I know that
I talked about Antigua’s streets being basically just the street, between
walled-in compounds. The main streets in Panajachel, and other villages around
the lake were lined with shops and vendors. There were armed guards everywhere,
but the lake city seemed much more welcoming. The street vendors, and even
hosts from restaurants, stand just outside of their place and call to passers-by
to try to coax us in. A few key English phrases get tossed around. A favorite
in Pana is “good price for you!”, although I’m not quite sure most of the
people saying it know what it means. We learned to say “No, gracias” very
quickly. The vendors are all open to haggling prices, and even some of the
restaurants will dicker a little bit (some of our crew even managed to
negotiate a “group rate” on tequila shots on the last night in Antigua). Most
of the prices range from reasonable to low, even without haggling, but it’s
kind of fun. Big Daddy was so much fun to watch – he met a local kid (probably
11 or 12) who was left in charge of his family’s shop, and they went back and
forth for quite a while, adding and taking away items, changing offers, and grinning
the whole time. Eventually, after winning an excellent bargain, Daddy threw in
a couple of extra dollars, and the kid stuffed an extra item into the bag. In
computer lingo, that was definitely a moment to LOL, which I did.
We visited a
shop (Dina’s chocolates) where we met Dina, who mixes and sells her own
chocolates. Most of the families all work in their family shops, and most of
them make the items themselves. I didn’t catch a photo of him, but there was
one guy who walked the streets with his 3 goats, selling milk. Whenever he
found a buyer, he would milk a goat for them right in the street. Now that’s
fresh! There was one family that all performed street music together – a couple
on xylophones, one kid with a drum, and the smallest kid danced with maracas,
all in Mayan garb. All the instruments looked handmade, and I’d bet money the
family members had made them. I found a handmade harp for sale at one of the
shops for just about $100 (but where would I keep a harp, and how would I get
it home anyway?). Lots of the textile vendors had their sewing machines in the
back of their little shops, and worked on clothes in between customers. When
Dr. Steele bought her traditional Mayan outfit, the top didn’t quite fit
properly, and the ladies in the shop adjusted it then and there, in about 5
minutes.
It was interesting
to see how many people in the villages around Lake Atitlan actually wore
traditional clothing. Most of the women I saw really wore the colorful woven
tops and skirts, although many of the men had gone the way of jeans. I ended up
purchasing some of the traditional man-pants because they just look so comfy
and fun – they’re just as brightly colored as the women’s skirts! The woman at
the vendor stall where I bought the pants seemed so shocked I was buying them
for myself, that I haven’t worn them yet on the trip, so that I don’t risk
offending anybody or breaking some kind of taboo.
And I
realize I haven’t talked about bathrooms in Guatemala yet! Everywhere in
Central and South America, the plumbing is not designed to handle anything
except actual bodily function stuff. Meaning: toilet paper can’t be flushed. So
every toilet has a little trash can next to it to put used TP in. I’m learning
that in the US we are ridiculously spoiled with regard to our restroom
facilities. The concept here seems to be, well, it’s a bathroom, why waste the
effort on making it a pleasant place? Most of the facilities (even in the city
municipal offices) are bare concrete walls/floor, with old faucets, no hot water,
a bar of soap if we’re lucky, something to dry our hands with. The “really
nice” bathrooms have scent diffusers above the TP trash cans, and some of them
even have scented toilet paper. Only bathrooms in areas that cater to tourists
have tiles or paper towels. And it’s just the way of life here. Nobody expects
bathrooms to be anything besides an outhouse moved indoors, and they are just
that.
Also, it is
made very clear that it is not safe to drink tap water. The water is not
treated before being pumped into people’s homes, and one of our tour guides
told us that locals who can’t afford bottled water generally boil their own tap
water at home before drinking it. That always makes me wonder about things like
washing dishes, and I’ve been trying to use bottled water to brush my teeth,
but I keep forgetting, and I’m not dead yet…”They” also warn us to be careful
of eating fresh produce, since we can’t know what it was washed with, if it was
washed at all. Right, like I’m going to not eat fresh mango given the chance!
That plus the street food was so yummy! And again, I’m not dead yet.
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