Some of the fun things we did while we were in Guatemala included visiting Lago Atitlán in Panajachel. We read in our travel books that it's the closest place to heaven. How do you not visit a place after reading that? Well, we actually contemplated going to Tikal which supposedly have the BEST Mayan ruins but that meant we got up at 3am to catch a shuttle to Guatemala City where we would take a tiny, probably mechanically deficient, plane to Tikal where we would hike in horrendous weather to the ruins then turn around and fly home the next day for around $400 per person. Let's review the options:
(1) almost heaven
(2) almost hell
Off to Panajachel we would go where we chose to upgrade our hotel room to one with a pool and a relatively luxurious room. Everything is relative in Guatemala. The standards there are just not the same as in the US. I actually ended up liking our hotel. You could hear anything our neighbors did but I brought ear plugs - I remembered my last trip to Central America. We were to have a TV with cable, a beautiful pool, a comfy bed, a warm and non-hazardous shower. It was going to be heaven before even getting to the water.
Did you know that in order to get to heaven you have to go through hell? Well, you have just been enlightened. I don't know about Lindsay, but I prayed almost the entire drive to Panajachel. The driver we had was completely insane. No exaggeration necessary. He fell asleep while sitting for less than a minute in traffic in Antigua (yes, in hind sight we should have gotten out right then, walked to the travel agent and demanded another driver). He then passed drivers in on-coming traffic around blind corner. He created his own lanes when the traffic didn't suit him. He drove perpendicularly in between 2 semis and popped out onto a freeway and somehow we didn't die.
That's not the end of it. There were mudslides (derrumbes) all over the closer we got to Panajachel since the rainy season was particularly bad and we would often have to move into the on-coming traffic's lanes in order to continue up the mountain. They don't use a lot of orange cones in Guatemala (or any) so there would be a sign saying that there was 2 way traffic (doble via) on the freeway where it would normally be one way. The driver thought he was an invincible king and would be trying to pass people going up hill with on-coming traffic heading our way. It's just not right when the people driving the correct direction in their own lane have to get out of the way of our driver. He also takes care of his breaks really well, because he constantly uses them since he drove amazingly close to other cars. I think he may have driven so crazy just so he would stay awake. I'm not positive, though. He also almost killed pedestrians left and right. I was so nauseated.
He had his own horn language as well. Here it is for you:
Beeeeeeeep = get out of the way or I will kill you
BpBp = you're a pretty lady
Beep = hi, other conductor
Beeeep Beeeep Beeep = this is my road so move it
Beep Beep = I'm passing you so don't think about getting over
Beeeeeeeeeeeep = I'm angry and I want you to know it
We miraculously made it there alive. Unfortunately, Panajachel is a really dirty little town. The Guatemalan's call it "Gringotenango" which is loosely translated to "White people town." I guess there are a lot of expatriates that have settled there. Unfortunately, they didn't bring their American ways of "reduce, reuse, recycle" - or at least "use a trash can." It's really beautiful so it's sad to see stray dogs humping in the street and litter on the ground.
We walked around for awhile up and down the main street. There were a lot of shops selling the usually Guatemalan fare: textiles, ceramics, clay creations, wood carvings, etc. However, Panajachel was a little different in that there were more options for hair accessories and, for pot lovers, lots and lots of pipes. They cater to their typical clientele.
Also, there was an abundance of little food stands that looked insanely unsanitary. We refused to eat at them, but then Lindsay and I chose a little restaurant because they had sandwiches and I was just dying for a decent sandwich (which I don't even normally eat often). We shouldn't have eaten at this cute little restaurant because as we were waiting for our food, I watched cats walking all around the kitchen. They weren't on the counters, but there were a LOT of cats walking around. At one point I also saw the person who made our food drop some meat on the floor (yes, the same floor the cats have been prancing around on) and then pick the meat up and put it back on the counter!!!!! We had already finished eating by then. Amazingly, our food did not come back up. Either we were acclimating to Guatemalan life or we were so hungry that just wasn't an option. On a brighter note, our travel agent was wonderful. We were provided a guide on a boat to 3 cities around the lake. In the morning, which was stunningly beautiful, we were met at our hotel by the guide who walked us down to the waterfront where we gathered with others to go on a boat ride across the lake. Here are some photos!
We also visited Volcan Pacaya. This was a tough decision for us because this volcano was one of the reasons we almost didn't go to Guatemala. It had just erupted ferociously at the end of May, which is when we were deciding where to go. Shortly after that, a giant sinkhole developed somewhere in Guatemala City. We never got to see the sinkhole, but the cab driver was telling us all about it. We feared that since these 2 natural, destructive occurrences happened in a close time that they were related and may lead to more natural destruction. Remember, we were going to stay "nestled among 3 volcanoes" as the guidebooks put it. Three volcanoes that are active and could blow at any moment. In fact, right before we got there, there had been a spray of ashes that rained down on Antigua and the girl that lived in the house before us helped to sweep the ashes away. 
This was towards the end of our trip where nothing bad had happened so far, so why not climb a still hot and active volcano just to see the lava? So we did. When we were driving up the hills were green and lush. The further we drove, the land became brown and barren. This is where we would park our car and walk the rest of the way to near the peak of the volcano. We were provided with walking sticks and a team of horses followed us in case some one needed a ride the rest of the way up. Hmm...I think that means it was going to be steep. It was.
We also had "tourist police" following us up, driving ahead, driving back to us, and repeating this process the entire way. This was for the safety of visitors since, once again, it is dangerous to travel alone in Guatemala due to desperate people robbing, raping and killing innocent people. Lindsay and I were very safe and stayed with our guide (I wish the rest of our group would do the same but they were ignorant and almost ran ahead). 
As we climbed the vegetation disappeared even more. There were deep ruts where the water had formed it's own path during downpours. It became difficult to walk in some places because the ground was not very solid. By the time we got to the top, it was all black with lava. You could see the smoke from the still smoldering rocks rising from the ground. We were already hot and sweaty but then we had to take a deep descent down loose lava rock to the volcano itself. Once we were on the volcano the rocks felt hot. I kept checking my shoes because I thought they were melting. There were small shafts were you could still see the lava burning below the surface. When you put a stick inside it would light on fire.
Our guide described the day that it exploded. The fear the people had as they ran for cover. Some lived in houses made of various vegetation and they burned to the ground. Other structures were made of solid concrete and big gaping holes were left where giant rocks landed when they were flung from the volcano. Sadly, he also described the aftermath. People died more from not having clean food and water than when the volcano erupted. People, like his son, were injured from falling rock. There was minimal help that came to them because the few funds that made it to Guatemala were seized by the government and did not trickle down to the people. The American Red Cross was able to provide some people with clothing but that was pretty much where the help ended. The people of Guatemala rarely have insurance, so they are left to rebuild their homes themselves.
Let's end on a high note. The final activity that we did before leaving for the states was visiting the Finca Filadelfia coffee plantation where we did the zip line!!!
I did this before in Costa Rica and still think it's soo fun. It was Lindsay's first time so we had to do it before we go to have the added danger of the fact that the standards are not the same as they are in the states and we needed to live life on the edge in every way :) It was actually totally safe with lots of extra safety features. Not only were the lines long, they were also high. Some rides were more extreme than others. Only once did I think "What am I doing up here?" That's pretty good. They start you off easy so you can decide if you want to do the more challenging and scary lines. I knew I was up for it from the start. In Costa Rica I started off a cliff and went down and the lines steadily got shorter and lower to the ground. This, obviously, was the opposite. The only downside, no one told us we would have to hike all the way back up to our truck to be driven back to the main area of the Coffee Plantation. Ugh, in all that gear, it was a miserable hike upwards.
I'm sure there were many pieces of Guatemala I have missed in sharing my experiences. I hope that one time I can print the photos and put a book together so I share the experiences with others beside me. I loved it and was so blessed to have the opportunity to go. The only question now is.....Where next and when???
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