Panajachel and Lake Atitlan
This week a group of students from the University of Whitworth near Spokane, WA started their study abroad program at CX where they will be staying for three weeks. We were spoiled for a month and a half with few students but now the school is a bit crowded.
They joined us over the weekend for a trip to Panajachel and Lake Atitlan, rumored to be the most gorgeous lake in Guatemala.
We got the first class bus treatment to Panajachel and our first stop was at a women’s weaving cooperative called “Grupo Mujeres Artesanas Analizadoras”. There we learned a lot about their history, the items they make, and how the women stick together to make it a sucess. We also got to see a weaving demonstration.
 |
 |
 |
 |
We then stopped at our hotel in Panajachel, “The Grand Hotel”, which had decent rooms and a nice pool view.
Since we left early none of us had much breakfast so we walked through the Pana markets and found a 3 Tacos for 10Q restaurant ($1.25), eat your heart out Taco Bell. Tangent: Speaking of Taco Bell, I saw this stand on our walk called “Super Tacos Bell”. Unfortunately they did not have enchiritos or a gordita supreme.
We continued to walk through the market and saw stores with beautifully woven blankets and clothes. The more I shopped, the more tempted I was to buy. But then I think “In my life at home, how many times am I actually going to wear a woven pancho, other than at my monthly Clint Eastwood ‘The Good, The Bad, The Ugly’ support group.”
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sunday morning we woke up to a beautiful clear day and we trekked down to Lake Atitlan. I don’t think there is any doubt in my mind that this is the most beautiful place I’ve seen here. We had some amazing views.
For part of the day we took a boat over the lake to visit a small town near by called Santiago. It was a busy market day and people were everywhere.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Panajachel seems like a pretty touristy vacation spot. Walking down the street I heard more English than Spanish. All in all a wonderful trip with breathtaking views.
Puchica
I’m in Cafe Baveria where a man is playing “To All The Girls We’ve Loved Before” on an electric guitar, sans Willie, sans Julio… I thought it was time that I put together some random events of the past few days.
Speaking of Cafe Baveria, the other morning I was waiting for my 70 year old roommate, Dick (insert immature joke here), to get a cup of coffee before we went to school. While I was waiting I noticed that hanging up in the entrance was this sweet pic of Tele Savalas. The Diner’s Club spokesman was in all his Kojak glory. He was totally speaking to me saying, ¿Quien te ama, bebé? (Who loves ya, baby?)
This got me thinking of a top five list a la High Fidelity..
THE TOP FIVE PEOPLE THAT I HAVE TO TAKE A PICTURE OF A PICTURE OF IF THEY ARE HUNG RANDOMLY IN A RESTAURANT
5. Tele Savales
4. George Jefferson (or Weezie depending on the strength of the Yen)
3. Rip Taylor
2. James Brown
1. Hulk Hogan (only as Thunderlips which is a rare breed)
Oh and by the way, the name of the title is one of my new favorite spanish words. Púchica! means something like wow, whoa, or if a hot woman walks by you are supposed to say that.
I got my first Guatemalan haircut. It didn’t turn out too bad. I was a little scared that I might end up being bald (calvo) or getting some kind of fauxhawk. But they did a decent job, and they used “Moco De Gorilla” which is a popular hair product among the kids here. It means Gorilla Boogers (no joke).
I took another trip to Los Vahos this week at 5:30 am with a few students that didn’t get to go last week. It was minty fresh, and the views of the city in the early morning were spectacular.
Here are some random shot of Guatemalan people that I thought were decent from my trip to Panahachel and Lake Atitlan (blog upcoming):
Also, this week I have started teaching at La Pedrera (in Spanish), a project connected to my school for underprivileged kids. I have been teaching computers and it has been a lot of fun. I plan to be teaching at least for a month, maybe longer.
One more photo for my peeps, taken within a chicken bus:
Thanks for reading!
The Saunas At Los Vahos
Last Thursday we took a trek up a gargantuan hill to the natural saunas of Los Vahos. I didn’t realize that we would be walking for an hour uphill but oh well, I made it.
On the way we stopped at an old abandoned mansion with one of the most beautiful views of the city that I have seen to date. There were farm workers around the mansion harvesting their corn to grind into meal, tortillas, etc.
 |
 |
 |
 |
We made it to the saunas where we paid 20Q ($3) for an hour in the saunas. And these saunas were muy caliente (very hot). I had to walk in and out of them about 8 times because after a while it was difficult to breath in the hot air. But my skin was muy suave afterwards.
 |
 |
 |
 |
On the way back down from the saunas there was a small group of kids yelling at us to take their picture. I got my favorite photo of the trip so far and it only cost me 50 centavos per kid. 
