Last Week in Antigua

I am having my last few days here in Guatemala and by next Friday will be back home in Byron Bay.
This last week I went back to school, to a different college this time, where the lessons were more formal and concentrated on grammar. I must say that by Friday afternoon I was a bit over conjugating verbs! But it did give me a better understanding of the language and I know it will assist me as a teacher of English- how fantastic to be on the other side of the desk!

I have also spent time with the family planning organisation called WINGS  and will bring home some of their promotional literature and saleable items. I know my daughter Amie will enjoy sharing these with her Chrysalis Girls´ Groups that she works with in our local high schools, and I hope to do some presentations to womens´ groups etc. They have programs to train local women & men to go into the villages explaining family planning options. There is also a Youth Program and a cervical cancer screening program. Guatemala is a country very much in need of assistance and I feel privileged to have been a guest in this country and so am very happy to pass this information forward and try to raise some funds for this great NGO.

I have also tried to do all the "must sees" this week and have asked everyone I know to give me their top 5 favourite things in Antigua so have been sight seeing and wandering the streets soaking up my last few days here.

Thanx for reading my blog- I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
Haste Luego

 This is Paola, who sits outside my gate and always has a happy smile, a wave and a  "Buenes Dias" for me. Today I bought a couple of her items and they have the lovely smell of her wood fire from her home.

This is the public laundry where even the little ones help mama washing the clothes.

  My friends from Israel Gabby and Ada with Andrew from Poland. Behind is the view overlooking Antigua  from The Cross (below) a local landmark that we climbed up to see last Saturday afternoon - bit like a walk up to the BB lighthouse- puff puff..

 

 

 The lovely Francisca who cooks our delicious meals- consistantly nutrious and flavoursome. Here she is bar-b-queing the steaks for lunch in the fireplace.

 Meal time at Dona Olga´s. Sometimes there are 15 of us. The red drink is hibiscus juice- delicious

 A chicken bus, about 10 cents to go anywhere- great local transport and very crowded - sometimes 4 to a seat!

 My barista Leslie, who makes me an excellent Mocha every morning with a different decoration on top

 My pesonal logo!

 The view from the Sky Cafe looking toward  San Francisco cathedral. A favourite spot to watch the sunset.

 A family of local musicians who entertain on Sundays.

The juxtoposition of the old ruins and the colourful Saturday market is unforgettable in Antigua.

Lake Atitlan

This week I travelled with 2 friends to visit Laguna (Lake) Atitlan . This is an enormous crater lake about 200 kms from Antigua. The guide book say it is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world and it did not disappoint. We travelled up to the lake in a mini bus with 12 other travellers representing 10 different countries- this is certainly an international destination.
First we visited a beautiful art gallery in Panajachel containing Mayan artifacts, Spamish iconology and modern art. Next we caught the launch to San Marcos, a village on the lake where we stayed for 2 nights in a funky hotel for about $10 each- very clean, luscious gardens, delightful people.
There a many villages around the lake nearly all named after saints-St Pedro, St Juan, St Dominico, St Macos etc. - the Spanish certainly left their mark here...
The lake´s water level rises and falls dramatically, and following very heavy rains the past 2 years it has come up about 6 metres. We saw lots of hotels and restaurants now under water. The villages are very steep and the locals all live way up in the hills (guess they know something asbout their environment). There is a large community of gringos living in St Marcos and very alternative lfestylers with every massages and healing method imaginable - reminded me of Byron Bay.
Our "tour guide", Deet , my Jewish friend, has been coming to the lake for years so we met up with lots of her friends and were invited to a 60th birthday party in a Japanese restaurant. The guests included some wonderful musicians so we had Guatemalan songs, a harpist playing beautiful classical music, drummers, shakers etc. Great night.
The next day we caught the boat across the lake to St Juan where I tracked down the women´s weaving co-op and saw a demonstration of spinning and bought some beautiful fabrics.

St Pedro

My friend Coco enjoying the view from Raj´s house. We were invited to his place for breakfast. Raj is an Indian man 70 years old who used to live in Chicago, but after the death of his wife has moved to Guatemala

A typical street in  in St Marcos. This lady is carrying wood on her head.

Breakfast time at Raj´s magificent stone house. Raj left, then Coco and Deet. he served oatmeal panckes, fruit and lots of very strong coffee

Lake Atitlan is surrounded by volcanoes. This is St Pedro volcano which lots of travellers climb ( not this one)

One of the many launches that takes you around the lake. Note the high water level in the background

 

The other form of transport around the lake is the Tuk Tuk- Costs about 50 cents for most rides up those steep streets

A spinning demonstration.This lady is the same age as me but called me an old lady as her birthday is 3 months after mine. I am pleased to say we found all this out with our Spanish conversation. She also speaks her own Mayan dialect

Wonderful ponchos and fabrics

They use all natural dyes from vegetables and plants

The lake is so beautiful. Here is a Mayan statue- Bouganvillea is a everywhere.