Sunday, September 6, 2015

Guatemala - Part Three

- the Town    



Panajachel

the town is really a big flood plain on the Lake
the straight line through the photo is the river

this is the easiest town to get to on the lake
and is the most visited
it was about a 20 minute boat ride from Paxananx
we took a tuk-tuk up from the docks
to our favorite (and only one we knew) hotel in town



 back to the sauna and hot tubs


we needed them

 

oddly enough for the same price we got a much better room


with salmon colored datura right outside the window

next day we needed to find a hotel
that did not have the school band practicing right next door
from 6 to 10 pm 

we found a great little hotel


 just off the main street 


we had the top floor room on the right
loved the balcony


 also the view from the roof


was great and it was fun to sit up there


and look down on the tuk-tuks


and the whole town

great sunsets over the lake from up there too
sorry I did not get a photo of one....I know


 - the Weaving

the Mayan women, especially of the Lake Atitlan area
are some of the best weavers in the world



each village is known for it's specific woven design and or embroidered blouse


 that the women wear called the huipil


 they are all so amazingly beautiful


 these are from a store we saw later in Antigua 


showing you them here so you get the idea


some of the villages around the lake would come into Pana
(as it was known for short)


 wearing the huipiles of their village


 they were very determined and good business women
they would ask our name and then never forget
when they saw us on the street days later 


 they were very proud as they should be
not shy at all, most had cell phones
even the very old women....



this is a woman from San Antonio la Laguna
she is wearing the traditional skirt too
a wrap of woven fabric - great idea, never too small or too big....
called a corte


 a lot of the women we got to know were from the same village


 they would say - you haven't bought anything from me yet


 and something else would be added to our suitcase



this is a lovely huipil she is wearing

 
we bought several things from this woman 
she wanted to button her sweater
for the photo
and I asked her to please not too, she had on 
on of the most exquisite huipiles..... 
and a corte that is of a special indigo dye

lucky for me the woman we were renting from



offered to take me to the fabric market
she was very knowledgable
and besides having a very interesting time
she helped me get 2 amazing pieces


the first was a piece I found for William
he had been very interested in the Mayan calendars
and was studying them while we were there

this huipil had the triple circle of glyphs of 3 of the Mayan calendars
embroidered around the neck
plus a circle of the spirit animal associated with each

I never saw another one like it - he was very happy


and this is the one we found for me


THANK- YOU Prema for helping me 
I could not have done it without you  xxoo


it is hanging on my fireplace right now
a little energy of Guatemala that I could bring home

(the small red one is the other one I told you about Wendy.....)




our the last day at the lake


 was a Sunday and we went down to the river




 and watched these crazy guys


 fly these crazy things


 a storm was coming though and they started packing up


 we headed into one of the small street restaurants



where we had a memorable barbecued chicken dinner
and walked home

the best part about being there on the weekend
was watching it fill up with families from Guatemala City
every hotel was full, every restaurant
they streets full of people enjoying Guatemala




 we got back to the hotel just as it started to rain

xxoo




next - 
Antigua, more fabrics and home














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