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