Thoughts on Panajachel, Guatemala

As I write this, sitting on the balcony of my apartment in Panajachel at 7:30 in the evening, I can hear enthusiastic singing from the Assembly of God Church just down the street with their back-up orchestra of drums, keyboard, and brass instruments. The singing has inspired the street dogs to howl - it is quite the cacophony! I was expecting something like this when I saw the brightly-lit church, a drum set, and people setting up chairs in the large sanctuary as I passed by the church on returning from an evening stroll along the lake. There are lots of small churches around town. I guess the protestants have made inroads over the past decades on what was once a predominantly Catholic population.

Panajachel is on the north shore of Lake Atitlan, a lake that was formed by a massive volcanic eruption around 84,000 years ago. The town is the gateway to many of the other villages around the lake, accessed mainly by boat. Tourists and locals use the regularily scheduled boats to travel between villages, tourists with their backpacks and luggage and some locals with their produce. Other local people live in one village and work or go to school in another, so the boats are their main mode of transit.

Stopping at one of the villages to pick up or drop off passengers.

Produce being delivered.

Woman in traditional dress delivering eggs

Trying to capture the women in traditional dress behind me on the boat

Little girl with her dog in a backpack

Waiting for the boat to leave. The captains like to have at least 15 passengers before they leave.

You do see some of the traditional wooden boats - perhaps going out fishing.

Panajachel is situated perfectly for hang gliding. The steep hills behind the town and the Xocomil, a unique wind meaning "the wind that carries away sin" in the Kaqchikel language, blows consistantly off the lake starting about noon. And no, I didn't go. I'm pretty much adrenaline averse. But it was lovely to watch the experts come down for a perfect landing. The photo shows a young man learning how to control the kite.

One day as I crossed the river near the hang gliding landing place, there was a lot of activity nearby. They were set up for a major cycle race that would go to Antigua - about 80K - with more cycling races then around Antigua. That would be a gruelling ride through the mountains.

Along the lake, away from the main town, is a Mayan ceremonial site. I've never come along when something is happening, but there are always fresh flowers around the area and sometimes the remains of a fire is still smoking.

Panajachel is not as quaint as the other villages around the lake - it has a more bustling, commercial feel. The serene photos you see of a sparkling, blue lake with volcanoes in the backround belies the reality: noisy tuk tuks zooming by right at one's elbow, motorcycles zipping along, dogs barking, neighbours practicing their brass instruments, off-key singing from the neighbourhood evangelical churches. . . I'm sure the locals don't even notice. I assume that when you grow up living where the inside merges with the outside you become used to whatever sound s coming from your neighbours.

One thing that I was told has changed in the past 5 years is the number of tuk tuks and motorcycles. Tuk tuks are everywhere and everyone seems to have a motorcycle. It's common to see women and girls in their traditional dress whizzing by on their scooters. Supposedly, anyone who has a job can walk into a shop and buy a motorcycle with monthly payments and no money down. And there appears to be lots of work, especially if you are connected to the construction industry. There is new construction everywhere.

Panajachel is a good place to be to access the other towns around the lake. I thought I would be off exploring the unique Mayan villages nearby, but soon discovered that I don't really enjoy taking an overloaded boat to the next village. But Panachel provided enough things for me to do, as one of my favourite activities while travelling is searching out the best coffee!! I know, that's rather lame, but at my age, I don't have to check off all of the must-sees. I'm quite content to sit and watch people go by and plan where I want to go for dinner.