San Pedro, Lago Atitlán

After El Mirador and Tikal we were a bit templed out and ready for some new scenery. San Pedro de Atitlán was next on our list. Marissa has been living here for about 8 months now and we were all excited to see where she's been living and what she's been up to in her Guatemalan digs. Getting there was, of course, another long travel day. At one point I actually had 4 people on my lap as we piled in and piled high, desperate for any space we could find to rest our tired bodies. This was all after being booted off a chicken bus that not only overcharged us but lied and told us it was a direct bus to our destination - which it clearly was not. We stood on the side of a winding mountain highway for a few minutes, cursing our situation and the man that scammed us before figuring out what to do from there. Ah, the perks of be so obviously foreign.

After a few more interesting and cramped rides, we began the descent towards Lago Atitlán. The views were incredibly beautiful and it appeared as though we were headed into a little seaside village, as the lake is very large with small waves lapping against the rocky shores.

Some sort of sickness finally hit Lindsay and I while we were here, but we had nothing to do here but relax and be lazy.  I sat shoreside at a popular local hangout, simply known as "the rocks", when I happily saw these goons paddle past. 

The mountain shown here has been deemed "la nariz del Indio", or "the Indian's nose". See the profile of the face in the mountain?

The rocks

We spent another day hangin' and sun bathing on the rocks as Lindsay and Joshua graced us with their lovely tunes. 

The view looking towards town

The lake is surrounded by 3 volcanoes, all of which you can see here. 

La nariz del Indio again. This was our view from a restaurant one day where we ate some delicious tortas & tacos. 

San Pedro is a very small town. One of those towns that's so small it's like high school all over again. Everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows everyone's business. Marissa and friends have come to know it as San Pedrama. Also, that nose was every which way you looked! 

Las Chullas in Buddha Bar, where Mern works. 

I was finally feeling better and ready to hit the water. And because I know you want to see my beautifully manicured feet...

We paddled pretty far and found a private beach of sorts. It was made up of small pebbles, wonderfully heated by the sun. They felt amazing when you laid down on them. 

We even caught a live show from one of our favorite bands!

"TONIGHT - live music - Bluegrass Duo Lindsay Lou & Joshua Rilko" 

If you're not already gettin' down to these fine tunes, you probably should be. Check 'em out, they have free downloads! 

http://www.lindsayloumusic.com/ <-- "Release Your Shrouds" downloads (whole band)

https://www.earthworkmusic.com/artists-ind?i=1011 <-- New EP "Here Between" download (Duo album with Josh & Lindsay) 

La Isla Flores

After a few relaxing days in Semuc Champey we were headed north towards Lake Petén. Within the lake lies the small island of Flores. I loved this town! It had a very beachy feel to it with warm, balmy evenings and very hot, sweaty days... not that I have any room to complain after leaving Chicago and that oh so lovely winter we had. Anyways, we enjoyed some rest after another day of traveling from bus to bus, standing for 3 hours on another bus, cramming in a van and sitting on laps, hopping aboard a boat and then climbing in another van that finally brought us to Santa Elena. From there we walked across a bridge bringing us onto the island and found our home for the next week or so.

This little yellow tri-wheeled vehicle is called a tuk-tuk. 

This was taken at Cool Beans, "el café chilero". This quickly became a favorite breakfast & coffee spot of ours with it's good music, great scenery, and free, freshly chopped coconuts to sip from. 

Un desayuno típico - plátanos fritos, pan, huevos y frijoles

Semuc Champey

From Guate (the nickname for the capital city) we were headed to Semuc Champey. Getting there was an adventure in itself; starting by boarding a bus that took us to the small city of Cobán. From there we hopped aboard a "camioneta" (think a less cool looking VW bus) and rode along the winding mountain passes of Guatemala's countryside. Our comfortably full camioneta brought us to the Q'eqchi' mayan pueblo of Lanquín. Once here, we grabbed some cabbage, mangoes, limes, queso fresco, bread, canned black beans, cucumber, papaya, tomatoes and onions. We didn't yet know this was just about the only food we'd have for the next couple days, as there's no markets or restaurants offering more food once in Semuc Champey. We hopped in the back of a local's pickup to bring us the final 9 miles into the very small "aldea" (community) known as Semuc Champey.

We had had a long day and were eager to grab some food in Lanquín. The indigenous Q'eqchi' men and women filled the town's central plaza with food and artesian goods galore. We grabbed some homemade tamales wrapped in fresh banana leaves. They were filled with meat and a deliciously spicy sauce for the price of Q1, or about $0.13. 

The indigenous dress in their beautiful & colorful traditional garb, with each group having patterns and designs that set them apart from the others. 

 
The roads to Semuc Champey were steep and winding. We arrived as the sun illuminated the fields that draped over the mountainsides with golden rows of corn stretching on as far as you could see.

We stayed at a hostel that wasn't quite complete but they had just finished the first cabana on the lot. We stayed here for Q15 a night (just under $2) and more or less camped alongside the beautiful Río Cahabón. 

We grabbed some warm beers (no refrigerators or ice in these parts) and enjoyed a night swim. 

We hiked to El Mirador the next day, a lookout point overlooking the beautiful cascading pools of Semuc Champey. 

Below the mantles of turquoise waters runs the Cahabón River. The pools form a 300m limestone bridge over the river, which runs through a cave. Above is where the river enters the cave and is called El Sumidero. El Sumidero is "where the river hides below the earth" - which is what Semuc Champey means in Q'eqchi'. 

Mern Bird very happy to finally swim in las pozas

¡Hola Raquelita y Josue!

Nature's infinity pool 

 

Some local boys came to the pools and began to climb some overhanging trees. On the left I'm barely visible but I joined in the fun and scaled one of the trees. It was about 30-40 ft. above the water. Sorry Mom, don't freak when you see these :) 

The pools had some very tiny fish that would come nibble at your feet. 

Hey, I hear people in Asia pay a lot of money for this kind of pedicure action. 

We then rested back "home", in our cabin, down by the river. Semuc remains relatively untouched and unchanged, allowing us to experience a culture so different from our own. Women with baskets strolled past, often times with children in tow or slung on their backs in homemade carriers. 

 

We had to get creative with our remaining food: a cabbage, cucumber, mango and a couple limes. We used part of the cabbage to make a slaw of sorts and ate them in the remaining cabbage leaves. It was simple but surprisingly satisfying. 

 Our friend Panda who helped us find our hostel.