It would be a long trip. To get there I need to take a bus to Chimaltenango and take an onward bus to either Huehuetenango or more likely, Cuatro Caminos. At Cuatro Caminos I would take a bus to Huehue, spend the night there, and then take another bus to Todos Santos.
So around one p.m. on Friday I took off. I took a bus to Chimal. I got off the bus on the side of the road and waited for my bus to Huehue or Cuatro Caminos. The first bus that came along was for San Pedro La Laguna. I took that as a sign. Change of plans. I went to San Pedro.
I arrived in San Pedro and got a hotel with bano privado for forty quetzal -- around 5 US dollars. The main tourist strip runs parallel to the lake. It is total Hippielandia. It was almost another country. Bob Marley is their God. They make jewelry and compete with the indiginos on the street for jewelry sales. I was chomping on my falafel sandwich for dinner and after about the fourth obscure Bob Marley song coming out of the restaurant´s stereo, I felt like saying, ¡People, there are other reggae artists besides Bob Marley¡ But the place is great for vegetarians. There are three Israeli restaurants on the strip serving falafel.
In the morning I took a lancha to San Marcos. If San Pedro was another country, San Marcos is another planet. It was an island unto itself. It was probably levitating a couple feet off the ground. Population is about four thousand people, mostly Maya indiginos. But the beach near the water is controlled by English speaking New Agers, most prominently, Las Piramides, a retreat. Here is their website: http://www.laspiramidesdelka.com/
This New Age community is a tropical paradise. The ´streets´are narrow cobble stone and dirt walkways. Too narrow for cars. Small home made quirky signs direct from you here to there. Dogs everywhere lying in the sun asleep. If you need yoga, channeling, Reiki, massage, crystal therapy, a tarot card reading, aura cleansings, or other ´new age´ therapies, or training in the same, this is the place. The place had a mellow vibe. English was the norm, Spanish rare. Very relaxing.
I stopped by Los Piramides. Their buildings are wooden but pyramid shaped and situated in the four cardinal directions. The plants in the garden had pvc pyramids over them. The young lady at the reception desk said no one does limpias and I was advised to go to Santiago, another village on the lake, for that.
I had a breakfast of hot cakes and honey. The juice was fifteen Q but a shot of tequila was ten Q. Tough decision but I went for the OJ. It is off season and a few places were closed. I contemplated staying the night but instead just explored the area and departed for Panajache. On the lancha to Pana, we passed a bunch of other villages picking up people and dropping them off along the way.
I was tired and decided to head back ´home´. Instead of the chicken bus, I bought a ticket on a shuttle and was home in three short hours.
When I got home, Magda was wondering if I had gone all the way to Todos Santos and back in two days. I told her the story of Chimal and the first bus coming along. She said, didn´t you hear about Salcaja? Salcaja is a town near Huehue. The news reported that eight police officers were killed by narcotraficantes in Salcaja and the military had been called out and President had run over there to give a speech. Los militares had secured the area around Huehue, Cuatro Caminos, Todos Santos, et cet. No big deal, been there/done that with los militares in Colombia but there is a reason for everything...
Here are some photos of this weekend trip.
Main street, San Pedro
View of Lake Atitlan, San Pedro
San Marcos
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