accompanied by our new favorite game mushroom of death ( king´s cup with some interesting additions).

Our dinner for a Chanukah

Aylon lighting the candles and singing

Mushroom of death

Jordan, Nath and I

Aylon and I

Danny with his prize from the Air Guitar contest

The group in front of Black Cat Hostel

After one of the many party nigths we had in Antigua I decided to partake in one of the most popular activities around town, hike up Pacaya, the active volcano near the city. It was an amazing climb, through hills, trees and finally up the volcano with all of its loose hard lava that every three steps up you slide on back and feel like you are hiking up a sand dune. As you get to the top you can feel the heat of the lava, it was a really intense feeling being so close to lava, stepping on hard lava that was still hot, feeling the heat and at some times I was actually scared of being too close and had to move away. It is with experiences like this that I think about all of the rules and regulations that the U.S. has and how many things we are being kept away from and how many different emotions we dont experience because of so many rules. Watching the lava slowly flow, the sunset on top of the volcano, and finally the glowing lava down the mountain after dark was incredible and unforgettable.

Lava flow at Pacaya

The view from the top

More lava

Marshmallows

Although we all were having an amazing time in Antigua it was time to move on again. Lauren, Nate, Danny, Jordan, Sean, Connie and I pulled names out of a hat for our secret santa, made plans to meet again in San Juan Del Sur in Nicaragua and parted ways. I got on a bus that would cross through El Salvador and drop me off in Managua to meet my first visitor: Pedro!! 

Nuevos Amigos y Semuc Champey, Guatemala

After leaving Panajachel and the lake I went to Antigua Guatemala, which is a beautiful colorful city surrounded by volcanoes. When I arrived there I ran into Jonny and Claudine who I had met during the volcano climb in Xela. The next day I was in a van with Jonny and the two Australians Danny and Sean,  on our way to Lankin and Semuc Champey. It was an intense drive, with no driving map of Guatemala, only a small portion left over from the Mexico driving maps, there was a lot of asking for direction, stopping in little towns and pretty much taking the one road that passed by every small village as well as Guatemala City on the way there. Danny and Sean had been driving the van since California and surfing theis way down trhough Mexico and now Central America.

Danny with his bean paste on one of our food stops

We thought it was going to be a five hour drive, that later turned into 8 hrs and a great part of it was in a small windy dirt road, which we approached a it got dark. Johny Utah (the great white van) gave us a few scares on the way, one of them consiting of Sean screaming ¨I have no brakes, I can´t stop¨ while driving downhill in the small road on our way to Lankin. For a few minutes we were all holding on and freaking out with Sean deciding that the only way we could stop is if we run the car into a wall so that we won´t lose control and fall of the cliff. Thankfully we were able to stop when an uphill came and we all rested for a bit, thinking of our next plan and letting the brakes cool. It was dark, we were tired and just wanted to arrive so we got back in the car and with  little brakes were able to arrive at the lodge, where Utah decides to fall into a deep sleep and not turn back on. So we had to push him into his parking spot.

Utah being checked out by some very difficult to find and convince to work mechanics.

Sean, worried and waiting...

After two days of looking for mechanics, having electrical mechanics from other towns come into Lankin to check out Utah, different diagnosis, the help of a local expat, many money negotiations, trips to the bank, and hammock time while waiting, a minor problem was found, Utah was fixed (sorta) and we began our fun

We signed up for a tour of caves and Semuc Champey through the place we were staying and the next day all of us and other people hopped in the back of a pick-up and drove the first adventure of the day: Caves. Before getting into the caves we all stripped down to our bathing suits and tied our flip-flops to our feet. Each grabbed a candle and followed the guide to one of the most exciting experiences I have ever had. Our candles were lit and with water up to our waist we began to explore the dark caves filled with bats over our heads. As a group we climbed rocks with waterfalls splashing on us, swam holding candles in our mouths and jumped into small dark holes not knowing where we would end up. After the caves we had some fun with a giant swing that would drop us in the river, explored waterfalls, jumped off some small cliffs and then went to a small hike to explore Semuc Champey and swim in the beautiful lagoons.  

El Grupo

 Floating down the river

 

 

Crazy hole we jumped into in the cave 

 

 

Semuc Champey view from the mirador

Semuc Chmapey lagoons

Semuc Champey is where my van trip with the Aussies began and also  where we met Lauren and Nath who were staying in the cabaña above us. After a few hours of talking we had made friends for life who we would travel with for the rest of Central America.

Maximon, spirituality and fun at the Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala

I arrived in Panajachel, the main town where most people go to begin exploring Lake Atitlan and was relieved to have had a safe ride, since the day before a bus had been robbed which later turned into the people burning down the jail and cop cars to get their hands on the criminals. The main part of town is basically one street that starts on a main street and ends at the docks by the lake. The street is full of stores selling all kinds of Guatemalan products from colorful pants, bracelets, purses and even more colorful paintings. There are also many restaurants, hotels and internet cafes. As I am walking down to street to try and find the hostel where I would be staying I am surprised once again by Eve who was having breakfast with some friends. I knew she would be there, but still had no idea of how I was going to find her, and once again things worked out perfectly. I sat with them as they finished breakfast and then dropped of my bag where they were staying.

We decided to take a tour of the lake. It is a beautiful crater lake
surrounded by volcanoes and you can visit different towns across the
lake. We talked with some locals who owned a boat and agreed on a
price to visit two different communities San Pedro de la Laguna and
Santiago de Atitlan, both Mayan villages.

                                           

 The group getting ready for the boat ride

                            
 Lago de Atitlan
                            

Some of the weavers at one of the Villages

The Lake

  Our awesome guide who taught us all about the mass killing of people in a plaza in 1990 and how because of it there was no longer an army allowed in those villages. Because of that we were safe since people took the laws in their own hands, and we were told we would not be robbed, since the locals would lynch the criminal.

At the docks of Santiago de Atitlan we met the guide who would take us to see Maximon. Maximon is a saint that is taken care of by one person in the village. That person is in charge of housing the saint, watching it, putting it to bed at night and receiving visits. Every year Maximon is moved to a new house which will then take the responsibilities of taking care of the saint. There are several parties held for Maximon during the year and we missed one by two days when we arrived at the island. Our guide then led us to a local´s home where the saint was being held and as we walked in there was a ceremony happening with prayers, lit candles and incense. We eatched the ceremony and gave the saint some of his favorite gifts, cigars and rum. The person in charge of Maximon leaned the wooden statue back and poured the rum into his mouth, he then put a cigarrete in his mouth, lit if and left the saint there to smoke in peace. It was an incredible experience to see this wooden figure, with several colored ties around his neck, smoking cigarretes while people were praying around him. It is interesting seeing the mixture of catholicism and mayan religion in these communities.

 San Pedro de la Laguna

Back in Panajachel for a goodbye street dinner of delicious Guatemalan food

Once Eve and her friends left I walked around Panajachel and met a few artisans who were selling their work on the streets. I bought my favorite earring and asked them to teach me how to make bracelets. I was instantly hooked and that afternoon I left to the market to buy thread and by the end of the day had met other artisans who taught me a few different ways to make bracelets. I then decided to spend a few more days in San Pedro and visit the spiritual island of San Marcos.

Ruben, Maxi and another friend...

Dock at San Marcos

San Marcos was a beautiful island, very calm relaxing where we had fresh squeezed juice on the decks and watched as children fished and boats came and went. At San Marcos there are a lot of spiritual places for Yoga and other types of retreats and for some random reason I had a feeling that I needed to have my cards read. I ahve always been afraid of Tarot, not knowing what my future would hold and scared of what the cards would tell me, but being there I felt like it was the moment in my trip and my life where a little bit of guidance my be a good help. So I went to one of the spiritual centers and was welcomed into a small wooden cabin in the middle of trees, where a man dressed in white welcomed me and asked me to sit. I am not sure how long I was on that cabin for, but it felt like a lifetime and the incredible energy of that experience still flows through me. I laughed and cried, heard an unknown man speak so many deep truths about myself and finally left satisfies, content with life and with a new view of Tarot cards. It was one of the most honest and open moments I have ever had in my entire life and I was happy to have left my fears behind and open my heart to the experience. San Marcos is a place I would love to return with more time, to take part in the full moon retreat and spend some time working on my spirituality, and if I do, my mom is coming with.

After San Marcos and one last night in San Pedro I went back to Panajachel to take the bus that would take me to Antigua. I went to the internet to check on my e-mail and waste some time before I left. As I was chatting online I heard a lot of people screaming outside and when I looked people were running down the street like crazy, the stores began to close and in less than one minute the metal door to the internet cafe closed. I was locked inside, not knowing what was happening on the outside, just hearing loud shouts and noises and waiting to see what would happen. I think about 40 minutes must have passed with all of us inside, confused and scared before the doors were openened and we were alowed out. As I walked down the street it was deserted, most stores and restaurants were still closed and I walked around confused. I found out I would have to spend another night in Pana and wait for the bus the next day because the streets had been closed. I run into Ruben who explains that 2 women and one man were trying to rob an old lady, people found out what was happening and chased them. The women were taken to jail and a mob of people followed them because they don´t believe in the justice given by the police and know they will be set free the next day.  The man was caught by the mobbed and killed with two machete hits to the head, there was blood everywhere and after he hit the floor people continued to hit him and wanted to burn him, but the police came in time to stop them. Police vehicles were overturned but at the end peace was restored and the body taken away. It was a scary experience being locked inside, but I can imagine how crazy it must have been on the outside watching Guatemalans taking justice into their own hands.

  Riot smoke found on the floor after the mob attack