October 15th:

We gobbled up breakfast after waking up a bit early, then hopped into a tour van where we were greeted by our trusty guide Victor and our driver Perfecto. Even though fears of a hurricane hung over the trip through the highlands, the previous evening's news brought with it confirmation that the storm had veered northward and would miss Guatemala entirely. This brought an atmosphere of energy and optimism to the group.

Our first stop was a curious highway side stop called Catoc, where we had some coffee (and some of us breakfast) at a restaurant called Paolina's. While the area had some pretty interesting crafts for sale I only purchased some provisions for the trip and we moved on to our next stop, climbing ever higher into the mountains. The beleaguered Kia van was underpowered when it came off of the assembly line, and it didn't help our performance to have 9 people on board while climbing some fairly steep hills.

Curiously, the approach to the mountaintop stronghold of Iximche was a bit deceptive- the place is less than a mile from the highway, the route flanked with relatively flat corn fields. Once you reach the gates of the complex, however, the earth falls to either side and allows for some picturesque views of the surrounding highlands.

Iximche was not a major city, but it was a significant strategic and economical venue for the Mayans, who used its natural fortifications and its placement along the trade routes to exert control over the area. While the ruins within the compound are nowhere near as impressive or enormous as the lowland ruins of Tikal (which we didn't get to visit, le sigh) it was still wonderful to see Mayan ruins. Iximche also gives a better sense of what a stronghold city of the Mayans looked like, with its ball courts, altars, and economical use of space. Also present were the equivalent of historical re-enactors, indigenous volunteers and residents carrying on some of the traditions and dress of the Mayan ancients. Photography would have set us back some $100, and while the spectacle was impressive we agreed that it would be cheaper simply to remember the experience.

Afterwards, we moved along the highland ridges and narrow plateaus, dropping off some of our group in the eponymous city of Pacaya, near the small but feisty volcano of Pacaya. While we had the option of hiking up the volcano and snapping some pictures of its bubbling caldera, we had already committed to the trip to Atitlan, so the five of us remaining bade our farewells and continued on our way.

We had been informed of the dicey road conditions as a result of the bad rainy season, but only now did we gain an appreciation for the difficulties involved in civil engineering in this country. Even along the Pan American Highway, arguably the most important roadway in Central America, it was clear that it had been a struggle to keep it open. Almost the entire route, two of the four lanes had been closed due to mudslides. Other parts of the road were restricted due to erosion; the rain had literally eaten away the foundation of the road, leaving a deceptive but very unstable crust of asphalt over drops that occasionally plummeted hundreds of feet.

Even so, we started to descend- gradually, as opposed to the swift but unsafe alternative of falling over the edge. When we had been descending for about half an hour we wondered if we were getting close to the lake. How much further could it be? We rounded a bend and at last saw the lake, still very far below. The road became quite steep and we found ourselves in a town (I forget the name) racing down the narrow streets towards a vague body of water in the distance. After a while, we came upon a scenic outlook and stopped.

Lake Atitlan has a bunch of statistics tied to it. Highest lake in Central America, has 12 cities around its periphery, and so on, but absolutely none of the facts do the raw beauty of the place any justice. The beautiful cerulean lake is surrounded on all sides by lushly forested old volcanoes, and everything from the lofty heights of the volcanic ridges down to the cobbled together townships around the lake contributed to a sense of majesty.

We continued forevermore down the switchbacked roads, keeping in mind our destination, the city of Panajachel- a place so touristy, apparently, that it has the nickname "Gringotenango". The ugliest thing in sight were two rectangular concrete towers near the lake shore, but there was a cool story behind these. Back during Anastasio Somoza's rule in Nicaragua he had the towers built as a lavish hotel and a getaway for that country's first family. Of course, he ultimately couldn't get away from his country's problems, and when the Somozas were overthrown the Guatemalan government quickly nationalized the hotel, then proceeded to do nothing with it. Later, someone came by to paint the ugly towers green so that they wouldn't stick out so much, but this only succeeded in making them uglier. Recently a multinational hotel chain apparently purchased the towers and plans to open a hotel on the spot. Residents and visitors alike hope that their first step will be to demolish the towers.

Just when we were getting used to the idea of rolling down the hill forever, the road suddenly flattened and we were in a town- Panajachel. Moments later, we were at our hotel, Posada Don Rodrigo, one of the classiest (and not too badly priced) hotels in the city. After settling into our rooms and grabbing a bite to eat on the gorgeous balcony restaurant overlooking the lake, we took a hike through town.

The first thing we noticed was the water damage along the lakefront. Luckily, most of the homes and establishments were built far away enough from the lake to suffer from flooding, but the more you inch away from the lake the closer you get to the hills, putting one at risk of landslides. In brief, there's no shortage of trouble in paradise.

We made our way along the lakefront until a river stopped us. At first glance nothing seemed amiss, but we soon noticed that the sides of the river had eroded away quite badly. Looking upstream we were amazed to see the wreckage of entire homes, destroyed bridges, and other serious debris all carried downstream and deposited just shy of the lake. Most notably a series of large water tanks lodged in a concrete caisson the size of a house had washed away along with everything else. Just try to imagine the kind of force it would take to carry off a block of solid concrete the size of a two-story house.

The second thing we noticed was the distinct lack of tourists. We were strolling through the most swanky parts of town, with lakeside restaurants and shops everywhere. Even then, it seemed as though we were the only people in town. Accordingly, the vendors were desperate to make a sale. Since things seemed to be going so badly for the lakeside communities, just about everyone made some purchases. The prices weren't bad, either.

In the evening, we were content just to sit on the hotel balcony and watch the sun set to a chat and a few drinks. I've never been entertained by something so simple and relaxing before. After that, we ducked into our rooms and called it a night.

October 16th:

The next day we had breakfast at a little restaurant called Tuscany a short walk from the hotel. When we got back we chartered a boat to visit some of the lakeside communities.

We had heard about San Pedro Polopo on the far side of the lake, which was apparently very popular but filled with beggars. Instead we decided to visit two nearby towns: San Antonio Polopo and Santa Catalena Polopo. Santa Catalena was apparently famous for its blue hand-woven goods while San Antonio was home to a ceramics factory with some pretty unique selections that were hard to find elsewhere. We stopped in Santa Catalena first and some of us bought some woven goods (some of us had been saving up for this opportunity, especially the blue fanatics). Afterwards our boatman, who also became our defacto guide, took our group to the top of the town. We climbed quite a few stairs and dodged an astonishing amount of dog shit in order to reach a very worthwhile view of the township from above and the lake below. We went down a different way, still dancing around the turds, and miraculously our entire group got back to the boat with clean footwear!

Back on the boat, I was really impressed by the gorgeous villas and lakeside estates, many of them perched on prime spots of exposed bedrock, which is fairly difficult to find in Guatemala. I was also humbled by the jagged brown scars that seemed to be on every hillside- each the sign of a landslide. Most landslides seemed to be harmless or inconvenient. In San Antonio we saw signs of two that weren't. Apparently the town had the misfortune of suffering two direct hits from landslides that ultimately killed 22 people. Apart from the tragedy, the landslides were a real nuisance to commerce and traffic, as chunks of the two main roads leading through town had been smashed and carried down the slope. Even so, we made it to the ceramics factory, which was intact, and not only got to see the interesting processes of ceramics and pottery making on a semi-large scale, but also a nice assortment of attractive, useful, and reasonably priced items. We picked up a bunch, then I was delegated to carry the box back to the boat. Between minefields of foreseeable dog shit and slippery wet rocks, circumstances put just enough fear in me to get everything back to the boat completely unharmed.

At midday we checked out of the hotel and hopped into the tour van for the trip back to Antigua. The roads actually seemed to be worse off than when we were coming down, but we made it back all the way without incident. That evening we dined at Epicure, a wonderful gourmet establishment owned by a very smart, very attentive, and very gay restaurateur who apparently has a mirror establishment in San Francisco. I have no idea what the cuisine scene is like in San Francisco, but I was very impressed with the food, the presentation, and the ambiance.

That night wasn't really eventful. After some chatting I returned to my hotel room, watched some "La Ley y El Orden" (Law & Order) and sacked out.

Continued tomorrow in the final part!